RURAL TOURISM AS A DETERMINANT OF FAMILY ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA IN THE CONTEXT OF THE EU GREEN AGENDA FOR THE WESTERN BALKAN

Green agenda of the European union, family business and artifical intelligence – political and social aspects : thematic journal of papers. Book 1 (2025) (књига 1, 173-195. стр.) 

 

АУТОР(И) / AUTHOR(S): Vladan Vučić 

Download Full Pdf   

DOI: 10.46793/87143.26.5.173V

САЖЕТАК / ABSTRACT:

The Republic of Serbia represents a valuable and attractive tourist destination, considering its geographical location, exceptional natural beauty, and significant cultural heritage. However, Serbia’s competitiveness as a tourist destination still does not correspond to its full potential. Contemporary tourism is marked by dynamic growth in tourist flows, but also by global challenges that influence travel trends. The subject of this paper is an examination of current trends in tourism, with a particular focus on rural tourism as a development potential for the Republic of Serbia, as well as an analysis of tourism movements in this area. The methodological framework of the paper is based on oficial data from the Statistical Ofice of the Republic of Serbia concerning the performance of the tourism sector, as well as the indicators from the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Travel and Tourism Development Index. The aim of this study is to assess the current state of the tourism sector, identify both the driving and limiting factors of tourism development, and monitor tourism flows in order to define measures that will enable faster tourism development, enhance destination competitiveness, increase tourist flows, and guide tourism management based on the principles of sustainable development in the Republic of Serbia. In accordance with modern tourism trends, the paper places special emphasis on the importance of various forms of rural tourism, particularly agritourism, as a means of encouraging and developing family entrepreneurship in rural areas of Serbia. Tourism is a powerful instrument of regional policy, capable of mitigating or eliminating social and economic disparities, aiding in the reconciliation of national conflicts, overcoming stereotypes, expanding knowledge, and supporting intellectual development. Tourism serves as a stimulus for the development of local communities and regions. The conclusions drawn are particularly important for defining rural and regional development policies in the Republic of Serbia

КЉУЧНЕ РЕЧИ / KEYWORDS:

tourism,  rural  tourism,  family  entrepreneurship,  sustainable development, Republic of Serbia

ПРОЈЕКАТ / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

ЛИТЕРАТУРА / REFERENCES:

  • Aldao, C., Blasco, D., & Poch Espallargas, M. (2022). Lessons from COVID-19 for the future: destination crisis management, tourist behaviour and tourism industry trends. Journal of tourism futures, 8, 1-15. https://doi. org/10.1108/JTF-02-2022-0059
  • Alemeida A., & Pinto Machado, L. (2021). Rural Develompent and Rural Tourism: The Impact of Infrastructure Investments, Peripheral Territories, Tourism and Regional Develompent, Open access peer-reviewed chapter. https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/75227
  • Borović, S., Stojanović, K., & Cvijanović, D. (2022). The future of rural tourism in the Republic of Economics of Agriculture, 69(3), 925- 938. https://doi.org/10.5937/ekoPolj2203925B
  • Bugarin, D., Krsmanović V. S., & Tucović, M. (2021). Potentials of cultural – historical and tourism heritage for the development of tourism in the Timok region. Serbian Journal of Management, 16(1), 201-212. https://doi.org/10.5937/sjm16-32147
  • Cheng, L., & Liu, L. (2022). Exploring posttraumatic growth after the COVID-19 pandemic. Tourism Management, 90(2022) 10474, 1-12. DOI: 1016/j.tourman.2021.104474
  • Dašić, D., Živković, D., & Vujić, T. (2020). Rural tourism in development function of rural areas in Serbia. Economics of Agriculture, 67(3), 719-733. https://doi.org/10.5937/ekoPolj2003719D
  • Dašić, D., Vučić, V., Turčinović, Ž., & Tošić, M. (2023). Digital marketing – marketing opportunities and the power of digital consumers. Economics of Agriculture, Year 70, No. 4, ISSN 0352-3462, eISSN 2334-8453, pp. 1187-1199 http://dx.doi.org/10.59267/ekoPolj23041187D
  • Dimitrijević, M., Ristić, L. & Bošković, N. (2022). Ruralni turizam kao pokretač razvoja ruralnih područja i privrede Republike Srbije, Menadžment u hotelijerstvu i turizmu 2022, vol. 10, br. 1, 79-90. https://scindeks.ceon.rs/ aspx?artid=2620-02792201079D
  • Djeri, L., Stamenković, P., Blešić, I., Milićević, S., & Ivkov, M. (2018). An importance-performance analysis of destination competitiveness factors: case of Jablanica district in Economic Research – Ekonomska Istraživanja, 31(1), 811-826.
  • Gavrilă-Paven, I., Bârsan Mircea, C., & Lia-Dorica, D. (2015). Advantages and Limits for Tourism Development in Rural Area (Case Study Ampoi and MureúValleys). Procedia Economics and Finance 32 (2015), (pp. 1050-1059). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(15)01567-1
  • Ilić, D., Stamenković, P., & Kitanović, J. (2023). Savremene tendencije u turizmu i analiza turističkog prometa u regionu Južna i Istočna Srbija, BizInfo (Blace), 2023, Volume 14, Number 1, pp. 83-91. https://scindeks.ceon.rs/ aspx?artid=2217-27692301083I
  • Ilić, I.., Jovanović, S., & Vučić, V. (2022). Environmental quality as a determinant of competitiveness and development of ecoturism in the Republic of Serbia. Teme, Vol. XLVI, No 4, 2022, Print ISSN: 0353-7919, Online ISSN: 1820-7804, DOI Number https://doi.org/10.22190/TEME220309053I, First page1011-Last page1028.
  • Institut za pogranična područja (IPP). (2023). Vodič za ruralni turizam, str. 4-10. https://ruraltourism.ipp.rs/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Guide-for-rural-tourism-SRB.pdf pristupljeno: 20.07.2025.
  • Jovanović, S.(2017). Konkurentnost u hotelijerstvu i turizmu, Niš: Ekonomski fakultet Univerziteta u Nišu.
  • Krasnokutskiy, P., Kulchittskij, A., Perova, T., Bystrova, N., & Khizhnaya, (2016). The Main Trends and Prospects of Development of International Tourism, International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 2016, 6(S8), 257-262.
  • Lew, A. A., Cheer, J.M., Haywood, M., Brouder, P., & Salazar, N.B. (2020). Visions of travel and tourism after the global COVID-19 transformation of 2020. Tourism Geographies, 22(3), 455-466
  • López-Sanz, J. M., Penelas-Leguía, A., Gutiérrez-Rodríguez, P., & Cuesta- Valiño, P. (2021). Rural Tourism and the Sustainable Development Goals. A Study of the Variables That Most Influence the Behavior of the Tourist, Frontires in Psychology, 12, Article 722973. https://doi.org/10.3389/2021.722973
  • Navarro, D. (2015). Tourist Resources and Tourist Attractions: Conceptualization, Classification and Assessment. Cuadernos de Turismo, (35), 481-484.
  • Opština Vlasotince. (2017). Vodič za investitore, 1-25. https://vlasotince.rs/ wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Investment_Guide_Vlasotince_Final_2017.pdf pristupljeno: 20.06.2025.
