Possibilities for sustainable rural tourism development in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Rural areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina include more than 80% of the country's territory and are inhabited by more than half of the population. In order to preserve the natural environment, traditions and customs, rural tourism is developing and rural areas are getting active for tourism purposes. The authors analyze the current state of rural tourism in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina and provide recommendations for its sustainable development. The analysis shows that the basic problems that could slow down the development of rural tourism are: lack of incentives for the development and improvement of the state and government institutions, lack of subsidies for young people who want to live and work in the countryside, inability to use quality land for non-agricultural purposes, lack of defined standards for rural development and underdevelopment of infrastructure.

Keywords

• rural tourism
• sustainable development
• bosnia and herzegovina