How to develop sustainable tourism in rural destinations in Serbia

Abstract

The classical distinction between countries of tourist offer and countries of tourist demand has already been surpassed considering that many countries of tourist demand (USA, Germany, Great Britain ?) earn much more from tourism than the countries of tourist offer (Italy, Greece, Portugal ?). The changes in customers' behaviour are reflected through restructuring of tourist movements towards new destinations. What is essential in creating, promoting and marketing tourist destinations for the specific tourism forms development is the identification of all the positive and negative factors that influence the development of these destinations. Converting a potential into a tourist destination depends on many factors both in qualitative and in quantitative sense. Discovering an area of preserved environment that also possesses attractive motifs presents the beginning of the possible tourist destination creating. Further 'destiny' of a tourist destination depends on its planning and development intensity. Rural tourism is a significant component of integral and sustainable development and revitalization of the village, as well as a component that is missing in stimulating the local market development for agricultural and non-agricultural activities in the country, along with a special stimulation to employment. Serbia possesses remarkable natural resources and other potentials for the development of all forms of rural tourism. However, rural tourism in Serbia is an insufficiently organized field that is not being developed adequately to the possibilities available to it. That is why this paper wants to point out the potential opportunities for the development of rural tourism in Serbia through sustainable development and correct performance policy on both national and international tourist market.