Abstract
Wetlands provide extensive ecological services for life on Earth, but they are facing rapid global disappearance under the influence of human activities and climate change. Therefore, it is of great importance to ensure the wise use of wetlands. Local residents’ attitudes toward sustainable tourism in wetlands are essential to the sustainable management and wise use of this resource. This study examined the attitudes of local communities towards sustainable wetland tourism in three wetland areas in Northern Serbia. The survey was implemented to 1078 households randomly selected from seven communes (20 settlements) adjacent to chosen Ramsar sites. Using SPSS 25, the data was subsequently processed, assessed, and explained. In addition to descriptive statistics, a correlation was used to determine the factors that affect locals’ attitudes toward the development of sustainable wetland tourism. The study shows that local residents generally hold positive attitudes towards sustainable wetland tourism. Age, length of residency, gender, employment, education and income are observed to be significantly impacting attitudes toward sustainable wetland tourism. Although there is a high level of awareness of the risks to wetlands, there is doubt regarding their understanding of the state of wetlands’ protection and the particular issues they face. On the other hand, there is no doubt that locals are ready to protect wetlands for upcoming generations. For sustainable wetland tourism, management, and conservation, it is crucial to connect management organizations, tourism representatives, and people. In this matter, it is important to improve communication and connection between the mentioned stakeholders.
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The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia (Grant No. 451-03-47/2023-01/200125). The authors also acknowledge the financial support of the Provincial Secretariat for Science and Technological Development (Grant No. 142-451-3485/2023-01).
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Conceptualization, S.O., V.S. and D.M.; methodology, S.O., V.S. and D.M.; software, S.O.; validation, S.O,; formal analysis, S.O.; investigation, S.O., V.S., D.M.,and M.I.,; resources, S.O., V.S., D.M., and M.I.,; data curation, S.O.; writing—original draft preparation, S.O.; writing—review and editing, S.O., V.S., and D.M.; visualization, S.O., V.S., D.M., M.I., M.P., V.M., A.P.; supervision, V.S. and D.M.; funding acquisition, S.O., V.S., D.M., M.P. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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Obradović, S., Stojanović, V., Milić, D. et al. Wise use of wetlands trough community based sustainable tourism development. Wetlands Ecol Manage 32, 303–326 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-024-09978-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-024-09978-z