original scientific article UDC 796.5:711.455(497.4 Portorož) received: 2005-01-06 TOURISM CYCLE(S) OF PORTOROŽ - PORTOROSE Katja VRTAČNIK University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts, Department of geography, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Aškerčeva 2 e-mail: katja_vrtacnik@yahoo.com ABSTRACT The article presents the development of tourism in Portorož. It deals with how tourism influenced the cultural landscape, how it changed and how tourists' perception of the environment and thus also tourist demand changed. By means of Butler's model of tourism development the article presents the phases of tourism development and factors that were the cause of the changed tourist supply and demand, way of thinking and land scape changes. Keywords: Portorož, development of tourism, tourist supply, tourist demand, environmental perception LE FASI DELLO SVILUPPO TURISTICO Dl PORTOROSE SINTESI L'articolo presenta l'evoluzione turistica di Portorose, l'influenza del turismo sul paesaggio culturale, i cambia-menti di quest'ultimo, i mutamenti nelle esigenze ambientali da parte dei turisti e, di pari passo, della richiesta turistica. Servendosi del modello di Butler di sviluppo turistico, l'autore presenta le varie fasi dell'evoluzione turistica ed i fattori che sono stati all'origine dei cambiamenti nell'offerta e nella richiesta turistica, nel modo di pensare e dell'ambiente. Parole chiave: Portorose, sviluppo del turismo, offerta turistica, richiesta turistica, esigenze ambientali ANNALES • Ser. hist, sociol. • 15 • 2005 • 1 Katja VRTAČNIK: TOURISM CYCLE(S) OF PORTOROŽ - PORTOROSE, 39-54 INTRODUCTION The aim of this article is to present the development of tourism in Portorož, which is the biggest seaside resort in Slovenia (265553 tourist arrivals and 984137 overnight stays in 2003) and it is also one of the tourist resorts with longest tradition. Since organized tourism in Slovenia is more than one hundred years old, and since there have been many political and economic changes, this economic activity has gone through different stages through which trends in tourism and tourists' motives for travelling and their perception of the environment have changed greatly. As tourist demand and supply are closely intertwined, there have been also changes in tourist supply. Therefore, the author tried to reconstruct tourist demand and environmental perception connected with it also by means of analysing tourist supply in the past. Throughout the development of tourism in Portorož there have been different factors influencing tourist trade, tourists and their environmental perception, which is why it is extremely difficult to say how tourism might develop in the future. However, by finding recurring patterns and recognizing processes and factors influencing tourism over time this research offers an insight into the laws of tourism development and thus it can help us when making some general predictions. MATERIALS AND METHODS facilities for accommodation and catering of guests; the initial tourist supply is formed. - 3rd phase: Accelerated tourism development in which tourists' visits to a certain place or area increase significantly. This prompts accelerated building of numerous and various tourist infrastructure, which is supposed to assure even greater attractiveness of a tourist place and increase tourist visits. Advertising and promotion are now necessary to maintain the size of the created industry. - 4 th phase: Consolidation of tourism development in a place or area. In this phase the early influx of tourists begins to level off. - 5th phase: Stagnation of tourist trade. Tourist flow slows to the point where there is no growth in new arrivals. Since tourist accommodation capacities are full and since tourists' interest falls, a part of tourist flows diverts to other more attractive tourist places or areas. - 6th phase: Rejuvenation or decline. In this period development of a tourist place finds itself on a turning point. If there are no new investments, renovations of the existing tourist capacities and spreading of tourist supply, the stagnation continues or it is possible that even the decrease of tourist trade occurs. On the contrary, it is also possible that further development of a tourist area ensues but at some higher level (Pearce, 1995; Gartner, 1996, 8 in Horvat, 1999, 11 -13). Among the so called evolutional models of tourism development there are two of them that are frequently cited. The Butler's model (Pearce, 1995; Gartner, 1996; Horvat, 1999) presents the developmental cycle of a tourist area through different periods and can be applied also to development of individual tourist places. Another and more complex is Miossec's model, which is a space - temporal model of development of tourism in which the author exposes the hierarchical connection between various places and is because of this used mostly when analysing development of tourist regions (Horvat, 1999). When analysing the complex and problematic nature of tourism development in Portorož, the author resorted to Butler's hypothetical model of tourism development. In his model Butler states that tourist places and regions are dynamic areas which develop in a longer period of time. He divided the developmental cycle of tourist places and areas into six phases based on the extent of tourist trade and the effect of tourism development in various periods: - 1st phase: Discovery of tourist potential in a certain place or area and appearance of the first tourists. - 2nd phase: Beginning of tourism development; it marks a period in which there are already so many tourists that the natives decide to build the first tourist Fig. 1: Butler's hypothetical model of resort life cycle (Horvat, 1999, 12). Sl. 1: Butlerjev hipotetičen model življenjskega cikla turističnega kraja (Horvat, 1999, 12). The data and information needed for the analysis were obtained from historical materials, such as old Katja VRTACNIK: TOURISM CYCLE(S) OF PORTOROŽ - PORTOROSE, 39-54 pictures, maps, tourist brochures, newspapers, statistical data etc. Unfortunately, some materials (including statistical data) were lost during the WWII. Additional information was obtained also from the previously published works on development of tourism in Portorož (Pucer, 1985) and its tourist transformation (Jeršič, 1990) and from the local residents by means of the method of interview. PORTOROŽ IN THE PERIOD OF NON-ORGANIZED TOURISM Portorož or more precisely San Lorenzo, the place where today the Metropol hotel and Casino are, was mentioned already in the 12th century in connection with a Benedictine monastery and the church of Saint Lawrence. This settlement was later called after a small church Sancta Maria Roxe or Santa Maria delle Rose. People used also the name Porto delle Rose or shortly Porto Rose, which means the Bay of Roses. Fig. 2: The location