Serbia's Strategy for Sustainable Rural Tourism Development

Volume II: Strategy for Sustainable Rural Tourism
Development in Serbia

Contents 1. Strategy Serbia
2. Strategy Appendix

Volume II: Strategy for Sustainable Rural Tourism Development in Serbia

The development of the National Rural Tourism Master Plan is one of the key components of
the Sustainable Tourism for Rural Development UN Joint Programme (JP), which works
towards the diversification of the rural economy in Serbia.

Other key activities include a) providing guidance for public investment, which is aimed at
creating national and international partnerships between public, civil and national sector
organizations, b) strengthening the capacities of rural tourism entrepreneurs, tourism
organizations and NGOs, and c) supporting local projects through the Joint UN Fund for
Sustainable Rural Tourism. The UN JP activities are implemented in four target regions, namely
South Banat on the Danube, East Serbia, Central Serbia and Lower Danube.

Five UN agencies, including UNWTO, FAO, UNDP, UNEP and UNICEF, in cooperation with a
number of Government of the Republic of Serbia national partners, namely the Ministry of
Economy and Regional Development, the Ministry of Agriculture, Trade, Forestry and Water
Management, and the National Tourism Organization of Serbia are implementing the Joint
Programme.

The Spanish Millennium Development Goals Achievement Fund (MDG-F) is providing 4 million
USD for the implementation of the UN JP, which started in December 2009 and will last until
June 2012.

This report was prepared by the UNWTO with the collaboration of the consulting company,
Tourism & Leisure Advisory Services, and its local partners.

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STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABLE RURAL TOURISM
DEVELOPMENT IN SERBIA
UN Joint Programme „Sustainable Tourism for Rural Development‟ funded by
the Spanish MDG Achievement Fund

Strategy Report
19 April 2011

Volume II – Strategy for Sustainable Rural Tourism Development in Serbia

Index

1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ - 4 -
2 Vision and objectives ............................................................................................................................................. - 7 -
2.1 Vision for the Rural Tourism Master Plan ....................................................................................................................... - 7 -
2.2 Objectives of the Rural Tourism Master Plan.................................................................................................................. - 8 -
2.3 Millennium Development Goals (MDG)........................................................................................................................... - 8 -
2.4 EU accession goals....................................................................................................................................................... - 10 -
2.5 Serbian Tourism Goals ................................................................................................................................................. - 10 -
2.6 Rural Tourism Goals ..................................................................................................................................................... - 12 -
3 Rural Tourism Positioning.................................................................................................................................... - 17 -
3.1 Rural Tourism positioning strategy................................................................................................................................ - 17 -
3.2 Rural Tourism symbols ................................................................................................................................................. - 19 -
3.3 Rural Tourism attributes ................................................................................................................................................ - 20 -
3.4 The challenge of differentiation ..................................................................................................................................... - 20 -
4 Rural Tourism Cluster development strategy....................................................................................................... - 22 -
4.1 Methodology.................................................................................................................................................................. - 22 -
4.2 Strategy for Rural Tourism Clusters development ........................................................................................................ - 24 -
4.3 Strategy for Rural Tourism Clusters prioritisation ......................................................................................................... - 26 -
5 Rural Tourism Experience development strategy ................................................................................................ - 30 -
5.1 Rural Tourism Experience strategy ............................................................................................................................... - 30 -
5.2 Rural Activities (products) general strategy .................................................................................................................. - 31 -
5.3 Rural Tourism Clusters (RTC) and Rural Activities (products) strategy ........................................................................ - 36 -
5.4 Man-made facilities strategy ......................................................................................................................................... - 43 -
5.5 Rural Accommodation strategy ..................................................................................................................................... - 45 -
5.6 Agriculture sector strategy within the rural tourism sector ............................................................................................ - 49 -
5.7 Special programme for villages and farms in Serbia..................................................................................................... - 50 -
5.8 Special programme for school and children / youth tourism ......................................................................................... - 50 -
6 Market development, Promotions and Commercial strategy ............................................................................... - 53 -
6.1 Market development strategy ........................................................................................................................................ - 53 -
6.2 Rural Tourism Branding Strategy .................................................................................................................................. - 60 -
6.3 Online marketing strategy ............................................................................................................................................. - 61 -
6.4 Sales and commercialization strategy........................................................................................................................... - 61 -
6.5 Communication and promotion strategy ....................................................................................................................... - 61 -
6.6 Institutional destination organization strategy ............................................................................................................... - 62 -
7 Economic Rural Tourism strategy ........................................................................................................................ - 63 -
7.1 Methodology.................................................................................................................................................................. - 63 -
7.2 Conclusions................................................................................................................................................................... - 64 -
7.3 Tourism and rural tourism projection models ................................................................................................................ - 66 -
8 Environmental and Social strategy ...................................................................................................................... - 69 -
8.1 Environmental strategy ................................................................................................................................................. - 69 -
8.2 Social strategy............................................................................................................................................................... - 72 -
9 Tourism Support development strategy ............................................................................................................... - 74 -
9.1 Infrastructure development strategy.............................................................................................................................. - 74 -
9.2 Quality development strategy........................................................................................................................................ - 76 -
9.3 Human Resources development strategy ..................................................................................................................... - 79 -
9.4 Private sector development: Micro & Small Enterprises ............................................................................................... - 85 -
9.5 Financial support ........................................................................................................................................................... - 87 -
9.6 Legislative support ........................................................................................................................................................ - 89 -

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10 Organisation framework....................................................................................................................................... - 91 -
10.1 Local, regional, national, trans-national levels .............................................................................................................. - 91 -
10.2 Tourism strategy governance........................................................................................................................................ - 93 -
10.3 Tourism strategy implementation ................................................................................................................................ - 103 -

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1 Introduction

The objective of this report, Strategy for Rural Tourism in Serbia, is to present the initial strategy for
the development of Rural Tourism in Serbia. The strategy is developed based on the keys findings
from the Diagnostic Report, which found that Rural Tourism has a critical role to play in the
development of tourism in Serbia. Furthermore, it found that Rural Tourism can play a leading role
in the diversification of the rural economy and as a mechanism to reduce poverty, improve the
quality of life, preserve cultural heritage and protect the environment. The role of the agricultural
sector is particularly important in the development of Rural Tourism.

The strategy for the development of Rural Tourism in Serbia fits within the larger framework of the
development of tourism in Serbia. It has an extremely important role to play as it represents a great
opportunity for the further development of tourism and the creation of a strong Rural Tourism
destination in Serbia.

The objective of this report is to present the main strategies proposed for the development of Rural
Tourism in Serbia. It is important to reflect on the key findings of the Diagnostic Report, which have
identified the high potential for the development of Rural Tourism in Serbia, as well as identifying
the current gaps in creating social-, economic- and environmental value for Serbia. These key
findings have been included in the first chapter of this report.

