RURALNI TURIZAM U REPUBLICI HRVATSKOJ – STANJE I PERSPEKTIVE/RURAL TOURISM IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA - STATE I PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

Today, the needs of modern tourists are very difficult to meet, so tourism is increasingly developing by creating new forms of tourism. So, since tourists have increasing demands it is very difficult to attract tourists within the already existing offer. Recently, rural tourism has stood out as a specific form of tourism. The reason for emphasizing this form of tourism is due to major changes in lifestyle, age of the population, stressful and fast-paced life. Thus, tourists are increasingly choosing rural areas as a tourist destination. Rural tourism is a combination of agricultural production, traditional products, services, gastronomy and tourist services. The Republic of Croatia has great potential for the development of rural tourism given the natural resources and diversity of supply. The question is why Croatia does not use the potential of rural tourism, although 93% of the territory of the Republic of Croatia is classified as rural, and only 1% of rural tourism revenues are generated in relation to total tourism revenues. Therefore, the aim of our work is to give an answer to the previous question and show the state and prospects of rural tourism, which would make the tourist season last all year round.