of Portorož (Gobbo, Trnkoczky, 2004). SI. 2: Lokacija Portoroža (Gobbo, Trnkoczky, 2004). VILLAGE BERNARDIN VILLA SAN LORENZO FAZANA SALTPANS xxo I'd Fig. 3: The panorama of Portorož in 1865 (PAK). SI. 3: Panorama Portoroža leta 1865 (PAK). Katja VRTAČNIK: TOURISM CYCLE(S) OF PORTOROŽ - PORTOROSE, 39-54 The location was known as a spa as early as in the 13th century. At that time the Benedictines living in the monastery of Saint Lawrence started to use sea water and brine to cure tuberculosis, rheumatism and dropsy. The voice about it quite fast spread in the nearby and more distant surroundings. And due to the power of word of mouth very soon patients started to come. First, they were coming on their own (non-organized) and later in an organized way. The first building built especially for tourist purposes was Villa San Lorenzo (1830). It served as a sanatorium for Austro-Hungarian officers. Beneath this villa the first baths at the Slovene seaside were formed. It can be seen from figure 3 that the environment in the bay of Portorož at the beginning of development of tourism there was very different from the way it is today. Portorož was just a small village surrounded by fields, vineyards, olive groves, fruit trees, almond trees etc. It can be also seen that it was obviously quite an important port. The first tourist infrastructure was erected in the area where there are biggest and most important hotels today. TOURISM IN PORTOROŽ UNTIL THE FIRST WORLD WAR From the decline of the Venetian republic and until the WWI the area of the Northern Adriatic was under the Austro-Hungarian rule. The exception was the period between 1806 and 1813 when it was French (Napoleon established the Illyrian Provinces). In 1879, doctor Giovanni Lugnano from Piran started to heal rheumatism in the saltpans prescribing brine to achieve his purpose. He started to give advice to, at that time still unorganized, patients. People reported about successful recoveries, which is why more and more patients started to come. In 1885 the first organized trips and café renovations for tourist purposes were reported about. In 1890 a joint-stock company consisting of wealthy and well-educated people from the community of Piran was established. They built a spa and settled baths. Due to its lie close to Trieste, good traffic connections by land (Trieste was from 1857 connected by the Southern Railway Line with Vienna) and sea (the first steamboat started to sail along the Istrian coast (Trieste-Piran-Novigrad-Poreč-Rovinj-Pulj) already before 1845), its wide, open location protected from the winds by the surrounding hills, mild climate, lush Mediterranean vegetation, the nearby salines offering saline mud and brine (aqua madre) used for healing and the sea (Von Fischer, 1910, Riedl, 1927) Portorož became a popular spa and summer holiday resort of foreign and domestic tourists (in 1891 Portorož hosted 335 guests). Since it is open to the south and protected from the strong north wind called bora, it was appropriate also as a winter holiday resort. In 1894 the new spa with baths started to implement its mission under the name Portorose. The new patients were joined by the patients who were being treated by the brine and the saline mud in the saltpans at Lucija and Sečovlje. Portorož was in 1897 proclaimed also as a climate spa wholesome for people with bronchitis and other respiratory diseases. The first guests, mostly patients, came to Portorož mostly from central and south-eastern Europe, for example, from towns in Istria, Carniola, Dalmatia, Croatia, Austria (mostly from Vienna), Bohemia and Moravia, Galicia, Hungary, Germany, Italy, France, but there were also tourists from Egypt, America, Turkey and England. The A-H monarchs supported development of tourism, especially because they were in favour of the idea of "a sound mind in a sound body" (Sorn, 1996). Many tourist buildings were built, traffic communications improved, additional tourist activities were offered etc. The building with the biggest influence on faster development of tourism in Portorož and the establishment of its reputation was certainly the Palace Hotel built in the period 1908-1912. The hotel was built for spa- Fig. 4: Portorož in 1910 (Pupini, 1910). SI. 4: Portorož leta 1910 (Pupini, 1910). Katja VRTACNIK: TOURISM CYCLE(S) OF PORTOROŽ - PORTOROSE, 39-54 tourists. In its back part it had cabins with mudbaths -thermae which were connected to the hotel by a closed corridor. Next to the hotel there was also a big swimming pool with sea water (brine). The hotel had 80 rooms, 120 beds, a dinning-room, a refreshment room, a reading room, a games room etc. and was at that time the biggest and the most eminent hotel at the east Adriatic coast. Before the WWI some smaller hotels and boarding houses, around one hundred villas (private and rented) and the first gambling house San Lorenzo (1913) were built in Portorož. There were also public houses, cafes, guest houses, restaurants, spas, a dentist, a hair-stylist, photographer etc. These buildings were the basis for further development of tourism in Portorož which had at that time still a predominantly spa character. The number of guests, not only patients but also holidaymakers (clerks, entrepreneurs, aristocrats, officers and other wealthy and distinguished people), was growing up each year until the beginning of the WWI. The tourist activity reached its peak in 1913 (7222 guests), which means just before the outbreak of the war. trt 8000 1- c/l 7000 ai 6000 O 5000 1- 4000 o a 3000 UJ CQ 2000 1000 Z 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 YEAR Fig. 5: Number of tourists in Portorož before the First World War (Balaževič, 1987). SI. 5: Število turistov v Portorožu pred 1. svetovno vojno (Balaževič, 1987). Among the factors contributing greatly to the fast development of tourism before the WWI was also the building of communication and various other objects. Thus in 1902 a railway connecting Trieste and Poreč called Parenzana was built. Connections even improved in 1912 when an electrical tramway connecting Portorož with Piran and the railway station in Lucija were built. Before this one there was a tramway pulled by horses. There was even an open omnibus driving from Piran to Lucija. They built also a more comfortable road by the coast and improved traffic connections on the land and the sea. It is necessary to mention also the introduction of gas and electrical lights and the erection of a big concrete pier. As far as seasonality of tourism is concerned, it is important to mention that in the beginning of seaside tourism in general, it was not summer that was the most important season. The reason for this was that the first tourists, mainly aristocrats, were not interested in bathing, let alone swimming in the sea; they came to the seaside resorts, for example Brighton in Great Britain, Ostende in