Serbia’s government said it has signed a cooperation agreement with Swiss-based Global Blue for the launch of a digital tourism shopping tax refund platform.
The platform will be launched on January 1, 2020, and will facilitate the refund of value-added tax (VAT), motivating tourists to spend more, Serbia’s finance minister Sinisa Mali said, as quoted in a government press release on Thursday.
“Customers who visit your country from neighboring countries, and the increasing number of good consumers coming to Serbia from China, Russia, and America give us a hint of what is potentially a major retail market in this country,” Birgitta Falk, vice president new markets of Global Blue said, according to a separate press release issued by Serbia’s finance ministry.
The number of foreign tourists who visited Serbia in 2018 grew 14.2% on the year to 1,710,514, according to data from the country’s statistical office. Bosnia was Serbia’s biggest feeder market last year with 121,384 tourists, up 12.3%. Chins followed with 102,351 tourists, up 98%. Visitors from Bulgaria came third, up 9.1% to 99,527.
Source; SeeNews
