Travel in Serbia

Ongoing growth and development for travel in Serbia

Serbia’s travel industry continued to register strong growth in 2019 as increases were seen in domestic, outbound and inbound tourism flows. Ongoing economic development and growth has meant higher spending on domestic and outbound travel among local people and this has fuelled growth in sales for travel intermediaries, despite the difficulties that traditional bricks-and-mortar players are facing due to falling demand amidst strong migration to online players and the imposition of higher insurance premiums and new regulations aimed at protecting consumers after a string of high-profile bankruptcies in the category.

Dynamic growth in online sales seen across the industry

Growth in online sales continued to outpace growth in offline sales across the entire Serbian travel industry in 2019. Online sales are already dominant in airlines as Air Serbia, Wizz Air and other major players in the category all offer online ticket booking, while the influence of major online travel intermediaries is growing in the category.

International hotel operators continue to invest in Belgrade and Serbia

2018 and 2019 saw the opening of numerous new hotels under international chains, including the new Hilton, Mama Shelter and Indigo hotels in central Belgrade, the new Hotel Sheraton in Novi Sad and the new Viceroy hotel in Kopaonik, Serbia’s most famous winter resort. In response to this, many of the country’s existing hotels have been refurbished, upgraded and improved with the addition of new services and facilities such as spa centres, conference centres and new décor.

New regulations for travel agents to place pressure on travel intermediaries

The failure and bankruptcy of numerous travel agents in Serbia over the course of the review period left very many Serbian people out-of-pocket, with some travellers even left stranded by the collapse of tour operators and travel agents. This has led the government of Serbia to redouble its efforts to develop and promulgate its new Travel Law and accompanying rulebook, which aim to improve standards across the travel industry.

Higher investment and better organisation point to bright future

Strong growth is slated for all categories in travel in Serbia over the forecast period and this is set to be based mainly on strong investment from local and international players alike. In particular, investment is being directed towards improving the country’s main airport, Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade, with French concessionaire Vinci having recently signed a 25-year contract to operate the airport.

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