dc.description.abstract | The process of depopulation represents one of the biggest development problems
in Serbia, whereby it is particularly present in its peripheral, mountainous and rural areas,
characterized by economic underdevelopment. Given the fact that such areas often possess
preserved natural assets, development of tourism industry has been recognized by the
decision-makers as an instrument for stimulation of their socio-economic and demographic
development. The aim of this paper is to consider the potential influence of tourism on
improvement of demographic features of rural settlements, as well as to explore the human
resources constraints for tourism development in the subject area. The research
encompasses the Stara planina area in the south-eastern part of Serbia, representing not
only an example of a mountainous area with a particularly large population decline, but also
an example of a tourist destination pointed out by the state authorities as a tourism
development priority. The largest part of the area has been protected as a nature park with
numerous natural tourist attractions, as well as infrastructure for recreational activities.
Starting with the 1960s, due to industrialization in urban centres, this area has been
affected by mass rural-urban migrations, which caused depopulation, demographic
emptying and changes in vital characteristics and population structures of rural settlements,
even their spontaneous termination. The research focused on 50 rural settlements in the
area, belonging to four municipalities – Zaječar, Knjaževac, Dimitrovgrad and Pirot, whereby
22 of these settlements already possess accommodation facilities which provide services in
tourism. Demographic analysis was used to present the population dynamics of each
settlement in the period from 2002 to 2011, whereby the population census data were
utilized. In addition, as important indicators of the demographic development of
settlements, age and economic structures of the population were also considered. In less
than a decade, this area lost one third of its population, whereby negative tendencies were
observed in the majority of settlements. Elderly households are predominant in the majority
of settlements, with average age of residents being 62.8 years, posing an extremely serious
constraint for future economic activity. Regarding the economic structure, the dominance of
the primary sector was established (64.0% of residents). Joint analysis of the three utilized
indicators (total population and its age and economic structure) suggests that several
settlements have more favorable demographic features, indicating them as potential local
sources of tourism workforce in the future. | sr |