THE VALUES OF CULTURAL HERITAGE IN THE RUGOVA REGION IN PROMOTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM IN KOSOVO

Culture is conceived as a complex whole, as a conceptual system in learning. The Rugova region is geographically located in the "Albanian Alps" which is a territory that includes a special set of cultural activities developed between generations. These intangible (spiritual) identity values include: language (dialect), tradition, traditional food, traditional clothing, symbols, natural-cultural monuments, festivals, rituals, customs and traditions, religion and the folklore tradition of the Rugova region. The overall purpose of the paper is to assess the cultural heritage and how to use its potential for sustainable development in the Rugova region. The cultural dimension of heritage and the possibility of cultural perspective consists of recognizing the new reality and changing dynamics of community life. Another goal is to deepen the knowledge about the organization and functioning of the cultural heritage of the Rugova community towards tourism. Literature research by local and international authors, data collection and analysis is built from the field through questionnaire, interview. Interdisciplinary methodologies have been used such as: ethnographic method, method of direct field observations which has been used to get acquainted with socio-cultural heritage and tourism objects. The development of the cultural tradition of food preparation, the way in which the inhabitants give a worldview for the heritage in the service of the development of tourism are parts of interest in this topic.