Belgium, Nizza in France, Viareggio and Li-vorno in Italy, Opatija in Croatia (the first tourist resort in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy), in order to spend the winter in a more pleasant environment, to socialize and to improve their health. sooo Y s*///// MONTHS Fig. 6: Monthly rhythm of the number of tourists in Opatija in 1905. Sl. 6: Mesečni ritem števila turistov v Opatiji leta 1905. What attracted them most were very mild winters with hardly any or no snow, clean air, evergreen vegetation and a lot of sunshine. Even though they loved it, they were not in favour of sunbathing because tanned skin was not fashionable yet. On the contrary, it was actually considered as being a sign of inferiority. Therefore, they exposed their bodies to the sun only if it was prescribed by a doctor as part of medical treatment (heliotherapy). As the first tourists, who were wealthy and had also a lot of time, were actually hibernating at the seaside, the period of their staying was much longer than it is today: mostly at least three weeks but it was also not unusual for them to spend months there. 35000 30000 25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 ee 2 e Li-0 u LU CO Z 2 to 3 4 to 14 NUMBER OF DAYS 15 to 28 more than 28 Fig. 7: Number of tourists in Istria according to days of staying in 1910. SI. 7: Število turistov v Istri glede na trajanje bivanja leta 1910. Katja VRTACNIK: TOURISM CYCLE(S) OF PORTOROŽ - PORTOROSE, 39-54 Fig. 8: The walking promenade between Bernardin and Piran (in 2004) (Vrtačnik, 2004). SI. 8: Sprehajalna promenada med Bernardinom in Piranom (leta 2004) (Vrtačnik, 2004). Organized tourism in a bigger extent in Portorož started with the Palace Hotel in 1912, so that Portorož actually "missed" the phase of being a real winter resort (Brezovec, 2004). However, figure 6 showing seasonality of tourism in Opatija in 1905, only seven years before the bloom of tourism in Portorož, clearly shows that summer time with all activities associated with it, was not predominant yet. According to Von Fischer (1910) Portorož was a whole-year tourist resort. He says that in winter guests from the north come to warm up their body in the southern sun and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere, whereas in spring and summer they come to be treated by means of brine and saltpan mud therapies. Baxa (1914) wrote that the first guests coming to the sea baths were seen at Easter and the last ones on November 1 (the All Saints' Day). As far as autumn is concerned Von Fischer (1910) states that this season is attractive especially to visitors who on their way home from mountain or other higher lying health resorts decide to continue their treatment also at the seaside. Additional activities offered to tourists in order to assure bigger attractiveness of Portorož and cause even greater tourist influx were: a) SPORTS: The spa guests had a possibility to row and sail. It was also very popular to ride horses and donkeys. Beautifying and tourist associations also prepared various sport competitions: shooting, boat-racing, running, cycle races, fencing... b) WALKING, TRIPS, PILGRIMAGES: Walking along the promenade where you could show yourself and be seen in exquisite company was very fashionable at the beginning of the 20th century. It was according to Šorn (1996) in accordance with the slogan "back to nature". Nowadays, walking along the promenade between Piran and Portorož is still very popular but the promenade itself is different. In the past it was a macadam road but now it is paved or made of asphalt. In the past there was also a tramway track leading along it but now there is a cycle track there. This indicates the changes of tourists' motives and their environmental perception. The less comfortable road, which was also a tramway track, was transformed into a cosier one meant exclusively for recreation. Namely, since the 1980s tourists have been increasingly interested in recreation activities. Therefore, today the promenade is used not only for walking but also cycling, running, roller-blading etc. Besides, along the promenade it is possible to enjoy in various cafes, indulge oneself with shopping etc. At the beginning of the 20th century tourists in Portorož enjoyed also walking along the dikes of the Fažana salt pans to a watchtower in Seča. They went on foot also to the Dragonja river. They went there to see an old and interesting inn from the 15th century and the barges on the river. To the north of Dragonja they visited old fortifications and the Benedictine monastery in Krog (Pucer, 1985). Besides, it was believed that there was positive healing energy there, which is why it was even more appealing to tourists. Today, hardly any visitor goes there. The reason for this lies in 'directing' tourists' attention from Krog to the nearby Sečovlje saltpans. Namely, before the 1970s the saltpans were still actively Katja VRTAČNIK: TOURISM CYCLE(S) OF PORTOROŽ - PORTOROSE, 39-54 used for producing salt and thus tourists were not really welcome there. However, after that time, the workers working there started to abandon them and in 1990 they were protected as a park of special value and changed into a saltpans museum in the open air. A new tourist attraction was created and by means of tourist propaganda, tourists' environmental perception changed; tourist visits switched from Krog to the saltpans (Rožac, 2004). It is also known that until the WWI tourists were visiting Albucan to admire the sunset (Pucer, 1985). In this place, which is today known as Malija, were at that time remains of a rural settlement from the Roman period but in the course of time not only its name but also its appearance changed. Due to its pleasant lie and a wonderful view it became interesting to the inhabitants of this area and, consequently, it changed into a village and lost its initial attractiveness (Rožac, 2004). Another point interesting to tourists was Kaštel, which lies 15 km from Portorož. From there they had a beautiful view at the Sečovlje saltpans. Besides, tourists, as well as the natives, liked to go on a pilgrimage to the church of Virgin Mary in Strunjan. There they could also marvel at the terrific view at Trieste and the Alps. The attractions to the west of Portorož were the salt storehouses (which are today from the point of view of their aesthetic value considered as a disturbant element), a dilapidated church and a former cloister on Bernardin and of course Piran with its various sights. In the past San Bernardin was surrounded by rural landscape whereas today it is enclosed by a complex of hotels. Obviously, calm rural environment was sacrificed on the behalf of increasing tourist trade. c) ENTERTAINMENT: There were also many cultural and entertaining performances. In the spa casino they were organizing concerts, once a week dancing and parties such as horse and donkey