The emergence of social media has brought great changes to the tourism industry. Various such platforms have become an almost inevitable tool in all phases of travel, including organization of travel, during travel, and post-travel. Given the growing popularity and widespread use of social networks, their influence on users is becoming the focus of many studies. Since Instagram is one of the most widely used social media, the main goal of this research was to find out how much it affects the choice of travel destination. To achieve that, a survey was conducted among 853 participants. The target group included people between 18 and 54 years of age, who are the most frequent users of Instagram. The findings showed that Instagram is an important source of information and inspiration in the destination selection process. In addition, it has been found that travel-related content is one of the most followed on Instagram and that it definitely increases the interest of users to visit certain destinations. The paper also discusses the influence of Instagram on the choice of travel destination depending on certain sociodemographic characteristics of respondents.

This study aims to investigate how national parks, identified as remarkable and, therefore, worthy of the trip, are visited and experienced. The main objective of this study was to explore the influence of memorable tourism experiences on environmentally responsible behavior, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions as its outcome. By giving an account of how national parks may be experienced by nature-based tourists, its main focus is on the concept of memorable nature-based tourist experience (MNBTE). The data for this research were collected through a survey from tourists visiting national parks in Serbia. The results demonstrate the significance of MNBTE as an important relationship mediator. The study’s key contributions are the extension of the memorable tourism experience construct and the inclusion of tourist satisfaction, intention to revisit, recommend, share the experience, and the environmental responsibility of tourists. Practical implications and potential future research approaches are also highlighted in the conclusion.

Providing memorable experiences is considered very effective strategy for gaining a sustainable competitive advantage. Memorable tourism experience (MTE) is still a relatively novel concept, hence its antecedents and outcomes are not completely identified. The primary goal of this research was to explore tourist personality and travel motivation as antecedents and the perceived destination personality, satisfaction, and revisit intention as outcomes of an MTE. The study was conducted on a sample of 614 foreign visitors to three biggest urban destinations in Serbia (Belgrade, Novi Sad, and Nis). For testing hypothesis, SEM (structural equation modelling) was applied. The results show that personality trait openness to experience and motivational factor knowledge and experience showed the strongest influence on MTEs. Also, all seven dimensions of memorable experience affected perceived destination personality. Practical implications and potential future research approaches are also highlighted in the conclusion.

Balanced territorial development and improving living conditions have become the focus of rural development policies. As the number of young people moving to cities or other countries is increasing, rural settlements face serious demographic disbalances and aging societies. Quality of life and place attachment are both key variables in enhancing the social and economic capacities of rural and undeveloped communities and reducing youth out-migration. However, this topic remains underexplored, especially among younger generations, who are critical for further socio-economic sustainability. Thus, the main goal of this study was to explore young residents’ perceptions about quality of life, level of attachment to their rural homes, and their interrelationship. This study was conducted among 299 participants in rural areas of Serbia and Croatia. The results identified two quality of life factors: (1) satisfaction with the quality of infrastructure and (2) satisfaction with culture and education. Three attachment factors were extracted, among which place identity was the strongest. Additionally, the influence of quality of life and socio-demographic characteristics on place attachment was confirmed. These results provide new insights that could be very useful in creating strategies and initiatives for rural planning and strengthening rural areas’ social, economic, and environmental sustainability.

Local communities face a double-edged sword when it comes to tourism development; their attitude directly influences tourism growth and helps spread the word within the community. The local community is increasingly affected socioeconomically by tourism development, which results in the development of attitudes (both positive and negative) based on the perceived effects. This study aimed to investigate the effects of tourism and local support for tourism development in a national park in western Serbia. The data were gathered from locals (580) who reside in the municipality where the national park belongs. Based on their own experiences and their belief that tourism can preserve natural and cultural resources and protect them for future generations, the Tara National Park community was found to favor further tourism development. They disagree that problems would arise from factors often associated with increasing tourism, such as traffic, price increases, or pollution. This study was carried out during the pandemic crisis, which is seen as a paradigm shift in the travel and tourism sectors and offers an opportunity to do better and continue operating in a more sustainable way. Therefore, we propose that these findings be taken into account when developing sustainable tourist management strategies, particularly in national parks and other protected places while respecting the needs and rights of the local people.

Within the concept of sustainable development, ecotourism has emerged as a special form of tourism aimed at preserving and protecting natural and cultural resources, but also at contributing to the well?being of the local community. Although today the importance of ecotourism is recognized worldwide, there are countries that, despite their natural wealth and potential, have failed to popularize ecotourism. Considering that Serbia is one of them, the main goal of this research was to reveal ecotourism constraints and reasons which prevent domestic tourists from visiting eco?destination. In addition, the study aimed to determine how well the respondents are informed and familiar with the concept of ecotourism. To achieve that, the survey was conducted among 379 participants, residents of Serbia in September 2019. The constraining scale has been created, and by applying exploratory factor analysis, four factors have been singled out (Fears, Lack of resources, Lack of information, and Disadvantages of the tourism product). The findings showed that the biggest constraint preventing domestic tourists from visiting eco?destinations is inadequate waste disposal at such sites. It has also been found that the respondents are highly constrained by the lack of information, time, and money. The results also reveal the degree to which other factors contribute to non?visits to eco destinations, but also which of them do not have a key impact on tourists' decision to avoid such locations. The paper additionally discusses the potential impact of a lack of ecotourism knowledge on the respondents' answers regarding ecotourism constraints in Serbia.