Sustainable Tourism Working Group Assessment Criteria for National Tourism Development Strategies, 2013

Assessment Criteria for National Tourism Development Strategies

This analyse was prepared on the base on Assessment Criteria and Methodology for a National Sustainable Tourism Development Strategy of CEEweb for Biodiversity (Sustainable Tourism Working Group).

Author and contact person:

Marina Ilic Visnjicki venac 9 11000 Belgrade, Serbia e-mail: [email protected]

Name of the document: Tourism Development Strategy of the Republic of Serbia (2006- 2015)

Abstract

1. Introduction

Sector for Tourism of the Ministry of Economy performs numerous duties of state administration which is primarily related to implementation of the Law on Tourism (2009) and Tourism Development Strategy of the Republic of Serbia (2006-2015). The strategy is the basis for reform in the field of tourism and the development of normative and other documents in the field of tourism. Tourism Development Strategy of the Republic of Serbia contains a description of the state of tourism in the Republic of Serbia (2005), the possibilities of tourism development in Serbia in relation to developments in the global tourism industry, a description of the development of instruments in competing countries, the strategic advantages and disadvantages of tourism of the Republic of Serbia, tourism development goals of Serbia, the Serbian vision of tourism, tourist strategic positioning of the Republic of Serbia, the Serbian selection of priority tourism products, tourist structuring of the Republic of Serbia, the growth model, the conditions for effective development policy of the Republic of Serbia, the competitiveness plan, investment strategy and plan for necessary investments and marketing plan.

2. Goals, target audience and methodology of the assessment

Tourism Development Strategy of the Republic of Serbia for 2006-2015 points to the possibility of tourism development in relation to trends in world tourism, with tourist strategic positioning, selection of priority tourism products for Serbia and a plan of competitiveness, investment strategy, plan of the necessary investments and marketing plan. The products need to be recovered and commercialised rapidly, both with their own resources and with expected of the international support.

The development of the assessments is generously supported by the European Commission 1

Sustainable Tourism Working Group Assessment Criteria for National Tourism Development Strategies, 2013

Vision of development of Serbian tourism is to see Serbia as the Danube Basin, Central European and Balkan country that equally appreciates the natural and cultural resources available to it. This vision should communicate Serbia as a country with a heart that accepts guests from all over the world, through tourism, which expresses its pride, identity and all its cultural and historical value and uniqueness, and the country that international market accepts as a safe, interesting, credible and above all clean tourist destination with a recognizable identity. The mission of Tourism of the Republic of Serbia is to continue the development of its potentials, to increase the attractiveness and competitiveness of tourist destinations in Serbia and to satisfy the needs of guests, investors and citizens themselves. Republic of Serbia shall ensure the preparation, long-term protection and integrated management of natural and cultural resources, which is in the interest of sustainable tourism development. In this it will succeed through the establishment of efficient system of destinations management, increased levels of tourist activities and increasing foreign exchange revenues from tourism, increasing the number of tourists in priority tourism destinations, increasing the number of employees, as well as improving the investment climate. The objectives of the Tourism Strategy are:  Through tourism, Serbia must stimulate economic growth, employment and quality of life of the population;  Through tourism, Serbia must ensure development of positive international image of the country;  By means of tourism, and in the best interest of the development of tourism, Serbia must ensure long term protection of natural and cultural resources;  Serbia must achieve international quality standards, and first and foremost protection of tourist consumers, in accordance with the present European practices. The outcomes of tourism development and the interests of the Republic of Serbia in the field of tourism projected from 2006-2015 are:  encouraging economic growth and increase in total income from tourism to 1.3 billion euros;  increase the degree of utilization of existing and construction of new accommodation facilities (with 46,349 available rooms in 2008. of the projected 70,000 rooms in 2015. and increase form 116,182 beds in the 2008. to 150,000 beds in the 2015.);  increase the number of directly employed workers in tourism to 100,000 workers;  increase the number of tourist arrivals to 5.8 million (2.3 million arrivals achieved in 2008.) And tourist nights at 15.5 million (7.3 million overnight stays achieved in the 2008., of which 1.4 million of foreign visitors);  preparation of adequate infrastructure and other facilities for tourism products that require long-term investments (above all, mountain tourism, special interests - hunting, fishing, spa and health tourism and nautical tourism);  security and application of international quality standards and tourist consumer protection according to European business practices in order to attract foreign tourists.

Principles The following key values which should be the basis of the development vision of tourism in Serbia in the forthcoming ten year period: • Tourism in Serbia must be a winning combination for everybody • Serbia accepts tourism as an efficient lever for the inclusion in the international market competition and globalization; • Serbia wants to present itself in tourism as new, innovative and different • Serbia plays on the factor of (positive) surprise, for it starts, practically, from nothing; The development of the assessments is generously supported by the European Commission 2

Sustainable Tourism Working Group Assessment Criteria for National Tourism Development Strategies, 2013

• Serbia wants to concentrate itself in tourism on the contents and initiatives which may place Serbia, with minimum transaction costs, not only on the tourist map of the world, but differentiate it from the competitors, as well.

