Hiking trails of Istria County and their function in slow tourism development.

This research includes the hiking trails of Istria County as an element in the slow tourism supply. The official tourist supply of hiking trails managed by the Istrian Tourism Development Agency was analysed. The supply includes 84 trails with a total length of 859.4 kilometres, classified into six hiking regions. The objectives of the research were to determine the spatial layout and tourism supply of hiking trails as an element of slow tourism development in Istria County. Further objectives were to propose a more purposeful regionalization of existing trails as well as the distribution and definition of non-valorized trails. A complex method of field research of trails was used, including the methods of participant observation, autoethnography and mapping with the support of GIS. The hiking regions Rovinj and Poreč-Vrsar have the best tourism supply and opportunities for slow tourism development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]