TURIZAM Volume 13 Issue 1, 28-44 (2009) Active Holiday in Mt. Zlatibor County Jovan Plavša* Jovan Romelić* Dušan Ljubomir Vuksanović** Received: June 2009 | Accepted: September 2009 Abstract Active holiday presents a new stream in tourism development of Serbia. The most interesting types of active holiday in Serbia are: free and mountain biking, rafting, hiking, mountaineering, free climbing, ori- enteering, fishing, sailing, rowing, paragliding, cave exploring, skiing, survival in nature, zorbing, horse rid- ing, etc. Zlatibor district is almost perfect area for developing active holiday, due to the nature beauties and diversity of landscape. The most atractive parts for developing active holiday in Zlatibor district are: Tara Mountain and Drina River Gorge, Zlatibor Mountain, Uvac River Gorge and Zlatar Mountain, Lim River Valley and Pester Highlands. Key words: Active Holiday, Zlatibor County, Serbia Introduction Active holiday is a lifestyle form. The rule of thumb for active holiday reads that it is always an exciting travelling implying active participation of an individual to which unique challenges in nature are offered. There has always been adventurous travelling, most frequently emerg- ing during the Renaissance (Plavša, 2007). Although its form has undergone smaller chang- es, it is still based on human curiosity. Travellers all over the world tend to more frequent- ly abandon the prescribed routes and give over to the world of unknown. Man is probably the only one among species that would climb a mountain peak for mere curiosity or travel to other continents just for exploration purposes. People have always been interested in new cultures, impressive and unknown districts. Therefore, active tourism is not a new phenomenon both in theory and practice. Active tourism is a part of the market of special interest tourism, i.e. active holiday is a product of special interests market (Hall, Page, 2002). * Departman of geography, tourism and hotel management, Novi Sad, [email protected]; [email protected] ** Manager in tourism 28 Most of the authors define active holiday as “…responsible travel to foreign areas requiring physical and mental participation from the tourist and following the maximes of sustainabil- ity, protection of biodiversity and conservation of culture. Important elements are recreation and education, respect and contemplation, action and exercise” (www.active-tourism.com). According to H. Sung (1997), active holiday is „a trip or travel with the specific purpose of activ- ity participation to explore a new experience, often involving perceived risk or controlled dan- ger associated with personal challenges, in a natural environment or exotic outdoor setting”. Serbia, with its highly attractive natural resources, is perceived as a new and preserved destination at modern tourism market of sophisticated taste. As such, Serbia may definitely become an alternative to traditional markets, but at the same time set itself challenging com- petitive tasks in the battle for active tourism development. This is supported by the impor- tance and real perspectives in making the offer for active holiday in Serbia. Therefore, active holiday in Serbia should be considered as a significant segment of tourism market in the fol- lowing period and one of key directions within new strategy of tourism development in Serbia. The authors of the paper address to problems of active holiday in present and future tour- ism development in popular tourism region of Mt. Zlatibor County. The paper covers certain destinations of active tourism which most adequately reflect the present condition and also give clear guidelines for further development of tourism in the region. Mt. Zlatibor County and active holiday’s development Mt. Zlatibor County is located in south-eastern part of Serbia, covering 6,142 km2 which makes it the largest county in Serbia (Statistical office of the Republic of Serbia). It comprises the municipalities: Bajina Basta, Kosjeric, Uzice, Pozega, Cajetina, Arilje, Priboj, Nova Varos, Pri- jepolje and Sjenica. The seat of the county is Uzice. The area of the Mt. Zlatibor County is a specific tourist region in Serbia. With the aim to most comprehensively cover the phenomenon of active holiday, we have selected certain tour- ist destinations of active holiday. The process of destination selection did not follow adminis- trative territorial division of Mt. Zlatibor County, but the destinations were selected according to the type of active holiday and their potential in future active holiday development and tour- ism development in this prosperous tourist region. However, the selection of five most pros- perous destinations covered the whole territory of the County. The paper analyses the following destinations of active holiday in Mt. Zlatibor County: 1. Mountain Tara and the valley of the Drina river, 2. Mountain Zlatibor, 3. The valley of the Uvac river and mountain Zlatar, 4. The valley of the Lim river 5. Pester Plateau. All five destinations are specific in former