Martins, Márcio RibeiroEsteves, SaleteRadovic, Tihana Cegur2026-01-282026-01-282025Martins, M.R., Esteves, S., Radovic, T.C. (2025). The Interdependence of Visitors’ Information Sources and Activities Performed in Protected Areas: A Perspective from Portugal and Croatia. In Advances in Tourism, Technology and Systems. ICOTTS 2024. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies. Springer ISBN:978-981965395-9. vol 441. p.537-548978-981965395-92190-3018http://hdl.handle.net/10198/35645This research aims to analyse the relationship between the sources of infor-mation used before and during the visit, visitors’ sociodemographic characteristics, and the number of activities carried out at the destinations. Through a convenience sampling technique, an online and onsite questionnaire was conducted on 408 indi-viduals who visited protected areas within the districts of Vila Real and Bragança, Portugal, and within the Karlovac County region, Croatia, in the last 5 years. Data were analysed using the statistical software Jamovi 2.2.5, an open statistical software employing both univariate and multivariate statistical methods. The results show that younger visitors used more online search engines to search for information about nature destinations. There is also a significant positive relationship between visitors who use online search engines before and during the visit to protected areas and the number of activities they do. The contribution of this paper is a refined understanding of nature-based visitors in the north-east of Portugal and in the continental part of Croatia, regions with an extraordinary potential for nature tourism. Practitioners and academics can use the results to attract and retain different market segments in these protected areas.engInformation sourcesVisitor behaviourNature-based tourismOnline search enginesProtected areasconference proceedings10.1007/978-981-96-5396-6_43