THE ROLE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF GASTRONOMIC TOURISM FOR RURAL AREAS OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF APATIN

The paper starts with the initial hypothesis that traditional, i.e. local food served in local restaurants (chardas) is the basis for the development of rural areas. By setting certain sub-hypotheses, we highlight the primary purpose of the paper, and thus we show that traditional food has the “strength” to change and improve rural areas. We based the research on a changed questionnaire previously used for research in the Black Sea resorts of Romania. The questionnaire comprises of 9 attributes, and we asked respondents to rank certain attributes on a three-point scale. The research was conducted among visitors who came from eight countries, including Serbia, to get the most relevant data through statistical processing, which will serve to assess the current, but also to predict the future state and development of gastronomic tourism.