3. National Tourism Strategy as a public document

National Tourism Strategy in Serbian can be downloaded on the website: http://www.turizam.mfp.gov.rs/index.php/yu/dokumenta/strategija

National Tourism Strategy in English can be downloaded on the website: http://www.turizam.mfp.gov.rs/index.php/en/documents/strategy

The versions in Serbian and English don't have identical content.

STARTING POINT

Serbia is now at the historical crossroads of the intensive adaptations to the European integrations, and on the way of defining the development clusters and economic sectors with chances for success where it will have to build, independently and with the assistance of the international community, as soon as possible, the competitive growth strategies. In that context, tourism imposes itself as an unavoidable complex, with unused growth potential. The present tourist policy of Serbia is limited in scope, for it objectively covers just the internal regulation of a sector which still does not have the strength nor the international competitiveness, which still have to be created. The present Serbian destinations/clusters and the national tourist policy are in a vacuum, primarily due to the fact that the tourist policy of Serbia does not have, at present, the necessary levers of influence on the development and growth of competitiveness in tourism. The state policies understood, besides, that the tourist competitiveness is created at the level of clusters and products, and not at the national level. Therefore, the governments should support the development of the competitiveness of clusters by various investments in infrastructure since at present people do not talk about touristically competitive countries, but about countries with more or less competitive tourist clusters/destinations/products. Serbia has only comparative advantages in tourism for it has a diversified structure of attractions, and it is near the traditional and new tourist markets, it has a long history and general distinguishability, preserved natural resources, relatively good communications, and an important human potential. In spite of numerous attractions, the tourist products are neither enough developed nor well commercialized at the international tourist market. Because of excessive centralization there were no investments in the maintenance of inherited tourist destinations, for the local communities could not financially satisfy the requirements of maintenance and of new development. The value chain in the tourism of Serbia, except partially in Belgrade, was not developed. Because of the high share of the grey economy and because of the disorderly statistics of the tourist sector, there is the problem of objective presentation of the present macroeconomic achievements in the Serbian economy. The existing statistics tell that the tourist sector has a share of 2.5% in the GNP, and of some 5-6% in the total employment in Serbia.

The stratregic advantages and disadvantages of tourism in Serbia Strategic Advantages The strategic potentials of Serbia for success in tourism are defined as follows:

The development of the assessments is generously supported by the European Commission 3

Sustainable Tourism Working Group Assessment Criteria for National Tourism Development Strategies, 2013

• positive attitude of the population of Serbia towards tourism • the geographical position of Serbia at the borders of several historical cultural circles • great unused potential of underground and surface waters, starting from rich thermal sources and traditional Serbian spas, until the Danube, Sava, Tisza, Morava and other rivers which represent a unique structural attraction in this part of Europe; • untouched vastness of mountains, forests, agrarian regions, • inherited heritage of monuments of different cultures, • the Serbian present spiritual creativity and propensity to feasts and festivals

Strategic Disadvantages • the country still does not have a national tourist brand • the lack of generally accepted national vision of tourism in Serbia, the lack of national (regional) visions, and the lack of tourist structuring of tourism in Serbia • a still inadequately articulated and established spatial-urban regulations in the majority of the present and potential tourist destinations and/or centers, inadequate protection and maintenance of the main national natural and cultural resources/attractions, uncontrolled "wild" construction activities, and the lack of law enforcement, of control and sanction policies regarding the incidents in the field of environment (wild dumps); • inadequate awareness and/or understanding of the importance of the system of tourist experiences and of the establishment of a complete value chain in the majority of the present products of Serbian tourism; • limited access to Serbia, • the lack of internationally qualified hotel and tourist managers and of personnel in new tourist professions

SUMMARY

 Environmental protection and nature conservation were mentioned in the goals, but quite generally  The natural values are one of the strategic potentials of Serbia, and for the creation of tourism products  The priorities are quick profit and good positioning in the global and regional tourism market  No emphasizes that the environment is a prerequisite for development of tourism, and the nature (only mountains and lakes) have been identified as potential for tourism but for its aesthetic value and attractiveness  Regarding penalties for environmental degradation, it was mentioned that must be tightened (only for waste)  It is not mention the connection between tourism and the ecosystem services or natural diversity (biodiversity, geodiversity, landscape diversity)  About rehabilitation of existing supply, it is not mention that it should be according to the principles of sustainable tourism  Renovation of the existing building has priority over the new accommodation facilities  New accommodation capacities must be developed according to the concept of sustainable development. For large projects, no mention of sustainability or environmental impact assessment tool  Represent the structure of the investments needed by area, but no action plan or who/when would invest  Investment incentives and exemptions were only to economic factors, and the protection of nature and socially responsible activities are not mentioned