It is important to highlight the key role which Rural Tourism can play in supporting the Millennium
Development Goals, EU accession goals, the sustainable development of rural areas of Serbia as
well as the overall Serbian tourism goals. The second chapter of the report defines the Vision and
Objectives of the Rural Tourism strategy and highlights the role which Rural Tourism should play in
meeting the wider objectives for Serbia.

The third chapter defines the Rural Tourism positioning for Serbia. This is followed by the fourth
chapter which defines the territorial strategy for the development of Rural Tourism as well as the
prioritisation strategy.

The fifth chapter defines the strategy for the development of the Rural Tourism experience in
Serbia. The strategy is comprised of a holistic perspective of Rural Tourism which incorporates the
rural activities and rural accommodation strategies. The sixth chapter defines the economic
strategy and estimates the economic value of the development of Rural Tourism. The seventh
chapter defines the environmental and social strategy.

The eighth chapter defines the market development strategy, as well as the promotions and
commercialisation strategies. The ninth chapter defines the tourism support strategy, which is
followed by the final chapter, the organisational framework strategy.

The preliminary Strategy report is the third deliverable of the project, and will be followed by Phase
III: the Rural Tourism Action Plan.

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1.1 Key conclusions from Diagnostic Report

The key conclusions of the Diagnostic Report show that there are strong opportunities for the
development of Rural Tourism in Serbia. However, it found that there are weaknesses which need
to be addressed as a high priority. The main conclusions from the Diagnostic Report are as
follows:
 Most of the Serbian territory is rural with a large and diversified number of nature and culture-
based assets, spread out throughout the country. These resources are highly attractive for the
development of a holistic Rural Tourism experience. Furthermore, the majority of these
resources have not been developed for Rural Tourism although they have high potential for
development.
 The Rural Tourism concept is an integrated rural experience based on the interaction of rural
activities and rural accommodation. Rural Tourism is highly correlated with many different
products which are already developed by TOS. The Serbian rural values and symbols are
already highlighted by the “Village life” product of TOS and other products such as Nature and
Earth Tourism and Cultural Tourism. Rural Tourism can support the further development of
these products and can further enhance them.
 Rural Tourism has already been developed in some areas of Serbia. Most important areas are
Western Serbia, Vojvodina and Central Serbia.
 Rural Tourism has a key role to play in the protection and enhancement of the natural
environment of Serbia. The natural environment is one of Serbia´s strongest resources and it
should be protected.
 Furthermore, Rural Tourism is already playing an important role in rural Serbia and is
generating a significant level of income. Rural Tourism is an emerging reality in Serbia
supported by the more than 32,000 beds (registered and non-registered) in rural areas1, from
which 10,000 beds are exclusively rural. It is estimated that these total beds are generating
yearly more than 5 billion RSD of accommodation incomes and contributes approximately 5
billion RSD more direct incomes for the tourism sector.
 These more than 10 billion RSD incomes do not take into account visitors that do not stay
at least for one night or stay with friends or relatives, although they also spend money in
tourism services and others and therefore generate additional incomes for the rural areas.
The 10 billion figure do not either account for the indirect contribution to the local economy
in terms of incomes and employment.
 Just for the purpose of giving an order of magnitude, these estimated total 10 billion RSD
incomes would represent 16% of the Direct Travel and Tourism GDP calculated by WTTC
(World Tourism and Travel Council) in Serbia for 2010 which sums up 62.4 billion RSD.
 In terms of the Rural Tourism Sector, besides these figures, it is clear that there are many gaps
in most units, such as tourism assets, leisure and entertainment activities, restaurants,
handicrafts, agricultural products used directly or indirectly by the tourism sector, etc. From a
positive point of view, these gaps represent opportunities that can be taken to generate
businesses, especially micro and medium enterprises, as well as employment.
 Rural Tourism can play a key role in Serbia in terms of diversifying the rural economy, thereby,
creating employment opportunities which will generate additional incomes for rural households,
reduce unemployment (specifically among women and young people) and can help to maintain
or repopulate villages. Furthermore, the development of Rural Tourism will empower small

1
Refer to the Diagnostic Report for full details on calculations

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scale farmers by giving them the possibility to directly offer their high quality products to the
tourists. It is expected that Rural Tourism will also play a significant role in the preservation of
traditional farming practices

There is, therefore, an opportunity to use Rural Tourism as a support to the general tourism
development is Serbia. However, there are also many gaps and barriers that need to be addressed
and removed, among others the following major ones identified in the Diagnostic Report:
 Road infrastructure in rural areas and particularly between rural tourism resources need to be
improved.
 Need for structured Rural Tourism experiences which include activities, accommodation and
man-made facilities.
 High seasonality issues that are affecting the use of rural areas and the occupancy of tourism
accommodation which is extremely low (average 4% yearly occupancy for rural units and 21%
for other accommodation units).
 Lack of international standards and quality guarantees throughout the Tourism Sector,
especially accommodation facilities.
 Human resource awareness and development in order to understand and use the opportunities
provided by rural tourism in a sustainable way.
 Organization between the national, regional and local stakeholders (public and private sectors,
civil society) in order to manage rural tourism development in an efficient and sustainable way.
 Lack of standardized traditional food products and quantity of such products.

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2 Vision and objectives

The objectives of this chapter are as follows:

 To define the vision of development of the Rural Tourism Master Plan of Serbia
 To define the strategic objectives of the Rural Tourism Master Plan and to define the role that
the Plan should play in supporting other strategic objectives of Serbia

2.1 Vision for the Rural Tourism Master Plan

The overall vision of Rural Tourism master plan of Serbia is to develop a master plan for socially,
economically and environmentally sustainable rural tourism. It should be emphasised that the
vision of sustainable Rural Tourism is a balance of economic sustainability, socio-cultural
sustainability and environmental sustainability. Without the interaction and balance of these three
components, the benefits of rural tourism will be limited. Furthermore, Serbian rural tourism relies
on a large and diversified number of nature and culture based assets which need to be conserved,
sustainably used and further enhanced through tourism development. Sustainable rural tourism
generates local income and integrates local communities with a view to improving livelihoods and
reducing poverty; conserves natural and cultural assets such as biodiversity, cultural heritage and
traditional values; supports intercultural understanding and tolerance, aspires to be more energy
efficient and climate sound; avoids over consumption of water; and minimises waste.

