Climate as a factor of tourism development in the area of Gruža

Very strong development of tourism has become one of the most significant phenomenon of our time. Its development is important for the countries that are currently developing, especially for poor rural areas. The interest of tourists in precise weather and climate information, as well as extreme weather conditions predictions, are becoming increasingly important. This is due to the fact that a lot of tourist activities depend on weather conditions and climate. The long-term tourism development depends to a great extent on accurate information about climatic features of an area. Favourable climatic conditions are often a key factor for choosing a particular destination. This paper presents the values of climatic elements for the period from 1991 to 2011 and their impact on the development of tourism in the area of the Gruža region. The Gruža is a part of a larger natural geographical region called Šumadija stretching for the most part in the valley of the river of the same name. The task of this paper is to explore the values of climatic elements as important factors in choosing the Gruža area as a tourist destination. Climate has an important role in determining the suitability of an area in terms of the development of tourism. The aim is to show the climatic elements values in the geographic area that represents a potential for tourism development. The cartographic, statistical, graphical and comparative methods have been used. Emphasis is placed on examining the cause-effect relationships as a synthesis of mutual influences of various climatic elements. Climatic conditions of he Gruža region are characterized by moderately cold winters and moderately warm summers