Center for Scientific Exchange and Education CENTER FOR SCIENTIFI C EXCHANGE AND EDUCATION PROCEEDINGS The Center for Scientific Exchange and Education First Virtual Conference of the Center for Scientific Exchange and Education Skopje, 2021 Proceedings Editorial Board Prof. Jasna Bacovska Nedikj, PhD (University St. Cyril and Methodius, Republic of North Macedonia) Prof. Sanja Lazarova – Molnar, PhD (Southern Denmark University, Odense, Denmark) Prof. Tuğçe Ersoy, PhD (Izmir Democracy University, Turkey) Prof. Rastislav Svicky, PhD (Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia) Prof. Aleksandar Lj. Spasov, PhD (University St. Cyril and Methodius, Republic of North Macedonia) CIP - Каталогизација во публикација Национална и универзитетска библиотека “Св. Климент Охридски”, Скопје 3(062)(048.3) VIRTUAL International scientific conference in education, humanities and social sciences and business & economics, finance and management (1 ; 2020) Proceedings / First Virtual International scientific conference in education, humanities and social sciences and business & economics, finance and management, 07 October 2020. - [Skopje]: Center for scientific exchange and education, 2021. - 139 стр.; 21 см ISBN 978-608-66592-1-9 а) Општествени науки -- Собири -- Зборници COBISS.MK-ID 52174597 CONTENT Gorana Bandalović, Zorana Šuljug Vučica, Ines Uvodić RURAL TOURISM OF THE DALMATIAN HINTERLAND: SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH OF THE TOURIST OFFER Ivanka Buzov, Tea Gutović, Toni Popović THE IMPORTANCE OF LIFELONG LEARNING IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN RURAL TOURISM Nadir Ayrilmis, Marija Miloshevska Janakieska, Manja Kitek Kuzman 3D PRINTING DESIGN AS INNOVATIVE TEACHING METHOD Goran Pletvarski ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE OPTIMIZATION OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS WHAT IF WE DO NOT FORMALIZE? Tamara Jovanovikj THEORY OF PSYCHO- SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT INCORPORATED IN PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY AS A TOOL FOR ASSESSING SUITABILITY FOR PUBLIC OFFICE Radmila Janicic STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE IN DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL AND HUMANITARIAN INSTITUTIONS IN DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT Kate Trajkova, Tamara Jolevska Popov, Elena Penkova CONTEXTUALISING THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT IN A CRISIS: 21ST CENTURY SKILLS IN ACTION Elena Todorova THE RIGHT TO LIFE AND THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS- SCOPE AND CHALLENGES Jasna Bachovska Nedikj, Martina Gligorova ONLINE MEDIA REGULATION EUROPEAN MEDIA POLICY VS REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA Martina Gligorova EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONAL APPROACH TO MEDIALITERACY Gorana Bandalović, Associate Professor [email protected] Zorana Šuljug Vučica, Associate Professor [email protected] Ines Uvodić, B.A. of Sociology and Master Student [email protected] University of Split (Croatia), Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Department of Sociology RURAL TOURISM OF THE DALMATIAN HINTERLAND: SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH OF THE TOURIST OFFER Abstract: The tourist area of the Dalmatian hinterland currently represents an economic challenge for local entrepreneurship. It has interesting tradition of life and work, manifested through traditional agricultural production, gastronomy, rural architecture and tourist farms, which in combination with natural beauty allows rest and recreation throughout the year. Recently, these factors have emerged as a new potential for the preservation and development of rural communities. Therefore, a sociological survey was conducted during 2019 in the Dalmatian hinterland in Croatia on a sample of 16 local entrepreneurs in tourism (interviews) and 54 guests in private tourist facilities (survey). The aim of the research was to determine the perceptions of the existing and possible projections of optimal tourist offer from the perspective of service providers (owners of rural tourism facilities) and recipients of services (guests). The results show that initiatives and business in rural tourism are mostly the result of family involvement and that entrepreneurs are satisfied with capacity utilization (accommodation, food offer and purchase of their products). Guests are satisfied with the offer, quality of food, activities in households, authentic locations and environment, as well as with protected natural and cultural sites. Finally, there is a great potential of rural tourism in the researched localities, which, if we take into account the motivation of entrepreneurs and recognized benefits, indicate still enough space for improving and the development towards sustainable practices, guided by environmental and local features. Key words: rural tourism, Dalmatian