Basics of development of adventure tourism on Suva Planina

Abstract

Adventure tourism is one of the fastest growing forms of tourism in the global tourism market. It combines travel, sports and recreation in an open space, and the basic motives are challenge, risk and uncertainty. The mountains are particularly attractive destinations for adventure tourism. According to the geomorphological characteristics of the terrain, Suva Planina offers special benefits for the development of this type of tourism. The aim of the paper is to show that the geographical conditions and resources of Suva Planina are good for adventure tourism development. Based on the applied method of assessing mountaineering trails, it was found that Suva Planina has trails suitable for hiking, mountaineering, alpinism, horse riding and mountain biking. In addition to the above, it is possible to engage in a series of activities which are challenging and interesting for tourists: paragliding, skiing, rafting, kayaking, free climbing, etc. The main problems are inadequate tourism infrastructure and negative demographic trends such as poor population density in the region's most attractive areas, low level of education among residents, predominance of old houses, and lack of workforce. As a result, the implementation of adventure tourism is significantly more difficult.

Keywords

• adventure tourism
• suva planina
• assessment