Economic Socio-cultural
siness plan basé sur le cycle de vie et sustainability sustainability
coûts et bénéfices à long terme
Priorité 3
eur ajoutée, marketing des pratiques durables Rural
our économique vs. investissement en capital Tourism
ûts d’exploitation et d’entretien

Environmental
sustainability

 To lead the differentiation of Serbia against its competitors and for it to become one of the
leading destinations Rural Tourism in the Balkans.
 To develop a rural tourism plan which supports the overall tourism objectives of Serbia and
plays a leading role in supporting the MoERD in achieving these objectives
 To support Serbia´s objectives for EU accession
 To support the objectives of Serbia´s Millennium Development Goals
 To contribute to sustainable rural development of Serbia

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2.2 Objectives of the Rural Tourism Master Plan

The objectives of the Rural Tourism Master Plan are made up different layers which are
complementary and provide a detailed set of multiple objectives for the master plan. The main
objectives are summarised in the below diagram:

Rural
Tourism
Goals

Serbian Tourism Goals

EU accession goals

Millenium Development Goals (MDG)

2.3 Millennium Development Goals (MDG)

The UN MDG Declaration states that tourism has a significant potential to directly support and
stimulate local economic development of rural based tourism. The development of rural based
tourism in Serbia is particularly important given the challenges of unemployment, depopulation and
the need to diversify the agricultural economy, which have been highlighted in the Diagnostic
Report. The objective of the Rural Tourism Plan for Serbia, therefore, is to support the MoERD, the
MAFWM and the United Nations in achieving the Millennium Development Goals for Serbia.
Specifically, the Rural Tourism Master Plan should support the MDG goals as follows:

2.3.1 Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger (MDG 1)
The goals of the Rural Tourism Master Plan of Serbia are to contribute to MDG1 in the following
way:
 Create employment opportunities by the stimulation of the rural tourism sector.
 Support and activate the participation of women and young in rural areas in the tourism sector,
thereby, creating employment and contributing to the reduction of unemployment. The role of
women in the production of hand crafts and maintaining local tradition should be supported and
encouraged.
 Tourism awareness and training will also be needed within the strategic framework of the rural
development master plan in order to show opportunities and to provide skills for unemployed
people to enter the tourism market.

2.3.2 Ensure environmental sustainability (MDG 7)
way:

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 Sustainable development principles should be included in the rural tourism master plan to
ensure that the development of rural tourism protects natural resources and prevents their
deterioration.
 Furthermore, the plan should encourage the revitalising of natural and cultural assets which are
not being used to benefit the rural communities.
 The principles of sustainability should always be the key principle which underlies the
development of any tourism activity related to rural tourism.
 Where possible, the rural tourism master plan should aim to identify ways in which energy can
be used in an efficient way.

2.3.3 Develop Global Partnership for Development (MDG 8)
way:
 It should encourage sustainable economic growth and the diversification of the economy in
rural areas.
 It should support the investment in human resource development and the development of
human capacity in the rural tourism sector.
 It should create co-operation structures and mechanisms between the public and the private
sectors, as well as the civil society, with special emphasis at the regional and local levels, in
order to build long term governance self capacity. Co-operation should also contemplate other
dimensions such as between municipalities and regions of Serbia, as well as with other
neighbouring countries.

The below table summarises the National Development Goal targets addressed by the Joint
Programme (JP):

2
MDG targets addressed by JP

MDG 1. Eradicate 1.1. Reduce unemployment rate of young by at least one third
Extreme Poverty and 1.2. Reduce unemployment rate of persons with disabilities by at least 20%
Hunger 1.3. Reduce unemployment rate of women by over 45%

7.1. Integrate sustainable development principles in national documents,
stop the loss of natural resources and encourage their revitalisation
MDG 7. Ensure
7.2. Adopt and implement national programmes, strategies and laws
Environmental
governing sustainable development and environmental protection in
Sustainability
Republic of Serbia by 2015.
7.5. Increase energy efficiency and usage of renewable energy
8.1. Dynamic and sustainable GDP growth based on assumptions
MDG 8. Develop a Global established by the National Investment Plan the Strategy of Promotion and
Partnership for Development of Foreign Investments and the Strategy for Economic
Development Development until 2012.
8.3.Increase Investments in human resources development by 70%

2
Source: UNWTO Concept Note, 2010

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2.4 EU accession goals

The goals of the Joint Programme (JP) are to support the government is Serbia´s accession to the
EU. Specifically the JP will support the accession by promoting a strategic approach to the
sustainable tourism development at a national level 3:

2.4.1 National Tourism Master Plan
The goal is to develop a National Rural Tourism Master Plan which will bring together public-
private and civil society stakeholders to create a plan that addresses the needs of rural tourism
stakeholders, aligning them with the tourist demand and consumers in a national approach. The
Master Plan will be an opportunity to show the EU how the multiple stakeholders at a national level
can collaborate in Serbia with the objectives of creating economic-,social and environmental value.

2.4.2 National Programme for Rural Development
The goal is to support the rural planning initiatives to diversify the rural economy, strengthen social
capital and environmental protection. The JP will facilitate Serbia´s access to the European
Commission funding for environmental action, rural economy diversification and local partnership
development, with the aim of reducing poverty in rural areas in a sustainable manner.

2.4.3 Investment mainstreaming
The goal is to facilitate the initiatives targeting national and international partnerships of public,
private and civil society. The lessons learned from the pilot projects as part of the JP should be
used to guide public investments in sustainable rural development. It should also support Serbia in
future applications for funding.

Furthermore, Serbia´s accession to the EU will give it the opportunity to access special funds for
the development of rural areas. For example, the ERDF: European Regional Development Fund,
which aims to support economic development in the European Regions, inclusive of and
especially in rural areas.

2.5 Serbian Tourism Goals

The goals for Rural Tourism development in Serbia fit within the overall goals for Serbian Tourism.
The Tourism Development Strategy of the Republic of Serbia (2007) defines specific Serbian
tourism goals and the Rural Tourism Master Plan will play an important role in supporting these
objectives through the development of Rural Tourism. Specifically, Rural Tourism will support the
Serbian Tourism goals in the following ways:

2.5.1 Economic support
The goal for tourism in Serbia is to encourage economic growth and to increase total income from
the tourism sector4. Different Master Plans have been commissioned and are being adopted

3
Ibid

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throughout the Serbian territory in order to consolidate this trend. The further development of all
the units that made up the Tourism Sector can result in a further economic development. The
objective is that Rural Tourism will contribute to the economic development of Serbia through the
development of economic opportunities in rural areas. In particular, the stimulation and
diversification of the agricultural sector will support these objectives. Furthermore, the Rural
Tourism Master Plan should support economic development by addressing the gaps in the rural
Tourism Sector. It is estimated that Rural Tourism already contributes 5.2 billion RSD of
accommodation incomes and an estimated total 10.4 billion RSD of direct economic contribution to
Serbia5.

2.5.2 Facilities and infrastructure development
The goal for Serbia is to increase the utilization of existing accommodation facilities by improving
the overall capacity6. Additionally, the goal is the development of adequate infrastructure and
facilities for tourism products which require long term investments. Above all these include
mountain tourism and special interest7. The product development strategy for Rural Tourism will
aim to further stimulate and encourage the demand for rural facilities and accommodation. The
development of infrastructures, particularly rural roads, is important for the development of Rural
Tourism. Furthermore, the development of Rural Tourism will require investment in man-made
facilities in rural areas.

