Serbia targets 30k overnights

Serbia is set to record 30,000 overnight stays from India in 2019, which will be a 20% increase over last year’s number, reveals Marija Labovic, Director, National Tourism Organisation of Serbia. The board hopes to engage more M!CE from India.

Nisha Verma

The National Tourism Organisation of Serbia recently organised workshops for the travel trade in Mumbai and New Delhi. Marija Labovic presented various offerings of the destination to the trade in both cities, while highlighting the potential that India had as a very important source market for Serbia, with Indian citizens not needing to apply for a visa anymore. “Earlier, connectivity was an issue, which is now much better, and we can see that it is much easier for travellers coming from India to Serbia, which has become an established tourism destination in Europe. We believe that in connecting the travel trade from Serbia with that of India, we will have good results,” she said.

By the end of 2019, we expect to have 30,000 overnight stays. In 2020, with such workshops and roadshows, we will increase this number significantly

Thrilled about the huge response they received from the Indian travel trade, Labovic shared that the tour operators they met at the workshop already had some suggestions for the groups they will bring to Serbia. “People had concrete questions, which is very good. Also, the travel trade partners that came with us from Serbia are well-established DMCs. We know that they will offer good services, which is very important for us, especially for those first few larger groups that come to Serbia, who should experience that quality. I am sure that they will be satisfied with the programme they will get in Serbia,” she said.

Currently, Serbia is focused on M!CE and business groups, followed by leisure travellers. Labovic believes that business travellers are the best ambassadors of a country and can spread good word about destinations, which in turn brings leisure tourists as well. By the end of 2019, says Labovic, they are expecting 30,000 overnight stays from India. “Last year, we had around 8,000 tourists from India and they had 25,000 overnight stays. This year, we expect to have around 9,000 tourists, according to data for the first five months. Until the end of September, we had around 20,000 overnight stays, and by the end of the year, we expect to have around 30,000 overnight stays. We believe that in 2020, with such workshops, roadshows and other promotional activities, we will increase this number significantly,” she shared. The tourism organisation hopes to achieve this number through social media promotions, B2B events, as well as Fam trips for agents in India.