RURAL TOURISM AND SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Tourism is one of the largest and fastest growing industries today, characterized with immanent need for constant diversification of products and destinations offered. Recent trends in this industry indicate increased demand for new alternative types of tourism, among which most popular are nature-related and rural tourism. This paper aims to increase an understanding of the importance of rural tourism for sustainable rural development and is therefore divided into two section. In the first section the definition and main forms of rural tourism will be given. This section provides an overview of rural tourism, types of rural tourism, and its benefits for rural areas.Second part of the paper is dedicated to explanation of the concept and principles of sustainable rural development and identification of role of rural tourism in it. The paper concludes with recommendation of some ways of enhancing development of the rural tourism, which can contribute to thesustainable rural development.Main intention is to pint out possiblesolutions and concepts that will revitalize rural area features and activities will make them tourist attractive and will incorporate rural tourism within the social, cultural, and economic elements of rural areas.