The number of foreign tourists who visited Serbia in the first ten months of 2016 grew 11.5% on the year, reaching 1,091,997, official data showed.
In October alone, the number of foreign tourists who visited Serbia went up by 15.3% year-on-year and came in at 114,243, according to data from the national statistics office.
The number of overnights spent by foreign tourists in Serbia in the first ten months of 2016 rose 11.9% on the year, reaching 2,337,530. In October, the number of overnights spent by foreign tourists in Serbia rose by 13.8% year-on-year, to 234,773.
The number of Greek tourists who visited Serbia in January-October rose the most, up 62% to 47,664. Israeli citizens followed, up 52% to 10,017, visitors from Turkey, up 48% to 75,656, and Bulgarians, up 47% to 68,375.
Serbia expects a rise in the arrivals of foreign tourists for the New Year’s Eve festivities. Most of foreign visitors are expected to come from the region, but also from Turkey.
Serbia also prepares for the arrival of increased number of Chinese citizens, Tanjug news agency quoted the director of the National Tourism Organisation of Serbia, Marija Labovic, as saying on Tuesday.
During the 16+1 Summit in Riga, Latvia, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, signed an agreement on the mutual abolition of visas. Under the agreement, Serbian and Chinese citizens will no longer require visas for staying up to 30 days in either country.
The number of Chinese tourists who visited Serbia in the first ten months of 2016 rose by 36.4% to 16,520.
