Miroslav Dragicevic, founder and General Manager in Horwath HTL - Zlatibor to become Serbian Tuscany

(Miroslav Dragicevic)

Serbia could soon enter more serious hotel industry development and Horwath is expecting to have an important role in that process. We are on the good way to bring new investors for hotel projects in Serbia– as Miroslav Dragicevic, a senior partner and a founder in Horwath HTL, one of the leading regional consulting companies in tourism field, said for eKapija.

Our interlocutor is explaining that development of hotel branding and management in Serbia has significantly slowed down due to crisis and that many plans are on stand by regime but that there are positive moves.

- When more serious development of tourist resorts stars, hotel brands interest focused only on Belgrade at this moment will also increase in the whole Serbia. Good sign is, for example, entrance of Falkensteiner in hotel management on Stara planina, which shows there is interest to develop additional value on the Serbian market.

Up till now, Horwath took part in a large number of projects in Serbia – they have developed the Strategy of Tourism Development in Serbia, a couple of destination master plans such as Palic, Golija, Vlasinsko jezero, Stara planina, Kopaonik...

- Unfortunately, due to economic difficulties, one part of the projects proposed by the Strategy has been postponed in the investment plans although they have been well-defined within key products where central investments should have been suggested. These plans created climate to start a few projects, such as Stara planina at Kopaonik – which at the beginning was moving to restructuring or Palic where I expect what was written to start happening.

(The Golubac Fortress)

Horwath has recently developed marketing plan of Djerdap (Donje Podunavlje) and at the moment, apart a couple of projects in the private sector (evaluation, brand acquisition, hotel projects…), they are engaged in an organization of the destination management organization in West Serbia.

- Marketing plan developed for Donje Podunavlje area is the unique document of that type in Serbia. This is the first time common marketing will be carried out for the whole region. Municipalities Gradiste, Golubac, Majdanpek, Donji Milanovac and Negotin have realized that the region sells image, experience, products, etc. and they will promote together in order to increase the number of tourists – Dragicevic said.

This plan, realized in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy and Tourist Organizations, has been developed within the GIZ KWD project "Tourist area of Donje Podunavlje– new opportunity for cooperation and development".

The Tourist Organization of Serbia will play an important part in the internet presentation and promotional materials of destination. The objective is to establish destination management organization Djerdap.

In this region, short vacations and touring have been defined as tourist offer core activities should be directed at. Ideal guest of Djerdap has also been profiled – a women of 3—35, travelling by car, spending 50-60 euros a day, coming during the summer of at the weekends. Key markets with the largest number of tourists at Djerdap are Serbia, Germany, Austria, Great Britain and Slovenia.

(Srebrno jezero)

Romania, Hungary, France and Russia are the markets where marketing activities shoud incrase in order to increase a number of visitors for these countries.

Marketing plan of Djerdap has tactics for all key products. Objectives are to enter top three short term destinations in Europe, become individual touring destination favourite offering the alternative to holiday at the sea and become the first destination for river nautics in Europe.

West Serbia as Provance

Similar model from the east moved to the west of our country.

- Horwath is currently working on development of the model for future destination organization for the West Serbia. The story is similar to Djerdap region since Zlatibor has also concluded that they have to brend themselves as a tourist destination - our interlocutor explains.

(Zlatibor)

Dragicevic is talking for eKapija about Horwath company plans on Serbian market.

Horwath founder says that their mission is to promote the office as an independent and to join the list of important factors in tourist industry in Serbia.

Region

The largest project of our company are branding, national tourist strategic and marketing plan of Romania, master plan for Montenegrin Coast,... - said Dragicevic who recently took part at the Belgrade Real Estate Fair, REBEC 2012.

Milica Stevuljevic