Tourism in Serbia

Tourism in Serbia is officially recognised as a primary area for economic and social growth.[1] The hotel and catering sector accounted for approximately 2.2% of GDP in 2015.[2] Tourism in Serbia employs some 75,000 people, about 3% of the country's workforce.[1] In recent years the number of tourists is increasing, especially foreign ones for about hundred thousand arrivals more each year. Major destinations for foreign tourists are Belgrade and Novi Sad, while domestic tourists prefer spas and mountain resorts.[3]

Tourism in Serbia
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Area code(s)+ 381
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History

Origins

The origin of tourism in Serbia is connected to the abundance of thermal and mineral springs, so much, that history of Serbian tourism is sometimes equaled to the history of Serbian spas (Serbian word for spa, banja, became part of numerous toponyms). Some of them had wider historical and evolutionary impact as remains of the prehistoric habitats have been discovered around them. Wider, practical use came with the Roman conquest in the 1st century AD.[4] The Romans also developed other public activities as predecessors of modern tourism, especially around Singidunum, precursor of modern Belgrade. Hilly areas east of the city, along the Danube river functioned as an excursion area, with numerous villas and summer houses for more affluent citizens.[5][6] In the area of Belgrade's modern neighborhoods Ada Huja and Karaburma, which were outside of the city in the Roman period, numerous thermal springs were used for public bathhouses.[7]

Roman successors, the Byzantines, continued to use the spas.[4] In the medieval Serbian state, some spas prospered. There are records of springs around Čačak, modern Ovčar Banja, where "magnificent" high domes were built, with large pool, numerous smaller cooling pools (as the thermal water was too hot), and large living and dressing rooms.[8] They were opened for both the gentry and the commoners.[4] Serbia also inherited important Roman roads, like the Via Militaris, which in the Middle Ages developed into the Tsarigrad Road, with some additional trading routes developing in time. With numerous merchants and caravans traversing the country, hospitality services began to develop along the roads. They included large inns and caravan stations with spacious inner yards for keeping animals and storing goods. The inns had upper floors and sleeping rooms, and some were designated for merchants only. Emperor Dušan established an obligation called priselica by which the denizens were obliged to host domestic dignitaries and foreign representatives. It was compulsory only for the residents of the rural areas, since the towns had inns to provide the service. The innkeepers and were bound to pay for any damage or shortage during caravan's stay in their facilities.[9]

Use of spas continued after the Ottoman conquest in the 15th century. The Ottomans added the specific architecture, which included Turkish baths, or hamams and specific oriental ornamentation of the spa objects.[4] After visiting Ovčar Banja in 1664, Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi wrote that 40,000 to 50,000 people visit during the summer ("watermelon") season, but also described the spa as the location of numerous fairs and as a major trading place.[8] Some of the hamams survived until today, like in Sokobanja, while several are still in use (Brestovačka Banja, Novopazarska Banja).[4] Hills east of Belgrade remained popular excursion sites during the Ottoman period. Upper classes built numerous summer houses, especially on the Ekmekluk Hill, today known as Zvezdara.[10]

By the 2020s, the second most visited tourist attraction in Belgrade, providing one third of foreign currency income for the city, was the bohemian quarter Skadarlija, a vintage street dotted with kafanas.[11][12] The very first kafana in Belgrade, an oriental-style bistro, was opened in 1522 and was arguable the oldest venue of that type in Europe. It served only Turkish coffee, but later some offered nargile also.[13][14][15] Despite frequent Ottoman–Habsburg wars in the 17th and 18th century, and change of occupational rulers in Belgrade and northern Serbia, the number of kafanas was always high.[16]

As Serbia remained on the main trading route connecting Middle East and western Europe, the hospitality venues along the roads continued to develop. During the Ottoman period, the caravans grew bigger, involving new animals, so the caravans of 500-650 camels were recorded. When Çelebi visited Belgrade in 1661, he counted 21 khans and 6 caravanserais. The largest was the Caravanserai of Sokollu Mehmed Pasha which had "160 chimneys", while some of the larger ones even had harem sections.[9]

Early modern developments

Early roots of modern tourism in Serbia can be traced to the 19th century. Serbian government, and the rulers personally, actively participated in development of the spas, by hiring foreign geologists to survey the spa waters and sending medics to the newly formed spa centers. In time, they attracted foreign visitors, mostly from Austria-Hungary and Greece. Until World War I, Banja Koviljača, Niška Banja and Vranjska Banja emerged as the most visited spas, though Vrnjačka Banja, Sokobanja and Ribarska Banja are considered to be among the oldest. Also popular was one of the latest discovered, Mataruška Banja, which was founded in the late 19th century.[4][17][18]

