Zoran Pejović: Our everyday paradoxes 

When I started writing this column, my goal was to offer an optimistic tone, focused on the opportunities that lie behind the challenges. However, I quickly realized that what follows will rarely make anyone happy. Tourism, at its core, is not a story about simple answers or about meeting all expectations. We are faced with paradoxes that accompany us every day. 

Our everyday paradoxes 

Sustainable tourism has become an ideal that many aspire to, at least declaratively, but complex challenges and paradoxes are hidden behind this term. Although often used with faith in a better tomorrow, sustainable tourism has a quasi-religious component, relying on big words and ideology rather than concrete responsibilities and measures. This is precisely why the concept of responsible tourism is closer to reality. Responsibility implies concrete actions and decisions that create a measurable effect on the environment, the community and future generations. 

However, practice shows that the path to responsible tourism is not easy. While everyone talks about the need for accountability, the actual measures and distribution of that responsibility are often far from fair and balanced. The industry is in a situation where the demands are numerous, and the satisfaction of all parties is almost impossible. 

One of the key paradoxes concerns precisely the distribution of responsibility. Hotels are often in the foreground when talking about ecological standards and responsible development, while hotel accommodation makes up only nine percent of the total capacity in Croatia. Private accommodation, which dominates accommodation capacity, has a different operating framework and is often absent from such discussions. Hotels invest in waste reduction technologies, energy efficiency projects and promotion of local values, while private accommodation faces less of such demands. This unevenness raises the question of how to ensure a systematic approach to accountability, where all participants have a clear role and contribution. 

The paradox is also hidden in the very perception of tourism.

Today, people shy away from the word 'tourism' so much that they less and less want to be tourists and prefer to call themselves travelers (tourists vs travelers). It seems that tourist activities, despite their indisputable economic and social value, have become almost synonymous with mass and negative impact, while the identity of 'traveler' is associated with authenticity, responsibility and a deeper experience. Ironically, both terms describe the same behaviors and practices, but with different social connotations. This is an excellent example where ideology overpowers practice and declarativeness replaces actual action. 

Here we come to an additional dimension of responsibility distribution. It is not only up to the destinations and service providers to take responsibility for sustainability, but also on the travelers themselves. Their choices shape tourism, from the accommodation they choose to the way they consume local resources and culture.

Shifting the responsibility exclusively to the industry or certain segments, such as hotels, turns a blind eye to the fact that sustainable tourism is a collective undertaking. Travelers, whether they call themselves tourists or travelers, also bear their share of the burden in ensuring a balance between nature conservation and social development. 

The next paradox relates to the perception of success. When we celebrate growth, we face accusations of destroying the destination. When we show a decline, they criticize us as a failed business entity. Destinations like Dalmatia, Kvarner and Istria depend on a continuous influx of guests to maintain economic stability, but at the same time suffer accusations of over-tourism and depletion of natural resources.

This creates a situation where there is no solution that satisfies all parties. 

The paradox of seasonality further complicates the situation. Croatian tourism is almost entirely dependent on the summer months, when destinations experience peak attendance, while the rest of the year remains infrastructurally and economically unused. On the one hand, the sector advocates for the extension of the season, while on the other hand, the state introduces the "winter order" of sailing for Jadrolinija as early as the first days of October. This discrepancy makes it difficult to create conditions for year-round tourism, even though a more even distribution of guests is the key to sustainability. As an American proverb would say, we must be able to walk and chew gum at the same time, developing seasonal capacities and in parallel creating an offer that attracts guests throughout the year. 

Another paradox lies in the dilemma "nature or society."

New investments in serious infrastructure and hotel projects are often the only way to sustain the life of local communities in certain destinations. These investments provide jobs, improve everyday life and create conditions for the population to stay. However, any construction inevitably affects nature.

Paradoxically, local communities, which are most dependent on space, are often the loudest in support of projects that enable development and security, while residents of urban centers, provided with complete infrastructure, advocate strict protection of nature. This creates a gap between the needs of those who depend on the space and those who observe it from the outside. 

The concept of sustainability often relies on universal, not to say imported, standards that ignore local specificities. Measures that work in large systems are rarely applicable to smaller actors. Energy-efficient technologies, for example, are often financially unsustainable for smaller hotels, even though they would bring long-term benefits. This disparity points to the need for a more adaptive approach that respects the different capacities and capabilities of all participants. 

The paradoxes we experience are not obstacles, but a call to reflection. They encourage us to redefine priorities and consider new models, but also to allow an open conversation unencumbered by ideologies. If we manage to recognize responsibility as a common foundation, tourism can be a catalyst for positive change, preserving what is precious while enabling a better life for the communities that make it real. 

Author Zoran Pejović, consultant for development and strategy in the luxury hotel industry and Member of the Management Board of Jadranka Tourism

*Column originally published in Hrturism newspaper. Do you want to receive Croatian tourism newspaper? Become part of the hrturism family.