IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2014) 5-2

Research article
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Perceptions of Rural Tourism Development Potential inSouth-Eastern Bosnia
HAMID EL BILALI*
Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (CIHEAM-MAIB), Valenzano, Bari, Italy

ALEKSANDRA DESPOTOVIC
Biotechnical Faculty, University of Montenegro, Podgorica, Montenegro

ADRIANA RADOSAVAC
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia

SINISA BERJAN
Faculty of Agriculture, University of East Sarajevo, East Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Email: sinisaberjan@yahoo.com

AZIZ ABOUABDILLAH
National School of Agriculture, Meknès, Morocco

TAMARA RODIC
Business Economics Academy, Cacak, Serbia

DUSAN PETROVIC
Business Economics Academy, Cacak, Serbia
Received 19 November 2013

Accepted 1 March 2014(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract About 61% of the Bosnian population lives in rural areas. Meanwhile almost
95% of the Republika Srpska entity’s territory is rural where 83% of the population lives.
Rural tourism includes tourism products and services in rural areas in which the rural
culture is a key component. The paper aims at analyzing the perceptions of villagers,
service providers and rural tourism structures managers on rural tourism development
potential in south-eastern Bosnia. Suggestions of local actors to attract more tourists torural areas were discussed as well. The paper includes both secondary and primary data. A
questionnaire survey was performed in summer 2012 with 120 rural tourism operators,
service providers and villagers in 11 municipalities in the Republika Srpska (RS). Bosnia
in general and the RS in particular have great potential for rural tourism development but it
remains largely unexpressed. Rural tourism can provide new windows of opportunities forrural areas. Rural tourism is perceived by local actors as sustaining and creating local
incomes, employment and growth; contributing to the costs of providing local economic
and social infrastructure, amenities and services; encouraging the other sectors
development; and contributing to environmental and cultural heritage conservation. Rural
communities have increasingly turned to tourism as an alternative means of achieving
sustainable economic growth and development through restructuring and greater
diversification of economic activity. Rural tourism operators’ individual satisfaction isgained from interchange with visitors. Tourist feedback positively enhances locallyexerted effects and stimulates operators to recognize local opportunities and potential
within their rural communities. In order to transform local stakeholders’ enthusiasm into
concrete and viable investments and ventures, the financial and institutional support of theentity government, especially ministries of tourism and agriculture, as well as international
donors is highly needed.
Keywords rural tourism, development potential, perceptions, BosniaⒸ ISERD