hinterland, sociological research, tourist offer, entrepreneurs 1. INTRODUCTION: SPECIFICS OF RURAL TOURISM Rural tourism can be defined as a specific activity and/or movement in which an individual who lives in an urban area gradually returns to nature (Ružić according to Bartoluci, Hendija and Petračić, 2016). The idea of rural tourism is to be an activity that does not disturb the environment as it is disturbed by other activities such as production, mining, deforestation and intensive agricultural production (Bartoluci according to Bartoluci et al., 2016). The advantages of rural tourism refer to the contributions to the preservation of natural and cultural-historical heritage of the local environment. At the same time, the existence of rural tourism prevents and slows down emigration from rural areas and encourages the redistribution of indigenous values of rural areas (Krajnović, Čičin-Šain and Predovan, 2011, 31). Also, rural tourism is often defined as a term that includes every tourist activity represented in rural areas and refers to many forms of tourism such as hunting tourism, fishing tourism, tourism in nature parks, winter tourism, rural tourism, ecotourism, health tourism and cultural tourism. Rural tourism can also be a professional activity, which means that it does not necessarily generate additional income. Names that are used to express the term rural tourism and are often used as synonyms are eco-tourism, rural tourism, agro-tourism, rural tourism, tourism in rural households, eco-rural tourism and the like. This type of tourism is presented outside urban settlements and/or tourist capacities, takes place on rural farms and is based on the use of rural space in the context of the tourist offer (Mesarić Žabčić, 2008, 1). Rural areas differ from each other according to several criteria such as degree of economic development, the quality of relations between inhabitants, the relation of inhabitants to the community in which they live and the imaginary status of a certain rural area in the environment (Miljenović according to Miljenović, Kokorić and Berc, 2016, 22). The uniqueness of rural areas is manifested in the way of family life, which has its own characteristic elements in relation to family life in urban centers. Rural families retain the structure of three-generation, extended families in comparison to families living in cities where we usually find two-generational and single-parent families (Janković, Ljubetina according to Miljenović et al., 2016, 22). Three- generation households are still quite present in Croatian villages, which indicate a specific way of organizing family life characterized by multiple solidarity and intergenerational support in maintaining the peasant economy (Hodžić according to Miljenović et al., 2016, 22). The perception of the rural area is especially important. Sometimes it is very difficult to develop the image of an area and this implies a long process. However, when this happens, a particular rural area gains a great competitive advantage over other locations. The perception of an individual rural area implies the sum of impressions, beliefs, ideas, expectations and feelings regarding a particular locality during a certain period of time (Kesić, Jakeljić according to Grgić, hadelan and Krznar, 2017, 101). When evaluating the attributes of rural tourism, it is important to consider the elements 2 such as direct connection between nature and landscape, peace and quietness, price- quality ratio, ratio of tourist products supply and tourist demand, contacts with nature, additional services in addition to basic tourist service, availability of various attractions, traditional tourist characteristics. facilities, sports activities, etc. (Grgić et al., 2017, 101). However, the rural area is a rather sensitive area. In the case of any natural, cultural and/or any other adverse changes, rural tourism may be compromised. So, if there is a disturbance of natural and cultural resources, the illusion of rural space is disturbed, and that directly disturbs the tourist attraction of the rural environment. Therefore, rural areas represent very fragile zones of natural wealth and cultural and historical heritage. This type of tourism is very specific because the tourists who are interested in this form of tourism are looking for high quality and untouched landscape, peace, quietness, isolation from other people, as well as for the contact with the local environment (Krajnović et al., 2011, 33). The UN World Tourism Organization has defined four key elements that characterize rural tourism. These are natural resources such as rivers, lakes, mountains and forests, as well as the rural way of life which includes crafts, local events, gastronomy and traditional music. The third element is rural heritage such as traditional architecture, history, castles, churches and villages, and the last element refers to rural activities such as horseback riding, hunting, fishing, hiking,