The impact of tourism development on the quality of life of the locals in a tourist destination

A healthy symbiosis of local populations and tourists visiting is a prerequisite for the success of a tourist destination, but also for sustainable development of tourism. The local population directly affects the tourism in the destination, and vice versa, tourism is increasingly influencing the local population in sociological, cultural, and economic terms. The purpose of this work is to investigate the impact of tourism development on the quality of life of the locals in a tourist destination, to scientifically formulate the research results, and to propose implementation of measures for creating a balance between the needs of the locals, tourists, and other participants in a tourist destination. This work aims to investigate the attitudes of the local population on the development of tourism on the Elaphite Islands (Lopud, Šipan, and Koločep). Namely, the local population constitutes an important interest group, and the quality of the tourist product depends on their satisfaction with the development of tourism in situ, and their participation in the competitiveness of the tourist destination. In order to prove the above hypothesis, this work undertakes to analyse the results of the author’s primary research. The results of the research show that the local population supports the development of sustainable tourism as well as the overall progress of the Elaphites and, with the exception of some minor harmful effects on the environment that have been observed, the local population believes that tourism contributes to economic and social benefits of the destination. Such research should be conducted when developing plans for sustainable tourism of ta destination, active support of the local population being crucial for such development to be achieved.