races, angling competitions, moonlight serenade and similar. The performances were very interesting and appealing to the guests. The brochure or the programme of performances for the season 1911 alleges: JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER dancing, mandolinist concert, feast of roses, regional tennis tournament, horse riding, boat competition dancing, yachting and boat regatta, flower battle on the sea, donkey and horse riding, concerts in the Café, children's feast Elite Garden Party (print feast), Bohemien's ball, horse feast, dancing, big feast in swimming costumes on the beach, Sea Serenade, concerts, flower battle, fox hunting dancing serenade, dancing, horse and donkey riding, vintage feast Fig. 9: Moonlight serenade in Portorož (the beginning of the 20th century) (PAK). SI. 9: Serenada v mesečini v Portorožu (začetek 20. stoletja) (PAK). Katja VRTAČNIK: TOURISM CYCLE(S) OF PORTOROŽ - PORTOROSE, 39-54 Fig. 10:'Sunlight serenade/ in Portorož in 2004 (Jeraša, 2004). SI. 10:'Sončna serenada' v Portorožu leta 2004 (Jeraša, 2004). This brochure mentions also a theatre and cinema in Piran, a circus in "Casino di Pirano", an exhibition of photos on tourism in Istria (in the spa Casino) etc. d) ADVERTISEMENT: Even before the First World War a lot of attention was dedicated to tourist propaganda. Already in 1894 (30.X.) a weekly paper from Salzburg called Fremden Zeitung published a comprehensive article entitled "Die Kurorte des österreichischen Südens: Portorose bei Pirano". In 1910 Furlani published a tourist guide for Piran and Portorož meant predominantly for foreigners who came to Portorož to be cured or to relax. In 1911 a magazine Indicatore di Portorose started to be published. It informed tourists about everything they had to or wanted to know: taxes, prices, possibilities for walking and trips and many other things. In some magazines the authors even point out that with the erection of the big hotels the hygiene in Portorož improved a lot. Since standards of hygiene in many European cities and towns were still at a very low level, which is also one of the reasons why there were so many diseases, this fact must have been very important. Baxa (1910) writes in his article Pirano und Portorose that Portorož is ahead of all baths along the western coast of Istria. He finds out that due to the lack of vegetation Grado is somewhat monotonous and that the baths in the seaside towns are at an 'embryonic' level. The only place that could compare with Portorož was the Brioni islands. Von Fischer (1910) states in his article Portoroses Zukunft als Kurort that thanks to the South railway more and more patients are sent to health spas in the southern part of Austro-Hungarian monarchy, the reason for this being the fact that fresh salty air, the southern sun and the blue sea have a much more positive impact on ill body than any medicine in the world. It is interesting that in many tourist brochures excellent food and exquisite wine are mentioned. It is obvious that indulging in first-rate dishes and drinks was of very big importance. Since this trend came from France, the names of dishes were normally in the French language to seem more sophisticated. Connected with food were also special treatments: different diets, grape cure etc. TOURISM IN PORTOROŽ BETWEEN THE FIRST AND THE SECOND WORLD WARS After the WWI, during which the development of tourism in Portorož completely stopped, many things changed. The imperial Austria, which gave Portorož and tourism at the Slovene coast in general a special character, was replaced by Italy, a new ruler of this area. The owners of catering and other enterprises changed and even the owners in the predominantly German joint-stock company were replaced by Italians and some natives. Unfortunately, the Italians paid bigger attention to the tourist resorts along the Italian Adriatic coast, for example, Grado, Venice and Abano (near Padova). They were also based on spa tourism. Katja VRTACNIK: TOURISM CYCLE(S) OF PORTOROŽ - PORTOROSE, 39-54 PALACE / RAILWAY f STATION PORTOROŽ TRAMWAY LINE MILITARY AIRPORT VILLAGE i LUCIJA RAIL. STATION kLUCIJA HOTEL LUC JA P RAN RAILWAY LINE TRST -POREC FOR SEAPLANES CASINO BATHS FAZANA SALTPANS LINE LUC JA - P RAN H area of hotels and holiday villas with the main servicing functions rural area with scattered houses Fig. 11: Portorož between the wars (around 1930) (Jeršič, 1990, 227). Sl. 11: Portorož med obema vojnama (okrog 1930) (Jeršič, 1990, 227). Fig. 12: The beach in Portorož (between the two World Wars) (PAK). Sl. 12: Plaža v Portorožu (med obema vojnama) (PAK). As a consequence, under the Italian rule the growth of Portorož and development of tourism slowed down and 25 years later Portorož was almost in the same state as it had been during the period of the A-H monarchy. However, although development of tourism in the pe- riod between the wars stagnated, in 1937 240000 overnights were marked in the community of Piran; half of them were made by foreign tourists, mostly Austrians, Czechs, Hungarians and others (Trebse-Stolfa, 1996). Katja VRTAČNIK: TOURISM CYCLE(S) OF PORTOROŽ - PORTOROSE, 39-54 Fig. 13: The beach in Portorož in 2004 (Vrtačnik, 2004). SI. 13: Plaža v Portorožu leta 2004 (Vrtačnik, 2004). It can be seen from figures 9 and 11 that between WW I and WW II Portorož was already a well developed tourist resort with many accommodation capacities but they were built already before WW I. There were 10 hotels, 10 boarding houses and around 20 private villas, a post office, telegraph, telephone, pharmacy, dentist, many shops etc. The bathers had 110 cabins (which existed already before the WWI) and 300 deck chairs. On the beach they could get ice-cream, different refreshments, snacks, fruit... When comparing figures 12 with 13 it can be seen that before the WWII the beach was quite different from the way it is today. The most striking element in figure 12 is the cabins which do not exist anymore or are much less in number. They were removed along with the change of social norms. Namely, in the past nudity was not socially acceptable which is why they took all measures possible to prevent it. In the beginning there were even separate baths for men and women. However, with development of tourism, more space for the bathers and additional attractions were needed. Therefore, they pulled the huts down and built cafes, restaurants, playgrounds etc. Traffic connections between the WWI and the WWII were pretty good. There was a tramway and there were also busses connecting Portorož with Istrian towns and Trieste. There were also many connections by 'water buses' and ferries (for example, between Portorož and Piran, Piran and Savudrija, Umag, Poreč, Pula, Izola, Trieste etc.). The main acquisition of Portorož after the WWI was an airport on the sea for seaplanes which maintained connections with various Italian towns and