Research in Tourism
Belgrade, October 2003
CONTENTS
METHODOLOGY
SAMPLE
MAIN FINDINGS
1 METHODOLOGY
 |
Type of research: |
Field research |
|
Time: |
From 19 to 21 September 2003 |
|
Sample: |
Domestic tourists, foreign tourists and foreigners resident in Serbia |
|
Size of sample: |
1167 polled |
|
Type of sample: |
Quota |
|
Implemented in: |
38 municipalities in Serbia |
|
Report: |
October 2003 |
2 SAMPLE
| Domestic Tourists |
Foreign Tourists |
Foreign Residents |
| |
Gender |
Age |
Education |
Destination |
Accommodation |
|
Gender |
Age |
Education |
Destin. |
|
Gender |
Age |
Destin. |
| Total |
M |
F |
18 - 34 |
35 - 50 |
51 + |
Prim. |
Sec. |
Higher |
Mountains |
Spas |
Other |
Hotel |
Private |
Other |
Total |
M |
F |
18 - 40 |
41 - 65 |
Secondary |
Higher |
Cities |
Other |
Total |
M |
F |
18 - 40 |
41- 65 |
Cities |
Other |
| 555 |
208 |
347 |
201 |
174 |
180 |
86 |
318 |
151 |
217 |
250 |
88 |
242 |
205 |
108 |
522 |
370 |
152 |
308 |
214 |
145 |
377 |
485 |
37 |
90 |
59 |
31 |
55 |
35 |
45 |
45 |
| 100.0% |
37.5% |
62.5% |
36.2% |
31.4% |
32.4% |
15.5% |
57.3% |
27.2% |
39.1% |
45.0% |
15.9% |
43.6% |
36.9% |
19.5% |
100.0% |
70.9% |
29.1% |
59.0% |
41.0% |
27.8% |
72.2% |
92.9% |
7.1% |
100.0% |
65.6% |
34.4% |
61.1% |
38.9% |
50.0% |
50.0% |
3 MAIN FINDINGS
3.1 Traveling in Serbia (foreign residents)
Chart 1. How often do they travel and visit tourist resorts in Serbia?
- Foreigners resident in Serbia (typically working in foreign companies, organizations and NGOs in Serbia and by and large in Belgrade) very often (3% once a week, 10% twice a week, 24% once a month, 62% once in two months) travel in Serbia and visit tourist resorts.
- Men and younger foreign residents travel more frequently than others
- Among the foreign residents there is substantial interest in getting to know cities and other tourist resorts in Serbia
Chart 2. - Places they visited
- The locations most frequently visited by foreign residents are Vojvodina (38%), cities in Serbia (29%), mountains in Serbia (19%) and spas in Serbia (12%)
- In Vojvodina they mostly visited Subotica and Palic (17%) and Novi Sad (13%)
- In Serbia, besides Belgrade (8%) and Nis (9%) as administrative centers, the most frequently visited destinations were Kopaonik (8%) and Zlatibor (7%)
- The majority staid in hotels (72%), private accommodation (18%) and tourist apartments (4%)
Chart 3. - Favorite tourist destinations in Serbia
| Novi Sad | 44% |
| Palic | 19% |
| Fruska Gora | 17% |
| Subotica | 8% |
| Becej | 3% |
| Sremski Karlovci | 2% |
| Vrsac | 2% |
| Belgrade | 32% |
| Nis | 8% |
| Kragujevac | 7% |
| Vranje | 2% |
| Smederevo | 2% |
| Pirot | 2% |
| Arandjelovac | 3% |
| Kopaonik | 22% |
| Zlatibor | 22% |
| Vrnjacka Banja | 10% |
| Soko Banja | 6% |
| Guca | 3% |
| Srebrno lake | 3% |
| Avala | 3% |
| Tara | 3% |
| Stara planina mountain | 3% |
| Sirogojno | 2% |
| Mokra Gora | 2% |
| Banja Koviljaca | 2% |
| Vlasinsko jezero | 2% |
| Other | 8% |
Other: <1%: Donji Milanovac, Novi Pazar, Sumadija, Rtanj, Leskovac, Oplenac, Trsic, Zrenjanin Novi Becej, Goc, Ljig, Petnica, Melenci, Ovcar banja, Carska bara, Manastir Gracanica, Divcibare, Lepenski Vir, Studenica monastery, Valjevo, Kanjiza, Uzice, Niska Banja.
- The foreign residents' favorite destinations in Serbia are Novi Sad (44%), Belgrade (32%), Kopaonik (22%) and Zlatibor (22%).
