Inviting investors to Serbia

Like most of the eastern European countries, Serbia is in need of more foreign investment into domestic tourism. Local business investors usually favor heavier industries or commerce sectors, rather then tourism, which is seen as more of an exotic and risky opportunity.

On recent Travel Trade Show that was organized in Berlin, Serbian government promoted its plans for bringing more investment into the tourism sector. Except for the usual rhetoric about our untouched natural beauties, Serbia’s improving image (at least, they hope it’s improving) and so fort, I think two things stand up for investors that are (rightly so) interested in profit, and not the improvement of our world-standing.

First of those is the expansion and promotion of archeological sites from the Roman era, so called ‘’Emperors Route’’ – I believe this is really a potential for development. Ancient Roman sites are always interesting and have a big appeal to most people.



The other thing, although less spectacular, is a planned cycling track alongside Danube, which is intended to promote bicycle tourism. This could be a jackpot for some low to medium investments – the landscape through which Danube flows is very flat, green and tranquil, and good basic infrastructure is already there. With some well planed tours that last 4-7 days, Serbia could easily get on the eco-tourist maps.

So, where do you want to put your money - ancient Rome or bicycles?

Karlovci Christmas festivities

Although the New Year holiday season is whining down, there are still some events that are ongoing. In Serbia, majority of the population is Christian-Orthodox, and according to the old Julian calendar, New Year falls on January 14.

In Sremski Karlovci, a traditional event called ‘’Karlovci Christmas festivities’’ started in December, but will end on the 14th. Every year more and more people visit this event because of it broad and interesting subjects: culture, spiritual heritage, traditional folk values. All of this is presented in a modern, multimedia fashion.

If you like to learn more about local culture and, especially, spiritual and religions heritage (Sremski Karlovci is a very important center for both), on the 13th you can see the preparation for the Orthodox New Year in the church of St. Nikolaja around midnight, or New Year mass and church choir concert on the 14th , starting in 9:30AM.

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.

Eco-house ''Small Bodrog''

Similar to most developing countries, village and ecotourism in Serbia have a lot of potential, but sadly, most of it is untapped. Although the local and regional governments are always quick to point out that tourism is a great source of income, money and other real backing rarely follows the reassuring words.
That’s why I’m glad to see small scale projects like ‘’Small Bodrog’’ (‘’Mali Bodrog’’ in Serbian) in Backi Monostor.

This country house was built 150 years ago in the style typical for the 19. Century south-east Austria–Hungary era, and was recently renovated and turned into a historical site.
Alongside the house and its preserved interior, ‘’Small Bodrog’’ displays the traditional large backyard with its well and accompanying buildings that were used by the generations of farmers who lived there.
I think it’s very good that people take the initiatives in their own hands and try to develop their cultural heritage into a tourist destination for everyone to enjoy, and also make some profit.
You can visit this small but interesting place and find out how people lived in this part of the world almost two centuries ago. I doubt it’s going to blow you away, but it should at least prove interesting.
The entry ticket is currently under one Euro, which is another incentive.

Find out more by calling +381 25/807-163, or just 025 807 163 if you are already in Serbia.

Joan Miró exhibition

Sombor is a small sleepy town in the far north of the country, but it’s organizing a very interesting event. Starting on 27Th November, Sombor city museum will open a big Juan Miro exhibition. There, almost 70 paintings, graphics and drawings created by this Spanish contemporary artist will be displayed.

I can’t say that I know a lot about his work, but he is a world renowned painter and sculptor, so this looks like an ideal opportunity to visit Sombor for a lazy afternoon of art and relaxation. The exhibition is open till December 20Th.

Medical tourism in Serbia

Being sick isn’t usually the first thing people associate with travel, but the phenomenon of medical tourism is growing in Serbia.
A little background story:

Republic of Serbia, like all former Yugoslav countries, has a very strong social approach to medical care. All citizens are eligible to receive a complete medical insurance package, provided by the state. There are several bases for this, and it doesn’t matter if you’re a child, unemployed or something different – everybody has it.
This system is in place for almost 60 years, and wasn’t disturbed by the regional conflicts or anything else.
Naturally, the level of medical services has dropped in the period of 1990-2000, but is steadily recovering. Because of this, Serbia has a lot of medical professionals like doctors, dentist, nurses and many others. Now, some of them have set up private clinics or smaller practices, because a lot of people choose to pay and receive faster service. For example, an ultrasound diagnostic will be complete after some 45 days from the moment the patient show up in the general hospital; in a private practice, it takes only few days to make an appointment and receive full results.

Medical tourism offers to foreign visitors, usually those from Western Europe, a chance to come to Serbia and get the medical treatment they need at a much lower price. For example, dental procedures are 4 times cheaper than in UK and the noninvasive diagnostic methods like magnetic resonance imaging are even cheaper.

So far, Belgrade and Novi Sad (capitol and second larges city) are expanding offers in medical tourism. Belgrade, with its international airport is the logical first choice, but organized transport to Novi Sad is also available.
In my case, I use both private clinics and state run medical institutions in Novi Sad, and I’m generally very pleased with the levels of service and professionalism, even having in mind that the free options are somewhat slow.
If you have some kind of medical condition or problem, especially a non-life threatening, like bad teeth or knee injury, think about this somewhat unusual option.

For more detailed information, check out Serbia Medical Tourism.