cities. In one of the advertising materials it can be read that there were two to three flights a day by seaplane to Trieste, Lošinj, Rijeka, Venezia, Torino, Genova etc. (Portorose, s. a.). Unfortunately, in 1945 it was blown up by the army during its retreat from these places. Even though historians claim that Italians were not really in favour of developing tourism in Portorož, it can be seen from historic materials that the spa administration in Portorož nevertheless tried hard to attract as many tourists as possible. Therefore, it spent a lot of money on advertising. Besides, many different tourist guides were issued. There was also a monthly magazine Portorose which brought various interesting articles in Italian, English and French. In the magazine from 1920 Baxa exposes good traffic connections, beautiful environment (Mediterranean vegetation, mild climate with the absence of bora, abundance of roses, healthy air perfumed with the smell of roses, laurel and sea etc); he even compares Portorož and its surroundings to To-scana. He also says that in Portorož there is a very nice beach which is appropriate also for children (this indicates that in this period holiday tourism developed and whole families started to come here). Besides, he states that nature endowed Portorož to such an extent that it actually presents a perfect climate and balneal resort. He also provides information on entertainment, organized trips etc. In the second part he gives information on the Katja VRTACNIK: TOURISM CYCLE(S) OF PORTOROŽ - PORTOROSE, 39-54 authorities in Portorož, entertainment programme, prices and other items interesting to tourists (Baxa, 1920). It is very interesting that in the tourist advertising print they were informing tourists that there are no mosquitoes in Portorož. This was very important because on the one hand the media were reporting about the outbreaks of malaria in Italy, especially in Venice, in Brioni, Istria and the Mirna Valley, whereas on the other hand Portorož was devoid of these annoying carriers of this dangerous disease (Brezovec, 2004). Because of this many Italians preferred visiting Portorož. Beautifying and tourist associations still offered many interesting cultural, entertaining and sport performances. Beside the trips to the nearby surroundings they organized also trips to a little bit farther places: Poreč, Pulj, Brioni, the islands in the Bay of Kvarner, Venice, Miramar, Grado, Monfalcone etc. Among the sports organized for tourists the most popular were sailing, rowing, swimming, tennis, archery and of course horse riding. The WWII completely paralysed and stopped tourism not only in Portorož but also in other towns at the Slovene coast. TOURISM IN PORTOROŽ AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR The situation after the WWII was sad also in tourism. Tourist resorts were completely devastated and plundered. Everything had to start anew and it was not easy. The country lacked money needed to renew the economy and with this also tourism. Another big problem was the question of political-territorial division of the Northern Adriatic. Namely, after the WWII this area was divided into zones A and B of the so called Independent territory of Trieste, the latter one being under the military administration of the Yugoslav army. Therefore, most of the accommodation capacities were used for the army, or as hospitals, sanatoriums, apartments etc. Tourist accommodation, catering and service facilities were before the WWII almost all private property of Italian owners but with the introduction of the socialist system and the Italian exodus, they were taken over by Yugoslav na- tional enterprises. They obtained credits and, contrary to the previous owners, started with the renovation of tourist infrastructure (Trebše-Stolfa, 1996). The army left Portorož in 1954, after the London settlement with which the ITT was abolished. Still, the border between Italy and Yugoslavia was ultimately defined as late as with the Osim agreement in 1975. Foreign tourists were right after the WWII a priori considered as enemies, which is why development of domestic tourism was supported. Therefore, after the year 1954 many holiday homes for workers were built (see table 2). Besides, school/social tourism started to develop. However, there were still villas which were used by the communist elite and thus elite tourism was still present. In addition, three different types of tourism started to develop: organized excursion tourism, holi-daymaking, and in the late seventies also congressional/event tourism. In the 1960s, when Yugoslavia was sinking into economic crisis, convertible currency was needed to help the country go on and thus the attitude towards tourism changed again. The Yugoslav government started to invite foreign tourists to Yugoslavia and at the end of the 1960s the first increase of foreign tourists (first mainly from Austria but later on also from many other countries in the world, for example, Italy, Germany, Great Britain etc) started to come to Portorož again (see figure 14). Tourism got back most of its capacities. Besides, their number not only in Portorož but also in Piran, Izola, Ankaran and Koper increased. Thus the number of tourists was growing year by year. Consequently tourist workers were trying to organize as many cultural, entertaining, sport and other performances as possible. It can be said that real development of tourism in Portorož started in the late 1960s. Consequently, many new tourist accommodation facilities were built and the appearance of Portorož completely changed: the complex of Palace Hotels was built in the late 1960s, in 1969 a new complex of Emona hotels started to be built, the building of the Hotel Metropol was finished in 1972 and the tourist settlement Bernardin began to be used in 1976. 300000 250000 O 200000 £ 2 150000 5 Q 3 P 100000 50000 0 Jg-3- t tp 7 YEAR I960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2002 □ foreign | from ex-yug □ domestic Fig. 14: Number of tourists in Portorož from 1960 to 2002. SI. 14: Število turistov v Portorožu od 1960 do 2002. Katja VRTACnIK: TOURISM CYCLE(S) OF PORTOROŽ - PORTOROSE, 39-54 Table 2: Number of accommodation facilities in Portorož from 1965 to 2002. Tabela 2: Število nastanitvenih kapacitet v Portorožu od 1965 do 2002. TYPE OF ACCOMMODATION FACILITY TOTAL NUMBER OF BEDS 1965 197O 1975 198O 1985 199O 1995 2OOO 2OO2 PRIMARY ACCOM. FAC. 1692 2785 4836 5184 4998 4643 4573 4532 HOTELS 2656 4755 5O93 4882 418O 4268 4333 BOARDING HOUSES 39 81 5O 5O 324 152 87 APARTMENTS 73 41 HOSTELS 9O 53 89 33 71 GUEST-HOUSES 41 13 5O 47 SECONDARY ACCOM. FAC. 2969 8095 6757 9593 9951 4555 5722 4601 WORKERS' HOLIDAY HOMES 1993 1998 2O87 2O43 1916 952 652 482 YOUTH HOLIDAY HOMES 78 159 345 661 488 421 35O 348 OTHER HOMES 32 CAMPS 43OO 185O 18OO 17OO 5OO 5OO PRIVATE ROOMS 898 1638 2475 4819 5577 2937 3884 