- Foreign residents have an affinity and curiosity for tourist destinations in Serbia.
- After Belgrade, Novi Sad, Zlatibor and Kopaonik, foreign residents have listed many other places as their favorite destination, in fact, they listed pretty much the whole tourist offer in Serbia, both geographically and thematically (cities, villages, mountains, lakes, monasteries, spas...)
- Vojvodina is of great interest to foreign residents. Besides Novi Sad as the administrative and business center, other favorite spots were Palic (19%), Fruska Gora (17%), Becej (3%), Sremski Karlovci (2%)...
- As regards mountain tourism, Zlatibor is the favorite destination for older foreign residents (29%) while younger residents prefer Kopaonik (27%)
- The favorite hotels in Serbia among foreign residents were Hyatt - Belgrade (23.3%), Part - Novi Sad (13.3%), President - Palic (10%), Grand - Kopaonik (6.7%) and Palisad - Zlatibor (6.7%)
- The impression one gets when analyzing the results of the poll concerning the favorite hotel as well as the favorite tourist destination in Serbia, is that foreign residents visit a lot of places spread throughout Serbia and that they like many of these very much.
3.2 Traveling in Serbia (domestic tourists)
Chart 4. Where did they stay (domestic tourists)
| Spas | 45% |
| Mountains | 39% |
| Cities, villages, rivers, lakes, monasteries | 16% |
Chart 5. - Where did they stay (domestic tourists)
| Mountains |
| Zlatibor | 18% |
| Kopaonik | 5% |
| Tara | 5% |
| Zlatar | 2% |
| Other mountains | 10% |
| Spas |
| Vrnjacka Banja | 15% |
| Soko Banja | 7% |
| Niska Banja | 3% |
| Arandjelovac | 2% |
| Banja Vrujci | 2% |
| Gornja Trepca | 2% |
| Vranjska Banja | 2% |
| Mataruska Banja | 1% |
| Zvonacka Banja | 1% |
| Banja Koviljaca | 1% |
| Other spas | 10% |
| Novi Sad | 3% |
| Palic lake | 2% |
| Srebrno Jezero lake | 2% |
| Vlasinsko Jezero lake | 1% |
| Belgrade | 1% |
| Donji Milanovac | 1% |
| Other places | 3% |
Chart 6. Where did they stay (type of accommodation)?
| Hotels | 43% |
| Private accommodation | 37% |
| Other | 20% |
- The majority of domestic tourists polled visited spas (45%), and mountains (39%) in Serbia
- The most frequently visited spas were Vrnjacka Banja (15%) and Soko Banja (7%)
- The most frequently visited mountains were Zlatibor (18%), Kopaonik (5%) and Tara (5%)
- Domestic tourists most frequently staid in hotels (43%) than in private accommodation (37%)
Chart 7. Where did they stay, (domestic tourists - by demographic category)
| | Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-50 | 51+ | Elementary | High school | Higher education |
| Mountains | 35 | 42 | 49 | 43 | 24 | 11 | 41 | 51 |
| Spas | 49 | 43 | 28 | 42 | 67 | 78 | 42 | 34 |
| Other | 17 | 15 | 23 | 16 | 8 | 12 | 17 | 15 |
- The young (49%) and middle aged (43%) population visited mountain resorts more frequently than the elderly (24%)
- The highly educated (51%) population were more frequent visitors of mountain resorts than the population with middle school (41%) or elementary school education (11%).
- Spa visitors differ considerably by age (elderly 67%, middle aged 42%, younger 28%) and by education (elementary 78%, middle 42% higher education 34%).
Chart 8. In what type of accommodation did they stay (by demographic category - domestic tourists)
| | Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-50 | 51+ | Elementary | High school | Higher education |
| Hotels | 42 | 39 | 57 | 36 | 33 | 41 | 56 | 56 |
| Private | 39 | 46 | 31 | 33 | 31 | 43 | 27 | 27 |
| Other | 20 | 15 | 12 | 32 | 36 | 16 | 17 | 17 |
- The younger (57%) and middle aged tourists (36%) staid more frequently in hotels, while elderly tourists (33%) were the least frequent guests.
- Private accommodation was more frequently the choice of domestic tourists with elementary education (43%) than in the case of the sampled population with middle school or higher education (27%).
