The Tourism Fair starts on Thursday – China – partner country, 350 exhibitors from the country and abroad, more than 30 countries, 8 first-time participants.
The most important tourist event in the country and in the region, the 44th International Tourism Fair, was announced today in the press conference held at the Belgrade Fair.
Under the slogan “Vacation is not hard”, about 350 exhibitors from 33 countries, including eight new countries from the African continent, will present themselves in halls 1, 1A and 4 from 23rd to 26th February 2023.
The partner country of the 44th Tourism Fair is the People’s Republic of China, a country that has remarkable partnership relations with Serbia in the field of economy, culture, and other areas, and this year’s fair will be an opportunity to improve tourism exchange with the help and support of the Ministry of Tourism and Youth of Serbia.
The Fair, like tourism itself, has been constantly innovating and adapting to tourism opportunities and the business climate in the industry, in order to satisfy people’s constant desire for travel and visitors’ search for new destinations.
Dragan Zečević, coordinator of the 44th International Tourism Fair, thanked for the support provided to the Tourism Fair by the Ministry of Tourism and Youth of the Republic of Serbia and said that it is a great honor and pleasure to have the People’s Republic of China as the partner country of this year’s fair. He announced the rich program prepared by China, which the fair visitors will be able to enjoy, as the presentation will be comprehensive, from gastronomy to tourism potential.
Destinations continuously present at the fair and popular among domestic tourists are here again this year: Turkey, Greece, Montenegro, Tunisia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, North Macedonia… as well as last year’s participants – island destinations – the Maldives, Sao Tome & Principe.
For the first time at this year’s fair, Algeria, Burundi, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Namibia will present their tourist attractions, natural beauties and specific characteristics.
Zečević said that this year, in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and Youth and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the arrival of several countries from the African continent was ensured and reminded that the 18th International Fair of Hotel and Catering Equipment Horeca-Equipment will be held in parallel with the Tourism Fair.
The State Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Youth, Uroš Kandić, expressed his hope that this fair will be the most successful so far and further noted that this is supported by the fact that all 10,000 square meters of exhibition space have been rented out.
He said that 350 exhibitors will be present, and that more than 30 countries have confirmed their attendance, including eight new countries from the African continent.
“Algeria stands out among them, as a first-time participant”, said Kandić.
Promoted and greatly supported by the Ministry of Tourism and Youth of the Republic of Serbia, this year’s fair will be an opportunity to improve tourism exchange, to introduce domestic tourists to the possibilities of visiting a country rich in history and heritage, but also to bring Chinese tourists back to first place when it comes to the arrival of foreign guests in Serbia.
Kandić pointed out that in 2019, the Chinese took the first place in the number of arrivals in Serbia, and the second place in the number of overnight stays, and that the newly established airline to China will strengthen that trend.
The representative of this year’s partner country of the Tourism Fair – the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Xu Hong, counsellor for cultural affairs of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, expressed his gratitude to the organizers of the Fair and the Ministry of Tourism and Youth.
He announced that China will present its culture and resources at its “Beijing” stand, as well as that a special space will be dedicated to achievements made with Belgrade.
“The Chinese stand will be divided into the Ningbo and Beijing stands and will represent Chinese culture through items of intangible cultural heritage, such as Beijing traditionally made silk figurine dolls, “moon rabbit” sculptures and porcelain sculptures and objects, and woodcarvings, as well as contemporary cultural and creative products”.
Hong said that this is a way to deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Serbia, as well as that tourism cooperation and exchange are a bridge for improving relations between the two countries.
“From January to November last year, the volume of bilateral trade between China and Serbia increased by 20.4 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. China has managed to maintain its position as the second largest trading partner of Serbia”, said Hong.
As he pointed out, over the years, China has invested more than one billion euros in Serbia, and Zijin Mining and Zijin Copper have become the biggest exporters to Serbia.
He reminded that in July 2022, China and Serbia launched mutual direct flights, which will further facilitate the exchange between the two sides.
Also, Mr. Hong wished us much success in organizing the event on behalf of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China.