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INTRODUCTION
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) consists of two governing entities i.e. the Federation of Bosnia andHerzegovina (FBiH) and Republika Srpska (RS). Tourism is a growing sector in many rural areasand can create new employment opportunities and increase the overall attractiveness of these areas(MoFTER, 2007). Bosnia and Herzegovina has unlimited capabilities to develop rural tourism in its
rural areas (Vujovic, 2007 in Ćejvanović et al., 2013). About 81% of total Bosnian area and 61% of
its population can be qualified as rural. According to the OECD criteria, 114 out of the 143
municipalities in BiH can be qualified as rural (Ćejvanović et al., 2013). From a diversification
point of view the types of tourism that BiH could consider focusing on include: cultural heritage,
religious heritage, soft adventure, and eco-tourism. BiH is already well positioned especially ineco-tourism. Eco-tourism has been recognized as an area for strategic development for the RS andFBiH (FAO-ROECA, 2012).
The Republic of Srpska has many comparative advantages that can be exploited for rural
tourism development (Radovic et al., 2013): beautiful nature; variety of village types; traditional
hospitality; authentic gastronomy; rich cultural and historical heritage; preserved tradition of old
crafts; and various events held in rural areas.
Primary producers and rural communities have increasingly turned to tourism as an alternativemeans of achieving sustainable development through diversification of economic activity. Rural
tourism is considered as a form of alternative tourism. It encompasses a huge range of activities,
natural or manmade attractions, amenities and facilities, transportation, marketing and information
systems (Sharpley and Sharpley, 1997 in Irshad, 2010). Tourism is termed rural when the rural
culture is a key component of the product on offer (Gopal et al., 2008). Rural tourism is not justfarm-based tourism; it also comprises special interest nature holidays and ecotourism, walking,climbing and riding holidays, adventure, sport and health tourism, hunting and angling, educational
travel, arts and heritage tourism, and ethnic tourism (Irshad, 2010).
The paper aims at analyzing the perceptions of villagers, service providers, and rural tourism
operators on rural tourism development potential in south-eastern Bosnia.
METHODOLOGY
The paper is based on an extended literature review and primary data collected by structured
questionnaires carried out in summer 2012 with 120 rural tourism stakeholders (45 rural tourism
structures owners and managers - RTSM, 26 local service providers - LSP, and 49 villagers andmunicipality dwellers - VMD) in eleven municipalities of the Republika Srpska entity: Vlasenica,
Han Pijesak, Milici, Zvornik, Kalinovik, Rogatica, Visegrad, Pale, Bratunac, Sokolac and Foca.
Apart from data about respondents (name, age, level of education, occupation, municipality)
different issues were addressed with different actors of the rural tourism industry:
RTSM: opinions and perceptions about rural tourism in the area; main reasons for which
visitors choose the rural tourism structure and locality; suggestions to attract more tourists;
willingness to invest more in rural tourism activities.
LSP (e.g. post officers, medical doctors, etc.): experience with the tourists utilizing services;
opinions about rural tourism and its potential; and suggestions to attract more tourists to the area.
VMD: assessment of local government activities in rural tourism field; opinions on rural
tourism; potential contribution of rural tourism to local economy; suggestions to attract moretourists; willingness to engage in tourism activities; training needs.
This exploratory study is intended to provide a better understanding of perceptions of rural
tourism. Interviews qualitative analysis allows identifying differences and similarities in responses.
The study results should help bridge what is perceived to be a gap in communication and mutual
understanding among public officials, business owners, and other stakeholders with a connection torural tourism. Improved understanding of interview respondents’ perceptions may be helpful inplanning for a growing rural tourism sector and in maximizing its economic benefits while
minimizing its negative environmental and social impacts.
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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2014) 5-2

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The Rural Development Strategic Plan 2009-2015 of the Republika Srpska, predicted improvementof the quality of life and diversification of rural economy, particularly through improvement anddevelopment of rural tourism services (FAO-ROECA, 2012; Draganic, 2011). Rural tourism is a
novelty within the tourism sector and touristic offer in RS and BiH (Draganic, 2011; Radovic et al.,2013). It is considered one of the important strategies for the diversification of rural livelihoods andeconomies in Bosnia. The competencies over rural and tourism development are completely withthe entity level (Draganic, 2011). Support to rural tourism development in RS is secured throughthe Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management and the Ministry of Commerce andTourism. In addition to entity financial allocations, additional financial resources for rural tourism
development come from the budgets of local municipalities (Radovic et al., 2013).
Different types of rural tourism establishments and structures can be found in the surveyed
area. These include: cottages, houses / apartments, restaurants, small hotels, camping sites, motels,
horse farms, youth hotels, travel agencies. The clientele include foreign tourists as well as locals
and visitors from other Bosnian municipalities. For most of the interviewed RTSM (86.7%) rural
tourism is the primary activity and the main source of income. In addition, for a large share of them
(45.5%) rural tourism is a family business.
Perceptions of rural tourism development potentialy changed not only from an actor category(i.e. RTSM, LSP, VMD) but also from a municipality to another depending, among others, on thelevel of development of the rural tourism industry as well as its impacts on the local economy. For
instance, among the surveyed municipalities, tourism in general and rural tourism in particular ismore developed in Foca and Visegrad.
According to the RTSM, visitors are attracted by: typical food and drinks, diversified services
offer, natural surroundings and landscape beauty, quality of services, food quality, architectural andcultural heritage. According to them, the main resources that could be used in the future for thedevelopment of rural tourism are: traditional villages; agricultural resources; natural resources(forests, streams, rivers, lakes, mountains, caves); cultural heritage (rural folklore) and old
buildings (churches, monasteries, traditional houses); existing tourism facilities (hotels, ski centers,
horse farms); traditional food and cuisine. Some RTSM think that there are few tourist attractions
at the level of municipalities as many were destroyed during the civil war. Moreover, there aresome current problems that hinder tourism development (e.g. low quality of infrastructure andservices). Many of these problems are due to the general legal and legislative framework as well associo-economic context so state and/or entity coordinated actions are needed.
Only a few rural people dare to dealing with rural tourism as it is perceived as a riskybusiness. This is confirmed also by the fact that less than a half (47%) of the interviewed villagers
would like invest in tourism activities. Moreover, only about a third of RTSM would like to be
more invested in tourism activities. Risk is probably also the reason for which 75.5% of RTSM do
not think about expanding their businesses in the coming years. The remaining plan to offer otherservices: more rooms, passenger transport services with personal vehicles, sports facilities(soccer/tennis playgrounds), tourist guiding, food services, direct sale of local products to tourists,
riding schools, conference rooms, cottages, mini ethno villages, sale of air tickets.
Many of the interviewed LSP (54%) have not had any contact with foreign visitors. This ismaybe due to the fact that the number of foreign tourists is limited and that most of them do not use
many local services. In fact, most of them have short stays and they prefer going to neighboring
urban centers for many services. Those that have more contact with tourists are physicians.
The majority of LSP think that the level of tourism development in the municipality is in linewith the current tourism development in the Entity. They also believe that there is a big potential
for rural tourism development in their municipalities. However, they are aware that any kind of
success takes a lot of investment, innovation, learning and money. Resources are available but
good will and long-term vision are needed. The main problems are the lack of outstanding tourist
offers and accommodation facilities such as hotels, hostels and private houses. In fact, there is asmall number of available beds and quality of existing accommodation is rather low. Moreover,tourism is still mainly a seasonal activity. Tourism could be an important economy sector for smallⒸ ISERD