3.3 Traveling in Serbia (foreign tourists)
Chart 9. Where did they stay (type of accommodation) - Foreign tourists
| Hotels | 93% |
| Private accommodation | 4% |
| Other | 3% |
Chart 10. - Cities in which they staid
| Belgrade | 74% |
| Nis | 4% |
| Zlatibor | 2% |
| Obrenovac | 2% |
| Spas | 2% |
| Krusevac | 1% |
| Novi Sad and surroundings | 10% |
| Palic, Subotica | 6% |
- The majority of foreign tourists visited Belgrade (74%), Novi Sad (with surroundings Fruska Gora, Sremski Karlovci...) 10%, Subotica and Palic (6%) and Nis (4%)
- The majority of the foreign tourists staid in hotels in Serbia (93%)
- A small percentage of foreign tourists staid in private accommodation (4.4%)
3.4 Hotels in which they staid
Chart 11. - Star-rating of the hotel in Serbia where they staid (only for those that staid in a hotel)
| | Four to five stars | Three | Two or less |
| Domestic tourists | 23 | 54 | 24 |
| Foreign tourists | 48 | 40 | 12 |
| Foreign residents | 41 | 46 | 13 |
- 24% of domestic tourists and 12% of foreign tourists staid in hotels with two or less stars
- 54% of domestic tourists, 40% of foreign tourists and 46% of foreign residents staid in three star hotels
- 48% of foreign tourists and 41% of foreign residents and only 23% of domestic tourists staid in four and five star hotels
3.5. Where else they traveled
Chart 12. - Did they travel elsewhere again this year (domestic tourists)?
Chart 13. - Did they travel abroad again this year (domestic tourists)?
Chart 14. Did they stay in Montenegro this year?
| | Domestic tourists | Foreign tourists | Foreign residents |
| Yes | 17 | 9 | 42 |
| No | 83 | 91 | 58 |
- Besides staying at one of the tourist resorts in Serbia as tourists, one third staid at least one more tourist resort in this year.
- The younger (51%) and highly educated (53%) traveled two or more times more often
- 14% of domestic tourists that staid in one of the tourist resorts in Serbia this year also staid abroad, out of these, the majority was in the younger (21%) and highly educated (21%) category. The majority staid in Greece (3.6%), Bulgaria (2.2%) and Turkey (1%). From the sampled category, 7.6% of tourists staid in the countries of former Yugoslavia and 7.6% in Western Europe.
- 17% domestic tourists, 9% foreign tourists and 42% foreign residents staid in Montenegro this year.
3.6 Country of origin and reason for coming to Serbia (foreign tourists and foreign residents)
Chart 15. - Country of origin
| Foreign tourists |
| 55% | Western Europe, USA, Canada, Australia |
| 19% | Eastern Europe |
| 18% | Former Yugoslavia |
| / | Asia, Africa, South America |
| Foreign residents |
| 78% | Western Europe, USA, Canada, Australia |
| 9% | Eastern Europe |
| 6% | Former Yugoslavia |
| 9% | Asia, Africa, South America |
Chart 16. - Reasons for visiting Serbia
| | Foreign tourists | Foreign residents |
| Business reasons | 56 | 72 |
| Conferences, congresses, seminars | 16 | 12 |
| Leisure, vacation, recreation | 15 | 14 |
| Visiting friends, relatives | 14 | 6 |
| Exhibitions, trade fairs | 7 | 1 |
| Health reasons | 1 | 4 |
- The majority of foreign tourists that come to Serbia is from Western Europe and the US (55%), from Eastern Europe (19%) and former Yugoslavia (18%)
- The majority of foreign residents in Serbia is from Western Europe (78%)
- The most frequent reasons for visiting Serbia are business reasons (foreign tourists 56%, residents 72%) and conferences, congresses and seminars (12% foreign tourists, 16% residents)
3.7 What they liked and didn't like in Serbia
Chart 17. - What they liked best in Serbia
| | Domestic tourists | Foreign tourists | Foreign residents |
| The beauty of the landscape | 83 | 29 | 58 |
| Hospitality, friendliness | 26 | 37 | 26 |
| Tradition, history | 15 | 23 | 23 |
| Food | 13 | 25 | 20 |
| Nightlife | 10 | 17 | 19 |
| Cultural events | 6 | 16 | 24 |
| Opportunities for rest and relaxation | 2 | 1 | 1 |
- When questioned on what they liked best in Serbia, domestic tourists rated the beauty of the landscape first (83%), then hospitality and friendliness (26%), tradition and history (15%), food (13%), the "nightlife" (10%), cultural events (6%)...
- Foreign tourists rate hospitality and friendliness first (37%), landscape (29%), national cuisine (25%), tradition and history (23%), nightlife (17%)...
- Foreign residents in Serbia liked landscape the best (58%), hospitality and friendliness (26%), cultural events (24%), tradition and history (23%), national cuisine (20%) and nightlife (19%).