The development of the assessments is generously supported by the European Commission 4

Sustainable Tourism Working Group Assessment Criteria for National Tourism Development Strategies, 2013

 Investment by the state will be for environmental protection only in the fields of infrastructure

The development of the assessments is generously supported by the European Commission 5

Sustainable Tourism Working Group Assessment Criteria for National Tourism Development Strategies, 2013

4. Assessment Criteria for National Tourism Development Strategies

Abbreviation and acronyms

CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity) CSR (Corporate social responsibility) EC (European Commission) EIA (Environmental impact assessment) IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources/World Conservation Union) LA21 (Local Agenda 21) NTS (National Tourism Strategy) UE (European Union) UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme) UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) TIC (Tourism Information Centres) NSTDS (National Sustainable Tourism Development Strategy)

Definitions

Biodiversity – biological diversity is the adaptive potential of the range of ecological complexes or systems that sustain the variety and variability of life (CBD).

Sustainable tourism – tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities (UNWTO). In the context of tourism, this refers to present and future visitors and host communities

Ecosystem services – services provided by the natural environment that benefit people including regulatory services, such as water regulation, provisioning services, such as food and timber, and cultural services, such as recreation, they provide outputs or outcomes that directly and indirectly affect human wellbeing.

Value proposition – an offer to visitors that results in more benefit to them (through satisfaction, financial reward, or other measures) than the costs incurred

Competitiveness – qualities or features of a destination or product that attract customers over other destinations or products

Destination Management Organization – the partnership body which is responsible for tourism development of a destination

Targets – outcomes which are achievable during strategy implementation

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Sustainable Tourism Working Group Assessment Criteria for National Tourism Development Strategies, 2013

The document basic information

Name of the main document representing tourism policy in the Years of country implementation

Tourism Development Strategy of the Republic of Serbia (2006-2015)

Names of the complementary planning documents and Years of initiatives implementation (linked to the other sectors for example such as in point no.9 in the evaluation table)

The National Strategy for the use of natural resources (adopted in 2012) (Ministry of Natural Resources, Mining and Spatial Planning) Development Strategy of Railroad, Road, Air and Intermodal 2008-2015 Transport in the Republic of Serbia (Ministry of Transport)

until 2015 Republic of Serbia Energetics Development Strategy (Ministry of Energy, Development and Environmental Protection)

Waste Management Strategy 2010-2019 (Ministry of Energy, Development and Environmental Protection)

National Sustainable Development Strategy (adopted in 2008)

Biodiversity Strategy of the Republic of Serbia (2011) 2011-2018 (Ministry of Energy, Development and Environmental Protection)

Strategy for Cleaner Production in Serbia (adopted in 2012) (Ministry of Energy, Development and Environmental Protection)

Republic of Serbia Forestry Development Strategy (adopted in 2006)

(Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management)

Serbia's Agricultural Strategy (adopted in 2005) (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management)

The National Rural Development Program 2011 – 2013 (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management)

NacionaIni Environmental Protection Program (adopted 2010) (Ministry of Energy, Development and Environmental Protection)

National Programme for Integration of Serbia into the (adopted 2008, amended European Union 2009, 2012) (Office for European Integration)

The documents’ achievements and future projects Years of implementation

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Sustainable Tourism Working Group Assessment Criteria for National Tourism Development Strategies, 2013

16 Master Plans - Master plans for tourism are defined for different areas in Serbia. Identified sixteen master plans that have been grouped (published in period from according to whether they are focused on the development of tourism, 2006 to 2013) which refers to the mountains, lakes and rivers, as well as cultural and historical goods and spas.

National Rural Tourism Master Plan Development Master Plan for national rural tourism is one of the key (published in 2011) components of the UN Joint Programme: Sustainable Tourism for Rural Development , which worked towards the diversification of rural economy. Master plan for rural tourism has been developed over eight months. During that time four reports were submitted : 1. Diagnostics sector of rural tourism in Serbia 2. Strategies for sustainable development of rural tourism in Serbia 3. Action plan for sustainable rural tourism in Serbia 4. Implementation plan for sustainable rural tourism in Serbia

Methodology of assessment is based on analysis of weighted assessment and review of major tourism sustainability indicators for a tourism strategy, which are divided into several categories in the evaluation table above.

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The evaluation table

Name of an indicator Scores (S) and Weights (W)

I Description of the document and elaboration process WI = 0.1

1. The documents representing tourism policy in the country S = 3 if yes

- general plan of social-economic development S1 3 - sectoral plan (national tourism strategy) S2 3 - operative plan for government actions and agendas S3 0 - the strategy is published in an easy-to-read version which does not exceed 100 S4 3 pages comprising major targets

Ad. The strategy has 36 pages and 16 articles. It is written in clear language. The strategy includes a general recommendation without detailed action plan and no specification for implementation activities.

