Sustainable development of two geographical regions in Slovenia: Repercussions for tourism: Case study of the Posavje and Dolenjska Regions

Abstract

The opportunities of participatory democratic communication in the process of innovative, sustainable and socially responsible tourism development & policy creation have never been sufficiently exploited due to constant changes in the area of social communication. In this study, based on theoretical and empirical research and case studies, we offer a concept of a communication model, which enables democratic participatory communication in an optimal way, namely by formation of the regional tourist destination. In paper we present the case of the Posavje and Dolenjska regions of Slovenia, in which each municipality has their own municipal tourism development strategies, but do not have a common, regional strategy that best coincides with the parameters determining optimal tourist destination management. We see this as a problem and obstacle for an efficient tourism development. We use the method of online interviews, by targeting tourism stakeholders from all three sectors in the regions of Posavje and Dolenjska, namely public, private and NGO. Based on the empirical research we offer solutions to this tourism development issue in the form of a new conceptualization of communication functions in these tourist destinations.