DETUROPE - The Central European Journal of Regional Development and Tourism 2025, 17(2):34-48

Management of Walking Holidays Popularization in Rural Areas

Danka Milojkovića
a Singidunum University, Danijelova 32, Belgrade, Republic of Serbia

Walking has transformed from a non-formal recreational activity into an economically beneficial tourist product. The walking holiday is a driver of tourism-based local socio-economic development. Last seven decades due to progressive urbanization, millions of people all over the world have been walking and exploring with maps footpaths in nature. This study aims to investigate factors that could contribute to the extensive popularization of walking holidays in rural areas. Data was collected through a survey method and subsequently processed using the SPSS software. The main result, especially among the educated population from secondary school to higher, specified that the most impactful factor in the popularization of walking holidays in rural areas was the promotion of rural walking tours at the world's leading tourism fairs, and travel portals and blogs. In addition, the popularization of walking holidays in rural areas was equally important to females and males. The youngest population most preferred the factor of popularization such as the organization of traditional sports events, while students were rather for the introduction of countryside walking competitions. This study contributes to bolstering the advancement of rural tourism development by enhancing the popularization of walking holidays in rural regions.

Keywords: countryside walking tours, rural tourism, socio-economic development, tourism fair, travel portal, travel blog

Received: November 22, 2023; Revised: March 31, 2025; Accepted: December 23, 2025; Published: December 25, 2025  Show citation

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Milojković, D. (2025). Management of Walking Holidays Popularization in Rural Areas. DETUROPE - The Central European Journal of Regional Development and Tourism, 17(2), 34-48
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