The role of tourism in poverty alleviation in rural areas of the Republic of Serbia

Abstract

Poverty in Serbia has increased dramatically in the last decade of the twentieth century. The social middle class has disappeared, the number of poor has doubled, and the data collected by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia shows that a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line. Although the number of those who live below the absolute poverty line is increasing in cities, this increase is even more significant in rural areas. The aim of this paper is to show the possibilities of implementation of pro-poor tourism strategy in the Republic of Serbia. The paper consists of an introductory part, concluding remarks and three chapters. In the first chapter, the concepts of poverty, pro-poor, rural and sustainable tourism are covered. The second chapter gives insight into the international pro-poor experiences (Trinidad and Tobago, Bangladesh, Nepal, South Africa, Ecuador, Kenya, Tanzania and Brazil). The third chapter is dedicated to the situation in Serbia. It has been shown that new forms of tourism, which bring benefits to both tourism enterprises and local communities, can initiate the development of Serbia's rural areas.