2. The national strategy sets out clear priorities, goals, policies, objectives, interventions S = 1 if just the long term vision (up to 10 years) is included and expected results that contribute to improving biodiversity protection and meeting S = 2 if sustainable tourism is included by enhancing issues national and global commitments in the: where tourism can make a difference S = 3 if sustainable tourism and biodiversity protection is included

- vision of national tourism policy S5 1 - goals of national tourism policy S6 3 - objectives of national tourism policy S7 1 - operational measures/tasks S8 1 - expected results/indicators S9 0 - expected results (outcomes) of national tourism policy S10 2

3. Targets or norms are established by governments (in other strategic documents as well) S = 1 if the relevant planning document exists

considering areas such as: S = 2 if the tourism issues are included in the document S = 3 if the tourism issues and biodiversity protection is included S = 4 if there are targets set which influence tourism sector S = 5 if there are targets set which influence tourism sector and biodiversity protection

- land-use zoning S11 5 - ecosystem functioning S12 4 - biodiversity conservation and sustainable use S13 5 - sustainable transport S14 2 - green house gas reduction in the tourism industry S15 1 - climate change adaptation and mitigation in destinations S16 0 - waste reduction and management S17 1 - poverty alleviation/mitigation S18 1

S11 land-use zoning is mentioned in the context of construction in the protection zones (different level of protection)

S12 In "The National Strategy for the use of natural resources" and "Biodiversity Strategy of the Republic of Serbia for 2011-2018" S13 in "Biodiversity Strategy of the Republic of Serbia for 2011-2018" S14 in "Development Strategy of Railroad, Road, Air and Intermodal Transport in the Republic of Serbia for period 2008-2015" one paragraph mentions the need of development of transport for tourism

4. Strategy formulation process includes the following actions: S = 1 if the information about the document formulation is available for stakeholders S = 2 if the stakeholders are invited to the meetings or other

form of involvement into the formulation process S = 3 if the active contribution was accompanied by research on the type of tourism the stakeholders want to host

- baseline information is gathered on the basis of multi-stakeholder consultations S19 3 - local communities are involved in the consultations and their active role in S20 2 destination management is recognized

- public and private sector work together during the consultations S21 2

Ad. Stakeholders are involved in making a SWOT analysis on the strategic potential for tourism development. Also, the basis for the Strategy was present research of the visitors of Serbia and of the local population; several structured workshops with the relevant interest groups linked to tourism, interviews with the Serbian intellectual elite surveys of tour operators who are already in business or want to cooperate with Serbia, and. email. The analysis of the present image of Serbia as tourist destination.

II Situation analysis and programming WII = 0.2

5. The tourism resources and market analysis for national tourism development S = 1 if there are major stakeholders and elements of supply and demand of tourism market included S = 2 if there are major stakeholders and elements of supply and demand of tourism market included (including separate analysis of country’s tourism destination and regions) S = 4 if there are major stakeholders and elements of supply and demand of tourism market included (comprising separate analysis of country’s tourism destination and regions) and natural resources are presented from the point of view of

ecosystem services

- domestic (national) market: major stakeholders (tour operators, travel agents, S22 2 national and regional authorities, NGOs etc.) - tourism supply: products, services, infrastructure and facilities S23 2 - demand of the domestic market (income, costs, positive and negative trends in S24 1 demand, working hours) - strategic planning method analysis (e.g. SWOT) S25 2 - needs for further development and official forecasts S26 2

Ad. Generally, the whole strategy is focused on this area

6. Political factors and international aspects of tourism development S = 1 if the description includes the national destination only S = 2 if the description includes the national and regional destinations S = 3 if the description includes the national and regional destinations and their competitiveness is described

- product and infrastructure development, general industrial policy starting points S27 3 - destination marketing S28 1 - reinforcing the image of the country as a tourist destination S29 2 - benchmarking (product, strategic) S30 1 - the strategy gives the answer to which type of tourism is best for the national S31 3 destination Ad 1. The first possible approach to the future positioning of Serbia as tourist destination is the approach which imposes itself naturally when one takes into account: a) The advantage of promotion of tourist experience in the positive "emotional" context, i. e. b) the fact that the notion "Balkans" was not used in tourist positioning (such an approach does not seem appropriate at this moment).

It is possible to use another approach to the tourist positioning of Serbia with the combination of several established strategic advantages, i. e. success potentials, which are in direct correlation with several tourist products which could be immediately globally commercialized, without reserve and with minimum investments. That is the approach which is based on the following assumptions and/or components: • the exchange value and the distinguishability of the Danube • the key attractive value of Belgrade which represents, after Vienna and Budapest, the third "Danubian" metropolis with strong marks of cosmopolitism, of hedonism and of gastronomy; • the key geostrategic position of Serbia in the context of Central and South-East Europe, whose stability strongly influences the stability of the European Union as a whole.

