DOES ECONOMIC INDICATORS OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PRESENT A PROMISING TREND OF RURAL DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT? ATTITUDES OF VOJVODINA RURAL RESIDENTS

Abstract

To be considered sustainable, tourism in rural destinations should provide long-term economic benefits and have a push-up effect on the population’s determination to engage in sustainable tourism. Also, sustainable tourism must reduce the negative effects of business activities on the natural environment and improve the quality of life as well as the standard of living of the local population. In order to check the impact of sustainable tourism on the development of rural destinations, economic indicators of sustainability are most often used, as measurable indicators of sustainable development. In the paper, we examined the attitudes of 421 local residents using the TIAS scale, in 17 Vojvodina villages. Only those who declared that they are involved in the tourism economy were taken for further analysis. It was concluded that positive economic indicators of sustainable development are “wind in the sails” of the development of rural destinations, and that sustainable tourism is a desirable economic activity in the villages of Vojvodina to whom more and more residents are turning, especially women as of very sensitive category.

Keywords

• rural development
• rural tourism
• quality of life
• life standards
• economic indicators
• Vojvodina