2.5.3 Increase in tourist arrivals and revenues
The goal for Serbia is to increase the number of tourist arrivals and overnights by 2015 8 at least at
a compound annual growth rate least of 3%. The definition of the positioning of tourism in Serbia
will be key in attracting increased domestic and international tourists to Serbia. The development of
the Rural Tourism products will aim to stimulate increased interest in discovering rural Serbia and
will encourage increased tourist arrivals and overnights, as well as stimulating increased revenues.

2.5.4 Increase employment in sector
The goal for Serbia is to increase direct employment in the tourism sector9. The development of job
opportunities in the tourism sector and support for skills development and training will aim to
increase employment in the sector. Specifically, the development of Rural Tourism should play a
key role in the creation of new employment opportunities in rural areas.

2.5.5 International standards guarantee
The goal for Serbia is to increase security and application of international quality standards and
tourist consumer protection according to European business practice in order to attract foreign
tourists10. The development of Rural Tourism in Serbia can support the overall development of
international standards in tourism. The introduction of minimum standards and quality guarantees

4
The Tourism Development Strategy of the Republic of Serbia, 2007
5
The details of the calculations of the economic impact of Rural Tourism in Serbia can be found in a
separate chapter, Economic Rural Tourism Strategy, in this report.
6
The Tourism Development Strategy of the Republic of Serbia, 2007, states that the objective is to increase
tourism capacity to 150.000 beds by 2015.
7
The Tourism Development Strategy of the Republic of Serbia, 2007
8
Ibid
9
The Tourism Development Strategy of the Republic of Serbia, 2007, states that the objective is to increase
direct employment in the tourism sector to 100.000 workers.
10
The Tourism Development Strategy of the Republic of Serbia, 2007,

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in rural areas will help to give tourists and visitors more security in terms of expected levels of
service and products.

2.6 Rural Tourism Goals

The following objectives are specifically defined for Rural Tourism. These are within the context of
the other objectives that have been outlined in the above sections of this chapter.

Serbian Rural Tourism positioning goals

 The objective is to develop a strategy which defines the
USPs for Rural Tourism in terms of multiple components and
multiple aspects. These are driven mainly by rural activities
 Define and develop the multi- and rural accommodation; while at the same time consider
layered Unique Selling the tangible and intangible factors that define the rural
Propositions (USPs) for Rural destination of Serbia.
Tourism in Serbia  The development of the integrated and multiple USPs should
always strive to develop and enhance a truly Serbian
character of the Rural Tourism experience.
 The objective is to create a competitive positioning of Rural
Tourism in Serbia by having a holistic strategy for the
development of Rural Tourism experiences (integration of
rural activities and rural accommodation)
 The objective is to build on the natural and cultural strength
of Serbia by developing rural activities and at the same time,
develop the supporting structures needed to make Serbia
competitive.
 Create a highly competitive  This objective needs to take into account the position and
positioning of Rural Tourism in relationship of rural tourism with regards to other tourism
Serbia products of Serbia and also to consider the competitive
positioning with regards to other neighbouring countries.
 In the short and mid-term the objective is to further
differentiate from Romania and Bulgaria, especially through
a focus on accommodation and creating options which
integrate activities and accommodation.
 At the same time the objective is to have comparable
advantaged with regards to Hungary and the Czech Republic
and to surpass their competitiveness.
Serbian Rural Tourism Experience (product) goals
 The objective is to create a uniquely Serbian Rural Tourism
 Develop a competitive and experience through the integration of rural activities and rural
unique Serbian Rural Tourism accommodation.
Experience  The aim is to develop the special Serbian elements of the
offer so that it is uniquely Serbian.
 Leverage the products which are already associated with
 Leverage products which are rural tourism to further develop the rural tourism offer
already developed in rural Serbia  In parallel, these products should always be developed with
a strong Serbian context.

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 Develop tourism activities in rural areas which are combined
 Combine activities and with accommodation in rural areas, to provide an integrated
accommodation in rural areas rural tourism experience with a strong Serbian character and
with a strong Serbian character context, whenever possible.
 The objective is to create packages of experiences which
give the visitor an integrated and varied experience of rural
 Develop integrated leisure and Serbia.
entertainment offers which are  The aim is to create organized activities which are attractive
intrinsically Serbian in character to different segments by making use of tourism assets but
also creating man-made attractions and activities
 The objective is to further develop the attractiveness of
existing man-made resources by improvements in the level
of quality and services. Thereby increasing the footfall and
revenues.
 The man-made facilities should – as much as possible -
 Develop man- made facilities reflect Serbian value and should further enhance the
with a Serbian character positioning of Rural Serbia.
 The number of man-made attractors should be increased
and is a tool for the dispersion and diversification of the
leisure and tourism offer in rural Serbia. This is particularly
important in areas with lower natural and cultural
attractiveness.
 The objective is to increase the number of beds for rural use
(this includes rural households and general tourism beds
11
usable for rural tourism .
 The accommodation facilities should reflect a truly Serbian
 Improve rural accommodation character (which may be expressed in terms of tradition or
capacity and character modern Serbia).
 The general tourism beds usable for rural tourism should
increase to 39,287 in 2013, 42,574 in 2015 and 47,653 in
12
2020 .
Rural Tourism Quality goals

 Ensure that the quality level meets minimum international
standards and provides a quality guarantee.
 The objective is to improve the rural accommodation offer by
 Standardise the level of quality in ensuring more consistent quality of international standards.
rural tourism and differentiate
 The rural accommodation typologies should be further
through quality labels
standardised and defined to allow the development of an
authentic and varied Serbian rural tourism accommodation
offer.
Rural Tourism Economic and tourism demand goals

 The objective is increase the number of rural overnights from
 Increase the demand for 2.7 million to 4 million in 2013, 4.8 million in 2015 and 7.4
overnights million in 2020.
 13
Increase accommodation revenue from 5.2 bn RSD to 6.3
 Increase revenues from rural bn RSD in 2013, to 8.2 bn RSD in 2015 and 14 bn RSD in
tourism activities 2020.

