Head of the Department for Tourism Inspection in Belgrade Aleksandar Radović said that in the first six months of 2014, 802 controls of travel agencies were conducted, 514 of which were of tour operators, 264 controls of intermediaries and 24 controls of customized travel arrangements.

At a press conference at the National Association of Travel Agencies “Juta”, Radović said that 88 requests were submitted to magistrates’ courts and that in 21 cases a temporary ban of activity was passed, 39 decisions imposed the removal of irregularities and in one case a ban on advertising was passed.

Tour guide services were also controlled, and irregularities were found in four cases out of 87.

According to him, this year the license of a travel agency was revoked for serious violations of the provisions of the Law on Tourism, and procedures for revoking licenses were initiated on the suggestion of the tourism inspection in five cases, pertaining to travel insurance.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of “Juta” Zoran Arsenović said that the tourist season is at the level of last year’s season, but that by the end of the year a decrease of five percent can be expected due to numerous negative factors such as flooding, emergency, and announced layoffs.

According to him, the price of tourist arrangements has decreased, and citizens usually opt for more modest services and destinations, and that the average price of tourist arrangements is between 300 and 350 euros.

Arsenović said that there has been an increase in payment in installments.

“Juta” is calling on citizens to pay travel insurance when traveling abroad, and claims that by the end of the season, it will launch an initiative together with the relevant Ministry to make this one of the provisions of the law.