The impact of climate change on the planning of mountain tourism development in Serbia: case studies of Kopaonik and Zlatibor

Abstract

Development of sustainable mountain tourism is based on the principles of harmonising economic development with conservation of natural resources, environmental protection and preservation of authentic cultural identity of local communities in tourist areas, with an increasingly important need to consider the issues of how and how much the current and future climate change will affect the attractiveness, and in some cases even the survival itself of the basic motives in mountain tourist destinations. In order to determine a potential impact of climate change on the planning of mountain tourism development, this paper first provides a brief overview of the hitherto research from the area of climate change and their influence on tourism and mountain tourism in particular; the data on characteristic climate indicators from the meteorological stations on the mountains Kopaonik and Zlatibor (the leading tourist mountains in Serbia) are then presented and analysed; finally the appropriate conclusions are drawn from the consideration of basic theoretical and methodological and practical issues of mountain tourism planning and their relationship with climate change and potential actions to improve the situation in this area are recommended.