This option, after performing the preliminary tests, has excellent assumptions for its success at the international tourist market, although it does not include the entire tourist potential of Serbia. The third approach to the strategic tourist positioning of Serbia is the approach in which Serbia is positioned by the interpretation of the set of values which are characteristic only for Serbia. The set of values and of key words which define the general brand of Serbia is the following: • Serbian culture • people inclined to entertainment • Serbian art and literature • wholehearted hospitality of people • passion and pride • union of traditional and modern Such an approach to the branding of Serbia as a state

should contribute to the repositioning of the general image of Serbia, by stressing the key spiritual and emotional values of the people

Ad 2. The products which, with the least effort, may give the best effects in the shortest possible time ("quick wins") were identified. Moreover, these products should have the function of a kind of development engine, which means that the effects of their quick and successful commercialization would be gradually expanded to other, investmenwise and/or technologywise more demanding products. After the performed process of assessment, the highest priority is given to the following products: 1. holidays in cities, business tourism + MICE and events 2. touring, special interests 3. nautical 4. Spa/wellness, mountains and lakes, rural tourism.

Ad 3. The competitive countries have been studied according to the usual procedure of analysis of competitors (structure of products, structure of accommodation, price category, accessibility by road and air). The country were selected from the so called East European Bloc, which had to pass through the transition period of transformation from socialist into capitalist system of economy.

III The grade of enhancement on sustainable approach to tourism in policies WIII = 0.1

7. Linkage of tourism to other sectors (the grade of complementation of management S = 1 if there are tourism issues involved in documents documents of the following sectors with tourism development planning) S = 3 if there are targets within the documents which define how tourism will help to solve problems of other sector (e.g. agrotourism complements aims of rural development strategy) S = 5 if there are targets within the documents which define how

tourism will help to solve problems of other sector involving the quality of live for host and visitor S = 6 if there are targets within the documents which define how tourism will help to solve problems of other sector involving the quality of live for host and visitor and there is a special chapter in tourism strategy describing the connections

- environmental policy S32 5 - agriculture and forestry S33 3 - regional and rural development policy S34 3 - transport strategy S35 1 - health policy S36 0 - employment policy S37 0

8. Reference to sustainable tourism agreements, conventions, protocols, EU policy S = 2 if there is a reference to at least 1 document towards development of sustainable tourism and nature conservation: S = 3 if there is a reference to 2 S = 4 if there is a reference to more than 2

1) the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism (GCET) as a comprehensive set of S38 0 principles designed to guide key-players in tourism development (WTO) 2) the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, especially Decision VII/14 Biological Diversity and Tourism and Decision V/25: Biodiversity and tourism, 2004 3) The Charter for Sustainable Tourism (developed in Lanzarote, Canary Islands) Spain, 1995 4) EU Sustainable Development Strategy (EU SDS) with indications for national policies on law foundation for sustainable development of tourism, implementation of principles for tourism in other sectors of state activity and enhancement on scientific research on relations between tourism development and environment protection 5) the Agenda for a Sustainable and Competitive European Tourism 6) European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas

7) Agenda 21 as a comprehensive plan of action to be taken by governments in every area in which human impacts on the environment, Rio de Janeiro, 1992 8) The Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy (PEBLDS) adopted at the 3rd Ministerial Conference "An Environment for Europe", Sofia, 1995 9) EU Strategy for the Danube Region, the Carpathian Convention (Tourism Protocol) 10) Other related to sustainable tourism development (fill with the name): …………………………………………………………………………………………..……………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....

9. Social benefits and community profits S = 3 if there are outcomes defining how tourism will contribute to the evaluated issue S = 4 if there are outcomes defining how tourism will contribute to the evaluated issue and recommendations for regional level tourism development strategies are included

- tourism is valued as the contributor to country’s economy (preferably in %) S39 3 - preservation and development of the culture in the region S40 3 - distribution of income and prospects for employment S41 3 - support to cultural heritage and local identity S42 3 - maintenance of community infrastructure S43 3 - participation of indigenous and local communities (e.g. community based S44 0 tourism)

IV Participation of institutions in tourism management WIV = 0.1

10. Setting up and enabling a National Tourism Organization as: S = 3 if yes

- a national body for tourism businesses and destinations S45 3 - a source of best practice, offering tourism business advice S46 3 - a custodian of the national product database S47 3

11. Enhancement on bottom – up approach in destination management S = 3 if yes

- local tourism bodies are responsible for a tourism destination which reflects the S48 0 natural geography of an area’s visitor economy (rather than local public sector or electoral boundaries)

