THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF PROTECTED NATURE AREAS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF ECOTOURISM IN CROATIA

Predmet završnog rada je ekoturizam i njegove mogućnosti razvoja, s posebnim osvrtom na Republiku Hrvatsku. Naglasak će biti na javnim ustanovama zaštićenih područja prirode, koje mogu valorizirati svoje turističke potencijale. Svrha rada je da se ukaţe na nedovoljnu iskorištenost posebnih oblika turizma, a posebice ekoturizma u diferencijaciji turističke ponude u Hrvatskoj. Cilj ovog rada je prikazati kako Hrvatska kroz rad javnih ustanova, koje su direktno vezane za upravljanje prirodnim i zaštićenim područjima moţe iskoristiti ekoturizam kao marketinški alat za jačanje svjesnosti o zaštiti i očuvanju prirodnih resursa. U izradi ovoga rada korišteni su sekundarni izvori podataka, kako bi se definirali pojmovi i prikazali statistički podatci vezani za ekoturizam. Kao primjer dobre prakse uzeta je Javna ustanova za upravljanje zaštićenim prirodnim vrijednostima Virovitičko-podravske ţupanije, koja osim što se brine o prirodnim vrijednostima, upravlja i informativno - edukativnim centrom i hostelom “Dravska priča“. Primarni podatci u radu dobiveni su korištenjem intervjua, gdje se dobio uvid u rad javne ustanove i njezin utjecaj na turistički razvoj regije. Iako ekoturizam ima ogromne potencijale za razvoj, to u Hrvatskoj često nije prepoznato, te se zato rad javne ustanove uzete za primjer u ovom radu treba još više cijeniti i trebala bi biti primjer drugima kako razvijati ekoturizam.The subject of this paper is ecotourism and its development possibilities, with a special look at Croatia. The emphasis will be on public institutions that care for environmentally protected areas which can also valorize their tourism potentials. The purpose of this paper is to show the under usage of special forms of tourism, especially ecotourism in the variety of the tourism offer in Croatia. The goal of this paper is to show how Croatia, through the work of public institutions, which are directly connected to nature management of protected areas, can use ecotourism as a marketing tool for raising awareness about protection and preservation of natural resources. In the process of writing these paper, secondary information sources are used to define terms and show statistical data related to ecotourism. As an example of a great job, The public institution for management of protected parts of nature and ecological network of Virovitica-podravina county was taken. This public institution doesn’t only take care about nature value but manages the information -education center and hostel ”Dravska priča“. The interview was used as a primary source of information to see how the public institution works and to show its impact on the tourism development of the region. Although ecotourism has an enormous potential for development, in Croatia it has often been overlooked, and that is why the work of the public institution which was taken as an example needs to be more appreciated and should be used as an example to others on how to develop ecotourism