Herbal tourism - A new approach to special-interest eco-travels: Lessons and initiative from Serbia

Abstract

In contrast to mass tourism where the sun, sand and sea constitute the only tourism resource, nature-based tourism activities respond to people's desire to participate in tours with different aims such as relaxation, discovery, learning and escaping to nature, and getting away from the routine of everyday life. As one of nature-friendly tourism forms, herbal tourism, could be defined as provision of sustainable and responsible collecting of curative, aromatic, edible and seasoning plants to general public and organised groups, supported by interpretative and educational services and facilities, based on ethnopharmacological tradition. Thus, the purpose of this research is to introduce a new form of tourism, focused on presentation, education and sustainable use of autochthon plants - preliminarily named herbal tourism. Also, this study will give insight into properties of herbal species and their distribution in Serbia, which could further develop herbal tourism sites and routes. Proposed herbal tourism destinations could further support scientific research of plants and enhance rural areas, with numerous environmental and financial problems that are evident in developing countries, such as Serbia.