11
The Diagnostic Report refers the rural accommodation supply as rural households and hotels and other
accommodation (which are close to rural areas and can, therefore, be used by rural tourists).
12
Please refer to Rural Tourism projections model for full details
13
Bn= billion

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 Increase the tourism economic direct multiplier from 0.97 to 1
in 2013, to 1.1 in 2015 and 1.6 in 2020
 Increase the total economic contribution of rural tourism to
the economy of Serbia from 10.4 bn RSD to16.5 bn RSD in
2013, 22.4 bn RSD in 2015 and 45.5 bn RSD in 2020.
 The objective is to increase the occupancy rates of general
 Increase occupancy rates of rural tourism from 21% to 24% in 2013, to 26% in 2015 and 30%
accommodation in 2020 and rural tourism occupancy rates from 4% to 12% in
2013, to 17% in 2015 and 30% in 2020
 The objective is to increase the number of day visitors,
especially from international regional markets.
 Increase focus on day visitors  The objective is to increase day visitors from 1.2 million to
1.9 million in 2013, to 2.4 million in 2015 and 3.9 million in
2020.
Rural Tourism Social sustainability goals
 The objective is to use the wealth of natural, cultural and
social resources in rural Serbia to further diversify the rural
 Diversify the rural economy and economy by creating new rural employment opportunities.
reduce unemployment in rural  The goal is to engage local rural communities in tourism and,
areas thereby, reduce unemployment and depopulation in rural
areas.
 The objective is to develop local markets in order to ease the
access to market of local agricultural products, food and non-
food products processed locally and in particular those
 Support sustainable small scale deriving from small scale farming. Small scale farmers
farming initiatives of high natural represent a key element for conservation of rural traditions,
and cultural value and further culture and landscapes; and high value nature farming
develop local markets practices. Small scale production of high quality products
processed traditionally or locally have no chance to compete
with conventional products in open markets
 The objective is to further develop the natural and intrinsic
values of women and other disadvantaged groups in rural
Serbia as part of the authentic rural tourism experience.
 Activate the participation of  The goal is to further develop local handcrafts and traditional
women and disadvantaged methods of production (foods, drinks, clothes, carpets) and
groups in rural tourism to develop these as a source of income for rural
communities, while at the same time creating a unique
tourism experience for the visitor.
 The objective is to revitalise the use of rural schools and to
bring children back to schools which are suffering from a lack
 Revitalise rural schools14 of students. The development of Rural Tourism should
encourage the use of rural schools to stimulate active and
outdoor learning for groups of children and youth.

Rural Tourism Environmental sustainability goals
 The objective is to further protect and enhance the natural
 Preserve and manage natural and cultural assets in rural Serbia and to provide
and cultural assets and development solutions to protect these from degradation and
landscapes in a high rural sources of pollution. The preservation and enhancement of
environmental quality by the environmental quality is a key-factor for the sustainable
minimising environmental risks usage of Rural Tourism as economic driver in rural areas of
Serbia

14
Objective supported by UNICEF

- 14 -


 Reduction of GHG emission –  The aim is to sell agricultural products close to the place of
cutting carbon footprint production, thus avoiding transportation for longer distances

 Develop infrastructure in rural  The aim is to develop renewable energy sources in rural
areas which supports sustainable Serbia which will be closely linked with the development of
life styles rural tourism.

 The goal is to involve local communities and stakeholders in
 Create social awareness and Rural Tourism and instantly. Use Rural Tourism as a tool to
involve community in educate the communities in environmental concerns and
sustainability initiatives for Rural possibilities to prevent the environmental degradation.
Tourism

Marketing goals

 The objective is to create a clear identity and branding for
Serbia as a rural tourism destination.
 The brand identity should support the overall positioning of
 Clear identity, branding and Rural Tourism in Serbia.
differentiation of Rural Tourism in  In the short and mid-term the objective is to further
Serbia differentiate from Romania and Bulgaria. At the same time
the objective is to have comparable advantages with regards
to Hungary and the Czech Republic and to surpass their
competitiveness.
 The objective is to create a diverse and original rural tourism
experience which will be attractive to a local, regional and
international market. The aim is to use the proximity to many
international regional markets as a key way of attracting
 Diversification of the demand by potential visitors.
geographic region  The 2015 objective is for the domestic overnights to make up
80% of total overnights in rural areas, and international
regional and international “rest of the world” should make up
15
20%
 The objective is to create rural tourism products in Serbia,
which will combine rural activities with rural accommodation.
 Reduce seasonality by creating The use of these activities and accommodation should
experiences which are attractive create a diverse and interesting mix of experiences for the
throughout the year visitor. The goal is that these rural tourism products are
attractive to different markets throughout the year, thereby,
reducing seasonality.
 The objective is to improve the marketing of rural tourism in
 Improve the marketing and Serbia by the development of the rural tourism marketing
commercialization of rural strategy. The aim is to further leverage the use of new
tourism in Serbia technologies, especially the internet, for both the promotion
and sales of the rural products.

Partnership and governance goals

 Develop and Support  The objective is to create an entrepreneurial environment
partnerships and cooperation and cooperation between numerous local farmers,
between local farmers, villagers household owners and the tourism sector. Serbian villages

15
Please refer to Projections chapter for full details

- 15 -


and tourism sector have a small and diverse agricultural production which needs
to be coordinated to participate in the tourism sector.
Furthermore, rural households are fragmented and many
small farms remain isolated from the tourism sector. The
development of partnerships between local farmers, rural
households and the tourism sector is an important goal for
the diversification of the rural economy.
 The objective is to develop and support public-private
 Develop and support rural partnerships through the development of partnerships
tourism public-private between small rural stakeholders, local communities, civil
partnerships sector, public services and established businesses (for
example resorts which already exists in rural areas).
 The objective is to create a governance structure which
further extends its support for the development of rural
 Improvement of Governance and tourism.
institutional capacity to support  The aim is for the coordination, reporting structures and
rural tourism funding to have a more integrated and coordinated approach
to rural tourism.
Rural Tourism Human Capacity development goals

 The objective is to create awareness for the local population
of what the opportunities are to enter the Rural Tourism
 Increase awareness of industry.
employment opportunities in  The objective is to create awareness for the general public,
Rural Tourism but also to have a special focus on women, youth and
disadvantages groups.
 The objective is to provide the training and skills required to
perform the jobs in Rural Tourism.
 Provide training for skills  The objective is to provide skills which are transversal across
development different units of the tourism sector, and at the same time to
provide specific skills which are needed in particular units of
the tourism sector.

 Provide ongoing support for  The objective is to provide ongoing support to the people
Rural Tourism skills development who are employed in Rural Tourism.

 The objective is to provide specific training for small
 Special programmes for Micro businesses and to address specific training needs for
and Small Enterprises and the governmental institutions
public sector

Infrastructure and other support goals
 The objective is to improve the accessibility to the Rural
Tourism sites and between places of interest for tourism.
 The objective is to improve the accessibility with motorised
 Road infrastructure improvement and non-motorized vehicles of visitors to rural tourism sites
and, thereby, also improve the access to rural areas for local
communities

 The objective is to improve the man-made leisure facilities in
 Man-made infrastructure rural areas of Serbia
 Furthermore, rural tourism signalisation can play an
 Improvement of accessibility and important role in facilitating the arrival of tourists to their
signalisation to rural tourism offer destination.

- 16 -


3 Rural Tourism Positioning

The competition analysis in the Diagnostic Report, found that there is strong competition in Rural
Tourism, both in terms of rural activities and rural accommodation. Despite the strong natural and
cultural features of rural Serbia, neighbouring countries also offer many of the natural and cultural
activities. However, low differentiation was found in terms of the rural accommodation offer of the
competition. The positioning strategy will propose how Rural Tourism in Serbia should approach
the challenge of differentiation.