- the tourism policy gives the possibility for tourism bodies to band together into S49 3 larger groups voluntarily

- ensuring financial sustainability of the bodies with minimum reliance on public S50 3 funds (can act as partners with local authorities or local business partnerships) - reduction of taxes to central level S51 3 - supporting creation of Destination Management Organization rather than S52 3 Marketing Organizations - partnership between public sector and local authorities and local businesses and S53 3 attractions - recognition of role of the bodies for Regional Development Strategies S54 0

Ad 1. Partnerships relationships at the regional and national level in tourism are not as in other industries. The tourism industry is increasingly expressed a clear view that the national level can be much more effectively in the interests of competitiveness clusters than is the case at the regional or local level. Facilitating access to finance, facilitate the creation of new companies and projects, strong educational centers, the development of quality systems, all are more effective when carried out centrally. In accordance with the existing legal solutions (2005) in Serbia (national and regional / provincial level), there are DMO as destination management organizations, which are actually

destination marketing organization, while at the local level, there are DMOs that destination management organizations. Tourist Organization of Serbia (TOS) in this document assumes the role of a central point of tourism marketing system of the Republic of Serbia, a mentor and an active collaborator with the entire network of tourism organizations in the country.

Ad 2. Pursuant to the Strategy, Serbian tourism will be structured in four tourist clusters based on different forms of economic experience and concentration of various types of resources in different parts of the country, and following modern trends and principles of regional development of tourism as well. It should be emphasized that the suggestion of the disposition of the characteristic tourist clusters in Serbia is not based on administrative borders which presently exist in the country, but primarily on the rational strongholds and various kinds of economies of experience which could be developed in some parts of the country. Potential Serbian tourist clusters: • Vojvodina - water treasures, Pannonian delight • Belgrade - seductive and exciting • South-West Serbia - history and tradition with pleasures in nature • South-East Serbia - still undiscovered

12. There are responsibilities determined for the strategy implementation for the S = 5 if yes following bodies:

- ministries S55 5 - the local and regional governments S56 0 - tourism business associations, clusters, tourism entrepreneurs etc. S57 5

- the non-governmental sector S58 0 - protected area authorities, environmental institutions etc. S59 0

V Sustainable development of tourism businesses, supply of services and WV = 0.2 special enhancement addressing nature protected areas

13. Plans to increase the number of environmentally oriented tourism providers and S = 1 if recommendations of the following actions are listed offerings by: S = 2 if there are operative actions described for the implementation S = 3 if there are operative actions described and indicated bodies responsible for the implementation of these actions

- support of certification and labelling schemes S60 0 - strengthening cooperation between (organisation and financing) public and S61 1 private entities as well as partnerships for sustainable tourism development - educational programs for tourist staff and their professionalization in the S62 0 framework of tourism environmental impact and social responsibility

14. Grade of incentive and encouragement to sustainable practices in tourism companies: S = 1 if country has sustainable policy for resources management with relevant legislation S = 2 if the legislation provides alternatives for resources’ using S = 3 if state government stimulates sustainable practice with finance benefits (tax reducing, tariff reducing)

- energy efficiency S63 0 - efficient water management solutions S64 0 - waste management S65 0

15. Support for financial contribution from the tourism industry to nature protection S = 3 if there are: a system or instruments with relevant services: legislation and rules S = 4 if there is evidence (data) that stakeholders use these

instruments

- enhancing regional marketing as the foundation for sustainable tourism S66 3 development, particularly in UNESCO biosphere reserves and national parks - areas close to or in populated regions are protected for nature-based recreation S67 0 - incorporating the European Union network of Natura 2000 sites in tourism S68 0 territorial development and marketing

VI Tourism strategy measures WVI = 0.1

16. Indicators and targets comprise important part of the strategy S = 4 if yes If no go to indicator no. 22

- strategy includes targets to be fulfilled S69 4 - strategy recommends indicators for monitoring S70 0 - targets are combined with indicators in order to measure impacts S71 0

17. Indicators for monitoring are described in 8 groups1 as headline indicators (not only S=0 if the indicator is not included in the strategy complementary indicators): S= 1 if the indicator is included in the strategy (a) political

- value of micro-loan program for local businesses respecting sustainability criteria and number of SMEs (Small and S72 0 Medium Enterprises) supported by the programme

- measures for evaluating tourist information policy (grade of including sustainability criteria in tourism promotion S73 0 e.g. communicating access code for tourists, evaluation of tourist behaviour, knowledge and attitudes)

- measures to policy for disabled people and equal access to tourism S74 0

- the map of regional supply chains through the establishment of local or regional cooperation (e.g. territorial S75 1

1 According to Conceptual framework for tourism sustainability assessment by T.G. Ko [in] Development of a tourism sustainability assessment procedure: a conceptual approach, Tourism Management 26 (2005) 431-445, Science Direct and Criteria for sustainable tourism, Tourism for Nature GEF project’s publication.

