Impact of COVID-19 on Tourism in Serbia

Abstract

At a time when tourism in Serbia represents a major segment of its economic development, COVID-19 has hit the tourism industry hard both locally and globally, and thus has affected the country’s economic condition and its development prospects. The government of the Republic of Serbia has taken a number of measures to combat the epidemic and to recover tourism. In order to assess whether these measures have been effective and to what extent they have contributed to the sustainability of tourism as an important economic contributor, field research was conducted on 110 owners of catering and tourist facilities in attractive tourist destinations in Serbia. Statistical analysis provided precise data on the decline in the number of tourists during the epidemic, as well as whether and to what extent these consequences were mitigated by a set of measures adopted by the government of the Republic of Serbia. It was concluded that, in the first five months of 2020, the influx of tourists decreased by almost 50% compared to the same period of the previous year (2019). According to the survey, the recovery of the tourism sector will take at least twelve months, so the measures that are being implemented must have long-term effects.