Turizam i turistička putovanja postali su bitni dijelovi modernog načina života, ali oni, uz brojne pozitivne, nose i određene negativne posljedice. Utjecaj na okoliš vjerojatno je jedan od prepoznatljivijih negativnih utjecaja turizma. Prepoznaje se na različite načine kao što su prekomjerno iscrpljivanje prirodnih resursa (npr. voda ili tlo), neprikladno odlaganje otpada, utjecaj na ugrožene vrste, zagađenje bukom, ugljični otisak i brojni drugi. Jedan od načina koje je na prvu teže prepoznati jest utjecaj na kvalitetu zraka.
Dubrovnik je jedno od atraktivnijih turističkih destinacija na karti Europe, poznat po svojoj ljepoti i bogatoj povijesti. Također je i grad s najviše dolazaka brodova na kružnim putovanjima (kruzeri) u Hrvatskoj. S preko 500 dolazaka kruzera u godini (519 dolazaka u 2019. godini1), broji gotovo duplo više dolazaka od Splita, sljedećeg grada na toj listi (267 dolazaka u 2019. godini1). S obzirom da su kruzeri poznati po svom negativnom utjecaju na okoliš2, ne čudi činjenica da su u Dubrovniku odlučili nadzirati utjecaj kruzera na kvalitetu zraka. U sklopu projekta Inter-pass, Lučka uprava Dubrovnik postavila je jednu Smart Sense stanicu Sensees.Environment za indikativno mjerenje kvalitete zraka.
Sensees.Environment mjeri parametre poput koncentracije čestica (PM1.0, PM2.5 i PM10) i različitih plinova kao što su CO, SO2, NO, NO2 i O3 te razina temperature, relativne vlažnosti i atmosferskog tlaka. Moguće je integrirati i dodatne senzore za praćenje razine buke, količine padalina, smjera i brzine vjetra te razine elektromagnetskog zračenja. Izmjereni podaci šalju se u centralni oblak (cloud) te je na taj način omogućeno praćenje podataka u realnom vremenu, kao i detaljna analiza podataka vezanih uz kvalitetu zraka.
Važnost čistog zraka očita je kad se radi o zdravlju i kvaliteti života, ali istraživanja pokazuju njegovu važnost i kad se radi o turizmu i njegovoj potražnji. Visoke razine SO2, PM2.5, PM10 i NO2 imaju snažan negativan utjecaj na broj turista u mjestima3. Ta činjenica predstavlja dodatan razlog zašto je turističkim gradovima bitno nadzirati kvalitetu zraka, a nama je drago da pomažemo Dubrovniku u održavanju ravnoteže između utrke za uspješnom turističkom sezonom i očuvanja čistog okoliša.
1 – Foreign vessels on cruise in the Republic of Croatia 2019 – LINK
2 – Cruise Ship Pollution is Causing Serious Health and Environmental Problems, Forbes 2019 – LINK
3 – The impact of air quality on tourism: a systematic literature review – LINK
Tourism and travelling have become an important part of modern-day life, but they, among many positive, have a number of negative consequences. Environmental impact is probably the most obvious one. It consists of many different aspects, such as depletion of natural resources like water and land, discharging waste, pressure on endangered species, noise pollution, carbon footprint and many others. One of the aspects which is hard to notice at first is the impact on the air quality.
Dubrovnik is one of the most attractive tourist destinations in the Europe, known for it’s beauty and rich history. It is also the most visited city in Croatia when it comes to cruise visits, counting over 500 cruise visits per year (519 visits in 20191), almost double than Split, the next city on the list (267 visits in 20191). Since cruise vessels are known as high pollutant producers2, it comes as no surprise that Dubrovnik officials decided to monitor their impact on air quality in the city. As part of Inter-pass project, Dubrovnik Port Authority has installed our Smart Sense station Sensees.Environment for indicative air quality measurements.
Sensees Environment keeps track of multiple parameters, from concentration of particles (PM1.0, PM2.5 and PM10) and various gases like CO, SO2, NO, NO2 and O3 to levels of temperature, relative humidity and atmospheric pressure. It can be integrated with additional sensors for noise and precipitation levels, wind speed and direction, and level of electromagnetic radiation. It sends measurement data to central cloud system which enables real-time monitoring and air quality data analysis.
Importance of clean air is obvious when it comes to health and life quality, but research also show it’s influence on tourist demand. High levels of SO2, PM2.5, PM10 and NO2 have strong negative impact on the number of tourist in that area3. This is additional reason why it is extra important for tourist destinations to monitor their air quality and we are glad that we can help Dubrovnik in maintaining balance between pursuing successful tourist seasons and preserving clean environment.
1 – Foreign vessels on cruise in the Republic of Croatia 2019 – LINK
2 – Cruise Ship Pollution is Causing Serious Health and Environmental Problems, Forbes 2019 – LINK
3 – The impact of air quality on tourism: a systematic literature review – LINK
