摘要：This paper deals with the rural tourism in Istria in terms of its uniqueness and the perception of tourists. It is tourism outside the urban center, characterized by an abundance of natural and social features, with a small number of inhabitants and a dominant land use for agricultural production and with the social structure and customs partly preserved. The fundamental goals of the research are the detection of specific qualities and perception of tourism in the rural areas of Istria. In relation to the stated goals, a hypothesis has been set that the rural tourist product consisting of natural and social specific qualities is interesting and acceptable to tourists. A socio-semiotic approach was used for the analysis of the specific qualities of rural tourism of Istria. In the paper the survey method and ranking was used. The hypothesis was proven on the example of rural Istria.
