Since students began blocking colleges and organizing protests in November last year, government officials have often cited negative economic consequences, especially in tourism. However, despite global tourism trends showing a decline, Serbia has seen increased visits from foreign tourists to spas and mountains compared to the previous year. The drop in domestic tourism is largely attributed to the state’s delayed distribution of tourist vouchers, not the protests.
According to the Republic Statistical Office, tourist arrivals in March 2025 fell by 11.1% year-on-year, with overnight stays dropping by 14.6%. Domestic overnight stays declined by 22.8%, while those by foreigners dropped only 5.4%. This indicates that domestic tourists had a much larger impact on the decline.
Looking at the first quarter of 2025, foreign tourist arrivals actually increased by 3.5%, and overnight stays rose by 6.6%. There was notable growth in visits to spas (16.3%) and mountain centers (19.1%), with destinations like Stara Planina, Zlatibor, Tara, and Novopazarska Banja seeing significant increases in foreign guests.
In contrast, domestic tourist visits to spas and mountains declined, with the most significant drops seen in places like Sokobanja, Koviljača Banja, and Tara. However, visits by domestic tourists to cities like Belgrade and Niš increased slightly, even during major protests in March.
Tourism experts, such as HORES director Georgi Genov and YUTA’s Aleksandar Seničić, acknowledged that protests can influence tourism but emphasized that the larger factor in reduced domestic travel was the late issuance of state tourism vouchers. In previous years, vouchers were distributed in January, allowing travel from February. This year, distribution began in April, and the number of vouchers was also significantly reduced—from 100,000 last year to just 30,000 this year. This cutback, they argue, is the main reason for fewer domestic trips to spas and mountains.
