Rural tourism in the villages around Valjevo as an instrument of sustainable development

The aim of this paper is to show that rural tourism as an instrument of sustainable development can be a component of village revitalization. Rural tourism is a new term in the post-modern society which, based on the concept of sustainable development, should lead to optimal use of local natural and human resources and capacities. The concept of rural tourism is based on programme documents both in the world and in our country. This paper is focused on the research of rural tourism in the villages around Valjevo. The results of this study have shown that sustainable rural tourism in our country is characterized by European rural patterns: local history, local tradition, cultural patterns, traditional economy, mainly pristine, healthy nature, peace and serenity - authentic rural identity, a specific rural sense of place. The word ?peasant? can be a synonym for sustainability i.e. a paradigm for sustainable rural development and sustainable rural tourism.