New Deal Europe Weekly Update on Tourism to the Balkan Region, Week 28
By: New Deal Europe
Tags: Travel, New Deal Europe, Balkans, Tourism, Unwto

NDE: New Deal Europe is focused on developing tourism to the Balkan region of Europe and we are positioned as the only travel market platform dedicated to generating business to this growing tourism destination. How important is this region in your work?

AP: The Balkans are one of our fastest growing subregions in terms of international tourist arrivals, with a persistent annual growth rate of up to 10% over the last decade. Yet, many of these countries are emerging markets and consequently more fragile against adverse situations than bigger, more established markets. We want to support their work therefore we pay a lot of attention to what is being done. We try to identify the specific needs of these markets and bring an added value to their further development.

NDE: What do you think has to be done in the Balkans to help develop tourism in the right direction?

AP: I think the natural dispositions in the region make the Balkans a hidden gem that is yet to be discovered by the world. The political instability of the 1990s and early 2000s had left a legacy that took a toll on tourism as well. The social and economic recovery took some time. But now they are ready to take a step forward and strategically present themselves, linking-up all the elements that make them attractive tourism destinations, whether it is gastronomy and wine, rural and mountain tourism or any other attraction.

I think the natural dispositions in the region make the Balkans a hidden gem that is yet to be discovered by the world.

NDE: How can a platform like NDE help with this?

AP: Sharing knowledge and experience is an important aspect of this process and I think New Deal Europe can play its part in providing a space where that can happen. With your in-depth knowledge of the situation on the ground, you will be able to steer the conversations into the right directions, responding in an agile manner to the ever-changing circumstances and emerging needs.

NDE: Many of our previous interviewees have said that regions like the Balkans will prosper in a post pandemic environment as they are less crowded in comparison to some, more popular, neighbouring regions. What are your thoughts on this? Will regions like this prosper or will the inventible economic crisis hit areas like this even more?

AP: There will certainly be a window of opportunity — firstly, on account of travellers preferring less crowded destinations, and secondly, on account of travellers opting for nearby destinations. Domestic tourism has flourished under the COVID-19 related travel restrictions. It goes to show that people really do want to travel — one way or another. And even though this tendency of choosing nearby destinations, hopefully, comes with an end date, destinations must take advantage of it and target neighbouring markets in their efforts to boost international arrivals as soon as travel restrictions are lifted.

‘People really do want to travel — one way or another.’ (Photo of Perast, Montenegro from NTOCG Facebook)

NDE: What is the international community, including UNWTO, doing to help regions like the Balkans?

AP: UNWTO is working with all of its members states, collectively and individually, to help them implement relevant policy measures and to secure economic incentives where necessary. We provide guidance and share good practices on policies and governance models aimed to effectively support the tourism sector at the different levels: national, regional and local. To be specific about the countries in the Balkans, we currently run various projects, supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and we work with the national tourism authorities to offer programmes in collaboration with our private sector partners, for example with Amadeus and Google.

Last year we signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to increase the resilience of rural communities against social and economic shocks through growing tourism and making it both more sustainable and inclusive. I believe the projects that we plan to roll-out in this context will be particularly relevant for the countries in the Balkans, encouraging entrepreneurship within rural communities, particularly among youth and women, and fostering education and skills so as to provide communities with opportunities within the tourism sector.

Sharing knowledge and experience is an important aspect of this process and I think New Deal Europe can play its part in providing a space where that can happen.

NDE: Looking ahead, what is your view on how this period of global pandemic, economic collapse and complete upheaval in aviation and tourism will change the future of travel?

AP: Tourism opens doors and minds. It drives change. I believe that tourism will once again play its fundamental role of bridging the distances between us. It will bring us back together after this unprecedented crisis. Most probably certain aspect of how we travel will change, but once we manage to rebuild travellers’ trust and recover the pre-pandemic tourism trends, the essence of tourism will remain the same: bringing people together to share unforgettable experiences and build memories that last a lifetime.