SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL TOURISM DESTINATIONS - ATTITUDE OF THE LOCAL COMMUNITY

Aims of the paper - In the tourism planning of rural destinations, the public local administration and the destination management should take into account the wishes, suggestions and initiatives of the local community which will ensure a systematic and quality tourism development of the destination. The foundation of the paradigm of sustainable tourism development rests on the local community, e.g. its direct and indirect support in the process of tourist planning and development. The aims of this paper are to investigate attitudes, suggestions and initiatives of the local community which could contribute to forming sustainable tourism development in the observed rural destinations. Methodology - The primary research is conducted by examining the attitudes of the local community, in 2020 on six rural tourist destinations of the County of Pozega and Slavonija. The survey was conducted on a random sample of 258 individuals over 18 years old. The survey was placed through social networks and the Internet. The results of the research presented in this paper are formulated on the basis of the data collected. Data collected through the primary research was analysed using appropriate quality and descriptive statistical methods. Results - The results of the research have shown the local community is completely aware of the tourist potential of the area they live in. Based on this research, the local community sees long-term planning, full community participation and networking as the three main elements for establishing sustainable tourism of rural destinations. Understanding the attitude of the local community can assist the policy makers and development planners to carry out a better assessment of the community's perception in terms of the direction of tourism development.