Marija Labović, director of the Tourist Organization of Serbia, expressed her satisfaction that, for the 44th time at the Belgrade Fair, over the four days of the fair, we will have the opportunity to present Serbia as a tourist destination that proves that it is attractive to both domestic and foreign tourists.
She pointed out that the Tourism Fair is very important for the TOS as the whole of Serbia will be presented in one place, in Hall 4, where we will show how ready we are for the coming season and will draw attention to the achievements made in the previous period.
“It is up to us to present Serbia in the best possible way in those four days and to give everyone an idea of in what manner and how to spend a quality vacation in Serbia and how to experience Serbia in the right way.”
She emphasized that a combination of traditional and modern will be made, that with the use of new technologies, visitors will be given the opportunity to take a few steps in one of the destinations in Serbia and in that way to become motivated to spend their vacation in Serbia.
She noted that 33 countries will be present at the fair, all countries from the region, then from Europe, as well as countries from Africa to which we have yet to open up as a tourist destination.
Labović said that co-exhibitors, such as Public Enterprise “Skijališta Srbije”, Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia, Belgrade Museum and others, will be presented at the TOS stand.
Tijana Maljković, secretary of the Tourism Association at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, highlighted the role of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia at the Tourism Fair, as every year the Chamber presents at its stand some local food producers, entrepreneurs and companies for the first time, which gives them a boost so that they can later independently exhibit at the fair.
In addition, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia and the European Network of Entrepreneurship are the partners of the Belgrade Fair on the B2B portal and in organizing business meetings that will take place on the first two days of the fair, 23rd and 24th February in the special area “B2B Meetings” (hall 1).
“B2B meetings are of great importance for the improvement and development of tourism. So far, we have more than 200 scheduled meetings on the portal, which is still open for applications,” said Maljković.
Considering the large number of meetings, special business meetings were organized with the representatives of the delegation of China, as well as with the members of the delegation of African countries.
Maljković said that the stand of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia will be set up in hall 1 and that 30 members will be presented there.
“Last year, we had half as many exhibitors at our stand, so we hope that every year there will be more and more of them”, said Maljković.
Traditionally, concurrently with the Tourism Fair, the 18th International Fair of Hotel and Catering Equipment “HORECA-OPREMA” will take place at the Belgrade Fair, which will present the most modern equipment for hotels and hospitality facilities.
Halls 2A and 2C of the Belgrade Fair will gather the most important companies engaged in the production and distribution of the most modern products and product ranges for equipping hospitality facilities, restaurants and hotels, as well as service activities, new business trends, supply and functioning of hospitality facilities.
The Tourism Fair with the HORECA-EQUIPMENT Fair is an opportunity to meet businesspeople in the tourism, hotel, and hospitality business, for visitors it is the possibility for exclusive fair benefits for trips according to different affinities: family trips, distant and exotic destinations, trips for young people, city break, rest and recovery in spas, spa weekends in the mountains, eco and active tourism, congress events…
All-day events, presentations, promotions, tastings of specialties and flavors from all meridians, with friends and unforgettable encounters, are the reason why visitors love and look forward to this irreplaceable and extraordinary event.
Working hours of the Tourism Fair and the HORECA-EQUIPMENT Fair:
THURSDAY – SATURDAY, 23rd – 25th February: 10:00 a.m. – 07:00 p.m.
SUNDAY, 26th February: 10:00 a.m. – 06:00 p.m.
Tickets: Cost of individual ticket 450 RSD
Group ticket (minimum eight people): 350 RSD
Business ticket with a package of benefits: 3.000 RSD
Parking: 200 RSD per hour
Journalist accreditations:
Send your request for journalist accreditation to e-mail address press@sajam.rs
Media partners of the event:
SAT Media Group, TU Magazin, Travel Daily News, Adria Media Group, Color Press Group, Congress Tourism, Place2Go, Style.rs, TripinSrbija, Events in Serbia, Turistička prizma, Turistički svet, Srbija koju volim, Events in Serbia, Turizam TV – Više od Putovanja, Furaj.ba, Caffe Montenegro, Lutajući putnik, Rusian Travel Digest, First Media Group, Adriatic Traveller
Hotel partner: Hotel Mona Plaza
