In the first quarter of this year, Serbia recorded a 42 percent increase in the number of foreign guests, and a 70 percent increase in overnight stays compared to the period before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, said Uroš Kandić, secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Youth of Serbia.
Kandić pointed out that according to the latest report of the European Tourist Commission, Serbia is the first in Europe in terms of the growth rate of arrivals and overnight stays of foreign guests.
He stated that Serbia is the leading country in Europe in terms of the rate of recovery of tourist traffic with China, which exceeded the levels before the pandemic, by 30 percent in arrivals and 57 percent in overnight stays compared to the first quarter of 2019.
Kandic assessed that the strong return of Chinese tourists was mainly influenced by direct flights with Beijing and Tianjin, assessing that the introduction of new flights to Shanghai and Guangzhou will enable Serbia to be the main base in the region from which Chinese tourists will travel to this part of Europe.
Also, he added, he expects that 2024 will be a record year for tourism in Serbia and that the growth of tourist traffic this year will also be contributed by domestic guests who, even after the pandemic, showed great interest in traveling to Serbia, Srna writes.