Chart 18. - What they didn't like in Serbia
| | Domestic tourists | Foreign tourists | Foreign residents |
| Infrastructure, roads | 46 | 48 | 68 |
| High prices | 45 | 9 | 4 |
| Lack of cultural happenings | 13 | 4 | 11 |
| Unfriendliness, lack of hospitality | 9 | 2 | 6 |
| Poor contents outside place of accommodation | 7 | 6 | 10 |
| Hygiene | 4 | 3 | - |
| Food | 4 | 4 | 6 |
| Old and neglected hotels | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| Information, lack of signposts for important sights and places | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| Public transport, taxi | 1 | 6 | 4 |
| They like everything | 7 | 24 | 2 |
- Most domestic tourists mentioned poor infrastructure, bad roads (83%), and high prices (45%)
- Poor infrastructure and bad roads was also the most common answer among foreign residents (68%) and foreign tourists (48%)
- Other comments, though far less common than the positive ones, were: lack of cultural happenings (foreign tourists 4%, residents 11%), poor content (foreign tourists 6%, residents 10%), old and neglected hotels (foreign tourists 2% residents 6%), public transport (foreign tourists 6%, residents 4%)...
3.8 Who arranged for their accommodation and why they picked that particular destination
Chart 19. - Who arranged for their trip/stay in Serbia?
| | Domestic tourists | Foreign tourists | Foreign residents |
| Tourist agency/tour operator | 24 | 36 | 28 |
| Did it by themselves, direct reservation with the hotel | 38 | 32 | 53 |
| By themselves without prior reservation | 32 | 31 | 18 |
| Organized by employer/school/faculty | 6 | - | - |
- Most domestic tourists arranged their accommodation in Serbia themselves, 38% with and 32% without previous reservation, while a much smaller percentage used the services of tourist agencies (24%)
- 36% of foreign tourists arranged their accommodation through tourist agencies, while the rest did it themselves with (32%) or without (31%) previous reservation
- Most foreign residents too arranged their accommodation themselves with (53%) of without (18%) previous reservation. A smaller percentage used the services of tourist agencies (28%)
Chart 20. - What influenced their choice of travel destination...Where they got the information
| | Domestic tourists | Foreign tourists | Foreign residents |
| Recommendations from friends | 48 | 28 | 55 |
| Previous experience | 41 | 18 | 18 |
| Tourist agencies | 9 | 6 | 8 |
| Newspapers, press | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Radio, TV | 4 | 2 | 55 |
| Tourism fairs | 1 | 4 | 55 |
| Internet | - | 6 | 6 |
| Came on business | 17 | 53 | 38 |
- Most were influenced in their choice of travel destination by their personal positive experience or by recommendation. This was the determining factor for domestic and foreign tourists and foreign residents in Serbia
- A much smaller percentage obtained the information that prompted them to visit one of the tourist resorts in Serbia through a tourist agency or through the media
Chart 21. - How long did they stay in the tourist resort/lodgings of choice
| | Domestic tourists | Foreign tourists | Foreign residents |
| More than 7 days | 48 | 18 | 32 |
| 5-7 days | 28 | 23 | 23 |
| 3-4 days | 12 | 37 | 26 |
| 1-2 days | 12 | 22 | 19 |
- 48% of domestic tourists staid in tourist resorts in Serbia for more than seven days, 28% for five to seven days, 12% for three to four days and 12% for one or two days
- 22% of foreign tourists staid in Serbian tourist resorts destinations for one or two days, 37% for three to four days, 23% five to seven days and 18% more than seven days
- 32% of foreign residents staid in Serbia for more than seven days, 23% for five to seven days, 26% for three to four days and 19% from one to two days
Chart 22. - What type of service they used
| | Domestic tourists | Foreign tourists | Foreign residents |
| Full-board | 52 | 12 | 32 |
| Half-board | 11 | 18 | 16 |
| Bed and breakfast | 6 | 54 | 34 |
| Overnight stay | 30 | 13 | 14 |
- Domestic tourists more frequently use full-board services (52%)
- Foreign tourists mostly used bed and breakfast (54%)
- Foreign residents used bed and breakfast (34%) and full-board services (32%)
Chart 23. - Main activities during their stay in tourist resorts in Serbia
| | Domestic tourists | Foreign tourists | Foreign residents |
| Swimming, sunbathing, walking | 59 | 13 | 30 |
| Health treatments | 29 | 2 | 11 |
| Sightseeing | 21 | 26 | 30 |
| Sports activities | 19 | 5 | 19 |
| Restaurants, nightclubs | 18 | 33 | 23 |
| Cultural activities | 8 | 25 | 16 |
| Shopping | 7 | 12 | 3 |
| Sports events | 3 | 7 | 2 |
- Domestic tourists spent most of their time swimming, sunbathing and walking (59%), sightseeing (26%) and engaging in sports activities (19%)
- Foreign tourists spent most of their free time in resorts in Serbia in restaurants (33%), sightseeing (26%) and at cultural events
- Foreign residents spent most of their free time swimming, sun-bathing, walking (30%), sightseeing (30%), in restaurants and nightclubs (23%)
3.9 Overall tourist offer, ratings
Chart 24. - Were they satisfied with the quality of services of the lodgings?