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municipalities. LSP in Visegrad believe that tourism is on the rise but more investments areneeded. The municipality is perceived to have large resources for rural tourism development.
As activities of rural tourism have become diverse, the demand for rural tourism is becoming
more and more experience oriented. Rural tourism operators’ individual satisfaction gained frominterchange with visitors and direct feedback can positively enhance locally exerted effects that
stimulate operators to recognize opportunities within their community and raise the potential for
local resource use (Ohe et al., 2009). Operators gain satisfaction through providing services byreceiving immediate feedback from consumers (Wilson, 2007).
All the interviewed LSP and most of VMD (92%) think that tourism can help increasing
income and generating more employment opportunities. However, many of them think that this is along-lasting process and requires good investments. Others highlighted the need for a long-term
local rural tourism development strategy in order to reap these benefits. Tourism is seen also tocontribute to gender equity as it can create more jobs for women. They further emphasized themultiplier effect that tourism can have on other sectors of the local economy especially agriculture.
To capitalize on this effect some of the interviewees proposed to set up small tourist spots in rural
areas where farmers could sell their products to tourists and visitors. Moreover, local authorities
should consider tourism as a priority sector. Those think that tourism has no positive effect alleged
the fact that it is still underdeveloped and there are no rural tourism strategies at local level.
There is a great potential through tourism, for resolution of many chronic dilemmas faced byrural communities (Knowd, 2001). Even if rural tourism may be minor in relation to the overall
tourism market its importance to the development of specific rural areas may be critical. Thus, themultiplier effect is often more impacting in rural areas where the entire rural lifestyle is looked foras the main attraction (Gopal et al., 2008).
Tourism has a wide range of positive livelihood impacts, many of which go beyond monetary
benefits. Tourism in rural areas offers a viable option for livelihood diversification. Moreover,tourism considerably expands household economic prospects by improving education, health,physical amenities and financial assets (Shakya, 2011). Many studies dealt with social and cultural,
economic and environmental impacts of rural tourism. Cohesive effect of the development of rural
tourism includes tourism as a mechanism for developing a balanced regional development. The
development of rural tourism significantly affects the preservation of local identity, traditions andcustoms, and other values in rural areas (Mrdalj and Todić, 2012). Rural tourism supports
development of new tourist destinations giving special contribution to the development of thecontinental tourism. It is a way for family-owned farms to provide additional income byengagement of members of family (Ćejvanović et al., 2013).
Most of the interviewed villagers think that their municipalities have great potential for rural
tourism that is still not properly exploited. This is especially the case in the municipalities of Foca,
Milici, Bratunac, Kalinovik, Han Pijesak and Zvornik. Inhabitants of Visegrad, Sokolac and Pale
have more positive perceptions about rural tourism in their municipalities. Generally speaking,almost all the interviewees think that municipal councils should do more to develop rural tourism
in their municipalities. The most critical ones are the inhabitants of Foca, Milici, Bratunac,
Kalinovik, Han Pijesak, Sokolac and Zvornik. Meanwhile, dwellers of the municipalities ofVlasenica, Visegrad and Pale were somehow more benign.
Key findings from other contexts (San Juan County, Utah, USA) show that rural community
members have mostly positive perceptions of tourism, show general support for future tourism
development, and are optimistic about the future role of tourism. They also highlight that the
tourism industry is perceived to provide positive economic benefits and mostly positive social
benefits. Some residents’ lack of support for tourism may be related to attitudes and especially theirfears of changes to their communities (Burr et al., 2007). In fact, scholars have also exposed arange of unwanted economic, socio-cultural and environmental side-effects of tourism, such as thepromotion of inequality, inflation, import dependency, over-exploitation of natural resources,
environmental damages and cultural alienation (cf. Shakya, 2009).
Rural tourism structures managers, local services providers and local people made manysuggestions to develop rural tourism in their municipalities (Table 1).
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Table 1 Suggestions for developing rural tourism
Respondents’ suggestions
Increasing investment in rural tourism and rural socio-economic development
Better promotion and marketing of tourism using different media
Creation of new tourist attractions (ethno villages, ski resorts, festivals, sport andcultural events, open days)
Improvement of service delivery and quality in rural areas
Paying more attention to environment protection and natural (rivers, forests,
waterfalls, springs) and cultural (monuments, historical sites, folklore, water
mills) heritage preservation
Renovation of hotels and tourism facilities (old village houses, ski centers)
Improving human capital especially skills related to rural tourism services
management through training courses, thematic workshops and seminars
Development of new tourism services in some municipalities (e.g. running trails,
cycling, excursions, hiking, hunting, fishing, horse riding, adventure tourism)