Hospitality services in towns in time diversified in numerous types: bistro, mehana, gostionica, han, saraj, lokal, krčma, bircuz, birtija, and later restoran and hotel, but until the mid-19th century they remained oriental-type venues.[19] In 1847, the ruling prince Alexander Karađorđević codified work of the hospitality objects.[20] The first hotel in Belgrade, "Kod Jelena", was built in 1843. Later known as "Staro Zdanje", it had the first ballroom in Belgrade and introduced European style of entertainment.[19][21] Construction of various modern hotels began in Belgrade, including "Evropa" (1867), "Nacional" (1868), "Srpska Kruna" (1869), "Pariz" (1870), "London" (1873), "Slavija" (1883), "Moskva" (1908) and "Bristol" (1912).[19][22][23][24][25][26]

Though development of tourism was boosted by the burgeoning middle class,[4] many still weren't able to travel around the state so the further excursion areas around the cities developed. Main area now became the southern hills of Belgrade. The first was Topčider Park. Planting of the park began in the 1830s. After the Topčider railway station station was built in 1884, and later introduction of the tram line No. 3, it became accessible to everyone from downtown.[27] The neighboring forest in Košutnjak followed when the former royal hunting ground from the 1840s was adapted into the public park in 1903. Due to the beneficial climate conditions, the summer sanatorium for children was built in the forest.[28] Former artificial Lake Kijevo was formed in 1901. As Kijevo also had its own raliway station, special touristic trains were organized for transporting the Belgraders.[29]

Major development of tourism in the early 20th century was cut by the outbreak of World War I.[4]

Interbellum
A map featuring some of the best-known tourist attractions in Serbia

In 1918 Serbia became part of the new state, later named Yugoslavia. In Serbian proper, spas remained basically the only proper tourist centers until after World War II. Villas of the royal family and wealthy industrialists and merchants boosted the construction of mansions and hotels. They became urban centers and small towns. Visiting spas became a matter of prestige and they remained immensely popular. In 1937, Vrenjačka Banja had five times more visitors than Dubrovnik, on the Adriatic coast (in modern Croatia), arguably the most popular resort in former Yugoslavia.[30]

Post-war period

New Communist authorities after the war made spas much more accessible. Stripped of the bourgeois elitism, the spas became centers of healthcare tourism and sites of family vacations, with numerous workers' and trade unions' retreats being built.[30]

In the 1980s Yugoslavia was an important tourist destination in the Balkans. Overnight stays were almost 12 million per year, of which about 1.5 million were by foreign tourists. The events surrounding the break-up of Yugoslavia led to a substantial decline in both leisure and business tourism.[31]

Number of tourists in Serbia from 1948 to 1999. Visitors from the rest of Yugoslavia (from 1992 only from Montenegro) were counted as domestic ones.[32][33] [34][35][36][37]

1940s & 1950s
Year Arrivals Domestic Foreign
1948 480,000 463,200 16,800
1949 567,000 557,700 9,300
1950 754,000 747,200 6,800
1951 823,000 810,500 12,500
1952 846,000 826,500 19,500
1953 1,047,000 1,012,700 34,300
1954 865,000 825,300 39,700
1955 888,000 837,200 50,800
1956 942,000 877,600 64,400
1957 1,029,000 955,400 73,600
1958 1,131,000 1,043,800 87,200
1959 1,275,000 1,161,800 114,000
1960s
Year Arrivals Domestic Foreign
1960 1,538,000 1,405,800 133,000
1961 1,518,000 1,365,000 153,000
1962 1,484,000 1,289,000 195,000
1963 1,634,000 1,361,000 273,000
1964 2,015,000 1,699,000 316,000
1965 2,242,000 1,859,000 383,000
1966 2,460,000 1,987,000 473,000
1967 2,578,000 2,057,000 521,000
1968 2,819,000 2,242,000 577,000
1969 3,152,000 2,490,000 662,000
1970s
Year Arrivals Domestic Foreign
1970 3,323,000 2,636,000 687,000
1971 3,369,000 2,665,000 704,000
1972 3,373,000 2,673,000 700,000
1973 3,700,000 2,879,000 821,000
1974 3,860,000 3,095,000 765,000
1975 4,021,000 3,179,000 842,000
1976 4,144,000 3,297,000 847,000
1977 3,967,000 3,123,000 844,000
1978 4,162,000 3,321,000 841,000
1979 4,136,000 3,301,000 835,000
1980s
Year Arrivals Domestic Foreign
1980 4,328,000 3,460,000 868,000
1981 4,386,000 3,533,000 853,000
1982 4,447,000 3,632,000 815,000
1983 4,419,000 3,675,000 744,000
1984 4,606,000 3,820,000 786,000
1985 4,746,000 3,899,000 847,000
1986 4,725,000 3,869,000 856,000
1987 4,591,000 3,691,000 900,000
1988 4,507,000 3,577,000 930,000
1989 4,158,000 3,217,000 941,000
1990s
Year Arrivals Domestic Foreign
1990 3,949,000 3,068,000 881,000
1991 2,823,000 2,476,000 347,000
1992 2,693,000 2,557,000 136,000
1993 2,107,000 2,038,600 68,400
1994 2,172,000 1,954,000 218,000
1995 2,432,000 2,228,000 204,000
1996
1997
1998
1999

