Due to rising prices and inflation, vacationing abroad and in Serbia is more expensive this year. But if it can be judged by the statements of tourist workers, it does not affect the visit of guests for now. Those who apply for vouchers of 15,000 dinars for vacations in the fall have to count on higher prices.
Leveling of prices – this is how the tourism sector explains price increases. Food, chemistry, and energy are more expensive.
“In order to retain the workforce, salaries in the hospitality and hotel industry have increased and, therefore, the price of products must also increase . My opinion is that hoteliers used to give very cheaply and now they are slowly coming to the market price of the products they deserve,” says Aleksandar Vasiljević from the Association of Hoteliers and Restaurateurs of Serbia (HORES).
“In hotels and restaurants, the price has increased by twenty percent.” Of course, inputs increased, we also had to increase our prices, i.e. adjust with the state of the market,” adds Dalibor Sekulić, sales manager at a hotel and catering company in Palić.
Record visits
But this does not affect the visit of tourists, according to data presented by tourism workers across the country.
“If we look at the data for the first five months of this year, we have so far achieved record parameters when it comes to overnight stays and arrivals. If we talk about Palić, Palić has a 94 percent growth in overnight stays, Subotica has over 120 percent growth in overnight stays,” Aleksandar Medaković, director of the Subotica Tourism Organization , told RTS .
“The interest is huge and, for the sake of example, let’s mention that an apartment in private accommodation on Zlatibor can be found for as little as 15 euros per person per day, depending on where it is located, while half-board in hotel accommodation in three-star hotels starts from some 35 euros”, emphasizes Vladimir Živanović, director of the Tourist Organization of Zlatibor.
In the more luxurious ones, it goes from about eighty euros and up, depending on the package. It seems that the rising prices are not pulling away tourists for now. Those we spoke to see it as part of a general increase in prices.
Some apartment owners raise their prices unrealistically
Just when the state increased the value of the vouchers, there were criticisms that some apartment owners had raised prices unrealistically. They confirm this in the tourist agency in Vrnjačka banja, although they say that most of them were realistic.
“Landlords increased approximately ten to twenty percent , with some prices going up by over 50 percent.” What I know is that there will eventually be certain sanctions, because it is unreasonable to raise the prices so much,” points out Sandra Dramičanin, owner of a tourist agency in Vrnjačka Banja.
Such cases should be resolved by the inspection, according to the tourist organization. Smaller increases are explained by greater interest in beds in Vrnjačka banja and a richer offer.
“Everyone has invested in apartments in the past period. The apartments are categorized for a higher level of service, and of course this was accompanied by an increase in prices, but not in all, but in a certain number of higher quality apartments that Vrnjačka banja has”, says Ivan Trifunović, director of the Vrnjačka banja Tourist Organization.
Interest in vacationing in Serbia does not abate even after the lifting of restrictions on travel abroad. However, the trust of domestic guests who have maintained the tourism sector in Serbia during the pandemic should be maintained, Sputnik writes.
