Anthropological research of tourism in Serbia has usually followed a somewhat simplified concept according to which theory translates into application or practice; that is, anthropology offers conclusions to be later applied in tourism development. The domain of anthropological expertise in this matter was traditionally considered to be "popular" or folk culture, or rather its use in tourism. However, I claim that anthropology of tourism offers a greater number of research opportunities, especially in view of development of tourism as part of transitional processes. In this paper, I present the preliminary results of research on concepts of tourism development in Knjaževac, conducted in 2003 and 2005, and point to how attitudes that people have towards tourism reflect their perception and conceptualization of wider social and economical processes such as transition and globalization. Finally, I discuss some of the implications of these concepts for the future application of anthropology in tourism research.
