HOTEL MANAGERS' BELIEFS ON THE RELATION BETWEEN TOURISM AND CLIMATE CHANGE

This paper starts from the presumption of an interconnection between climate change and tourism as well as from the importance of knowing the beliefs and attitudes of managers in the tourist accommodation industry as key persons in tourism management and as decision-makers and key actors in the implementation of environmental protection and development of business policies in the area of sustainable development inseparable from the impact of climate change. The main objective of this study was to analyse whether certain characteristics of tourism accommodation. Several factors have been analysed such as types of accommodation, type of guests, orientation on wellness and SPA, accommodation locations in the coastal or continental regions, the seasonality of the business, as well as the possession of a clearly defined environmental policy determine the beliefs and attitudes of managers on climate change issues and the impact of climate change and tourist accommodation. The survey was focused on 1,084 facilities, representing the total population of all facilities categorized by type as hotels and apart-hotels, tourist resorts and tourist apartments, as well as camps and marinas in the Republic of Croatia. Consequently, the beliefs and attitudes of managers in tourist accommodation are the result of various characteristics of those facilities. Stronger pro-ecological attitudes and higher levels of ecological awareness about climate change and the connection between climate change and tourist accommodation are shown by managers working in: tourist accommodation facilities of a higher category, tourist accommodation facilities located in coastal regions; tourist accommodation facilities that work all year round; tourist accommodation facilities that have a strong orientation towards the spa/wellness amenities; tourist accommodation facilities that have a clearly defined quality control policy and environmental protection; as well as tourist accommodation facilities aimed at organized groups and family holidaymakers.