POSSIBILITIES OF BREEDING SUB-MEDITERRANEAN GOATS FOR THE NEEDS OF AGRITOURISM - AN EXAMPLE OF INDIGENOUS CROATIAN GOAT BREEDS

Abstract

The breeding of indigenous Croatian goat breeds is most often marked by extreme extensiveness and very low profitability and production efficiency. Possible additional income opportunity for breeders of indigenous goats is provided by the offer of their products through agritourism. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the awareness of consumers and their knowledge of the indigenous Croatian goat breeds and determine the perception of the potential of indigenous goats and/or their products as a part of agritourism offer. An online survey was conducted on a sample of 353 respondents. More than two thirds of the respondents would more often visit an agritourism where indigenous goats are kept and/or which offer their products. Almost half of the respondents believe that the products of the indigenous breeds are of better quality than the products of other goats, while one third of the respondents think that the products of the indigenous goats should be more expensive than the products of other goats. These results provide an informative basis for the development of innovative marketing strategies for agritourism owners who could enrich their offer with the introduction of autochthonous (local) products.