Minister Ljajić: As of Wednesday, applications for new 400,000 BONDS for holidays, damage to tourism MILLION euros | Economy

Pensioners, students and employees whose salary is less than 70,000 dinars will be able to request the use of 400,000 new holiday vouchers in Serbia starting on Wednesday May 13.

Retirees, students and employees whose salary is less than 70,000 dinars will be able to apply for the use of 400,000 new holiday vouchers in Serbia starting Wednesday May 13, said Minister of Commerce, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajic today.

At the launch of the new summer promotional campaign “Choose Your Adventure, See Serbia” at Zemun, Ljajic said it was also an invitation to catering and hotel services to apply for acceptance of guests with vouchers.

According to the Minister, there are 1,500 of them so far, and he hopes that the new catering and hotel services that are running will be from Belgrade and Novi Sad, because these are new cities where vouchers can be used.

In addition, what’s new compared to the previous coupon request is that the coverage of people who can apply has increased, and these include students and those whose income is less than 70,000.

Until now, the limit for employees was 60,000 dinars.

The Minister also explained that students will not be able to use coupons at their place of residence and study, to avoid abuse on the one hand, and on the other hand, to allow students to travel throughout Serbia.

Ljajic says that those 400,000 vouchers will significantly extend the tourist season, and that it will not be limited to two or three summer months, but will last until the end of the year.

“This will at least partially reduce the damage that will occur due to fewer international trips,” Ljajic said.

EVALUATION-DAMAGE IN TOURISM FOR THE CROWN OF A BILLION EUROSA

The Minister of Commerce, Tourism and Telecommunications, Rasim Ljajic, declared today that it is estimated that in the first five months the damage in Serbia due to the reduced number of international trips will be around 300 million euros, and on an annual level it is estimated which could reach around a billion euros.

“In a year, if we estimate, that represents a billion euros less revenue than in 2019,” Ljajic told reporters at the launch of the “Choose Your Adventure, See Serbia” tourism campaign at Zemun.

According to the estimates of the World Tourism Organization, adds the minister, the damage is estimated at 910 billion euros.

“In terms of international travel, this year is realistically lost, and all that will happen by the end of the year will be an attempt to reduce that damage,” Ljajic said.

He states that for now it is precisely known that in the first three months, Serbia had an eight percent lower number of tourist arrivals than in the same period last year, adding that compared to international events, our country is ” less bad “than others.

“The percentage of international travel fell 22 percent, in our country that percentage is eight percent. March ruined everything for us, because in the first two months we had growth of more than 24 percent, then March fell to 56 percent percent because of the crisis, “he said. is Ljajic

He says that this year, due to the epidemiological situation, it will be dedicated to national guests and tourists, not only in our country, but throughout the world.

“In this way, they will try to repair the damage, it cannot be compensated, because it is measured in billions of euros, but at least it is partially reduced,” Ljajic concluded.