Consumers’ perceptions of organic food products in Croatia

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the development of organic farming, as people have started to rethink their eating habits. Consumers perceive organic products as conducive to good health and associate them with a healthy lifestyle. The paper aims to study consumers’ perceptions of organic food products in Croatia. For the purpose of this research, a survey was conducted among visitors to the organic food fair in Pula and members of Solidarity Ecological Groups (SEGs) in Croatia (Pula, Rovinj, and Osijek). A total of 232 questionnaires were completed and returned. The collected data were analysed with SPSS (22) software, and the results were presented using descriptive statistics, t-test, One-way ANOVA and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The results indicate that the typical organic food buyers are university-educated women aged 25 to 44 years. The most frequently bought products include fresh fruit and vegetables, honey, cereal and cereal products, milk and dairy products and olive oil. Consumers have confidence in the certification of organic production and eco-labels. Moreover, the PCA results show that the most important factors that influence organic consumer purchase behaviour are confidence and quality. The results of this study add to the understanding of consumers’ preferences with regard to organic food products and could be a useful aid in devising marketing strategies for such products

Users’ perceptions and satisfaction as indicators for sustainable beach management

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to analyse the importance of users’ perceptions and satisfaction as an indicator for future investment and management of beaches in a sustainable way. In the paper, the case study of Karpinjan beach (Novigrad) is presented. Design/Methodology/Approach – For the research, a questionnaire for beach users was developed. The field research was carried out in 2017 among beach users (tourists, visitors and residents) before the investment and again in 2018 after the investment and implementation of the Green Beach Model, within the framework of the MITOMED+ project. In 2017, 23 different elements/aspects were evaluated, and in 2018 several additional elements were added for evaluation regarding content and conditions of the beach. 245 surveys were collected on Karpinjan beach in 2017, and in 2018 additional 302. In total, 547 beach users were interviewed on Karpinjan beach. Findings – The beach users were most satisfied with the beach comfort, beautiful scenery and beach cleanliness in both years. The usefulness of specific elements, as future indicators for sustainable beach management, is discussed in the paper. Originality of the research – The developed survey and findings can help future beach managers and local destinations as a tool for sustainable destination management

Consumers’ perceptions of organic food products in Croatia

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the development of organic farming, as people have started to rethink their eating habits. Consumers perceive organic products as conducive to good health and associate them with a healthy lifestyle. The paper aims to study consumers’ perceptions of organic food products in Croatia. For the purpose of this research, a survey was conducted among visitors to the organic food fair in Pula and members of Solidarity Ecological Groups (SEGs) in Croatia (Pula, Rovinj, and Osijek). A total of 232 questionnaires were completed and returned. The collected data were analysed with SPSS (22) software, and the results were presented using descriptive statistics, t-test, One-way ANOVA and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The results indicate that the typical organic food buyers are university-educated women aged 25 to 44 years. The most frequently bought products include fresh fruit and vegetables, honey, cereal and cereal products, milk and dairy products and olive oil. Consumers have confidence in the certification of organic production and eco-labels. Moreover, the PCA results show that the most important factors that influence organic consumer purchase behaviour are confidence and quality. The results of this study add to the understanding of consumers’ preferences with regard to organic food products and could be a useful aid in devising marketing strategies for such products

Tourists Perceptions of Istrian Wines

Istrian County, the Croatian most developed tourist region, has a long tradition in viticulture and wine production. In the last decade wines from Istrian County became more and more recognized in Croatia, and abroad. The purpose of this paper is to determine the level of tourist familiarity with Istrian wines and then to examine their perceptions and opinions about the quality, price, promotion and availability on Istrian wine market. Results are based on research which was conducted from June to August 2005 in major resorts on Istrian coast. A total of 802 questionnaires were collected. For analysing the survey data, appropriate statistical procedures were used (descriptive statistic, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and correlation analysis). The survey revealed tourist satisfaction with Istrian wines. Based on research findings, it can be concluded that Istrian wine is well known typical Istrian product. Relatively high consumers’ satisfaction is associated with the quality, promotional activities and availability of the product