 To define the Rural Tourism positioning for Serbia
 To define the symbols which should be used to support the positioning
 To define the attributes of the positioning strategy
 To define the differentiation strategy for Serbia

3.1 Rural Tourism positioning strategy

The positioning strategy of Rural Tourism in Serbia should focus on the following:
 Create the USPs for Serbia as multi-layered USPs, which combine tangibles, intangibles, rural
activities, and rural accommodation, while at the same time always develop the truly Serbian
character of these aspects.
 Create a destination which reflects the authenticity and rural soul of Serbia throughout the
territory.
 Create a Rural Tourism destination which is developed on the foundation of environmental,
social and economic sustainability.
 Create an integrated and holistic Rural Tourism offer which combines rural activities with rural
accommodation in an innovative an economical-, social and environmental- sustainable way.
 Create a highly competitive positioning of Rural Tourism in Serbia by focusing on a holistic
positioning of Rural Tourism which will allow Serbia to become more competitive, especially
with regards to Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary.

The positioning statement should invite the tourist and visitor to discover the unspoilt beauty of
rural Serbia, to uncover its cultural heritage and to go on a personal discovery of the heart of the
Serbian people. The positioning statement is, therefore, an invitation to discover and to experience
the heart of rural Serbia. The Rural Tourism positioning should be within the overall positioning of
Serbia as a destination. The positioning proposed by the President of Serbia, Mr. Tadic, is as
follows:
Serbia “Where tradition meets nature16”

16
Slogan from UN day in Serbia and recommendation of the President of Serbia, Mr Tadic. Belgrade, 27
September 2010

- 17 -


The Serbia Rural Tourism positioning statement is proposed as follows17:

Discover the soul of Serbia
Look at the green forests and mountains, and blue rivers and
lakes
Listen to her stories of legends
Taste the goodness of the earth
Smell the purity
Feel the heart of rural Serbia and meet her people

The positioning strategy for rural Serbia, should combine the physical elements (hardware) with the
spiritual elements (software) to create an authentic rural tourism positioning with reflects the
essence of the Serbian soul. It is important that these elements are developed in terms of the rural
activities and rural accommodation strategies.

3.1.1 Physical elements

The physical elements include the experiences associated with activities and accommodation. The
rural activities include:
 Nature:
 Unspoilt natural beauty of rural Serbia
 Diversity of nature and landscapes
 Proximity of rural Serbia to urban centres in Serbia as well as neighbouring countries like
Croatia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria
 International recognition of natural beauty with resources listed as UNESCO Biosphere
Reserves (Golija - Studenica) and Ramsar lists (Labudovo Okno, Gornje Podunavlje,
Peštersko Polje and Slano Kopovo)
 Culture
 Food and gastronomy of high quality with typically Serbian rural cuisine
 Local events and festivals in rural communities
 History and rich heritage, including cultural heritage and archaeological sites. Serbia
boasts three cultural sites recognized on the UNESCO World Heritage List
(Archaeological site Felix Romuliana, Studenica Monastery and Stari Ras and Sopocani)
 The accommodation includes the physical proximity of the accommodation to the rural
area and the level of physical contact of the guest with the rural household or rural
accommodation. It relates to the level of immersion of the guest in the activities of the
rural household (which can range from high to no involvement).

17
During the national stakeholders workshop (Belgrade, December 1st) a modification on the presented
positioning statement was proposed: “Share the soul of Serbia”.

- 18 -


3.1.2 Spiritual elements
The spiritual elements include the emotional experiences associated with activities and
accommodation.
 The rural activities intangibles include:
 Experiencing the rural lifestyle and slow pace of the countryside
 Authentic people and places, experiencing the rural way of life as seen through the eyes
of real people
 Friendliness of the rural people and their open heartedness and heartfelt hospitality
 The emotional component of the accommodation includes the personal experience of the guest
of the character and warmth of the rural household owner (or other rural accommodation). It
relates to the way in which the guest is made to feel at home and part of the rural household.

3.2 Rural Tourism symbols

Symbols are used as tools to position the destination and are used to create the mental image and
association of the destination. Symbols are used to reinforce, illustrate and make tangible the core
of Rural Tourism. The symbols for rural Serbia should combine rural activities and rural
accommodation.

The strategy for the use of rural symbols for Serbia is as follows:

Serbia Rural Tourism symbols

Rural Activities symbols Rural Accommodation symbols

 Nature
 Farms

 Culture:
rural events +
festivals

 Rural gastronomy
+  Traditional villages

 Rural architecture
 Heritage

Human touch

3

- 19 -


The symbols for rural activities include nature and culture symbols. The symbols for rural
accommodation include farms, traditional villages and rural architecture. Finally, human symbols
should be used to reflect the heart of the rural and multicultural Serbian people.

3.3 Rural Tourism attributes

Serbian Rural Tourism positioning should be further supported and made more tangible through a
selection of attributes in order to convey a message of diversity of experiences to the potential
visitor and tourist. Rural Tourism in Serbia can bring a wide array of opportunities to enjoy.

It is comprised of a combination of physical attributes (based on activities and accommodation) as
well as emotional attributes.

Accommodation Activities
Phyiscal Physical
Attributes 3
Priorité Attributes
Rural
Tourism
Attributes

Intangible
Attributes

An example of these attributes is shown below:

 Physical attributes through activities includes lakes, mountains, rivers, heritage sites, hunting
and bird watching.
 Physical attributes through accommodation includes rural architecture, traditional cottages (e,g.
salas, vajat and brvnare), ethno villages and rural houses.
 Intangible attributes include the highly emotional and personal elements such as contact with
the villagers, human contact, friendships, building memories and feeling a part of rural Serbia.

Please refer to the Appendix for the full details of the chapter.

3.4 The challenge of differentiation

The Diagnostic Report found that there is high competition for Rural Tourism in Serbia, especially
from Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Czech Republic18. Despite the relatively high competition

18
Please refer to the Competition Analysis in the Diagnostic Report for full details.

- 20 -


levels, Serbia has the opportunity to differentiate its Rural Tourism offer from its competitive
markets by addressing multiple aspects. The key principles for differentiation are as follows:
 To follow a holistic approach to Rural Tourism development by combining rural
accommodation with rural activities, to create truly authentic and integrated Rural Tourism
experiences
 To always look for ways to develop and reinforce the intangibles and rural lifestyle with
a truly authentic Serbian character by the ongoing involvement of the local
communities. Although authenticity and friendliness can also be found in neighbouring
competitors, it must be developed so that the Serbian intangibles achieve a truly strong
association with the destination. Only the intangibles that are proper to Serbia can be used as
competitive and unique features and they relate fundamentally to “lifestyle”, which needs to be
expressed and illustrated in a very tangible way through symbols (rural events, style,
architecture, design).
 To create innovative rural accommodation typologies which supporting the differentiation of
Serbia´s rural accommodation by the development of typically Serbian accommodation in
creative ways and in developing new Serbian typologies.
 To create rural man-made tourism facilities which are – as much as possible - intrinsically
Serbian in character, while at the same time meet international standards. Furthermore, to
ensure that international standards are achieved and promoted throughout the Rural Tourism
Sector
 To constantly develop and invest in the development of human skills and management
capacity.
 To show that the Rural Tourism model in Serbia is driven by economic, social- and
environmental sustainability.

