Domestic tourists will preserve the vitality of the tourist economy
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajic said today that the destinations in the country are full and that the capacity of Zlatibor and Vrnjacka Banja is about 95 percent full, while no free beds can be found in Sokobanja and that in July a record number of overnight stays was realized in that spa, around 110,000.
Ljajic told TV Prva that rural tourism in the country has expanded this year, and that many other destinations that were not known to the citizens are now full of guests, adding that a large number of domestic tourists will mean a lot to the tourism industry.
"This will enable people who are engaged in tourism to" keep their heads above water "and will mean preserving the vitality of our tourist economy," said Ljajic, emphasizing that the damage based on foreign exchange inflows will be around one billion euros.
He pointed out that this damage can hardly be compensated by domestic tourists, but that everything should be done to make it as small as possible.
One of the ideas to "save" domestic tourism, the minister reminded, was the distribution of an additional 400,000 vouchers for summer vacations in the country, after 160,000 vouchers were distributed during February.
"The idea of 400,000 vouchers is being realized, not in the way we expected, the crown has influenced the dynamics of using these vouchers, until today, up to 102,000 vouchers have been distributed. All these events have influenced the reduction of interest in the use of vouchers, "said Ljajic.
He says that pensioners used to apply for vouchers, but the situation around the epidemiological situation demotivated them to apply for vouchers, and now employees with incomes lower than 70,000 dinars are applying.
Anyone who wants to use the vouchers can apply until November 20 this year, said Ljajic.
Speaking about the trade sector, Ljajic says that he does not expect a "hot autumn" for the trade sector, nor that the sector will undergo any significant changes.
"There are no indications that there could be a disruption in the supply of trade," he said, adding that we were much better there during the crisis than many countries, so the supply chains will go their own way.