| | Domestic tourists | Foreign tourists | Foreign residents |
| Friendliness of the staff | 84 | 91 | 87 |
| Cleanliness | 81 | 83 | 79 |
| Food | 73 | 74 | 67 |
| Room comfort | 73 | 71 | 57 |
| Prices | 53 | 61 | 65 |
| Entertainment (pool, bar, sports amenities and similar) | 38 | 20 | 28 |
- Generally, the number of positive ratings on the quality and services in the tourist resort where they staid exceeds by far the negative ones, in all three categories of tourists
- Only half of the domestic tourists were satisfied with the prices (53%)
- Entertainment and hotel facilities (pools, bars, recreational facilities...) was the category with the smallest percentage of satisfied guests
Chart 25. -Are they satisfied with the features of the resort?
| | Domestic tourists | Foreign tourists | Foreign residents |
| Clean air, healthy environment | 94 | 46 | 67 |
| Neatness of the resort | 78 | 67 | 87 |
| Cleanliness of the resort | 76 | 51 | 66 |
| Health amenities | 61 | 13 | 40 |
| Sports facilities | 54 | 35 | 42 |
| Culture and entertainment | | | |
| Prices of services outside their lodgings | 43 | 56 | 51 |
| Historical sights | 41 | 53 | 39 |
- When their chosen travel destination is concerned, domestic tourists positively rated the nature and clean air (94%), neatness (78%), health amenities (61%), sports facilities (54%)...
- Foreign tourists positively rated the neatness of the resort (67%), prices of services outside their lodgings (56%), culture and entertainment (54%) and historical sights (53%)...
- Foreign residents positively rated the neatness of the resort (72%), nature and clean air (67%), prices of services outside their lodgings (51%)...
Chart 26. - Are they satisfied with the following aspects of the overall tourist offer in Serbia?
| | Domestic tourists | Foreign tourists | Foreign residents |
| Nature, climate, weather | 93 | 83 | 86 |
| Food | 72 | 82 | 68 |
| General hospitality | 63 | 81 | 70 |
| Accommodation (quality of services, accommodation and comfort) | 56 | 66 | 52 |
| Fun and entertainment (cultural events) | 53 | 57 | 63 |
| Shopping (selection of products) | 48 | 53 | 51 |
| Availability of information on the tourist offer in Serbia | 35 | 23 | 19 |
| Prices | 26 | 63 | 63 |
| Traffic | 24 | 16 | 6 |
- When the overall tourist offer in Serbia is concerned, domestic tourists were most satisfied with the nature (93%), food (72%) and hospitality (63%) and least satisfied with the traffic (24%) and prices (26%)
- Foreign tourists were most satisfied with nature (83%), the national cuisine (82%) and hospitality in Serbia (82%) and least satisfied with traffic (16%) and availability information on the tourist offer in Serbia (23%)
- Just as foreign tourists, foreign residents were most satisfied with nature (86%), hospitality in Serbia (70%) and the national cuisine (68%) and least satisfied with traffic (6%) and availability information on the tourist offer in Serbia (19%)
3.10 Will they come again...
Chart 27. - Would they come to Serbia again? (Foreign tourists and foreign residents)
Chart 28. - Would they visit the same resort again?
| | Domestic tourists | Foreign tourists | Foreign residents |
| Yes | 88 | 92 | 92 |
| No | 12 | 8 | 8 |
- Most foreigners (tourists and residents equally) intend to return to Serbia (94%)
- Those who said they did not intend to come back, mainly want to see other countries or will not be able to do so because their business will take them far from Serbia
- Most guests intend to visit the tourist resort where they staid in Serbia again (domestic tourists 88%, foreign tourists 92%, foreign residents 92%)
- Those who said that they did not intend to come back, did so mainly because they either want to see other countries or their believe business and other obligations will not enable them to do so.