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Anton Gosar Layers of Tourism in Protected Ecosystems of Slovenia

Table 1 The Definition of Protected Areas by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and by the Nature
Conservation Act of the Republic of Slovenia.
Protected Area International Union for the Conservation of Nature Conservation Act (Zakon o ohranjanju narave,
Nature (1994) 2004)

National Park A larger ecosystem and natural area with Larger area with several natural values and great biodi-
preserved indigenous ecological processes and versity. National parks must be defined by at least two
specific types of ecosystems is the base for pro- conservation areas so that the strengthened protection
viding environmental and cultural conditions regime must be predominant in size and consider the
that conform to meet the spiritual, scientific, international protection standards. The national park
and educational needs and recreation (follow- institution, the purpose of protection, the size of the
ing the primary management objectives). protected area, the protection criteria and the operator
shall be determined by law.
Regional/ A long-standing interaction between man and A relatively larger area of the region’s typical ecosystem
Landscape Park nature has created a larger area of the specific and by size, outstanding primordial nature is intertwined
ecological, biological, and cultural landscape. with the works of humans and balanced by nature. It
The nature-human interaction is the key to should be defined by at least two conservation areas so
preserving the specific and authentic ecologi- that the conservation area with a sharper regime is in
cal characters in the related geographic areas. size of smaller scale. Detailed rules of conduct are to be
established.
Source: Dudley (2008), Berginc et al. (2006), and Sovinc and Gosar (2015)

tains National Park. We’ve observed the mountainous management (World Tourism Organization, 2013).
landscape from the Summer Camp at the University According to UNWTO guidelines, sustainable tour-
of Colorado, Boulder. Across from us, we’ve identified ism should focus on non-mass tourism. In addition
a dark green forested slope and two white stripes in to that, respecting visited nature and culture. Conse-
the cleared area. We, students, thought it was a typ- quently, eco-tourism (responsible tourism) should be
ical wood clearing, a work of foresters. After a short understood as non-mass travel in naturally sensitive,
break, the teacher explained: “… no, no… there is a protected areas where the visitor would raise public
winter sports centre in the making (Breckenridge); awareness towards preserving the natural environ-
due to the lack of precipitation (“the Rain Shadow”), ment. The set of products would enable visitors to ad-
the ski slopes must be artificially snowed in early au- mire the complexity of natural and cultural environ-
tumn already”. Almost a decade later, I completed my ments (heritage, habits) and thereby contribute to the
doctoral dissertation entitled “Holiday Homes as an development of the local economy. Tourism would
Element of the Transformation of Slovenian Alpine also be in tune with the residential population and
Regions” (Gosar, 1989), which was, in a way, triggered allow tourists to understand the destination’s social/
by this experience. UNESCO and the documents of cultural substance in its cohesion with nature. The
Rio+20 (Vernhes, 2013) claim that sustainable de- rules of conduct, namely the protection regimes and
velopment should be an exclusive goal of the planet’s the development direction, as well as recommenda-
societies; it would diminish poverty, create a society tions for the types of protected areas which could be
of social justice and preserve natural resources. The included in tourism products of a certain country, are
World Tourism Organization (e.g., in The Guide- defined by the International Union for the Conserva-
book: Sustainable Tourism for Development) directs tion of Nature (1994).
development policies towards environmentally, so- This paper focuses on the exponential societal use
cially, and economically responsible planning and of the planet’s natural wealth by tourists, the tourism

102 | Proceedings of the 7th UNESCO UNITWIN Conference