communes tourist associations, clusters) - measures of participation and local control (measures of accessibility to information about the strategy, number of S76 1 people and stakeholders that participated in decision-making process and the quality of their participation) - existence and quality of management plans, visitor regulations and monitoring measures S77 1 (b) economic - value of tourism expenditure in tourism destination by target groups of tourist (annual growth) or change in visitor S78 0 spending - percentage of GDP coming from tourism S79 1 - measures taken to reduce the dependency on tourism and seasonality (percentage of income coming from tourism S80 1 in the time-scale of the year, percentage of fulltime, part time and seasonal jobs in tourism, local unemployment rate off-season, local unemployment rate off-season)

- length of average tourist stay (in days) S81 0 - percentage of people employed in tourism or tourism related jobs S82 1 - percentage of change in the total number of tourists S83 1 - groth in % of the surface of the areas which are used for tourism S84 0 (c) socio-cultural

- increase/decrease in cultural activities or traditional events and level of participation S85 1

- level of awareness of local values and cultural heritage S86 0

- number of local businesses related to the local culture (handicrafts, music, food) S87 1

- extent of traditional land use S88 0

- number and quality of infrastructure development stimulated by tourism S89 1

- percentage of locals using tourism related infrastructure S90 0 - proportion of tourism revenues reinvested by administration in public responsibilities S91 1 - tourism’s contribution to the preservation of cultural goods S92 0 - evaluation of the local inhabitants’ experiences with and attitudes towards tourism (percentage of locals who are S93 0 satisfied with tourism development) - evaluation of the tourists’ experience S94 0 (d) service and product quality

- number of Green Tourism Business Awards S95 0

- number and type of tourism attractions, tourism products and visitor infrastructure S96 1 - quality measures of accommodation, food, transport and other services S97 1 - evaluation of safety S98 0 - tourists’ satisfaction evaluation (percentage of return visitors, visitor expectations versus experience measure, S99 0 satisfaction rating for those visitors whose experience exceeded their expectations (in 1-5 scale, 1 (much worse than expected) to 5 (much better than expected))

- length of the tourism season S100 0

- existence and quality of visitor/information centers, interpretative materials (e.g. brochures, panels), guided tours, S101 1 trails, cycling routes, signage (length of trails, number and language of signs)

- level of training (guards, guides, information, catering, management, etc.) S102 1 (e) general environmental impacts - intensity of use (tourist/hectare or km of trails, carrying capacity indicators, level of use of protected areas and S103 0 natural environment) - percentage of tourism businesses with appropriate resource management S104 0 - behavior and attitudes of tourists and locals towards environmental protection S105 0 - type and extension of protected areas, percentage of extended surface of protected areas and creation of new ones S106 0 (f) ecosystem quality

- revenue from tourism allowed to environment protection activity S107 0

- number and quality of direct engagement of tourism business in projects and programmes for the improvement of S108 0 environment

- effectiveness of resource management measured e. g. by amount of waste and water consumed per tourist per day S109 0

- scale of impacts due to tourism infrastructure (e. g. erosion caused by trails, consumption of territory) S110 1

- type and percentage of transport facilities used (tourists arriving by car, train, etc., number of tourists using public S111 0 transport) (g) biodiversity

- percentage of endangered species S112 0

- habitat status changes measures S113 0

- monitoring of tourist flow is mentioned S114 1

- tools for tourist flow mitigation are previewed S115 0

(h) environmental policy and management

- amount of financial contribution of tourism to funding of conservation S116 0

- number and type of measures to engage locals in protection activities (meetings, programs, expenditure) S117 0

- percentage of locals actively involved in conservation activities S118 0

- percentage of tourism managers with environmental training S119 0 - percentage of tour operators and hotels with an environmental strategy or policy S120 0 - existence of a land use or development planning process including tourism S121 0 - existence of the environmental impact assessment legal procedure S122 0

VII Financing and Implementation of the National Tourism Strategy WVII = 0.2

18. Financing S = 1 if there are indicated concrete institutions who are responsible for financing S = 2 if there is indicated concrete amount for each measure implementation

- financing is secured through governmental and voluntary resources for the entire S123 2

period of the strategy

- the strategy implementation is accompanied by a micro-loan program for local S124 1 businesses respecting sustainability criteria Ad. Generally, an investment strategy for the perio 2006- 2015 would be directed to: 1) restructuring, rehabilitation and upgrading the quality of existing facilities. It should be emphasized that the rehabilitation of the existing accommodation supply, often associated with the still unfinished process of privatization, should be a priority in terms of investment in new projects ("greenfield"); 2 ) the development of new hotel on the basis the concept of sustainable development (national parks, nature parks, archaeological parks, industrial complexes and rural heritage, mountains, etc.) 3 ) big urban rehabilitation projects

The system of incentives include:

1. financial incentives and exemptions 2. quasi- financial incentives and exemptions 3. fiscal incentives and exemptions It should be largely focus on development loans, while direct state investment should be limited to a relatively small number of large capital projects, especially those that are directly dependent / associated with the development of new capital infrastructure (conversion devastated urban areas, urban spas rehabilitation, environmental protection, protection of historical monuments and heritage sites, etc.). At the same time, short-time grants would have to be directed exclusively to the promotion of culture and cultural events and educational programs.

