From 19 to 21 September, the Moscow Expocentre on Presnya hosted the main professional tourist event of the fall - the International Exhibition and Forum "Rest-2017". Traditionally, Serbia has become one of the partner countries of the exhibition, which boasts an increase in tourist flow from Russia this season. How we managed to achieve such success, we talked with the director of the national tourism organization of Serbia, Maria Labovic.
First, it’s probably worth voicing the numbers. How much has the tourist flow increased?
- According to the results of the first seven months, the flow of tourists from Russia increased by 20%, and the number of overnight stays by 18%. And the results of the summer season, which are always more active, have not yet been summed up. We expect that the figures will be higher by the end of the year. At the moment, the share of Russian tourists is 5.1%. This is the fourth place after Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Germany.
What do you associate such growth with?
- Serbia is open to Russian tourists all year round. And it's not just about the absence of visas and the proximity of cultures. Serbia really loves and waits for Russians. We have convenient flights. There are both direct flights of Aeroflot and Air Serbia, and charters. This year the number of charters in winter will be increased. From November they will fly twice a week. This year we have stepped up our promotion. This concerns both direct advertising on television and in other media, and the presence in popular social networks (including the Russian VKontakte). We work with journalists and bloggers, arrange presentations and, of course, participate in exhibitions, where we work with both professionals and the general public, since the percentage of individual tourists is growing all the time. It is important that the Otdykh exhibition is held this year at the Expocentre and it is easier to get here. I also note that there are support programs for tour operators that help Russian tourists to get to Serbia and are well aware of all the specifics of this market.
Let us recall what Serbia can offer, are there any new directions?
- In one magazine they once wrote "thank God that there is no sea in Serbia." Largely due to this, Serbia offers and constantly develops a huge number of other types of tourism in order to surprise and satisfy the most sophisticated guest. Traditionally, these are gastronomic and wine tours, baths, spas, ski resorts, pilgrimage tourism, cruises on the Danube, active recreation. We host a large number of Festivals of various directions: music, theater, gastronomic, beer. Serbia has a lot of sights and historical sites and a choice of hotels and hostels for every taste and budget, including the all-inclusive type that Russians love.
Among the new directions I will name medical tourism, which is becoming more popular every day. These are not only our traditional baths and spas, but also, for example, dentistry or plastic surgery. The fact is that Serbia can offer almost exclusive conditions in terms of the optimal combination of European level of service and affordable prices.
Can Serbia be considered a weekend destination? If you yourself were going to visit Serbia on the weekend as a tourist, where would you go?
- Oh sure. To date, the average number of overnight stays for a Russian tourist is 3.5 days. And they usually fall on the weekend. Itself would have acted as 61% of tourists who first of all go to our beautiful capital Belgrade. And you don't have to go anywhere else - there won't be enough days off to see and taste everything. Especially if the trip falls on New Year's holidays, when fairs and New Year's festivities take place in the squares. And so it depends on the preferences of the tourist. It could be Novi Sad, or the Kapaonik ski resort, or Bani, or one of the 17 monasteries. But I am sure that having visited us once, the tourist will definitely want to come back again.