2886 TEMPORARY ACCOM. FAC. 27O 27O 245 336 353 TOTAL 4661 10880 10219 11593 14777 14949 9198 10295 9133 With the construction of new hotels, the Casino, the marina (built on the area of the abandoned Fažana saltpans), the airport near Portorož and development of congress halls, entertainment and recreation activities Portorož became known as a seaside entertainment resort. The period of accelerated growth of tourism continued up to 1978 but in the period 1979-1983 a decrease and stagnation of tourism were marked (see figure 17). The reasons for this were the political situation after the death of the long time president of Yugoslavia Josip Broz - Tito and the world economic and oil crises. Nevertheless, in 1984 tourist trade started to increase again, the reasons for this being improved political and economic situation and better tourist advertisement (the slogan Slovenia - on the sunny side of the Alps was introduced). In 1985 new thermae Talasoterapija connected to the old ones were built. Together with the building of accommodation facilities they were also spreading the coastal baths, the reason for this being increased number of bathers. The accelerated tourism development in the late 1960s and 70s caused the building of new and new tourist accommodation facilities not only along the coast but also on the slopes of the nearby hills. Besides, as a result of increased interest in recreation, the areas for outdoor recreation (tennis courts, mini-golf courts, parks, beach volley courts, swimming pools etc) grew. This measure had to be taken in order to keep the current guests and to attract new guests and in this way assure bigger financial income. Despite all endeavours, in 1991 tourism in Portorož faced another devastating situation. Due to the devolution of Yugoslavia, the wars in Slovenia (1991), Croatia (1991/95), Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992/96) and Ser- bia and Montenegro (1999) it experienced a dramatic decrease of tourist trade (see figure 32). The stagnation or even decrease of tourist trade might have continued but with good tourist advertisement, new investments and the spreading of tourist supply (for example, the renovation of hotels, the opening of a big Thermal-recreation centre in 1996, the opening of the Thalasso center in 1998 and of the Medicinal beauty, Physiotherapeutic and Massage centres in 2001 etc), further development of tourism was achieved. With good management and effective tourist propaganda (for example, the slogan Slovenia invigorates introduced in 2004) it will continue also in the future. As a result of accelerated development of tourism and increased interest in recreation and experiential/adventurous tourism Portorož today offers versatile possibilities for treatment (massages, slimming cures, mudbaths, relaxation therapies, physiotherapies, facial care, solarium, fitness, sauna etc), recreation and entertainment all year round (sand baths for 1500 bathers, Casino, numerous cafes, restaurants, clubs etc). A multipurpose hall Avditorij hosts cultural, entertaining and sport performances; Congress tourism, which is becoming increasingly important, is very lively and successful too. As a result, in 2004 new conference rooms with most modern technology and a superb view to the sea were opened in Bernardin resort and conference centre. Accelerated development of spa/wellness (the reason for this being hard and stressful work which influences people's physical and psychical health), recreation and congress/event tourism results also in the changed seasonality of tourist trade (see figure 15) and average period of staying per tourist (see figure 16). Consequently, Portorož has changed from an almost exclusively summer tourist resort as it was at the beginning of acceler- 20.0 Katja VRTACNIK: TOURISM CYCLE(S) OF PORTOROŽ - PORTOROSE, 39-54 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2003 YEAR Fig. 15: Seasonality index (number of overnight stays (April-September) / number of overnight stays (January-March, October-December)) of tourism in Portorož from 1955-2003. Sl. 15: Sezonski indeks (število nočitev (april-september) / število nočitev (januar-marec, oktober-december)) turizma v Portorožu od 1955-2003. 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2002 2003 Fig. 16: Average period of staying per tourist in the period 1955-2003. Sl. 16: Povprečna doba bivanja na turista v obdobju 1955-2003. ated tourism development (in 1965 there were more than 18 times more overnight stays in summer than in winter months) into a tourist resort with a significant share of tourists and overnight stays also in winter months. A remarkable change in the direction of whole-year tourism is obvious especially after Slovenia's attainment of independence. Along with the change of tourism from the prevailing holiday to congress/event tourism and short break tourism, the average period of staying per tourist shortened from more than 7 days in 1965 to less than 4 days in 2003 (see figure 16). CONCLUSION The many years' tourism development of Portorož has due to various factors gone through ten phases and has thus experienced accelerated development, stagnation and also decrease of tourist trade. Tourist supply had to follow and adjust tourist demand and tourists' environmental perception (which was also under the influence of various changeable factors), which has resulted in changes of the cultural landscape: the once rural and very peaceful landscape has gradually changed from a small tourist resort reserved exclusively for the rich into a big and more and more developed seaside tourist resort with many tourist accommodation facilities of different ranks, numerous recreation and therapeutic facilities, most modern congress and conference halls, a very good marina, Casino etc. The very beginnings of tourism in Portorož can be traced back to the 13w century when the Benedictines started to use saline mud and brine for healing purposes. However, until the building of the Southern Railway (1857) connecting Vienna and Trieste there were very few visitors (they were mainly patients) coming to Portorož. Still, with improved traffic connections and tourist infrastructure (the first spa was built in 1890), especially with the erection of the Palace Hotel, the most luxurious hotel at the east Adriatic coast, many rich aristocrats, especially Austro-Hungarian military officers with their families started to come and this marked the beginning of tourism development (Butler 2). Tourists' motives for travelling in this second phase of tourism in Portorož, which lasted until the beginning of the WW I, were to take care of their body and soul, to go to the spa and enjoy treatments with saline mud and brine, to walk along the promenade and be seen in exquisite company, to enjoy the beautiful views etc. A very important pull factor was also mild climate which also in