UNDERDEVELOPMENT OF RURAL TOURISM IN SERBIA: CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES AND POSSIBLE DIRECTIONS OF DEVELOPMENT Gordana Radović1 *Corresponding author E-mail: [email protected] A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T Review Article The aim of this paper is to analyze the development of rural tourism in Serbia. The paper uses the method of survey Received: 15 May 2020 research, analysis, synthesis, comparative and statistical Accepted: 27 October 2020 methods. The author concludes that rural tourism in Serbia is underdeveloped. The reasons for this are numerous, and doi:10.5937/ekoPolj2004337R they primarily relate to problems and limitations in the UDC 502.131.1:338.48-44 development of supply, but also to the lack of demand. (1-22)(497.11) The consequences are the economic and social decline of rural areas. In order to develop rural tourism in Serbia, it Keywords: is necessary to adopt new strategic documents, regulations rural tourism, balanced and provide favorable continuous sources of financing rural development, financing, for the development of all segments of the offer. For the association, Serbia purpose of balanced rural development, it is necessary to form an association at the national level, which should JEL: R59 have branches in all administrative districts and play a key role in the further development of rural tourism in Serbia. © 2020 EA. All rights reserved. Introduction Tourism as a phenomenon, by its spatial, economic, sociological, psychological, cultural, political and other connotations, has no counterpart in any otherphenomenon of the modern world (Lakićević & Žarevac, 2014). Tourism has become increasingly important industry, and there are different approaches to defining and measuring the performance of a tourist destination (Durkalić et al., 2019). Rural tourism can be called a “model of rural development”. This model implies the development of non- agricultural activities, but also the development of agriculture as a primary activity in rural areas. Also, this model should make it possible to stop the departure of the working population from rural to urban areas. Factors influencing the development of rural tourism can be divided into factors influencing the increase of supply and factors influencing the growth of demand. Rural tourism in Europe has recorded a rapid growth in the second half of the twentieth century. 1 Gordana Radović, Ph.D, Scientific associate, Director, „Dnevnik-Poljoprivrednik“ AD Novi Sad, Serbia, Phone: +381 64 13 78 643, E-mail: [email protected], ORCID ID (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9770-6306) http://ea.bg.ac.rs 1337 Economics of Agriculture, Year 67, No. 4, 2020, (pp. 1337-1352), Belgrade “The growth rate of tourist demand in rural areas on this continent has increased, in the period from 1980-2000 by 52%, which is by far the largest growth compared to other tourist regions” (Bošković, 2003, p.65). Affirmation of the development of rural tourism in Serbia has a base if we look at the availability of natural and social resources, the importance of agriculture, the possibility of rural development based on a multisector approach. Also, there is a need to slow down migration from rural to urban areas for the survival of Serbian villages. However, the average capacity occupancy in rural tourism in Serbia is only 4% (Program for the development of sustainable rural tourism in the Republic of Serbia, 2011), and the average capacity occupancy in rural tourism in the European Union is 25% (Bartlet, 2006). The European Union strongly supports sustainable development, allocating around 40% of the funds from the rural development budget, as an important component of sustainable development (Balaban et al, 2019, p.1185). CAP become a major instrument in promoting the green development of agricultural areas in European Union (Andrei & Darvasi, 2012; Popescu & Andrei, 2011). According to Gajić et al, (2017, p.912), public and state institutions as well as non-profit organizations play an important role in the development of rural tourism by providing resources, whether in the form of finance or some other form, helping to promote and improve the tourist offer of the region that are less developed. The authors Bakić & Hrabovski-Tomić, (2010, p.118), believe that the lower limit of profitability, i.e. utilization of accommodation capacities in tourism, is 60%. Having in mind the stated data, and the seasonal character of demand, we believe that self- financing is not a sufficient source, but quality external sources of financing are necessary for financing rural tourism. However, the author Radović, (2016, p.1062), states “self-financing has been a predominant source of financing of rural tourism in the Republic of Serbia so far.” The author Milenković, (2009), points out that most countries that have developed tourism also have strong stimulating and protectionist state measures in favor of the development of this activity. Thus, it can be concluded that in the process of rural tourism development, both in underdeveloped