The Natural Heritage of Pale Municipality: Local Population Attitudes

Abstract

Natural and landscape complex of Pale municipality, where dominates mountainous areas, are characterized by diversity of geological and geomorphological phenomena and forms, as well as biological and ecosystem diversity. The significance of natural heritage is multiple, especially in terms of tourism and adapting the tourist offer to the needs and expectations of modern tourists. The aim of the research of this paper is to determine the Pale population attitudes in regarding natural heritage of the municipality. In accordance with the set goal, defined research questions were analyzed relative to gender, age, qualifications and employment. Attitudes were analyzed according to the importance of natural heritage at local and national levels, importance for tourism development, economic prosperity and improvement of the quality of life. In terms of preserving and protecting the natural heritage of the municipality, several studies has been done, but in practice the situation is much worse, so the attitude of the Pale population was studied with respect to the importance of protecting and preserving the natural heritage.