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Organic food – a segment of Istrian tourism market

Due to the consumers’ concern for their health and the rise of their ecological consciousness demand for organic food is increasing. According to this trend there is an increase in the amount of total agricultural land surface used for organic farming - it is estimated to be about 10% of the total agricultural land surface. Rural area in Istria, due to certain conditions posed by organic farming, is relatively suitable for the development of organic farming. The market for organic products in Croatia, as well as in Istria, is growing. The main purpose of this paper is to examine tourists’ awareness and perception of organic food and opinion of hospitality industry about forming an offer for this kind of demand. The data on tourists’ interest in purchasing/consuming organic food during their stay in Istria were collected as a part of a Research conducted in 2007 among the tourists visiting the Istrian coast and the results showed there is certain interest in organic food shown by tourists, so this year a research was conducted to widen the mentioned data. It was based on the hypotheses that most of the tourists visiting Istria are ecologically conscious and informed about the specific features of organic food ; there are no facilities in Istria specialized for offering organic food food. The survey was conducted on two samples: tourists visiting Istria and facilities in Istrian hospitality industry, and was a part of the research called “ Market development possibilities for organic farming in Istria” . The methods used in this paper are questionnaire, interview and compilation.

organic food; tourism market segmentation; Istria; demand; supply

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