Rural tourism in the function of rural areas development in the Republic of Serbia

The development of rural tourism based on the individualization of tourist demand and its focus on non-standard tourism products provides one of the key contributions to rural development. The paper discusses the possibility of developing rural tourism in Serbia and key factors for the success of rural economy diversification through rural tourism, primarily synergetic effects of agriculture and tourism, and thus established local value chains, introduction of food quality standards, application of information technologies, efficient management of tourist destination and adequate financial support, especially to small businesses in rural tourism. Lack of an integrated tourist offer makes it difficult to apply marketing and management approaches to rural tourism development at the national level and the level of local rural tourism destinations and this must be given special attention in the future