Hello world! Who am I?

Hi, my name is Ante Mandić.

I am 34 years old and currently working as an assistant professor of sustainable tourism at the Department of tourism and economy, Faculty of economics, business and tourism, University of Split, Croatia. Recently, I have joined the Human Dimensions of Natural Resources Department, Warner College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, USA s affiliated faculty. Considering the principles that are important to me and echo my professional identity and the desire to make an impact, I would like to emphasise some fundamental political, academic and ethical values, including human rights and democratic values, gender equality, ethics and social diversity, respect, tolerance, responsibility, loyalty, academic integrity and quality, rationality, respect for different opinions and critical thinking, commitment and curiosity.

My teaching predominately focuses on sustainable tourism development. In my research, I pay attention to heritage destinations, particularly protected natural areas. Following my doctoral dissertation in 2018, focused on evaluating economic impacts associated with tourism development in protected natural areas in Croatia, I have published a number of academic papers on a topic in respectful international journals, among others Tourism Management Perspectives (Elsevier), Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism (Elsevier), Journal of Ecotourism (Taylor and Francis), Environment Systems and Decisions (Springer), Environment Development and Sustainability (Springer), Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology (Emerald) as well as book chapters. My recent book, titled “Mediterranean Protected Areas: Challenges and Solutions“, was published in May 2021 by Springer Nature. Currently, I am co-editing “The Routledge Handbook of Nature-Based Tourism Development” (Routledge), which is expected to be published at the beginning of 2022.

I am also proud to say I have made my humble contribution to the joint effort of IUCN WCPA TAPAS Group members to deliver the “Tourism in protected areas amid the COVID-19 pandemic” study, which UNWTO featured as part of “One Planet Vision for a Responsible Recovery of the Tourism Sector” initiative, and initially supported the development of the “Motion 130” on “Strengthening sustainable tourism’s role in biodiversity conservation and community resilience” which was approved at the IUCN  World Conservation Congers in Marseille (September 2021).

I have extensive experience working as a researcher or educator on international projects founded by INTERREG MEDITERRANEAN (ShapeTourism; BluTour System; Co-Evolve; DESTIMED (educator)) and HORIZON 2020 program (SmartCulTour). I also serve as a manager for Living Lab focused on sustainable and resilient tourism development established as a part of SmartCulTour HORIZON 2020 founded project. Currently, I am enrolled as a reviewer and advisor for the scenario planning to develop a new “Strategy of tourism development until 2030” for the Croatian Ministry of Tourism and Sports.

Since September 2020, I have been serving as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Ecotourism (Publisher: Taylor and Francis; EiC: prof. David Fennell), the world’s only international journal exclusively focused on ecotourism, nature-based tourism and considered the leading source of knowledge on these topics. Recently, I have been appointed as a member of the Executive Committee and coordinator of Knowledge development at the IUCN WCPA TAPAS.

 All information about me you can check on my

I do hope you will find my writing inspiring,

For any questions don’t hesitate to contact me // ante.mandic@efst.hr //

regards
ante