There are only 712 rural tourist households in Serbia – What is holding back the development of rural tourism?

After finishing her tourism studies in Belgrade, like many other graduates, Zorica Radojkovic found herself at a crossroads, asking that age-old question "What now?”. A year before her studies ended, while working various jobs at the same time as studying, she couldn`t wait for Friday to finish her obligations and get away from the city. This is how she came to realize that she didn`t want to build her future in the capital because the stressful way of life didn`t suit her and wouldn`t have made her happier in the long run.

So she got an idea to offer others what she desperately needed – an escape from the city life. She set up a tourist country house, “Lozanjska Terasa”, on her family estate in the heart of Sumadija, on the mountainsides of Suvobor , not far from the Rajac peak. It is one of the total 712 registered rural tourist households in Serbia and it has been hosting tourists from Serbia and abroad for the past eight years.

– After finally admitting to myself than I don`t want to spend the next 30 or 40 years escaping from the city to the countryside, I decided to spent a better part of the year in an environment that inspires and motivates me every day. And that`s what I got on my family`s estate in the Lozanj village which we had rather quickly adapted for guests. My parents have always had a cultivated garden and plenty of domestic animals, so we focused on preparing the lodgings, Zorica Radojkovic reveals how it all began for eKapija.

The family`s great advantage is in the fact that they produce nearly all foodstuffs needed for cooking meals on the property – fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy products and eggs.

– Both us and our guests eat the same food. It is a special privilege in today`s times. And because of that my mom`s cooking becomes memorable, our collocutor says.

These tasty meals are mostly enjoyed by people from Belgrade and Novi Sad. There were more foreign visitors before the coronavirus pandemic, and the guests from Finland, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, Russia, Israel, Poland and China used to wander to this part of Sumadija. All guests are offered many activities – tractor driving, collecting mushrooms, picking raspberries, grass cutting.



– The guests are mostly interested in walking round the countryside but they also love to go for a spin in a tractor. Picking fruits and vegetables, especially raspberries is popular in the summer. This activity is especially interesting to children because many of them have never had the chance to see the plants which yield various fruits or had anybody describe to them the stages in fruit development and when they are ripe for picking, Zorica Radojkovic says.

Mountain villages are the most popular

“Lozanjska Terasa” is one of the 712 rural tourist households registered in Serbia according to the data of the e-Tourist system. During 2022, rural tourist households recorded 138,000 overnight stays in total, out of which 112,000 were by domestic tourists and 26,000 were by foreign tourists. Compared to 2021, there was a 71% increase in the overall number of overnight stays. Overnight stays by domestic tourists increased by 68% and by foreign tourists by 85%.

As the Ministry of Tourism and Youth tells eKapija, domestic tourists are, by and large, interested in villages in mountain areas such as Kopaonik, Zlatibor, Divcibare, Zlatar, Tara, Stara Planina, Fruska Gora, Golija.

– Also, there is a great interest in villages in Sumadija, Pomoravlje and Podrinje and villages in wine regions where rural households and wineries often overlap. When it comes to rural households in Vojvodina, those in Ravno Selo, Erdevik, Ecka, Baranda and Backi Monostor particularly stand out. Likewise, ethno-villages such as Drvengrad (Mecavnik), Babina Reka, Moravski Konaci, Suncana Reka, Vranesa, Tiganjica, Nasa Avlija and Rajski Konaci get a lot of visitors, the Ministry says and notes that over EUR 2.5 million credit incentives this wiil be allocated this year to improving the quality of the tourist offer in rural tourism.


There are no big earnings because the job is seasonal

Retired tourismologist, Branislav Bajagic thinks that rural tourism is the future of Serbia and the world. eKapija`s interviewee further explains that people don`t take vacations to rest because they are physically tired but because they get tired of life in the city, the concrete, cars, pace of life. The advantage of rural tourism is in the fact that the number of international tourists is on the rise and according to Bajagic, seaside is crowded and the only true rest is possible in the countryside.

– Rural tourism also exists in the leading tourist countries like France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Switzerland. Serbian villages are the ideal spot for a proper vacation because of their geographical location, terrain, climate, culture, tradition, food, rich flora and fauna, water, history, monasteries, cordial hosts, numerous options for an active vacation (walking, cycling, horse riding, fruit picking, gardening, children playing with domestic animals). Nowadays, as we face the threat of sanctions, this type of tourism is gaining importance since many tourists from Russia, China and Arab countries would gladly come on a holiday to our villages, Bajagic reckons and adds that Serbia hasn`t been utilizing its potential solely due to the lack of perception.



As per our collocutor, the best conditions for developing this type of tourism have those villages which haven`t been urbanized and where the natural environment has been preserved : Sumadija, Western Serbia, Eastern Serbia, salases in Vojvodina. When asked why would a foreigner decide to spend their holiday in a village that lacks good road infrastructure, a consistent internet connection and all the conveniences that foreign guests are accustomed to, our interviewee responds:

– The coasts of the warm seas once lacked proper roads.. and today they`re swarming with tourists! Serbia too has to focus on setting up villages through planned construction and environmental protection. The benefits of developed rural tourism can be observed in the following example: two rooms, two beds, 200 days per year, 20 euros for full board, the profit earned is 16,000 Euros. What about three or four rooms? The benefit for Serbia is as follows: 10,000 households (about 1%) equals EUR 160 million per year plus additional services, transportation, fuel. And if we were talking about 5%? Serbia would benefit even more when it comes to slowing down birth dearth. Villages have a lower quality of life but higher natality rates. The quality of city life is higher but it has lower natality rates, young people are moving to cities, villages are dying off, Serbia is getting smaller, it`s disappearing.

On the other hand, we can`t really talk about big earnings in rural tourism, Zorica Radojkovic reveals. She notes that rural tourism is a n obviously seasonal work which lasts, in the best case, from May to September.

– The family can definitely make a decent living out of it, but everyone must pitch in and contribute to the work. But the kind of boarding with ten beds that we have here just doesn`t bring any extra profits, they are not lucrative in that way. Maybe the situation is different when only lodgings are rented out, but that`s not rural tourism any more, it`s just accommodation in a rural area. If you haven`t already tried authentic food, petted and fed farm animals, that is, if you haven`t seen how a country household is run, you haven`t fully experienced this type of vacation, our collocutor points out.

EUR 2.5 million in loans available for rural tourism

In order to highlight to rural tourism, the World Tourism Organization launched a “Best Tourism Villages” initiative. Mokra Gora was one of the 2021 winners, and this year`s applications are submitted till June. However, the further development of rural tourism in Serbia could be undermined by lack of investments. Tourists, especially foreigners, often complain about poor infrastructure and roads.

– The necessary condition for developing rural tourism is, without doubt, basic infrastructure and I primarily refer to paved roads and stable power grid, Zorica Radojkovic explains.

The Ministry of Tourism points out that it will continue with investments and credit incentives with the goal to improve the development of tourism.

Ministarstvo turizma i omladine Republike Srbije

Ministry of Tourism and Youth

Lozanjska Terasa

World Tourism Organization

Zorica Radojkovic

Branislav Bajagic

Divcibare

Zlatar

Tara

Stara Planina

Fruska Gora

Golija

Ravno Selo

Erdevik

Ecka

Baranda

Bački Monoštor

Drvengrad

Mećavnik

Babina reka

Moravski konaci

Suncana Reka

Vranesa

Tiganjica

Nasa Avlija

Rajski Konaci

rural tourism

rural tourist households

Best Tourism Village

vaction in nature

vacation in countryside

eTourist

loans for rural tourism

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