Rural Tourism Destinations and the Sustainable Development of Tourism in the Republic of Serbia

The problem of rural development is present in a large number of countries. Rural areas today are characterized by negative trends of population migration to urban centers, depopulation, aging of the rural population, reduction of macro-economic indicators, etc. The aim of the chapter is to identify the variables that influence the current situation in the sector of rural tourism based on the theoretical analysis of the management of rural tourist destinations and the conducted empirical research on the perceptions of tourists as consumers and domestic stakeholders on the quality of tourist offers in rural destinations in Serbia and the potential offer of rural tourist destinations in Serbia to propose strategic directions for the development of rural destinations and to present a sustainable management model for improving the competitiveness of the rural tourist destinations.