Sustainable rural tourism in the revitalization of villages in the border region between Macedonia and Serbia

The rural population is non-resistant to degradation, but the process takes too long in some countries, making them really vulnerable same like the rest of the community. Through many years of transition economic activity was reduced in this region. These circumstances have encouraged the need of finding solutions that contribute to the development of society. Rural areas make up a large part of the territory of SEE. Half Serbian and Macedonian populations along the border are located in rural areas. No difference how intense industrialization and economic development in the SEE countries is, the significant natural, economic and human potential of rural areas is in the service of extensive production. Rural development, as one of the regional policy, is a key instrument of restructuring of the agricultural sector and should have a task to steer the strategic use of the potential of attractiveness these tourist villages have, consisted of natural areas and specific regions on many criteria. Thus, these specifics should recognized and used as instruments for alternative economic activity in the villages-tourism. Judging from the morphological diversity of the relief of Serbia and Macedonia, and the former, not so high level, the prosperity of the village was based on agricultural production, now there is an alternative in the village development. At this point, encouragement and support of the rapid development economic activities in rural areas and the development of human resources, as well as economic prosperity and independence of the villages in accordance with the principles of environmental and sustainable development in the field of rural development, it is of utmost importance