Type of respondents
RTSM LSP
LD
D
D
B
B
D
C
C

D

C

B

D

A

A

D

D

D

D

B

C

B

C

D

B

D

Source: Authors’ elaboration based on questionnaire survey results.
Legend: A: very significant (answer frequency > 50%), B: significant (25-50%), C: average (10-25%), D: poor (<10%).

All the interviewed villagers declared that local people especially young ones need training
regarding rural tourism. Training should allow the trainees to know more about the resources of
their municipalities and ways to valorize them through tourism activities. All require increasing
municipality, entity and state funding to rural tourism. Suggested activities include also a betterorganization of the rural tourism sector through categorization of rural households, making an
inventory of rural accommodation facilities, and preparing a register of rural tourism services
providers. The establishment of local tourism organizations and agencies would help better
coordinate and organize the rural tourism offer. Some tourist organizations already exist but
coordination between them can be further improved. Many interviewees pointed also to theimportance of engaging young people in the rural tourism sector.
CONCLUSION
Bosnia and the Republika Srpska have great natural, cultural, gastronomic, religious and historicpotential for rural tourism development. Rural tourism could be a strategy for sustainable
development of rural areas and also a tool for product differentiation. Rural tourism has a highpotential for the diversification of rural households’ livelihoods.
Most of the interviewees think that tourism development is going ahead slowly but in the right
direction. That being said, they believe that there is still wide room for improvement. That requires
adopting an integrated approach for designing local strategies for rural tourism development with
the involvement of all relevant actors. The expansion of tourism in rural areas is perceived as
designed to sustain and create local incomes, employment and growth.
The specific identification of residents’ desires and expectations of the tourism industry can
assist in the development of a plan to meet tourism development objectives while protecting
important characteristics of rural communities and their surrounding environments. Developmentof rural tourism requires improving tourism standards, services and infrastructure; creating a morefavorable environment for investment in rural tourism; strengthening support structures andfacilities capabilities; and improving integration with general rural development plans.
It should be highlighted that the opinions and perceptions of tourism and tourism development
among the tourism operators and the rural population are not sufficiently understood. Future
research should attempt to discern resident preferences for different management and development
objectives. Improved understanding of residents might be achieved through surveys or participatory
processes such as community meetings and collaborative workshops.

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