178
D. Gatari´ c and B. M. Ðerˇ can
new people (locals), healthy food (slow food), slower pace of life, physical activity
and leisure—are responsible for the emergence of rural tourism aimed at individual
tourists and their needs (Buckley 2004).
It should be borne in mind that the concept of rural space is generally not strictly
defined and includes: natural environment, small settlements, villages and hamlets,
but also separate family farms with agriculture and forestry as the main economic
branches. Consequently, the phenomena of rural tourism include: visits involving
vineyards, gastronomy, hunting and fishing, national and nature parks, religion,
culture, camping, ethno villages, ethno collections, rural manifestations, folklore,
adventure, health and spas. Interestingly, the practise has shown that the less developed rural areas, which inherit traditional small-scale agricultural production, are
most attractive to tourists.
Rural tourism must be developed in accordance with the principles of sustainable tourism (derived from the concept of sustainable development), which implies
ecological, social, cultural and economic sustainability in order to improve the quality
of the tourist destination–the preserved natural environment, cultural and historical
heritage, cultural identity and positive attitude locals–for tourists (Garrod et al. 2002).
Due to increasing tourism demand, there is more consideration about the justification
of attracting more and more tourists due to rising income, jobs, tourist traffic, and the
environmental damage. Sustainable development emphasizes the fact that economic
development and environmental quality are not mutually exclusive phenomena, since
the use of modern technology and the improvement of behaviour of tourists and locals
prevents damage to non-renewable tourism resources (Edgell 2006). A strong interplay between tourism and the environment is developing: part of the tourism revenue
is invested in improving the environment, which is becoming an important factor in
the attractiveness of the tourist destination. That is why sustainable development is
not only an ethical but also an existential issue for tourism, which is self-destructive if
it destroys its resources–the natural and anthropogenic environment and the original
ambience of the local community (Choi and Sirakaya 2006; Hall et al. 2015).
4 Tourism as a Factor of Sustainable Development of Rural
Serbia
As in most transition countries, the rural population in Serbia is significantly poorer
than in urban areas. The rural poverty index is almost twice as high as the urban
index (Table 3). It is estimated that 58% of Serbia’s poor citizens live in rural areas.
In 2018, rural poverty rates are double that of urban ones. In Eastern and Southeastern European countries there is a marked difference between these areas, where
the ratio of rural to urban poverty ranges from 1.3:1 to 3:1 (Mijatovi´ c 2014).
Almost 45% of the population lives in rural areas, covering three quarters of Serbia.
It is necessary for the poor in Serbia to work and earn money to improve their unenviable position. The role of tourism, and the implementation of a pro-poor tourism
D. Gatari´ c and B. M. Ðerˇ can
new people (locals), healthy food (slow food), slower pace of life, physical activity
and leisure—are responsible for the emergence of rural tourism aimed at individual
tourists and their needs (Buckley 2004).
It should be borne in mind that the concept of rural space is generally not strictly
defined and includes: natural environment, small settlements, villages and hamlets,
but also separate family farms with agriculture and forestry as the main economic
branches. Consequently, the phenomena of rural tourism include: visits involving
vineyards, gastronomy, hunting and fishing, national and nature parks, religion,
culture, camping, ethno villages, ethno collections, rural manifestations, folklore,
adventure, health and spas. Interestingly, the practise has shown that the less developed rural areas, which inherit traditional small-scale agricultural production, are
most attractive to tourists.
Rural tourism must be developed in accordance with the principles of sustainable tourism (derived from the concept of sustainable development), which implies
ecological, social, cultural and economic sustainability in order to improve the quality
of the tourist destination–the preserved natural environment, cultural and historical
heritage, cultural identity and positive attitude locals–for tourists (Garrod et al. 2002).
Due to increasing tourism demand, there is more consideration about the justification
of attracting more and more tourists due to rising income, jobs, tourist traffic, and the
environmental damage. Sustainable development emphasizes the fact that economic
development and environmental quality are not mutually exclusive phenomena, since
the use of modern technology and the improvement of behaviour of tourists and locals
prevents damage to non-renewable tourism resources (Edgell 2006). A strong interplay between tourism and the environment is developing: part of the tourism revenue
is invested in improving the environment, which is becoming an important factor in
the attractiveness of the tourist destination. That is why sustainable development is
not only an ethical but also an existential issue for tourism, which is self-destructive if
it destroys its resources–the natural and anthropogenic environment and the original
ambience of the local community (Choi and Sirakaya 2006; Hall et al. 2015).
4 Tourism as a Factor of Sustainable Development of Rural
Serbia
As in most transition countries, the rural population in Serbia is significantly poorer
than in urban areas. The rural poverty index is almost twice as high as the urban
index (Table 3). It is estimated that 58% of Serbia’s poor citizens live in rural areas.
In 2018, rural poverty rates are double that of urban ones. In Eastern and Southeastern European countries there is a marked difference between these areas, where
the ratio of rural to urban poverty ranges from 1.3:1 to 3:1 (Mijatovi´ c 2014).
Almost 45% of the population lives in rural areas, covering three quarters of Serbia.
It is necessary for the poor in Serbia to work and earn money to improve their unenviable position. The role of tourism, and the implementation of a pro-poor tourism