Geotourism and Local Communities: Measuring Residents' Attitudes Toward Sustainable Tourism in the Fruska Gora National Park

Outstanding natural features created by geological processes attract various people and enable the development of certain forms of sustainable tourism. Geotourism is associated with the socioeconomic development of the local community, but if the development is not carefully approached, it can have negative consequences not only for the natural resources but also for the local community. Long-term success in tourism is possible only with the support of the local residents, and because of that, it is necessary to understand the attitudes and perceptions of the local people, which will provide valuable knowledge for numerous tourism improvement programs. The present study was conducted in the Fruska Gora National Park (Serbia) to understand the community's perception of geotourism. Fruska Gora National Park was registered as the first national park in Serbia in 1960, based on the numerous exceptional natural and cultural features. This research attempts to assess the attitude of the local population towards geotourism in Fruska Gora National Park. A quantitative research method has been used to achieve this goal (the sustainable tourism attitude scale). This is a pioneering undertaking because within this study SUS-TAS was applied for the first time to the area of a national park in our country. The data were collected by questionnaires (603). The findings demonstrated that the local residents have a generally supportive attitude toward the growth of geotourism, particularly when it comes to environmental sustainability, resource protection, and preservation. They concur that tourism should be carefully organized while guaranteeing tourist satisfaction and generating economic benefits. Finally, the findings showed that respondents' attitudes were not significantly influenced by variables like age and education. Survey findings showed that the local population generally showed support for the development of geotourism, but there is a certain concern regarding the social costs of tourism development. This is something that tourism policy creators should pay special attention to in order to reduce social impacts and ensure the support of the local population in the coming period.