Tourism Infrastructure in the Function of Sustainable Tourism Development: The Case Study of the City of Kruševac, Republic of Serbia

Abstract

The sights of the City of Kruševac are numerous and they enable the realization of various aspects of tourism: cultural-historical, religious, sport, mountainous, spa, rural, and event tourism. This paper contains an analysis of the existing and planned tourism infrastructure, as well as the potential and limitations it is facing on the territory of the City of Kruševac. The subject of the research is tourism destinations in the vicinity of Kruševac – Jastrebac mountain and Ribarska Banja spa, as well as the most important sites in the tourism offer of the City of Kruševac. Tourism offer has significantly been improved by the investment into the development of secondary tourism centers – Jastrebac and Ribarska Banja. For quite a short period Jastrebac has become a favorite tourism destination of the citizens of Kruševac and the tourists from other settlements of Serbia and the neighboring countries. For its health-care purposes, Ribarska Banja has long been popular among the older population, and recently among younger generations as well, thanks to recreational tourism and natural beauties.

Balancing Act: Assessing the Impacts of Winter Tourism on Natural Heritage in Kopaonik National Park and Charting a Sustainable Path Forward

“…This is due to the large-scale nature of investments that interfere with nature, the accumulation of a large number of tourists, and the fact that they are usually established in mountain areas characterized by the highest value and sensitivity of ecosystems [48,51]. In order to achieve sustainable tourism development at a destination, especially concerning winter tourism, some authors [52,53] emphasize the necessity of considering tourist infrastructure as a key prerequisite, taking into account the importance of minimizing pressure on natural systems.…”