Impact of tourisam on agricultural development in Istra

Utjecaj turizma na ostale gospodarske djelatnosti opće je poznata činjenica. Promjena prehrambenih navika i strukture potrošnje prehrambenih proizvoda u turizmu utječe i na promjene u strukturi proizvodnje u poljoprivredi turističkih regija. Trendovima potrošnje u turizmu prilagođavaju se i poljoprivredna gospodarstva, pogotovo unutar značajnih turističkih regija. Na temelju ovih spoznaja autori su na primjeru Istre, kao jedne od najrazvijenijih turističkih regija u Republici Hrvatskoj, istražili utjecaj turizma na strukturu poljoprivredne proizvodnje. U radu su iznijeti rezultati utjecaja trendova u turističkoj potrošnji na strukturu i obujam poljoprivredne proizvodnje u Istri. Promjene u turističkoj potražnji dovele su do promjene koncepta masovnog tipa turizma prema mnogo zahtjevnijoj ponudi sveukupnih regionalnih i nacionalnih resursa (prirodnih, kulturnih, tradicijskih, prehrambenih). Ovakvi trendovi utjecali su na pojavu specijaliziranih proizvođača i ponude tipičnih prehrambenih proizvoda (vina, rakija, pršuta, maslinovog ulja, tartufa dr.).The influence of tourism on the other economic activities is widely known. The change of nutritional habits and structures of foodstuff consumption in the tourism influences the changes in the structure of agricultural production in the tourist regions. Agricultural farms adapt their production to the trends in consuption in tourism, especially within characteristic tourist regions. On the basis of this perception the authors investigated the influence of tourism on the structure of agricultural production, on the example of Istria, as one of the most developed tourist regions in the Republic of Croatia. In the paper authors have demonstrated the results of influences of trends in the tourist consumption, on the structure and volume of agricultural production in Istria. The changes in the tourist demand have resulted in the change in the concept of mass type of tourism to much more demanding offers of entire regional and national resources (natural, cultural, traditional, nutritional). Such trends have influenced the emergence of specialized producers and offers of typical regional products (wines, brandy, smoked ham, olive oil, truffles etc.)

PROMOTION AS A TOOL OF DEVELOPMENT OF WINE SECTOR IN ISTRIA REGION

U radu je dan prikaz mogućnosti i ograničenja s aspekta promocije kao jednog od elementa marketing miksa u vinogradarsko-vinarskoj proizvodnji u Istri. Osim pregleda postojećeg stanja vinogradarstva i vinarstava u Istri dan je i kratki osvrt na povijesni razvoj vinogradarstva i vinarstva te na pojedine proizvode koji su kreirani upravo radi isticanja važnosti i skretanja pozornosti na vinare u Istri, kao što su primjerice, vinske ceste i udruga Vinistra. Istraživanje je provedeno intervjuiranjem 5 vinara iz Istre koji su ostvarili uspjeh u proizvodnji vina. Zaključno se može istaći da su postojeće promotivne aktivnosti zadovoljavajuće za sadašnje potrebe promatranih vinara, ali da svakako treba pratiti promjene na tržištu te se prilagođavati željama i potrebama potrošača kod kreiranja proizvoda kao i promotivnih aktivnosti u cilju povećanja prodaje.Paper gives an overview of possibilities and limitations in terms of promotion as an element of the marketing mix in viticulture and wine production in Istria region. In addition to the review of current state of viticulture and wine production in Istria a brief overview of the historical development of viticulture and winemaking has been given and on the development of some products that are designed precisely to highlight the importance and to draw attention to wineries in Istria, as for example, wine roads and associations Vinistra. For the purposes of the paper 5 wine producers from Istria were interviewed who have achieved success in producing wine. In conclusion, it can be noted that the existing promotional activities were sufficient for present purposes of the observed vintners, but that they should follow market changes and adapt to the preferences and needs of consumers by creating products and promotional activities to increase sales

