Economic sustainability is often the first to be achieved in small-scale production such as olive growing and olive oil production in Croatia. Tourists occupy an important market for Croatian olive ...oil in terms of olive oil sales at destinations. To achieve economic sustainability, it is necessary to research the international market of olive oil, and by extension, it is necessary to explore the behaviour, perceptions, and preferences of consumers. Therefore, in this study, field research was conducted on a sample of foreign visitors during their stay at the destination, Istria and Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Croatia. A significant share of respondents sampled bought olive oil during their stay in Croatia, and the predictor variables for having done so were: extrinsic attribute eco-label on the olive oil bottle and positive perceptions toward characteristics of Croatian olive oil. On the other hand, the frequency of consumption was affected by intrinsic attributes such as olive oil taste, category, and country of origin. Running PCA analysis, three major components were identified: 1) intrinsic characteristic, 2) extrinsic characteristic, 3) price. These components were used for the purpose of market segmentation by applying a two-step cluster analysis. A total of four clusters were identified: 1) “The experts”, 2) “Indifferent consumers”, 3) “Price sensitive” and 4) “The gourmands”. For the sake of developing sustainable business of Croatian olive oil, producers shall find clusters “The experts” and “Price sensitive” to be most suitable. In addition, further efforts to increase the production of eco-certified olive oil should be taken.
“Early” potato crops are grown in the Mediterranean basin and are marketed from March to June, well before main-crop potato in the spring–summer growth period. Different growing technologies have ...been implemented to enhance potato “earliness” to achieve a better market price, but at the same time, the applied technologies may influence yield and quality of the ‘early potato’. The main goal of this study was to investigate differences in “early” potato nutritional and sensory characteristics after oil-frying influenced by location and plant covering in five potato cultivars. The present investigation was carried out at two planting locations during two seasons. The application of a plant cover significantly increased the potato tubers’ dry matter, starch, and sugar content in the second season. Sensory analysis of the oil-fried “early” potatoes revealed no differences between potatoes grown with or without the plant cover. We also observed significantly higher dry matter content in potatoes grown at the Split location in the second year, while no differences in the sensory scores between oil-fried potatoes grown at the investigated locations were observed. By employing a plant cover or by choosing a warmer planting location the desired potato maturity level could be reached in less time, and one could more effectively exploit the “early” potato market. By employing such techniques there should be no loss in yield, nutritional or sensory quality of potato tubers.
Purpose - The aim of this paper is to identify necessary requirements for development of olive tourism and compare the findings with the situation in Croatia in order to provide guidelines for the ...future development of this particular form of tourism. Design/methodology/approach - In this preliminary study, the method of secondary sources data analysis was used. The data includes searching of relevant scientific articles and official web sites such as web pages of the Ministry of Agriculture, Tourist Boards, etc. Findings -The analysis revealed the existence of eight requirements necessary for olive tourism developments, such as: oil mills open for visitors, museums and interpretation centers dedicated to olives and olive oil, olive farms, protected geographical indications, olive groves, events/fairs devoted to olives and olive oil, Olive Oil Roads, specialized shops for olive oil - oleotece. The results could help in future research for planning and development of olive tourism in other countries. Olive tourism requirements already exist in Croatia, but there is insufficient available information about stakeholders who offer activities related to olive tourism. Originality of the research - This study has identified necessary requirements for olive tourism development. It is oriented to olive tourism in developing countries, which have received little prior research attention.
Selling agro-food products via the Internet is becoming an increasingly frequent means of sale. The importance of the Internet as a sales channel has been particularly pronounced during the COVID-19 ...pandemic, which has been characterised by the use of digital technologies in all spheres of human life. The paper presents an analysis of the Web farmer's market application (WFMA) over a 5-year period. WFMA is used by local producers in Istria County (Croatia) and online customers. The analysis was carried out in several steps using primary and secondary data sources. Primary data were collected by two online surveys on a farmers sample (N=89) and WFMA users (farmers) (N=53) and later analysed running x2 test and T-test. Secondary data was collected mainly from the WFMA administration and from other available reliable sources.
The sustainability of agricultural development can be achieved only with the education of human resources who have the necessary knowledge and skills to manage agricultural production. The aim of ...this paper is to determine the changes in the number and structure of students attending the agriculture program at Mate Balota Secondary School in Poreč and to establish their connection with some trends in agriculture in the County of Istria. Eight generations of students were analysed in the period between 1984 and 2019. The number of enrolled students decreased from 56 to only 11 per generation in that period. At the same time, the percentage of enrolled students who successfully graduated after completing secondary education increased from 55% to 88%. Moreover, the overall success of all students increased from an average final grade of 3.19 to 3.34. Based on the primary research carried out, it has been established that the students whose parents own a farm have greater intentions to continue their education in the field of agriculture if compared to the students with whom this is not the case. In conclusion, a significant decrease in the number of enrolled students was recorded during the observed period, but at the same time their motivation for successful completion of education increased. It is also encouraging that a large proportion of students whose parents own a farm intend to continue their education in the field of agriculture.