Highest development priority given to the following projects :

1) Belgrade on the rivers 2 ) The Petrovaradin fortress 3 ) Tara - Drina river system 4 ) Balkan Mountain (Stara planina)

19. Monitoring and Evaluation S = 0 if no S = 3 if yes

- M&E is a substantial part of the strategy S125 0 - the strategy has clearly described ways and means of monitoring, including the S126 0 responsible body and intervals of monitoring

- the periodical monitoring is made public S127 0

- there are simple qualitative along with quantitative data gathering means S128 0

employed (household survey of local residents and visitor questionnaire, Delphi technique or in-depth interviews or focus group interviews of environmental expert groups)

- tourism research on tourism market (product quality, visitor satisfaction with S129 0 products and marketing) as well as relation tourism-environment (contribution of tourism to community economies, impact on nature and support for nature protection) in academic and expert institutions will assist and complement the strategy monitoring analysis

- there is a specification of data sources for strategies’ evaluation (according to S130 0 what data is available at national level and where the new research is required)

20. Execution S = 1 if there are roles and responsibilities for private and public sector (governmental institutions, NGO, etc.) S = 2 if there is given time scale for each strategy measurement S = 3 if there is a financing for implementation

- the strategy identifies clear roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders for S131 1 the implementation of the strategy - the strategy has an integrated adaption tool, which allows for the review of the S132 3 strategy after a given period of max. 10 years

Total Score (TS) = WI ∙ ∑S1-21 + WII ∙ ∑S22-31 + WIII ∙ ∑S32-44 + WIV ∙ ∑S45-59 + TS = 14.3 WV ∙ ∑S60-68 + WVI ∙ ∑S69-122 + WVII ∙ ∑S123-132

Maximum Score (MS) = 45

Percentage in which a strategy fulfills given indicators (P) P = 31.8% P = (TS / MS) x 100%

Recommendations:

Bearing in mind that the current Strategy is for the period until 2015, during the development of the new Strategy should be overcome the deficiencies of the current Strategy, in particular the following: - Operative plan for government actions and agendas must be included - A new national Strategy should be based on the principles of sustainable tourism - The new national Strategy should set out clear vision, goals, objectives, operational measures, indicators and outcomes of national sustainable tourism policy that contribute to improving nature protection and meeting EU standards - Specify linkage of sustainable tourism to other sectors and their management documents/policies (environmental policy, agriculture and forestry, regional and rural development policy, transport policy, health policy, employment policy) - Clearly define how tourism will help to solve problems of other sector involving the quality of live for host and visitor - Strategy formulation process should include all stakeholders and should be recognized their active role in destination management - The whole Strategy for the period 2006-2015 focused on the tourism resources and market analysis for national tourism development and include only major stakeholders and elements of supply and demand of tourism market (including separate analysis of country’s tourism destination and regions) but without from the point of view of ecosystem services. The new Strategy should include tourism resources and market analysis from this point of view - Political factors and international aspects of tourism development, especially description of the national and regional destinations and their competitiveness is well described in current Strategy. Further improvements are needed in the field destination marketing and benchmarking (product, strategic) - The Strategy 2006-2015 is not list the relevant references in the field of sustainable tourism and nature conservation. During the development of the new Strategy they need to be taken into account - Clarify participation of local communities and benefits for them in case of tourism development. Furthermore, it is necessary to emphasize the importance of local tourism bodies who would be responsible for a tourism destination - It should be clarified the role of local governments, ngos, protected area authorities, environmental institutions , etc. In the implementation of the Strategy - The new Strategy should have list and description of the actions that would increase the number of environmentally oriented tourism providers. The Strategy must support sustainable practices in tourism companies, especially those that operate in protected areas - The plan for evaluation and monitoring should be detailed, with information who will conduct monitoring research and where from data will be collected

The development of the assessments is generously supported by the European Commission

- The proper sustainable tourism development indicators - political, economic, socio-cultural, service and product quality, environmental impacts, ecosystem quality, natural resources and diversity (biodiversity, geodiversity, landscape diversity), environmental management should be listed for monitoring research - Specify the indicators for the Strategy implementation achievements

Attachments:

National Tourism Strategy in serbian National Tourism Strategy in english

The development of the assessments is generously supported by the European Commission