and developed countries, the support of the state plays a significant role. Rural tourism is recognized “as one of the tourist products of special importance for the development of tourism and as a key tourist product for most tourist destinations in Serbia” (Tourism Development Strategy of the Republic of Serbia for the period from 2016 to 2025, 2016). The goals of rural tourism development in Serbia are: diversification of the rural economy, reduction of poverty and improvement of the quality of life of the population in rural areas, as well as preservation of the country’s cultural wealth, environmental protection and more balanced regional development (Program for the development of sustainable rural tourism in the Republic of Serbia, 2011). The countries in the region, which have significantly developed rural tourism in recent decades, have very active national associations of service providers. We believe that they are a significant driver of the development of this activity. The Association of 1338 http://ea.bg.ac.rs Economics of Agriculture, Year 67, No. 4, 2020, (pp. 1337-1352), Belgrade Tourist Farms of Slovenia has existed in Slovenia since 1997. This Association is active in the promotion, sale, creation of the Slovenian rural tourism product brand, market research, as well as education of farmers engaged in rural tourism. The most important activity of the Association is cooperation with state authorities in the process of adopting regulations and planning documents related to the development of rural tourism in this country. According to Vujko et al, (2016, p. 1466), “developed rural tourism in Slovenia contributes not only to higher profit gain by households, but also to a variety of tourism offer, preserving tradition.” There is Hungarian Federation of Rural and Agro tourism in Hungary. The most important goal of this Association is the realization of activities in order to enable the improvement of living conditions of the rural population through the development of rural tourism. The national associations of rural tourism service providers in Austria have the same goals - “Urlaub am Bauernhof in Ősterreich”, and in Romania - National Association of Rural Ecological and Cultural Tourism - ANTREC”. The group of authors Sin et al, (2020, p.631), conclude that „in Romania, areas with rich environmental and cultural landscape have specialised in rural tourism“. The evolution of the Romanian tourism before the EU accession is a good example that, there are positive results when the investors and the authorities follow the same way and have the same objectives (Roşu & Voicilaş, 2019, p.1036). The official data, listed in the Program for the Development of Sustainable Rural Tourism in Serbia, state that rural tourism is already developed in “some parts of Vojvodina, western and central Serbia” (Program for the development of sustainable rural tourism in the Republic of Serbia, 2011). There are no more specific official data on the development of rural tourism in Serbia, and this will be the subject of research in this paper. We present the potentials and problems in the development of rural tourism in Serbia based on the results of researches conducted in the last decade. According to the results of the research Cvijanović et al, (2016), Serbia does not have the development of rural tourism adequate to the resources at its disposal and in accordance with the fact that rural areas make up as much as 85% of its total territory. The authors Petrović et al, (2018, p.10), conclude that “in the last decades, Serbian rural tourism has not achieved a high level of development, which resulted in low competitiveness in the international travel market”. According to Dedeić, (2015, p. 35), the limitations for the development of rural tourism in Serbia are the economic backwardness of rural areas, unfavorable age and educational structure of the population, poor roads and underdeveloped tourist offer. The author Matijašević-Obradović, (2016, p.33), believes that „in order for the tourist activity to represent a significant element in the total gross domestic product of Serbia, in addition to economic investments, appropriate legal regulations are necessary”. According to the research Chroneos-Krasavac et al, (2018, p. 1573), “in many countries, rural areas are undergoing significant socio-demographic and economic changes, and this trend is also present in Serbia“. A group of authors Otović et al, (2018, p.50), points http://ea.bg.ac.rs 1339 Economics of Agriculture, Year 67, No. 4, 2020, (pp. 1337-1352), Belgrade out that “the competitive advantage of Vojvodina, in addition to agriculture, is, above all, rural tourism.” The authors Bošković et al, (2011, p.40), conclude that the future development of rural tourism in Vojvodina “will depend on state support, which must be much stronger and more active than before.” According to Muha, (2013, p. 129), „rural tourism in Vojvodina should contribute to the preservation of rural environment and cultural heritage, and also economically motivate local people to stay in the countryside”.