  • Perić, G., Avramović, M., & Stojiljković, M. (2018). Achieved level of tourism development in the Republic of Serbia. Bizinfo (Blace), 9(2), 39-52. https://doi.org/10.5937/bizinfo1802039P
  • Pindžo, R., & Knežević, M. (2021). Priručnik za planiranje razvoja turizma u jedinicama lokalne samouprave. Beograd: Stalna konferencija gradova i opština – Savez gradova iopština Srbije.
  • Postma, A., & Yeoman, I.S. (2021). A systems perspective as a tool to understand disruption in travel and Journal of Tourism Futures, 7(1), 67-77. https://doi.org/10.1108/JTF-04-2020-0052
  • Ristić, L. (2013) Strategijsko upravljanje održivim ruralnim razvojem u Republici Srbiji, Ekonomski horizonti, br. 3, 229-243. https://scindeks. ceon.rs/article.aspx?artid=1450-863X1303229R&lang=sr
  • RZS. (2019). Prikaz rezultata Ankete o strukturi poljoprivrednih gazdinstava, 2018, Beograd.
  • RZS. (2024a). Statistički godišnjak Republike Srbije, 2023, Beograd.
  • RZS. (2024b). Opštine i regioni u Republici Srbiji, 2018-2023, Beograd.
  • RZS. (2024c). Prikaz rezultata Ankete o strukturi polјoprivrednih gazdinstava, 2023, Beograd.
  • RZS. (2025). Popis polјoprivrede 2023. Strukturne promene u polјoprivredi i njihov uticaj na ekonomski rast u Srbiji, Beograd.
  • RZS. https://data.stat.gov.rs/Home/Result/220201?languageCode=sr-Latn
  • SRFP. Development of Financial System in Rural Areas in Serbia. Pozadina seoskog turizma u Srbiji i kako započeti posao. https://srfp.bfconsulting.com/ sr/category/blog-sr/ pristupljeno 17.06.2025.
  • Senić, V., & Manojlović, N. (2017). Savremene tendencije u turizmu, HiT menadžment, 5(1), 18-27. https://www.htmanagementvb.com/index.php/ HITM/article/view/102/142
  • Stamenković, P., & Ilić, D. (2017). Tourism image factors of Jablanica District in Serbia: Perception of internal stakeholders. Tourism International Scientific Conference Vrnjačka Banja – TISC, 2(1), (pp. 641-658).
  • Stojanović, D., & Ilić, D. (2016). Specifics of risks and risks management in tourism. Tourism International Scientific Conference Vrnjačka Banja – TISC, 1(2), (pp. 307-322).
  • Stojanović. J. (2014). Savremene tendencije u turizmu, Sinteza 2014 – E-Business in tourism and hospitality industry (pp. 738-742).
  • Stojanović, B., Vučić, V., & Kostić, Z. (2019). Competitiveness of infrastructure in tourism in the Southeast Europe. Knowledge International Journal, Vol. 35, No 1, e-ISSN 1857-923X : p-ISSN 2545-4439, pp. 181-188. https://ojs.ikm.mk/index.php/kij/article/view/1744/1743
  • Ubavić, P. (2016). Pozicioniranje Srbije kao turističke destinacije na međunarodnom turističkom tržištu. Megatrend revija, 13(2), 9 7 – 1 1 8 . https://doi.org/10.5937/MegRev1602097U
  • Vlada Republike Srbije. (2016). Strategija razvoja turizma Republike Srbije za period 2016 – 2025. Ministarstvo trgovine, turizma i telekomunikacija.
  • World Economic Forum – WEF. (2024). Travel & Tourism Development Index 2024, INSIGHTREPORT, MAY 2024.
  • Zelenović, V., Grubor, A., Zelenović, J. & Vučić, V. (2023). Impact of agricultural production on gross domestic product in the Republic of Serbia. Ekonomika poljoprivrede, No I, ISSN 0352-3462, eISSN 2334-8453, pp. 277-291. https://doi.org/10.59267/ekoPolj2301277Z
  • Popović, A., Todorović, A., Vučić, V., & Barjaktarović, M. (2025). The influence of Economic Development on Circular Economy Implementation in Balkan Trendovi u poslovanju, Broj 1/ Jun 2025, ISSN 2334-816X; eISSN 2334-8356, pp. 11-23. https://doi.org/10.5937/trendpos2501011A
  • Vučić, V. (2022). Srbija 2030: Agenda održivog razvoja – Izazovi i ograničenja. Horizonti menadžmenta, ISSN 2812-7153, II(1), 53-76. https://www.ceeol. com/search/journal-detail?id=2789
  • Vučić, (2023). Turizam kao izvor rasta i razvoja regiona Republike Srbije, Zbornik radova sa međunarodnog okruglog stola: Lokalna samouprava: kako iz kruga nerazvijenih, Golubac, 16-18. Jun, ISBN 978-86-6233-502-9, str. 305-328.
  • Vučić, V. (2024). Izazovi održivog ruralnog razvoja Regiona Republike Srbije. Horizonti menadžmenta.ISSN2812-7153,IV(1),123-152. https://hm.edu.rs/ index.php/hm/article/view/38/37
  • Vučić, V., Dašić, D., & Mladenović, M. (2025). Economic Challenges and Potentials for Sustainable Development in Rural Areas of Economics of Agriculture, No II, ISSN 0352-3462, eISSN 2334-8453, pp. 775-789. https://doi.org/10.59267/ekoPolj2502775V