- 21 -


4 Rural Tourism Cluster development strategy

The Diagnostic Report found that the natural and cultural resources, which have potential to be
developed for Rural Tourism, are distributed throughout the Serbian territory. The report also
identified the strategic development priorities for tourism in Serbia, particularly through the Tourism
Strategy of Serbia, Tourism Master plans and the products being promoted by TOS. The
Diagnostic also identified key issues which have an impact on the development of Rural Tourism,
which include aspects such as accessibility, hospitality offer and seasonality. The strategy will
define the areas of the territory which should be prioritised for Rural Tourism development.

 To define the strategy for the development of geographic areas (called Rural Tourism Clusters)
for Rural Tourism in the territory. In other words, to identify which areas should be developed
as a focus for Rural Tourism throughout the territory.
 Given that there are many priority areas that have been identified for development, while at the
same time there are budget considerations, further prioritisation of the Rural Tourism Clusters
are considered. The second objective, therefore, it to define the prioritisation strategy for the
different Rural Tourism Clusters. In other words, to define which of the Rural Tourism Clusters
should be developed in which order.

4.1 Methodology
The methodology used to define the Rural Tourism development strategy is done in two main
steps, as explained below:

Step 1: Define Rural Tourism Clusters development strategy
The first step is the identification of which areas of the territory should be developed for Rural
Tourism and has been completed as follows:
 Rural Tourism Clusters (RTC) are developed as a result of taking the most relevant Factors
and Attractors in the territory (as identified in the FAS analysis of the Diagnostic Report19) and
grouping them with Tourism Master20 plans where relevant.
 The result is 12 Rural Tourism Clusters which should be developed for Rural Tourism.
 The 12 RTC are then grouped further into 4 Rural Tourism Cluster Groups considering the
synergies and proximity of one or several clusters.

The output is the Rural Tourism Clusters grouped into Rural Tourism Cluster Groups.
 Please note: The detailed methodology and step by step examples of the mapping are
included in the Appendix.
 The 12 Rural Tourism Clusters are then further evaluated in order to prioritise them for
development.

19
Please refer to the Diagnostic Report, Chapter 4: Inventory and assessment of relevant tourism assets and
facilities
20
Source: Master Plan Zlatibor-Zlatar, Master Plan Golija, Master Plan Vlasina, Master Plan Besna Kobila,
Master Plan Lower Danube, Master Plan Stara Planina, Master Plan Kucajske Planine-Belijanica, Master
Plan Kopaonik, Master Plan Upper Danube, Master Plan Sremski Karlovci, Master Plan Novo Milosevo,
Master Plan Soko Banja, Master Plan Tara, Master Plan Roman Emperor´s Route

- 22 -


Step 2: Prioritisation of Rural Tourism Clusters
The 12 RTC are further prioritised in order to identify which should be developed first. These
categories address the issue of potential return for every Serbian dinar investment in Rural
Tourism development. The methodology identifies 6 aspects (which are ranked from 1 to 3) and
are considered important in determining the level of risk and return of investment in each RTC. The
following criteria have been applied to each RTC in order to define its priority for development
compared to the other RTCs:
 Factors and Attractors: considers the concentration of factors and attractors in each RTC and
the potential the RTC has to develop a diversified rural tourism offer
 Seasonality: considers whether the RTC could be an all year round tourism destination. The
outputs are driven by the findings from the Spatial Plan for Serbia21.
 Accessibility and Infrastructure: considers the ease of access to and within the RTC
 Proximity to markets: considers the size of the potential markets in terms of isochrones for
each RTC.
 Unemployment: considers the unemployment levels in each RTC considering that high
unemployment rates should be given priority for rural tourism development.
 Hospitality: considers the current capacity of the RTC to accommodate rural tourists. This is
evaluated in terms of rural accommodation as well as hotels and other accommodation suitable
for rural tourism.
 Experience in rural tourism: considers the experience that each RTC has in terms of
development and management of rural tourism

The output is the 12 Rural Tourism Clusters prioritised in terms of development order.
 Please note: The detailed methodology and step by step examples of the mapping are
included in the Appendix.

21
Source: Spatial Plan of Serbia 2010: Destinations with year round offer; dominant summer offer with
participation of Winter supply; dominant summer offer

- 23 -


4.2 Strategy for Rural Tourism Clusters development

The first question which the strategy addresses is: Which parts of the Serbian territory should
be prioritised for the development of Rural Tourism? The strategy identifies 12 Rural Tourism
Clusters (RTC) throughout the territory.
 The 12 Rural Tourism Clusters should be developed for Rural Tourism in Serbia. The 12 RTCs
have been grouped into 4 Rural Tourism Cluster Groups which will be used in other parts of the
strategy. The below table summarises the 12 RTCs and 4 RTCGs.

Rural Tourism Cluster Development strategy

RTC 1: Golija
RTCG1: Central Serbia and Western RTC 2: Zlatar Zlatibor
Serbia RTC 3: Kopaonik
RTC 4: Central Serbia

RTC 5: Lower Danube
RTCG 2: South Banat and Lower Danube
RTC 6: South Banat

RTC 7: Soko Banja
RTCG 3: Eastern Serbia RTC 8: Eastern Serbia
RTC 9: South Eastern

RTC 10: Fruska Gora
RTCG 4: Vojvodina RTC 11: Upper Danube
RTC 12: Northern
 These 12 RTC are the areas of the territory which should be developed for Rural Tourism.
 The 12 RTCs are the result of diverse and rich resources (including natural, cultural and other
as detailed in the FAS of the Diagnostic Report) which are highly correlated for the
development of Rural Tourism experiences.
 Of the 12 RTCs, 10 have already been identified for development in terms of the Tourism
Master Plans which have already been defined.
 The RTCs show a high variety of resources distributed throughout the territory, including
different types of attractors (mainly natural and cultural) as well as natural factors. A relatively
high concentration of attractors and factors in certain areas. However, there is a relatively lower
presence of man-made attractors when compared to the natural and cultural attractors.
 If it is allowed by the budget, these 12 RTCs should all be developed.
 However, given that the implementation of the Rural Tourism Master plan will have budget
limitations, these 12 RTC´s are further prioritised for investment.
 The RTC and RTCGs are represented in the territory on the following map.

