Suburban forests of Rogaška Slatina are visited by both, locals and tourists. Tourists are especially attracted by spa tourism and they also use forests as a recreation area or a place to relax. Our goal was to collect and analyse public opinions about managing suburban forests of Rogaška Slatina, due to the fact that lately the infrastructure in these forests have not been appropriately and consistently maintained. Data was collected through a web based and a traditional survey. The majority of the participants are from municipality Rogaška Slatina and they visit suburban forests once per year or a few times per month. Mostly they spend from 30 minutes to one hour in the forests per visit. They most frequently visit the forest to exercise or relax, with walking being the most common type of exercise. When it comes to choosing a specific forest space, the most important factor is walkability, followed by peacefulness and accessibility. The majority of participants choose walking to access the forests and they usually gather information about them during the visit. The participants are the most disturbed by pollution, dumping grounds as well as poorly maintained roads and paths. They wish for more bins and better maintenance of the paths. The participants believe that the most emphasized functions of the Rogaška Slatina suburban forests should be their social functions; however, they also believe that the owners of the forests are the most fond of the wood production as the main function. Generally, participants support managing currently disorganized parts of the forests and building new infrastructure. They are aware of the importance of the forests for tourism and development of the town.
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