Antalya, Turkey, 11 May – With the support of the United Nations Development Programme, the Republic of Serbia yesterday officially became a member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. The membership of this initiative was signed by Dunja Đenić, Assistant to the Minister of Tourism, at the annual global conference of the Council, which is being held in Antalya.

Signing this agreement on membership would enable Serbia to receive support in harmonising with the global standards of sustainability in tourism, in line with our country’s needs, as well as to be promoted all over the world as a country of sustainable tourism.

Sustainable tourism involves the development of tourist destinations in a way that contributes to the protection of the environment and the economic progress of small and mid-size enterprises at tourist destinations, as well as to the promotion of the communities’ authentic cultures and traditions.

Considering the global public’s increased awareness of the importance of preserving natural and cultural heritage of destinations, sustainable tourism has become increasingly important in recent years, especially among younger-generation tourists. According to the latest research by the Booking.com internet platform, more than three-quarters of tourists want a sustainable tourism experience and have been planning their travel in the next 12 months in line with that.

The panel dedicated to tourism in the Western Balkans at the Antalya conference, involved the promotion of Serbia’s orientation towards keeping up with the latest global trends in tourism and being promoted as a destination of good hosts, as well as community-based economy as a foundation of sustainable tourism.

"Serbia has numerous measures and subsidies in the sector of tourism, as well as a voucher programme for the citizens, which promotes local tourism and subsequently, also equal and sustainable development of the country. The emphasis is put on communication with the sector of economy, which would be the basis for the future Serbian Tourism Development Strategy," said Dunja Đenić, Assistant to the Minister of Tourism.

Serbia now gets the opportunity to establish national sustainable tourism standards, which would enable the providers of tourist services in our country to receive the official sustainability certificates and thus respond to the demands of today’s visitors from all over the world.