Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajić said at a ceremony organized to mark the World Tourism Day and award the “Tourism flower” that tourism still lacks the significance that it ought to hold in the economic recovery and development of Serbia.

According to him, tourism has the potential to be an important economic branch in Serbia.
He noted that, despite the economic crisis, in the seven months of this year the number of foreign tourists increased by 11 percent and that we are the only country in Europe that has marked a double-digit growth.

During this period, the largest number of tourists was from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and for the first, Russian tourists were ranked first according to the number of overnight stays with 91.000 overnight stays, and there has been an increase of 36 percent in the number of Chinese tourists, while the number of overnight stays increased by 47 percent.

Deputy Prime Minister Ljajić said that the foreign income has increased by 10.5 percent compared to the same period last year, totaling 345 million euros.

Speaking about future plans, he said that the Law on Tourism will be amended in the new year, and that it must be adapted to the needs of the economy; also, the first version of the Tourism Development Strategy 2015 to 2020 will be developed, while the next month will see the liberalization of the visa regime for passengers from the Middle East, India and Japan.

The Director of the National Tourism Organization of Serbia Gordana Plamenac said that tourism is our opportunity, and that the results are not spectacular but good.

She pointed out that tourism generates the largest number of employees and the highest income.

The Director of the German National Tourist Board Petra Hedorfer said that in Germany, Belgrade is considered as the new Berlin – it is a new, exciting city that has achieved remarkable growth and the fact that it attracted that many visitors is a great thing.

According to her, many consider Serbia to be the hidden treasure of Europe – a destination that offers a variety of possibilities for visitors.

The Head of EU Delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport, congratulated the municipalities that were received the EDEN award, and said that there are a lot of other places in Serbia, which are worth visiting. He emphasized that Serbia has huge potential and the European delegation will continue to provide great support to the development of these resources.

The tourist organization award went to the Tourist Organization of the City of Subotica, while the event “Golden Hands” of Sokobanja was awarded in the category for best tourist event.

The Belgrade hotel “Square Nine” and the rural household “Ivanjički konaci” shared the award in the category for best accommodation facility.

The Public Enterprise “Ski Resorts of Serbia” and the director Marijana Petrović were awarded in the category of organizations or individuals who contributed to the improvement of tourism and the quality of tourist services.

When it comes to the competition for the selection of the most “extraordinary destinations in Europe”, which was organized for the first time in our country, the winner was the municipality of Knjaževac, while the accompanying destinations were Kovačica, Topola, Kučevo and the joint candidacy of Nova Varoš and Prijepolje.

The selected destinations in Serbia will be included in the “Network of Extraordinary Destinations in Europe”.