engleski

Rural tourism of the Dalmatian hinterland: sociological research of the tourist offer

The tourist area of the Dalmatian hinterland currently represents an economic challenge for local entrepreneurship. It has interesting tradition of life and work, manifested through traditional agricultural production, gastronomy, rural architecture and tourist farms, which in combination with natural beauty allows rest and recreation throughout the year. Recently, these factors have emerged as a new potential for the preservation and development of rural communities. Therefore, a sociological survey was conducted during 2019 in the Dalmatian hinterland in Croatia on a sample of 16 local entrepreneurs in tourism (interviews) and 54 guests in private tourist facilities (survey). The aim of the research was to determine the perceptions of the existing and possible projections of optimal tourist offer from the perspective of service providers (owners of rural tourism facilities) and recipients of services (guests). The results show that initiatives and business in rural tourism are mostly the result of family involvement and that entrepreneurs are satisfied with capacity utilization (accommodation, food offer and purchase of their products). Guests are satisfied with the offer, quality of food, activities in households, authentic locations and environment, as well as with protected natural and cultural sites. Finally, there is a great potential of rural tourism in the researched localities, which, if we take into account the motivation of entrepreneurs and recognized benefits, indicate still enough space for improving and the development towards sustainable practices, guided by environmental and local features.

rural tourism ; Dalmatian hinterland ; sociological research ; tourist offer ; entrepreneurs

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