Rural Tourism Challenges of the Sarajevo Canton’s “Green Ring“
Rural tourism is gaining popularity due to a healthier stay in a less developed rural environment. Sarajevo Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s most popular destination strives to enhance its tourism offer by developing rural tourism in its immediate surroundings. The “green ring,” a basin rim with preserved forest ecosystems and rural villages, serves as the foundation for the rural tourism product. The paper analyses the characteristics of rural tourism in the vicinity of Sarajevo and the role of stakeholders in planning rural tourism. Fieldwork, surveys, and interviews with tourism industry representatives were conducted to determine the cohesion of joint activity and the key features of rural tourism development. Domestic tourists make up the majority of rural visitors, although tourists from the Middle East and Europe are particularly interested in rural tourism. The top motives for visiting rural areas are walking and hiking, traditional gastronomy, and escaping from everyday life. The paper clarifies the challenges and barriers to rural tourism development.