COVID-19 VIRUS PANDEMIC – CRASH OF THE SERBIAN TOURISM OR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROSPER?

Abstract

The year 2020 proved to be challenging in many fields. The entire economy suffered huge losses and the tourism is no exception. The research offered in this paper was conducted in this regard, the aim of which was to examine the tourist habits of the Serbian residents before the pandemic, and then to compare them with the behaviour of passengers in this new situation. Surveys designed partly as open questions, and partly as questions with offered answers, and their analysis, revealed that the habits of the citizens of our country change forcibly and that the preferences of a typical Serbian tourist always gravitate to foreign destinations. Only the pandemic led tourists to travel around Serbia, which, as they admit, they do not know enough about. An important role in that context played the government’s tourist vouchers, which to some extent helped overcome the economic difficulties of travel. The conclusion is therefore that although tourism has suffered damage, the imposed global isolation may be just an opportunity to attract domestic tourists. As could easily be concluded, tourism in 2020 faced great challenges globally, because of the Covid-19 virus epidemic. World stock markets and the world economy are in crisis and the extent and consequences of this crisis are still unknown. Tourism as an economic branch does not include only travel but relates to other economic activities that are an integral part of sustainable development. Some tourist destinations in the world once facing too many tourists, now are facing flights cancelled during the pandemic, and the number of visits dropped in a short period of time. On the other hand, we are witnessing events that are a consequence of the declining number of tourists, and which are a kind of nature’s recovery from human presence (dolphins in Venice, animals on city streets, reduced air pollution, etc.). It seems that nature needed a break from man, and viewed from that side, one can see the positive effects of limited movement.