Traditional Serbian countryside and second-home tourism perspectives

Rural tourism offers opportunity to local communities to oppose the process of rural abandonment. This study assesses the tourism potential of two almost depopulated villages in Serbia, Gostuša (Pirot) and Poganovo (Dimitrovgrad), and identifies their second-home tourism perspectives. They have similar geo-demographic characteristics, but different development patterns. A practical understanding of residents’ perception was gained along with identifying the socio-economic indicators. A comprehensive comparison is made to identify the diversification level of the rural economy in these villages. The study also assesses the rural capital and concludes that it is not realistic to expect fast and sustainable tourism development in these peripheral rural areas. Finally, the study extracts the factors of influence and predicts trends of the diversification process and second-home tourism expansion in rural areas of Balkan Mt