21st century

In the twenty-first century tourism began to recover: the number of overseas visitors was 90% higher in 2004 than it had been in 2000, and revenue from foreign tourism more than tripled between 2002 and 2004, to about 220 million US dollars.[31] By 2010 revenue from international tourism had grown to 798 million US dollars.

By 2020, there were 35 officially proclaimed and operational spas. However, many additional ones went out of work during the international sanctions in the 1990s and the transitional period in the 2000's. For example, Jošanička Banja was closed, Niška Banja was basically out of use, while Vrnjačka Banja and Sokobanja boomed. In spas, new hotels were built, so as many wellness centers.[30]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism industry in Serbia is facing huge financial multimillion losses. The number of overall tourist arrivals in 2020 is the smallest in the past two decades, but it's expected to recover and stabilise within near future. [38]

Internationally known annual events
Name Location Month Type of Festival
Küstendorf Film and Music Festival Drvengrad January Film and Music Festival
Gitarijada Zaječar June Rock and Roll Music Festival
Palić European Film Festival Palić July European Film festival
EXIT Festival Novi Sad July Electronic Music Festival
Guča Trumpet Festival Guča August Brass Band Festival
Nišville Niš August Jazz Music Festival
Lovefest Vrnjačka Banja August Electronic Music Festival
Beer Days Zrenjanin August Beer Festival
Leskovac Grill Festival Leskovac September Grilled Meat Festival

Statistics

Arrivals per year

Year Arrivals Domestic Foreign
2003[39] 1,997,947 1,658,664 339,283
2004[40] 1,971,683 1,579,857 391,826
2005[41] 1,988,469 1,535,790 452,679
2006[42] 2,006,488 1,537,646 468,842
2007[43] 2,306,558 1,610,513 696,045
2008[44] 2,266,166 1,619,672 646,494
2009[45] 2,021,166 1,375,865 645,301
2010 2,000,597 1,317,916 682,681
2011 2,068,610 1,304,443 764,167
2012 2,079,643 1,269,676 809,967
2013 2,192,435 1,270,667 921,768
2014[46] 2,194,268 1,165,536 1,028,732
2015[47] 2,437,165 1,304,944 1,132,221
2016[48] 2,753,591 1,472,165 1,281,426
2017 [49] 3,085,866 1,588,693 1,497,173
2018[50] 3,430,522 1,720,008 1,710,514
2019[51] 3,689,983 1,843,432 1,846,551
2020[52] 1,820,021 1,374,310 445,711

Arrivals by country

2020[52] 2019[51]
# Country Arrivals Country Arrivals
1 Bosnia and Herzegovina51,459 China incl. Hong Kong 144,961
2 Croatia26,970 Turkey 107,695
3 Bulgaria26,841 Bosnia and Herzegovina 136,184
4 Montenegro26,332 Germany 104,144
5 Turkey25,079 Bulgaria 100,344
6 Germany25,064 Croatia 103,807
7 North Macedonia21,498 Montenegro 90,442
8 Russia20,259 Romania 83,027
9 Romania17,959 Slovenia 89,930
10 China incl. Hong Kong17,641 Greece 74,974
11 Slovenia15,735 North Macedonia 72,760
12 Greece13,395 Russia 64,103
13 Israel12,862 Italy 52,723
14 Italy11,448 Poland 55,844
15 France10,469 Hungary 48,008
Total international visitors445,711 Total international visitors 1,846,551

See also

References
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Further reading
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