Serbia records loss of EUR 1 BILLION due to the absence of tourists

Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajic has said that it is estimated that Serbia will suffer damage of around one billion euros this year due to the absence of foreign tourists, which is caused by the coronavirus epidemic. „Maybe the damage will be somewhat lower due to the good results in January, February and even March was not so bad,“ Ljajic told Radio-televizija Srbije (RTS), adding that the increased number of domestic tourists in Serbia will be able to compensate for „something“, but not enough. He said that the number of foreign tourists increased by 28% in January compared to last year, and by 18% in February, but that due to the epidemic, there will be a decrease of more than 90% in the coming months. Ljajic pointed out that due to the new situation, new destinations for domestic tourists in Serbia had appeared, such as Stara Planina and Kosjeric. Although it will not be possible to compensate for the lack of foreigners at the national level, some destinations such as Sokobanja, Vrnjacka Banja and Zlatibor will succeed, and, according to Ljajic, they record more visits than Belgrade, as the capital.

Izvor: Beta

Foto: Beta/Emil Vaš