Sustainability of Tourism Development in Rural and Mountain Areas in Eastern Serbia

Abstract

The most attractive tourist destinations are those that have preserved natural and geographical environment, protected nature and anthropogenic tourist motives attracting domestic and foreign tourists. Very often rural and mountainous areas in Serbia have been neglected, without developmental perspectives. Sustainable tourism development in these areas represents conditionality for the use of tourism areas, so that they are not destroyed in such a way that future generations cannot use them. Destinations that have the capability to offer such tourism resources are able to be competitors in the tourism market. The significance of tourism development for rural and mountainous parts of Serbia is extremely high given that world tourism trends are oriented towards such destinations. It is about poorly developed areas. This chapter aims at understanding the potential of mountains and rural parts of Eastern Serbia and their inclusion into the tourism offer, using the long-term concept of sustainable development of this part of Serbia.