Changes in temperature, precipitation, and the occurrence of extreme weather events are increasingly present. Due to climate change, the Mediterranean Basin (the focus of this study is on Adriatic ...Croatia as part of the Mediterranean Basin) is more affected by production and economic losses compared to other parts of Europe. Policymakers are important individuals involved in shaping public policies. The main objective of this study was to assess the opinion of policymakers at regional and national levels in Adriatic Croatia regarding climate change adaptation strategies. The aims are (i) to rank the importance of adaptation measures, (ii) to examine measures that have already been implemented, and (iii) to examine future measures that need to be implemented at regional and national levels. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with representatives of sectoral agencies, the national government, and the regional government to answer the study questions. The main conclusions show that policymakers consider irrigation, organic agriculture, crop crossbreeding and optimization of agrotechnical practices, and agricultural insurance as the most important strategies. Currently and in the future, the most important actions of policymakers are the provision of education, agricultural extension, and information exchange.
Parts of the Mediterranean, including Adriatic Croatia, are becoming more exposed to climate risk. Changes in precipitation, temperature, and the occurrence of extreme weather events are increasingly ...significant. The paper aimed to identify the level of the perceived risk of climate change on the sample of horticultural farmers in the Adriatic Croatia. Furthermore, the paper aimed to research which risk management strategies are preferable to producers to reduce the impact of climate change on agricultural production. The survey was conducted among horticultural farmers in Adriatic Croatia (Mediterranean). The method used in the paper was cluster analysis, and the farmers’ readiness to apply climate risk management strategies was additionally examined using ANOVA and the HSD Tukey test. The main results showed that on the sample of 275 horticultural farmers, 57.81% were climate sceptics. In contrast, the climate aware farmers were more ready to apply measures to adapt production strategies and risk reduction measures in response to a changing climate. Finally, the limitations of the research and future research are discussed in this paper.
Purpose - the purpose of the paper is to explore tourists’ (N=452) familiarity with Northern Adriatic local olive tourism offer and their intention to participate in selected olive tourism activities ...during their stay in the destination. Design/methodology/approach - survey sampling method is used in this preliminary study. The hypotheses are tested using T-test and ANOVA. Findings - the results of the study show that only a small proportion of tourists (18.8%) are familiar with the olive tourism offer on Northern Adriatic, with TB offices being the main source of information about this offer. Familiarity of the offer, as well as frequency of olive oil consumption and attitudes towards olive tourism, werefound to be significant predictors of an individual’s intention to participate in olive tourism activities. Originality of research - scientific literature in the field of olive tourism is sparse. The results of this study can be used to develop further marketing activities and strategies related to olive tourism.
Cilj – cilj rada je istražiti upoznatost turista (N=452) na sjevernom Jadranu s lokalnom ponudom maslinarskog turizma i utvrditi njihovu namjeru za sudjelovanjem u odabranim aktivnosti maslinarskog turizma tijekom boravka u destinaciji. Metodološki pristup - u ovom preliminarnom istraživanju koristi se metoda ankete. Hipoteze se ispituju pomoću T-testa i ANOVE. Rezultati – rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da tek manji dio turista (18,8 %) je upoznat s aktivnostima maslinarskog turizma na sjevernom Jadranu pri čemu su najznačajniji izvor informacija o toj ponudi uredi turističkih zajednica. Upoznatost s ponudom, ali i učestalost konzumacije maslinovog ulja kao i stav prema maslinarskom turizmu pokazali su se značajnim prediktorima namjere sudjelovanja pojedinca u aktivnostima maslinarskog turizma. Originalnost istraživanja – znanstvena literatura u području maslinarskog turizma je oskudna. Rezultati ovog istraživanja mogu se koristiti u izradi daljnjih marketinških aktivnosti i strategija vezanih uz maslinarski turizam.
This paper focuses on tourists’ local olive oil purchasing behaviour in a tourist destination, providing evidence of consumer segments based on the importance of olive oil attributes for purchasing ...decisions. The research was conducted in Croatia, a famous tourist destination in the Mediterranean, recognised for its traditional food products, including olive oil. A survey conducted on 471 tourists shows that the main predictors of a tourist’s purchase of olive oil are the number of previous visits to the destination and the tourist’s country of origin. The relative importance of extrinsic and intrinsic olive oil attributes differed between tourists, and the present research identifies four market segments. The results of this study may help olive oil producers develop and implement more successful marketing strategies directed towards tourists in the destination.
This paper explores usage of the Internet in relationship to local agro - food products of a tourist destination. The goals are 1) to examine availability of information about local agro - food ...products using different Internet tools and 2) to predict what types of websites are related to tourists’ searches for information about local agro - food products based on responders’ demographic characteristics. Two studies were conducted. The first included tourists who visited nine seaside tourist resorts, while the second focused on the content of different tourism-related websites. Data were processed using univariate (frequencies and percentages) and multivariate (logistic regression) statistics. Travel social networks and social networks were the most important information sources for tourists, while their demographic characteristics were somewhat significant in searching for information. Search engines were not very useful. Websites of tourism companies, tourist boards and local authorities provided some information.
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