BEEKEEPERS

Events dedicated to agricultural products are becoming increasingly attractive to visitors and / or tourists and an important part of destination promotion. Honey Days in Pazin is the annual regional exhibition of honey that was most recently in February 2013, held for the eighth time. The purpose of the study was to determine participants’ (beekeeper’s) opinions on this exhibition in order to plan future exhibitions that will meet the demands of participants and to become a better tourist product of the destination, Istria. The survey was conducted during the exhibition in February 2012 by pupils of Gymnasium and Vocational School Juraj Dobrila in Pazin. A total of 34 beekeepers, all participants of the exhibition, were included in the survey. The survey contained a total of 31 open and close-ended questions. Questions were related to socio-demographic characteristics, beekeeping methods, and motives of participation. The dates about the protection of geographical origin of honey obtained by this primary research were compared with research conducted in 2011 and 2012 with the attendees of the school of beekeeping held in Pazin in May 2011 (when 40 questionnaires were collected) and in May 2012 (when 29 questionnaires were collected). The conclusion is that participants generally consider participation in this or similar exhibitions very important. The majority of respondents expressed that building relationships with other producers and promotion were the most important motives for making decisions about participation in this event. Protecting the geographical origin of honey, according to participants in the study, is very important for beekeepers. It could be concluded that the exhibition Honey Days in Pazin plays an important role in the promotion of honey and other bee products and beekeeping in general, but also that this event can be developed into an attractive and interesting product for rural tourism

Is Agrotourism Popular on the Internet?

There is growing literature on the importance of the Internet, such as the growing importance of the agri/agrotourism role in the tourism industry, but with little inspection of the relationship in the context of word of mouth. The assumption is that online word of mouth makes the understanding of agrotourism more popular, so the aim of this paper is to examine whether the “popularity” of agrotourism has grown on the Internet during past years during which the Internet has recorded exceptional growth. According to that, this paper examines the distributions of using similar keywords with the same meaning - agritourism and agrotourism - during last four years (from June 2007 to June 2011) by use of Google alert and the word agroturizam which is the translation of these words in the Croatian language. Google alert was used as a monitoring tool. The paper analyzes the appearances of these three keywords monthly and daily on Google and additionally analyzes their use on Facebook as the most popular social group nowadays

WHY AGROTOURISM – OWNER’S OPINION

Razvoj industrije i tehnologije u poljoprivredi doveli su do poznatih problema deagrarizacije ruralnih prostora. Razvojem turističkih aktivnosti u ruralnim prostorima otvara se mogućnost ostvarenja bolje ekonomske uspješnosti gospodarstava i napretka socijalnih činitelja stanovnika ruralnih područja. Cilj rada bio je utvrditi starosnu i obrazovnu strukturu ljudi koji se bave agroturističkom djelatnošću, te glavne razloge koji su potaknuli vlasnike agroturističkih gospodarstava da se bave ovom poslovnom aktivnošću. Kao primjer uzeta je Istra, regija s najvećim brojem agroturističkih gospodarstava i regija u kojoj se ovaj oblik djelatnosti najranije počeo razvijati. Rezultati primarnog istraživanja, provedenog metodom intervjua, pokazala su da je glavni motiv organiziranja agroturističkih gospodarstava samozapošljavanje (49%, n=43). Sljedeći motivi su: iskoristiti prostor, prodaja vlastitih poljoprivrednih proizvoda, osigurati djeci posao kako bi obitelj ostala na okupu. Kao ograničenja ističu se: nedovoljna organiziranost agroturističkih gospodarstava, neprilagođena zakonska regulativa i nedovoljna pomoć u edukaciji.The development of industries and technologies used in agriculture has brought to the known problem of deagrarization in rural areas. By developing tourist activity in rural areas people have possibility of generating satisfying level of income and conditions for better social life. Aim of this paper were to obtained data about age and educational degree structure of people that live and work on agrotourism households and what were the main reasons why they start with this business activity. For example we chose Istria as the region with the largest number of agrotourism households and because Istria is region with the first agrotourism households in our country. The results of primary research, that were carried out by interview, have shown that the main motive for starting agrotourism activity were self-employment (49%, n=43). Other reasons were: better use of extra place, sale of agricultural products, to ensure employment of children - how family would stay together. The main limitations were: agrotourism households are insufficiently organized, unadjusted legal regulations and insufficient help in education