New Year’s Eve in Novi Sad

During my high school years I learned a valuable lesson about the ‘’big night’’.
Don’t expect anything. It’s just another night out – it can be great, or it can suck big time. Ether way, it’s not your wedding and shouldn’t be over planned.
The best way is to simply go with the flow, and this year, if you happen to be in Novi Sad, there will be several ‘’flows’’.

First, there is the traditional concert and fireworks on the main city square – Masimo Savic is probably the biggest star on this venue.
Other ‘’stages’’ will include traditional Vojvodina music on the smaller Mladenci square, which is almost next to the main square; a lineup of DJ, both local and foreign will play on SPENS, a big sports center that is also near by.

So, if you happen to be in Novi Sad on the 31. December, feel free to venture out in the cold - there will be dancing on the streets.

Number of visitors to Serbia remains stagnant

Serbia, although never a ‘’hot destination’’, has seen a steady increase in the number of visitors since the regime change in 2000. It seems that this trend hasn’t continued into 2008.

According to the State statistic agency, the total number of visitors that Serbia received during first 10 months of this year is lover by one percent compared to the same period in 2007.
The most popular destination is the capitol Belgrade, then the second largest city, Novi Sad. The majority of the visitors, around 38%, stayed in spas and other thermal resorts like Vrnjacka Banja. Also, most visitors came from Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Germany.

I know that this isn’t a big downturn, but I think it may be a good sign for thing to come, especially having in mind the ongoing economical slowdown and the poor state of air travel industries.

I guess 09 isn’t going to brake any tourism records in Serbia - at least no positive ones.