Note: Although South Banat belongs to the Autonomous Region of Vojvodina, in terms of tourism
development synergies, it has been proposed to connect it with Lower Danube

- 24 -


Map of 12 Rural Tourism Clusters (RTC) and 4 Rural Tourism Cluster Groups (RTCG)

Northern

RTCG RTC
4 12

RTC
11

Upper Danube
RTC South Banat
10

RTC
Fruska Gora 6

RTC
5
Lower Danube
Central Serbia

RTCG
2

RTC RTC
4 7 Soko Banja

Eastern Serbia
RTCG
1
RTC
RTC 8
2

RTC
1 RTC
3

Zlatar Zlatibor RTCG
3

Golija RTC
9

Kopaonik

South Eastern

RTCG Rural Tourism Cluster Group

RTC Rural Tourism Cluster

Source: UNWTO

- 25 -


4.3 Strategy for Rural Tourism Clusters prioritisation

The second question which the strategy addresses is: Within these prioritised areas of the
Serbian territory, which of the RTCs will provide the best return for the investment of each
Serbian dinar in Rural Tourism? In other words, it identifies which of the RTCs provide the best
opportunities, with the lowest risk, for expanding the value of Rural Tourism.
 The RTCs with the best opportunities, while at the same time having the least risk, are RTC1 (
Golija), RTC2 (Zlatar-Zlatibor), RTC3 (Kopaonik), RTC4 (Central Serbia), RTC5 (Lower
Danube), RTC8 (Eastern Serbia), RTC10 (Fruska Gora) and RTC 11 (Upper Danube).
 Three of the project target regions, namely RTC4 (Central Serbia), RTC5 (Lower Danube) and
RTC8 (Eastern Serbia) are included in the prioritised RTCs.
 RTC6 (South Banat), a project target region, is also included in the prioritised clusters.
Although it has a lower ranking than the other target regions, it forms a natural continuation of
RTC5 (Lower Danube) and can, therefore, contribute as part of this area for the development
of Rural Tourism.

The below table shows the summary of the prioritisation of the RTCs.

Unemployment
Accessibility /

Experience in
Infrastructure

Prioritisation
Proximity to
Seasonality

Rural
Tourism Hospitality
markets

Rural Tourism Cluster

tourism
Cluster

Total
Group
FAS

RTC 1 (Golija) 1 1 2 2 1 2 1 10 1
RTC 2 (Zlatar Zlatibor) 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 11 2
RTCG 1
RTC 3 (Kopaonik) 1 1 2 2 1 2 2 11 2
RTC 4 (Central Serbia) 1 2 2 1 3 1 2 12 3
RTC 5 (Lower Danube) 1 3 2 1 3 1 1 12 3
RTCG 2
RTC 6 (South Banat) 2 3 2 1 2 2 3 15 6
RTC 7 (Soko Banja) 3 2 3 1 2 2 2 15 6
RTCG 3 RTC 8 (Eastern Serbia) 1 1 3 1 1 3 3 13 4
RTC 9 (South Eastern) 3 1 3 3 1 3 3 17 8
RTC 10 (Fruska Gora) 1 3 1 1 2 2 1 11 2
RTCG 4 RTC 11 (Upper Danube) 2 3 2 2 2 1 1 13 4
RTC 12 (Northern) 3 3 1 2 3 1 1 14 5

The below table explains the ratings.

- 26 -


Accessibility / Proximity to Unemploy- Experience
Rating FAS Seasonality Hospitality
Infrastructure markets ment in tourism
High volume
High High volume of general
Good
concentration of proximity accommodati Long
accessibility to
of factors and potential Above 25% on and experience in
All year round the cluster, and
1 attractors and tourists and of unemploy- relatively the
destination relatively good
high relatively high ment developed development
connections
diversification probability of rural tourism of tourism
within it
potential catchment accommodati
on
Medium
Medium volume of
Medium Summer Good volume of general
Short
concentration destination accessibility to proximity accommodati
Around 20% experience in
of factors and with the the cluster, but potential on and initial
2 of unemploy- the
medium participation limited tourists and level of rural
ment development
diversification of winter connections medium tourism
of tourism
potential supply within it probability of accommodati
catchment on
development

Low Good Low volume
No
concentration accessibility to of proximity
Around 15% Limited experience in
of factors and Summer the cluster, but potential
3 of unemploy- accommodati the
limited destination very poor tourists and
ment on capacity development
diversification connections low probability
of tourism
potential within it of catchment

The following conclusions can be drawn from the prioritisation of Rural Tourism Clusters:
 The specific geographic areas for rural tourism development in the territory have been
identified and prioritised as Central and Western Serbia (RTCG 1), Vojvodina (RTCG 4), South
Banat, Lower Danube and the top part or Eastern Serbia (RTCG 2) and Eastern Serbia (RTCG
3).
 The strategy for the development of Rural Tourism in Serbia should focus on these geographic
areas and should be focused on developing these at the same time. However, when resource
allocation decisions need to be made, the difference in the priority level should be taken into
consideration.
 Some areas or municipalities with a critical mass of tourism accommodation (whether rural or
no specifically) are not located within the priority clusters. However, they should be linked to
and benefit from the development of the adjacent priority clusters because of their proximity.
 While all the RTCG are prioritised for development, the distribution of resources should be
given more weight in the prioritised clusters. The primary resources which this refers to are
investment and funding (including grant schemes). In other words, for example, Eastern Serbia
(RTCG 3) should be given the highest prioritisation for investment in infrastructure, compared
to the other cluster groups. The same approach should be applied for the prioritisation of
funding schemes.
 It should also be considered that, while the process results in an overall level of prioritisation,
there may be cases when specific criteria, such as the unemployment rate, are given higher
priority is certain decision making, than other criteria.

- 27 -


 The strategy for Rural Tourism development, therefore, is to focus on all the areas, while at the
same time considering the prioritisation. In practical terms this should support the decision
making for investment. The prioritisation is an indicator of the potential return that may be
generated in the RTCG. In other words, it is also an indicator of the relative value that can be
created by investing 1 Serbian Dinar in the cluster.
 Although the 4 targeted regions have been determined as priority areas for rural tourism
development, a national policy should also consider at the same level of priority the other
clusters which have been determined in this chapter.

- 28 -


Map of 12 Rural Tourism Clusters (RTC) and 4 Rural Tourism Cluster Groups (RTCG), with
prioritisation of 12 RTCs

5 Northern

RTCG RTC
4 12

RTC
11

4 Upper Danube
RTC South Banat 6
10

RTC
2 Fruska Gora 6

RTC
5
Lower Danube 3
3 Central Serbia

RTCG
2

RTC RTC
4 7 Soko Banja 6

Eastern Serbia 4
RTCG
1
RTC
RTC 8
2

RTC
1 RTC
3

2 Zlatar Zlatibor RTCG
3

RTC
1 Golija
9

2 Kopaonik

South Eastern 8

RTCG Rural Tourism Cluster Group

RTC Rural Tourism Cluster

3 Prioritization order

Source: UNWTO

- 29 -

Serbia's Strategy for Sustainable Rural Tourism Development

Serbia's Strategy for Sustainable Rural Tourism Development

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