Sustainable mountain tourism in word and deed: A comparative analysis in the macro regions of the Alps and the Dinarides

Abstract

This article examines similarities and differences in the attitudes and social representations of destination managers towards implementing sustainable tourism between the mountain regions of the Alps and the Dinarides. Bearing in mind the transnational impacts (i.e., environmental, economic and social) of the tourism industry the research methodology adopted an international perspective by sending a questionnaire to tourism organizations in fourteen different countries in the Alps and the Dinarides. The research is interdisciplinary in nature, because it integrates knowledge from sustainability and management science with tourism geography and social psychology. The findings confirm that social representations of sustainable tourism differ significantly in the two mountain regions.

Keywords

• sustainability
• tourism geography
• governance
• mountain tourism
• social representations of tourism
• alps
• dinarides