Luxury in the Serbian countryside, too - How rural tourism is changing, who comes, how much it costs and what's missing?

Rural tourism in Serbia has undergone a real transformation - from modest households with homemade food and animals in the yard to luxurious villas with swimming pools, canopies and saunas that attract new categories of guests. The pandemic further strengthened this trend, and many only then discovered the wealth of the rural areas of Serbia.

- Rural tourism has changed significantly since its initial definition of 20 or more years ago. It used to mean staying in a rural household, where the hosts rented out rooms they had in excess and necessarily had homemade food on offer. Very often there were domestic animals in the households, so grandparents or parents brought children from the city to learn about life in the countryside. They were at the same time the most frequent guests. At that time, rural tourism was a supplementary branch of income - our interlocutor explains.

Since five years ago, rural tourism has started to change. Owners are now purpose-built houses and facilities for rent in rural areas, often luxurious and modernly furnished, located in mountain villages, next to rivers and lakes.

- These are often luxurious and very modern accommodations in mountain villages, on rivers, lakes. Homemade food is not often represented in such accommodations, because the owners do not live in those places, and therefore domestic animals are becoming fewer and fewer. The type of guests is also changing. Now it is mostly families with small children, lovers of nature and a healthy life, but also younger people who choose to rent such facilities for their short vacations or celebrations of important events - Gajić adds.

The Covid-19 pandemic contributed significantly to the popularization of rural tourism in Serbia. Closed borders have forced domestic tourists to explore the offer within the country, which has resulted in the discovery of new destinations and increased interest in rural vacations.

Although rural tourism is experiencing growth, there are certain challenges. Lack of infrastructure in remote villages, weak internet signal and insecure bookings are some of the problems faced by the hosts.

- It happens that guests cancel their stay due to weather conditions, which can be a big problem for hosts. We are working to motivate them to reorganize their plans instead of completely canceling them - says Gajić.

The state and local self-governments support the development of rural tourism through tenders and subsidies, with the IPARD funds of the European Union being a significant opportunity for those who are just starting out in this business.

- At the state level, i.e. the Ministry of Tourism has tenders for dealing with rural tourism. They are often intended for already registered households. Something similar also exists at the level of municipalities, such as, for example Gornji Milanovac, which is considered to be one of the richest municipalities when it comes to the offer of rural tourism. Since a few years ago, there are also significant EU funds, the so-called IPARD funds, which are also intended for those who are just starting out in this business. It is about more significant means, but also about more complex documentation that needs to be prepared. It`s definitely worth getting involved in some of them, because they are a good stimulus to start and initially develop a business - explains Gajić.