Tourism revenue to increase by USD 300 million in 2015

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajic said Saturday that the ministry plans to increase tourism revenue from USD 1 billion reported this year to USD 1.3 billion in 2015, as well as to increase the number of employees in the sector from 70,000 to 100,000 and the number of ovenight stays from the present 6.6 to 10 million.

"It is something that we can achieve in a relatively short time, providing that we develop a more efficient approach," Ljajic told Belgrade-based TV Pink.

Serbia's tourism growth strategy will be revised by year-end in order to define the real potentials, areas in need of investment and ways to assist the private sector, the minister said.

The funds allocated to tourism should be increased as well, stressed Ljajic, adding that the tourism budget, which once stood at EUR 40 million, was cut over the years to around EUR 13 million today.

Serbia is growing in popularity as a tourist destination, Ljajic noted, pointing out that around 2.2 million tourists were registered in the country last year, 42 percent being visitors from abroad.

The number of foreign tourists increased by nearly 15 percent in the first quarter of 2014, he added.

According to Ljajic, Serbia's tourism revenue in 2000 was USD 20 million, and reached around USD 1 billion last year, recording a nearly 50-fold increase.

Serbia has great tourism potential, especially in terms of eco-tourism, and this potential should be unlocked, the minister stressed.

Photo Tanjug/D. Peternek