When a Cycling Route Becomes a Livelihood: How Trans Dinarica Turned Regional Tourism into Real Income

High above Zlatibor, in the village of Ljubiš in Serbia, where spruce trees scent the air and mornings are quiet, the ethno bungalows Boškova Voda once welcomed mostly weekend hikers. The family-run accommodation followed a familiar rural rhythm — busy summer weekends, quieter weekdays, and an uncertain shoulder season.

Then, a colored line appeared on a digital map.

The Trans Dinarica Cycling Route, a 5,500-kilometer cross-border trail connecting the Western Balkans into one continuous cycling experience, began running directly past the family’s gate. Suddenly, Boškova Voda was no longer just a destination — it was part of a regional journey.

“The route didn’t change us,” says Uroš Dacović, who runs the business with his family. “It just connected us to the world — and showed us that our future can stay right here, at home.”

From passing guests to predictable demand

Before Trans Dinarica, visibility was the biggest challenge. Tourists came sporadically, mostly in peak season. Planning investments felt risky. Weekdays were often empty. That changed when cyclists started arriving — regularly, not randomly.

Most came in small groups of two to four, typically in spring and summer, often stopping for dinner, an overnight stay, and breakfast before continuing their journey. August quickly became the busiest month, but importantly, cyclists also filled weekdays, smoothing demand beyond weekends.Today, around 20% of Boškova Voda’s guests are cyclists, many using the Trans Dinarica app to plan their routes. “They are reliable guests,” Uroš explains. “They plan ahead, they arrive tired, and they value good food, rest, and hospitality.” What cyclists look for is exactly what Boškova Voda already offered: home-cooked food, traditional accommodation, nature, warmth, and trust.

Because of that, Uroš didn’t need to reinvent the business — just adapt how it presents itself. The family refreshed their website and social media with photos from the route, highlighted cyclist-friendly meals, and made it easier to be found online. The accommodation is now listed and promoted through the Trans Dinarica platform.

The impact was immediate and tangible:

• higher turnover;

• more consistent bookings; and

• for the first time, fully booked weekdays.

The family hires additional local workers — mostly women — during peak cyclist periods. Two women under 35 are already part of the core team, and part-time work during the season provides additional income for women in the village. “We didn’t raise prices,” Uroš says. “We didn’t change the menu. We just had more guests, and more confidence.”

Part of something bigger than one household

Boškova Voda is not an isolated success. 
Uroš is one of hundreds of small rural entrepreneurs benefiting from Trans Dinarica - a regional cycling product developed as a commercially viable route, not a donor-dependent campaign. 

In the first half of 2025 alone, more than 6,800 cyclists rode sections of the route, generating over CHF 2.5 million in direct income for local economies — guesthouses, cafés, guides, repair shops, and transport providers.

Behind this growth is a different development approach. Through Sweden’s RECONOMY program, Helvetas acted as a facilitator supporting Goodplace, the creator of Trans Dinarica, to work across borders and turn a shared idea into a market-ready product. Private tour operators now integrate the route independently, investing their own resources into promotion, partnerships, and sales. 
The result is a system that continues without donor funding — driven by demand, cooperation, and local ownership.

Staying because the future is here

Back in Ljubiš, cyclists often stop at Boškova Voda right after a long downhill stretch. They wash their bikes using water from the family’s natural spring, eat homemade meals, and sometimes buy flour, jams, or preserve some produced by the family, others sourced from nearby local producers.

Uroš is already planning next steps: secure bike storage, e-bike chargers, and better signage. Not because a project requires it, but because demand makes it worthwhile.

“Now I plan,” he says. “Before, I waited.”

For Boškova Voda, Trans Dinarica didn’t bring mass tourism. It brought something more valuable: predictability, dignity, and the confidence to invest.

And for Uroš, it confirmed a simple but powerful truth: Staying in a small village doesn’t mean being left behind if the world knows how to find you.