winter attracted many tourists. Katja VRTACNIK: TOURISM CYCLE(S) OF PORTOROŽ - PORTOROSE, 39-54 S" ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ # ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ YEAR ; The data for the period 1914-1954 do not exist. Podatki za obdobje 1914-1954 ne obstajajo. Fig. 17: Number of tourists in Portorož in the period 1905-2003. SI. 17: Število turistov v Portorožu v obdobju 1905-2003. Obviously, a century ago tourists' expectations were not as high as they are today, at least as far as additional offer is concerned. They thought that what was offered to them was most that they could get. Namely, at that time people did not travel much which is why they did not have much on-site experience. Besides, also the media were not as developed and influential as they are today. Therefore, the most important factors influencing their pre-visit environmental perception were the word of mouth and scarce newspaper articles or pictures. Tourism was still at its beginning which is why there was no real competition. Therefore, visitors did not complain much about bad roads, bad traffic connections, entertainment offered to them etc. However, with improved general living conditions, technological development and growing competition they were becoming more and more demanding, which is why new improvements and attractions had to be introduced. The third phase lasting until the WWII was a period of consolidation and stagnation (Butler 4, 5). This was also a period in which the attitude towards the environment slightly changed. Tourists, mostly Italian officers' wives and children with their governesses (Brezovec, 2004), discovered a new activity: bathing in the sea and sunbathing on the shore. Consequently, holiday tourism, oriented mostly in the summer season, developed. Naturally, the spa was still significant but its importance started to decrease. The consequences of the WW II had a devastating effect on tourism. The socio-political system and also the country's attitude towards tourism as an economic branch were different. Yugoslav politicians were not in favour of tourism because it was viewed as a disgrace of the bourgeoisie. The result of such a prejudice was that they did not invest much money in it. Besides, after the WW II tourism in Portorož completely changed its character. It was no longer reserved only for rich aristocrats; on the contrary, it was meant almost exclusively for domestic workers. A period of syndicalist tourism began and marked rejuvenation of tourist trade (Butler 6). Due to economic problems in Yugoslavia in the 1960s, the attitude towards tourism changed again. New tourist facilities (hotels, congress centres, the marina in Lucija, sport grounds, on-the-beach offer, restaurants, discos etc) not only for the more affluent but also for the middle social class tourists were built. Summer time activities became very popular and holiday tourism with the majority of tourist arrivals in summer months started to develop. It can be said that the period beginning in the 1960s and lasting until 1978 marks the period of accelerated tourism development in Portorož (Butler 3). However, from 1979 to 1983 it was interrupted by a period of decrease and stagnation of tourist trade (Butler 5) caused by the negative political situation and the world economic and oil crises. This stage was followed by the period of consolidation of tourist trade (Butler 4) which lasted from 1984 to 1990. The period of slight increase was in 1991 again interrupted by a war; now it was the war for independence of Slovenia. Tourist trade experienced a dramatic decrease but with good tourist propaganda (it has a very big influence also on tourists' perception of the safety of a place) based on different kinds of the media and with renovation of the existing hotels and more additional tourist supply, tourist trade started to increase again and in 2000 the number of tourists was already bigger than before the war. It can be observed that, according to Butler, at present tourism in Portorož is again at the third level of development but it is a question of time how long it will remain in this phase. Namely, planners of tourism development in Portorož must be aware of the fact that modern tourists are much more flexible than they used to be and they are also much more demanding and informed. Therefore, tourist supply must constantly adjust tourist demand and trends in tourism and include versatile entertaining and cultural programmes, which can be sometimes (especially in the months out of the main season) still rather scarce. Katja VRTAČNIK: TOURISM CYCLE(S) OF PORTOROŽ - PORTOROSE, 39-54 PHASE OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT Phase 1 (Butler 1): 1830-1890 discovery of tourist potential Phase 2 (Butler 2): 1890-1914 beginning of tourism development Phase 3: 1914-1918 WWI: tourist trade was not possible Phase 4 (Butler 4, 5): 1919-1940 consolidation and stagnation of tourist trade Phase 5:1941-1945 WWII: tourist trade was not possible Phase 6 (Butler 6): 1946-1960s rejuvenation of tourism-prevalence of syndicalist tourism Phase 7 (Butler 3): 1960s-1978 accelerated tourism development Phase 8 (Butler 5): 1979-1983 stagnation of tourist trade because of the negative political situation and the world economic and oil crisis Phase 9 (Butler 4): 1984-1990 consolidation of tourist trade Phase 10 (Butler 5): 1991 the war for independence of Slovenia: a sharp decrease of tourist trade Phase 11 (Butler 3):1992- accelerated tourism development Table 3: Phases of tourism development in Portorož. Tabela 3: Faze turističnega razvoja v Portorožu. On the basis of the presented dynamics of tourism development in Portorož it can be concluded that tourism development in this tourist resort has been above all influenced by the changes in tourist supply (especially the extent, structure and quality of accommodation capacities, erection of objects and appliances meant for tourist recreation (spas, baths, walking paths, various sport objects and playgrounds, green areas for sunbathing etc), entertainment and cultural facilities (concert halls, Casino, cinema, theatre, Auditorium etc)) and tourist demand (periods of increase and decrease, changes in tourists' motives and environmental perception, changes of tourist flows etc). Tourist supply and demand are closely intertwined and thus influence each other. Therefore, in individual periods new or renewed accommodation capacities and other improved general and tourist infrastructure had an influence on increased tourist demand and in this way gave new impulse to tourism development. At the same time tourist demand influenced the extent and structure of tourist offer. One of the most important elements of tourist offer influencing the very development of tourism in Portorož was development of traffic infrastructure (from railway and sea traffic