engleski

Economic and Social Aspects of Rural Tourism

The growth of tourists’ interest for visiting rural areas encouraged the residents of inland villages to the new development and new entrepreneurial orientation - tourism. Tourism activity has increased in the last decades in many rural areas that were or still are economically and socially depressed and it can be said that rural tourism is playing a key role in their development. Besides economic characteristic, rural areas are characterized by demographic problems and by the abandonment of traditional economic activities such as agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry, etc. but there is huge potential for these areas because general trend worldwide indicates a growing demand for services and facilities that are connected to tradition and to typical and authentic rural experiences. The purpose of this paper is to determine specific economic and social aspects of rural tourism development. On the basis of literature overview and conducted survey the main economic and social benefits of tourism development in rural areas are carried out and their contribution to the recognition of Croatian tourism product has been also assessed.

rural tourism; economical and social aspects; sustainable development

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