Drawing on responses from 685 residents of the Croatian coastal destinations of Rijeka and Opatija, the study investigates whether higher satisfaction with living conditions in a tourism destination is associated with a) positive assessments of coastal zone management, b) favourable views of the contribution of tourism to quality of life and its alignment with community needs, and c) higher perceived levels of community participation. The findings reveal that resident perceptions concerning the coastal management process, and community involvement, are the strongest positive predictors of satisfaction with living conditions alongside tourism-related perceptions. By explicitly linking residents’ perceptions of coastal management and of tourism development to residents’ satisfaction with living conditions in a coastal destination context, this study addresses a previously unexplored research gap, offering an original empirical contribution to literature on coastal governance, tourism and resident well-being.
Frleta et al. (Thu,) studied this question.