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Karst landscapes preserve the traces of human centuries-long struggle to survive in a challenging environment and are created by interaction of human settlements, economic activities and land use with specific geological, geomorphological, hydrological and ecological features. Karst covers half of Croatia's territory and its most valuable natural areas are protected in eight national parks. This paper presents the results of a study on the perception of landscape values and visitor motivation in Krka NP, which is part of a larger multinational research on karst protected areas in Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia and Croatia. It is located in the North Dalmatia and the main phenomenon is specific karst landscape formed by the Krka River, which has cut a deep and wide canyon into the karst plateau, with spectacular lakes and waterfalls in limestone tufa, combined with a cultural landscape reflecting the human use of this karst area, recently transformed by tourism. With 1.4 million visitors in 2019, Krka NP is the second most visited protected area in Croatia (after Plitvice Lakes) and generates high tourism pressure. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of visitors dropped sharply and the Park administration introduced some restrictions for visitors to prevent over-tourism (e.g. ban on bathing under the waterfalls). The aim of this study was to investigate the motivation for visiting Krka NP during the pandemic COVID-19 and visitor perception of karst landscape values. The research is based on a questionnaire survey conducted from 30 August to 3 September 2021 in Krka NP near the Skradinski Buk waterfall among a sample of 525 visitors. The questionnaire consisted of 28 questions, mostly forced choice (Likert scale and multiple choice) and some open questions. The responses were analysed and presented using descriptive statistics and compared using selected parameters. The results are divided into three sections: (1) motivation for visiting a karst national park, (2) perception of tourism in the park area, and (3) perception of karst landscape values in national parks. Most visitors come to Krka for a half-day visit, spend some time near the main phenomenon (Skradinski Buk waterfall) and only a few visit other parts of the park, despite a large number of other attractions and hiking trails. As the main phenomenon is located near the coast, visits to the park are often combined with summer holidays on the coast and tours by organised groups (e.g. school children), while almost no one stays overnight in small rural settlements near the park. Most visitors are motivated to visit nature and come to see the waterfalls, but although more than half of the respondents have heard of karst, only a small proportion associate this with the karst landscape values, which make the park protected and attractive. Despite the general perception that tourists are more likely to choose natural areas during the pandemic, the survey found that only one third of respondents were more motivated to visit Krka NP because of COVID-19. Hydrological, geological, biological and landscape protection are fairly evenly rated as the most important values of the park, while visitation and education are not recognised as important tasks and tourism pressure is not perceived as a problem. Therefore, this article contributes to existing knowledge with new insights into changing motivations for visiting karst protected areas during the COVID-19 pandemic and visitor perception of karst landscape values in national parks. |
