Turistička prezentacija baštine Srednje Like

Abstract

This paper examines the presentation of Central Lika’s heritage in its tourism. Central Lika comprises the local self-government units of the City of Gospić, the Municipality of Lovinac, and the Municipality of Perušić. The fact that more than one-third of Central Lika is covered by protected natural areas, with only a small share of the total national cultural goods, suggests a stronger emphasis on the protection of natural heritage than on cultural heritage. This is partly due to the low level of urbanization and extensive preservation of natural environments. The paper investigates, using quantitative and qualitative analysis, the presentation of heritage in tourism, the relative presentation of natural and cultural heritage as reflected in the predominant motifs in promotional tourism publications, and determines whether this connection corresponds to the actual ratio of protected natural areas and cultural goods located in Central Lika. For this purpose, postcards, printed brochures, and tourist board websites were analyzed as typical forms of tourism publications. The results show that a greater presence of protected natural heritage in Central Lika is mostly found in tourism brochures, whereas websites offer a more balanced overview of both natural and cultural heritage. Moreover, the connection between the presented natural and cultural heritage corresponds to the actual ratio of protected natural areas and cultural goods in Central Lika.