tourism development of the County. The area of Mt. Zlatibor County belongs to south-eastern Serbia, covering the most of its territory, which assigns the key role to the County in both tourism and general development within the region. The selection of five destinations is the most objective presentation of the current offer of active tourism in the County. The analysis of uniform development and interrelations of cer- tain locations was the key criterion for conceptual organization of destinations consisting of one, two or several locations. For example, if mountain Tara is to be analysed, then it is inevi- TURIZAM | Volume 13, Issue 1, 28-44 (2009) 29 Map 1. Zlatibor County in Serbia table to include the valley of the Drina river with regard to their parallel development and affir- mation in tourism. Equivalent to this destination, another destination the valley of the Uvac river and mountain Zlatar, was selected. Zlatibor is the most frequently visited mountain and an independent destination and as such the subject of the research. Destination the valley of the Lim river covers only the area of Polimlje on the territory of Serbia and the mountains around the river. The destination Pester Plateau is the least developed from tourism aspect, but attractive and perspective destination for its natural resources. Figure 1. Hiking on the Kamena gora (Foto: D. Lj. Vuksanović, 2008) 30 TURIZAM | Volume 13, Issue 1, 28-44 (2009) The area of Mt. Zlatibor County includes numerous natural values more or less popular in tourism. Affirmation of active holiday and tourism in general in the area should be based on sustainability principles. The most valuable natural resources of Mt. Zlatibor County are nat- ural protected values: National Park Tara, Nature Park Zlatibor, areas of exceptional features Zaovine and Sargan – Mokra Gora, Special Nature Reserve Uvac, Pestersko polje and Gorge of the river Milesevka, as well as several Natural Monuments - Slapovi Sopotnice (waterfalls), Stopica pecina (cave), Potpećka pećina (cave) and Sveti bor at Kamena Gora. Mountain Tara and the valley of the Drina river. Mountain Tara is located in the west end of Serbia in the border region with the Republic of Srpska. The largest portion of this mountain near the Drina river is at 1,000 to 1,200 m of altitude, with the highest peaks between 1,400 to 1,544 m (Zboriste). The area is intersected by deeply cut river valleys - gorges and canyons, with the most strik- ing canyon of the river Drina with powerful limestone walls over 1,000 m high. Besides the canyon of the Drina, there are also beautiful and wild canyons of the rivers Raca, Brusnice and Derventa in the area of Mt. Tara. “The queen of the mountains” in not only recognizable by its deep and wild canyons and gorges, but also by its dense autochthonous coniferous for- ests which identify it as the highest quality forest mountain in Serbia and Europe (Amidzic et al, 2007). Among over 1,000 flora species, the most valuable are 20 endemic species with the greatest value assigned to Pancic’s spruce (Picea omorica). Mt. Tara was declared a national park cov- ering the area of 19,175 ha in 1981 (Ilic, Stankovic, 2006). Mountain relief, altitude and hydrographic objects in its area offer ideal conditions for active holidays. Since protected natural assets are in question tourism zoning plans are neces- sary to be realized through protection regimes of those assets. Depending on the type of pro- tected natural value and the protection level, the content for active holiday will be allowed in zones of the 1st and 2nd degree of protection (Plavsa, Romelic, Stojanovic, 2006; Stojanovic, 2007). Current offer of active holiday. Destination Mt. Tara and the valley of the river Drina offers to all age groups of tourists unrestricted possibilities for undertaking various types of activities, depending on their interest, health and physical condition. This destination has been offering the following activities within the scope of active holiday for several years: hiking and mountaineering, free biking1 and mountain cycling, orientation in nature, rafting, skiing, horse riding, sports fishing, sailing and rowing. Hiking and mountaineering. There are 18 well marked trails for hiking and mountaineering with the total length of 120 km. The starting points for thee routes are mainly at Mitrovac and Predov krst, with the length of the routes ranging from 1.5 to 18 km. Mountain maps are rec- ommended for use and could be found at information desks in the National park. Also there is a jogging track (1.5 km) at Mt. Tara. Free biking and mountain cycling. The terrain totally meets the needs for formation of trails of various difficulty levels, ranging from the easiest to most difficult. The realisation of the project “Taro Cycle” will make Mt. Tara the first domestic national park with marked cycling tracks. The project will involve marking of 24 tracks leading from Kaluđerske bare, Mitrov- ac or Predov Krst over Perucac, lake Zaovine, Borovo brdo, Kremna or Mokra Gora up to Mt.