to the street and finally air traffic). Lately, air traffic is becoming more and more important, the reason for this being the appearance of cheap airlines (for example, Easy Jet) which provide wider tourist market. Tourism development in Portorož has been influenced also by tourist demand, which is reflected in the dynamics of tourist visits and guests' motives and customs, which are closely connected with their environmental perception (pre-visit, on-site and post-visit perception). These changes actually direct the changes of tourist supply. As it has been seen in the analysis, in the course of time tourist demand and tourists' motives and their environmental perception have become much more variegated and Portorož changed from a typical spa to a holiday resort and finally to a holiday-weekend-spa-recreation-congress-entertainment-gambling-sport and nautical tourist resort. Naturally, so far tourism development in Portorož has not depended only on the changes and the dynamics of tourist supply and demand but has been influenced also by numerous external factors, for example, political, social, economic conditions and health conditions etc. In individual phases they had actually even a decisive meaning. Since September 11th 2001 tourism has been strongly influenced also by terrorism. Namely, what happened in New York on that day made people think about the safety of travelling. According to Huescar (2004) safety of a certain tourist destination became one of the most important factors influencing one's decision to travel (their perception of that place). Since tourist destinations which are not far away are subconsciously perceived as safer, tourists now prefer short distance travelling. This is actually very beneficial for development of tourism in Portorož. Namely, most tourists come from Europe, especially from the nearby countries, which means that the distances they have to travel are not very long. As a result, the world terrorism might actually cause even greater tourist influx to Slovenia and thus also to Portorož. Political, social and economic conditions have naturally influenced also the national structure of tourists. Katja VRTAČNIK: TOURISM CYCLE(S) OF PORTOROŽ - PORTOROSE, 39-54 TURISTIČNI CIKEL/CIKLI V PORTOROŽU Katja VRTAČNIK Univerza v Ljubljani, Filozofska fakulteta, Oddelek za geografijo, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Aškerčeva 2 e-mail: katja_vrtacnik@yahoo.com POVZETEK Članek predstavlja razvoj turizma v Portorožu, pri čemer se še posebej ukvarja s spremembami turistične ponudbe, povpraševanja, percepcije okolja ter spremembami v kulturni pokrajini. V uvodu avtorica predstavi Butlerjev evolucijski model turističnega razvoja, s pomočjo katerega v nadajevanju opredeli faze turističnega razvoja v Portorožu. Na podlagi sprememb števila in kvalitete nastanitvenih kapacitet, števila turistov in dodatne ponudbe avtorica ugotavlja, da je Portorož prešel skozi 11 faz in tako zaradi različnih faktorjev izkusil pospešen razvoj, konsolidacijo, stagnacijo in tudi upad turističnega prometa. Turistična ponudba se je morala prilagajati turističnemu povpraševanju in okoljski percepciji turistov, kar se je odražalo tudi v spremembah kulturne pokrajine: nekdaj kmečka in zelo mirna pokrajina se je postopoma spremenila iz majhnega turističnega kraja rezerviranega le za bogate v vse bolj razvit turističen kraj s številnimi nastanitvenimi zmogljivostmi različnih kategorij, številnimi rekreacijskimi in terapevtskimi objekti, z najbolj modernimi kongresnimi in konferenčnimi dvoranami, z zelo dobro marino, igralnico itd. Portorož se je tako iz prvotno zdraviliškega turističnega kraja po prvi svetovni vojni preoblikoval v počitniški, z razvojem množičnega turizma po drugi svetovni vojni pa v počitniški-vikend-zdraviliški-športno-rekreacijski-kongresni-zabaviščni-igralniški in navtični turistični kraj. Na podlagi te raziskave je mogoče zaključiti, da je bil razvoj turizma v Portorožu vedno odvisen od številnih faktorjev, na primer, naravnih danosti, socialnih in političnih razmer, ekonomske situacije, socialnih norm in trendov, percepcije okolja, prometnih povezav, turistične propagande, tehnoloških izumov, turističnih nastanitvenih zmogljivosti, dodatne ponudbe itd, katerih vpliv pa se je tekom časa zelo spreminjal. Ključne besede: Portorož, razvoj turizma, turistična ponudba, turistično povpraševanje, percepcija okolja SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY PAK - Pokrajinski arhiv Koper, enota Piran (fototeka). Balaževic, I. (1987): Povijest turizma Istre i Kvarnera. Opatija, Otokar Keršovani. Baxa, C. (1914): Führer durch Portorose. Mit Situationsplan und Zahlreichen Abbildungen. Triest, Buch und Kunstdruckerei L. Herrmanstorer, 12-13. Baxa, C. (1920): Guida di Portorose. Capodistria, Sta-bilimento Tipografico Nazionale Carlo Priora. Brezovec, T. (2004): Tomi Brezovec, professor at The college of tourism - Turistica in Portorož. Personal interview. Tape recording at author's place. Gobbo, S., Trnkoczy, U. (2004): Portorož - Portorose. Portorož, Turistično združenje Portorož, g.i.z. Piran, MI d.o.o. CD-ROM. Horvat, U. (1999): Družbeno geografska preobrazba turistične pokrajine na primeru Rogaške Slatine: doktorska dizertacija. Ljubljana, Filozofska fakulteta, Oddelek za geografijo. Huescar, A. (2004): Turizem v dobi odraščanja. Lipov list, 46, 9. Ljubljana, 244-245. Jeraša, J. (2004): A postcard of Portorož-Portorose. Portorož, Setisk. Jeršic, M. (1990): Turistična transformacija Portoroža. In: Primorje. Zbornik 15. zborovanja slovenskih geografov. Ljubljana, Zveza geografskih društev Slovenije, 221-232. Portorose (s. a.): Portorose. Bagni di Spiaggia. Around 1930s. Trieste, Lloyd. Programma delle feste (1911): Programma delle feste. Stagione 1911. Wien, Frisch. Pucer, A. (1985): Sprehod skozi čas-Portorož: 100 let organiziranega turizma. Ljubljana, Pokrajinski arhiv Koper. Pupini, O. (1910): Portorose in Istrien : Klimatischer Kurort, See und Solbad. (Museum in Piran). Riedl, H. (1927): Portorose als Kurort und Heilbad. In: Portorose: rivista illustrata. 8, 71, 6-9. Rožac, M. (2004): Marjan Rožac, archivist at the local archives in Piran. Personal interview. Tape recording at author's place. Sorn, M. (1996): Način preživljanja prostega časa meščanov Dunaja in Ljubljane od druge polovice 19. stoletja do 30-tih let 20. stoletja. In: Razvoj turizma v Sloveniji. Zbornik referatov z 28. zborovanja slovenskih zgodovinarjev. Ljubljana, ZZDS, 105-121. Von Fischer, O. (1910): Portoroses Zukunft als Kurort. Adria - Illustrierte Monatsschrift, 2, 8, 305-208. Trebše-Stolfa, M. (1996): Razvoj turizma na območju pokrajinskega arhiva Koper do ukinitve koprskega okraja v luči upravno-teritorialnih sprememb. In: Arhivsko gradivo s področja turizma in turistične dejavnosti. Zbornik referatov s 17. posvetovanja Arhivskega društva Slovenije. Koper, Arhivsko društvo Slovenije, 12-17.