The influence of foreign hunting tourists on the development of hunting tourism in the Osijek-baranja county

Special or specific forms of tourism offer development as a reaction to mass tourism and an attempt to add value to it. Hunting tourism, designed for nature and animal lovers, is a special form of tourism product classified in the broader category of adventure and sports tourism. The tourism strategy of the Republic Croatia categorizes hunting tourism as a tourism product with a strong development perspective. The objective of this paper is to present the interest of foreign hunting tourists in all types of hunting grounds in the Osijek-Baranja County and their impact on the possible future development of hunting tourism in the County. An analysis of the structure of hunting tourists and the application of an exponential function mathematical model to the data about the number of foreign hunting tourists in the Osijek-Baranja County 2008-2018 revealed an increase in the number of foreign hunting tourists. Such an interest encourages further investments in the development of hunt- ing tourism and hunting management in Osijek- Baranja County. Despite the protests of certain interest groups (environmentalists, animal protection activ-ists...), true nature lovers, including hunting tourists, do not undermine the ecological balance with their activities such as hunting and wildlife observation and photography but help maintain it. Revenues generated by hunting tourism are primarily invested in maintaining the optimal ecosystem and biological balance, and they indirectly impact the economic and social development of the local community – in this case, the Osijek- Baranja County – through the delivery of various supporting tourism services and amenities.