AGROTOURISM IN THE FUNCTION OF PRESERVING AUTOCHTHONOUS BREEDS IN CROATIA - AN EXAMPLE OF BUSHA

Abstract

Croatian Busha is among the world's smallest cattle breeds and belongs to the group of so called short-horns cattle (Bos brachyeros europeus). Croatian Busha is one of the three autochthonous cattle in Croatia. The number of Busha is constantly decreasing, and one of the possibilities for rescuing the breed is the supply of milk, meat and processed products through agrotourism. The aim of this research is to identify the opinions and attitudes of the respondents about the introduction of Busha's meat and dairy products into the offer of agrotourism. For the research purposes, an on-line survey was conducted on 508 randomly selected respondents. The Busha is relatively unknown to the respondents (59.8%), but has great potential for agrotourism. Most of the respondents (70.5%) agree with the idea of branding Busha’s products to increase their popularity and create additional value to the farm. Potential consumers support Busha as an autochthonous breed with value-added that endorses tradition and support its appearance in Croatian agrotouristic offer.