Perceptions of mountain ecosystem services in Golija-Studenica Biosphere Reserve, Serbia: latent transformation from sustainable towards regenerative tourism

Abstract

Regenerative tourism is a new approach that seeks to establish and foster a symbiotic relationship between humans and nature based on the use of nature’s ecosystem services (ESs) for people’s improved quality of life and general wellbeing while promoting human contributions to the natural environment for the benefit of all. This research focuses on ESs as indicators of latent tendencies in the transformation from sustainable to regenerative tourism. The research was conducted in two cycles over a period of 11 years. The Participatory Rural Appraisal method (PRA) was used to gather information and local stakeholders’ views concerning Serbia’s Golija-Studenica Biosphere Reserve. Ninety-nine tourists were also interviewed face-to-face regarding their interests and demands. The research method included a Relative Frequency Citation index (RFC), which identified the ESs that respondents considered most important. The local stakeholders were unanimous in accentuating the importance of providing ESs that bring economic value, while tourists focused more on regulating or supporting cultural services. Our research methodology may serve as a benchmark for studies in other mountain tourism destinations and communities that are investigating developments towards regenerative tourism.