Development of Sustainable Rural Tourism

Development of Sustainable Rural Tourism Keynote Speech 22 February 2012 Frédéric Pierret, Executive Director UNWTO Rural Tourism Defined Rural Tou...
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Development of Sustainable Rural Tourism Keynote Speech 22 February 2012

Frédéric Pierret, Executive Director UNWTO

Rural Tourism Defined Rural Tourism can be a key catalyst to diversify rural economies through -

Creating opportunities for new business initiatives; Creating opportunities for employment especially for women and youth; Developing synergies between agriculture and tourism; and Contributing to the preservation and conservation of natural and cultural heritage.



Creates a “rural environment” for the visitor, by offering a combination of natural, cultural and human experiences which have a typically rural character.



Provides the visitor with authentic and traditional experiences which are the essence of rural life.



Brings the visitor back to nature/the roots/basics, and embraces the return to origins and originality.

2

Rural Tourism Defined (Cont’d)



Comprises a spectrum of activities and services organised by the rural population which showcase rural life, art, culture and heritage.



Is based on principles of sustainability.



International trends suggest that rural tourism is becoming an increasingly broader concept and that the needs and expectations of domestic and international demand are becoming ever more sophisticated.

Rural Tourism has great potential due to a wide variety of natural, cultural, and special interest activities. It is a very active sector in European tourism and and is already contributing to the diversification of European rural economies.

3

The Rural Tourism Concept •

Combination of active and passive, entertainment and educational experiences.



Integrated rural experience based on the interaction of rural activities, man-made facilities and rural accommodation.

High level of facilities and services

Entertainment

Low contact with rural household and activities

Active

High contact with rural household and activities

Rural Tourism

Passive

Education

Low level of facilities and services

 Strong relationship with other tourism products, e.g. culture, nature and earth, sport and adventure, well-being and health, family and child, and cruise and special interest tourism 4 4

Components of the Master Plan for Sustainable Rural Tourism Development in Serbia Diagnostic

What are opportunities to develop Rural Tourism in Serbia?

Strategy

Action Plan

What are the actions that need to be taken towards the development of Rural Tourism in Serbia?

What is the strategy for the development of Rural Tourism in Serbia?

Implementation Plan

Who, when and how should the steps of the Action Plan be implemented? How much investment is required?

The reports include the feedback provided by multiple stakeholders and reflect the result of collaboration and consultation with the leading institutions of the project (MoERD, MoATFWM, TOS) , UN sister agencies (UNICEF, UNDP, UNEP, FAO, UNESCO), LTOs of target municipalities and other stakeholders.

5

Current Challenges facing Rural Tourism in Serbia

• High level of competition and challenges for product differentiation and diversification. • Need for improved local infrastructure. • Need for holistic rural tourism products and experiences which include activities, accommodation and man-made facilities.

• High seasonality with low occupancy rates (average 4% yearly occupancy for rural units). • Lack of man-made facilities, international standards, quality guarantees, synergies between agricultural sector and tourism, including local crafts. • Need for human resource awareness and capacity development. • Need for the organization and management of rural tourism. • Gaps in the rural tourism value chain.  Lack of support structures and synergies due to limited use of resources

5

Objectives of the Rural Tourism Master Plan

• Increase overnights: from 2.7 m to 7.4 m by 2020

• Increase day visitors: domestic, regional and international • Improve occupancy rates • Increase number of beds in line with expected occupancy rates • Close gaps in tourism value chain, leverage synergies and increase multiplier from 1 to 1.6 • Increase direct contribution of rural tourism to economy from € 100 m to € 439 m by 2020

MORE TOURISTS, SPENDING MORE, AND MORE OFTEN

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Rural Tourism Action Plan

• Positioning of rural tourism in Serbia as a holistic, integrated rural tourism experience (activities, accommodation, man‐made facilities). • Marketing, promotion and branding of rural tourism in Serbia. • Product development – rural tourism activities, man-made facilities (integrated tourism and leisure offer), improved offer and variety of rural accommodation, leverage synergies between agriculture and tourism. • Develop international standards and quality guarantees. • Improve social sustainability by engaging local rural communities in tourism. • Develop sustainable environmental system to increase environmental awareness. • More efficient organization and management of rural tourism by all stakeholders (public and private sectors, civil society). • Develop human resource capacities: create 250,000 direct new jobs over next decade. • Improve rural infrastructure for tourism purposes.

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Positioning and Differentiation: Rural Activities Experiences

Physical Elements “Hardware”

Nature

Culture Food and gastronomy

Unspoilt Diversity Proximity

Local events and festivals

International recognition

History and heritage

+

Physical contact with rural household or other rural accommodation

Intangibles

“Discover the Soul of Serbia” Look at the green forests and mountains, and blue rivers and lakes RURAL Listen to her stories of legends SERBIAof the earth Taste the goodness Smell the purity Feel the heart of rural Serbia and meet her people

Spiritual Elements “Software”

Rural Accommodation Experiences

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Rural lifestyle Authenticity Friendliness

+ Emotional contact with rural household or other rural accommodation

12 Rural Tourism Clusters identified and prioritised Objective: Spread the development of rural tourism throughout the country and diversify the rural tourism product offer 5

Northern

RTC 12

RTCG 4

12 Rural Tourism Clusters (RTC) RTC 1: Golija RTC 2: Zlatar Zlatibor RTC 3: Kopaonik RTC 4: Central Serbia RTC 5: Lower Danube RTC 6: South Banat

4 Rural Tourism Cluster Groups (RTCG)

RTC 11

4

RTCG1: Central Serbia and Western Serbia

Upper Danube

2

Fruska Gora

3

Central Serbia

RTC 10

RTC 6

RTC 5

RTC 10: Fruska Gora RTC 11: Upper Danube RTC 12: Northern

3

Lower Danube

RTCG 2

RTCG 2: South Banat and Lower Danube RTC 7

RTC 4

RTC 7: Soko Banja RTC 8: Eastern Serbia RTC 9: South Eastern

6

South Banat

RTCG 3: Eastern Serbia

Soko Banja

Eastern Serbia

RTCG 1

RTC 8

RTC 2

RTC 1

RTCG 4: Vojvodina

2

RTC 3

RTCG 3

Zlatar Zlatibor

1

Golija National Park

2

RTC 9

Kopaonik South Eastern

RTCG

RTC

3

10

Rural Tourism Cluster Group

Rural Tourism Cluster

Prioritization order

8

6

4

Eight Programmes to implement the strategy and actions

1

Governance System

5

Service Centres for Human Resources Development

2

Destination Management Organization (DMO)

6

Rural Tourism Environmental

3

Man-made Facilities

7

Rural Tourism Infrastructure

4

Accommodation

8

General Infrastructure

11

THANK YOU for your attention

[email protected]

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