EVALUATING SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES IN RURAL TOURIST HOUSEHOLDS: A STUDY FROM THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

Agritourism plays a vital role in promoting sustainable development in rural regions. The application of sustainable practices in agritourism increases its overall sustainability. Through this approach, this type of tourism is positioned as a key strategy for improving rural development, offering a stable and sustainable model for the future. An increasing number of studies focus on this topic, emphasizing rural tourism and agritourism as primary catalysts for the sustainable development of rural areas. In order to examine the state of sustainable practices in the rural areas of the Republic of Serbia, a survey was conducted that included 73 rural tourist households. The research deals with the ecological, social, and economic components of these households, and the results are presented through descriptive statistics. While the findings are predominantly positive, indicating respondent satisfaction with the performance of the identified sustainable components, there is still a need for improvement and promotion of sustainable development within this sector of rural tourism. Greater emphasis must be placed on the ecological component, considering that the social and economic components are more represented in the business of these households. The findings of this study contribute to the existing literature on agritourism by promoting the need for its sustainable growth.