Author(s)

I. Jurinčič

Abstract

Evaluation of tourism resources plays a vital role in the spatial planning of sustainable tourism. This article introduces an example of landscape evaluation on a regional level by means of a geographical information system. A Mediterranean landscape, Slovenska Istra, is the most developed tourist destination in Slovenia, which is why it needs a special approach in sustainable handling of the vast tourism resources it offers. The analysis of local factors in view of perspective tourism products showed that prudent handling of coastline tourism resources is particularly important, while inland parts of the coastline present an unexploited touristic potential. Keywords: tourism resources, landscape evaluation, location factors, tourism spatial planning, tourism destination management, tourism products, geographic information system. 1 Introduction A suitable evaluation of tourism resources plays a vital role in the planning of sustainable tourism. It enables an optimal exploit of tourism resources at disposal with minimum negative impacts on the natural, social and economic environment, which is the primary objective of sustainable tourism development. The evaluation of tourism resources displays comparative benefits of different tourism products in a certain destination; in our case the Slovenska Istra region. Concerning the evaluation of different regions for tourism, various attempts have been made in different fields and with different procedures, contributing many new insights in this field. Countries with high tourism development claimed competent answers to new challenges and needed professional help in

Keywords

tourism resources, landscape evaluation, location factors, tourism spatial planning, tourism destination management, tourism products, geographic information system