Serbia getting closer to 10 million overnight stays by tourists

The Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications of Serbia, Rasim Ljajic, has stated that Serbia will meet the goals of the Strategy of Development of Tourism, which means more than 3.6 million tourists and close to 9.6 million overnight stays.

At the opening of the conference “Tourism of Serbia – Partnership for a Better Future”, Ljajic said that Serbia should develop another five destinations in the next two to three years, in addition to Belgrade, Novi Sad, Kopaonik, Zlatibor and Vrnjacka Banja, which would contribute to a growth of the number of tourists.

As he said, the areas to be developed are Palic, lower Danube area, Divcibare, Nis and Sokobanja. Ljajic underlined that Serbia needed to follow global trends in tourism and implement new technologies, as over a half of the reservations are booked online, the government says on its website.

According to him, 63% of all foreign tourists said that they had learned about Serbia as a tourist destination online, whereas 73% made reservations through booking.

As he said, Serbia should seek an opportunity for the development of tourism in new trends and in following the needs of modern tourists.

Increasingly often, tourists take vacations at smaller urban areas, which are not yet that popular, while, in the international market, they've surpassed seaside vacations, the deputy prime minister explained.

He said that Serbia should base its strategy for attracting tourists on its cultural and historical heritage, hospitality and gastronomy, which are the three key impressions cited by foreign guests coming to Serbia.

Ljajic specified that surveys by the World Tourism Organization and the European Travel Commission have shown that 75% of the subjects cite five motives crucial in choosing a destination.

According to him, the five motives are nature and its highlights, gastronomy, cities, learning about the identity of a certain community and, finally, the authentic experience and special characteristics of a destination.

He said that, in 2018, 1.4 billion people traveled as tourists globally, 5% more than in 2017, and added that it was still less than the growth of 7% between 2016 and 2017.

This slowing down is the result of geopolitical circumstances, protectionist measures that countries impose on each other, Brexit and the Eurozone crisis, the deputy prime minister explained.

Still, as he added, despite the difficult geopolitical, economic and trade conditions, destinations are now far more available than before, thanks to visa exemptions, direct flights, low-cost companies and the technological development.

Ljajic said that the air transport was the primary means of travel at the moment, making up 58% of the total transportation market, whereas, in 2000, it was 46%.

Ministarstvo turizma i omladine Republike Srbije

World Tourism Organization

European Travel Commission

Rasim Ljajić

Strategy of Development of Tourism

Palić

lower Danube area

Divčibare