Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on tourist traffic in Serbia

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a significant challenge for the tourism industry and has led to 2020 being rated as the worst year in the history of tourism. The number of tourists has fallen at rates that are more than tens of times lower than the rates of decline in the periods of some other major crises that occurred at the beginning of the twenty-first century. This trend on a global level has not missed Serbia, which is facing one of the most difficult years for tourism and hospitality. The level of impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourist traffic in Serbia by comparative analysis of relevant statistical data in the year before and the year of the pandemic is researhed in the paper. Chain indices and monthly growth rates of the of the number of tourists in 2020 compared to the same month of the previous year are used in the analysis. The total, domestic and foreign tourist traffic in the country are analyzed separately. The results of the research confirm the assumption of an extremely negative impact of this health crisis on Serbian tourism, but also indicate significant differences between the level of impact of the crisis on domestic tourist traffic and the level of impact of the crisis on foreign tourist traffic in the country.