Sources of Rest: Sustainable Tourism in Serbia (Belgrade)

About the Event

The development of tourism is an important aspect of the economic activities of a country because it enables the inflow of foreign capital, economic growth, and job creation. It also holds invaluable opportunities for exchange and understanding between and beyond the citizens of Europe. However, inadequate development and implementation of tourism plans can make it impossible to use its potential in an adequate way. The business and development of this economic branch, especially in less developed countries, generally has disastrous consequences for the environment and the local community. The development of mass tourism in popular locations leads to the mass exploitation of natural resources and their destruction, while most of the income goes to the owners of large hotel chains and companies at the expense of the local community, which is mostly engaged in seasonal work. 

Serbia is a country that has many natural beauties and a huge tourist potential, but that potential must not become an object of exploitation. In order to prevent this scenario, it is necessary to adopt adequate plans and strategies, and for that it is important to organize discussions and hear the opinion of not only experts and the civil sector, but local communities, which are the most important element of tourism development planning and whose opinion is generally the least heard. In this panel discussion, we will discuss the findings of such local discussions in the Stara Planina region and reflect more broadly on what the future could hold for fair and carbon-free tourism in Serbia. 

Context

This event is part of GEF’s Fair and Carbon Free Tourism project, which aims to identify and create conditions for collective action against detrimental social and environmental impacts of tourism. By engaging stakeholders in partner countries and developing a European transnational discussion on these challenges, we seek to build a community interested to transform this sector in the direction of low or zero carbon intensity and with a specific focus on social and economic justice. 

Speakers

Katarina Lević – MA in Political Sciences and PolEkol researcher, who studied spa tourism and tourism on Stara Planina 

Nataša Gligorijević – Director of the Center for Sustainable Development of Serbia 

Milan Zlatanović, MA in Political Sciences and PolEkol researcher, who studied tourism on Stara Planina  

Practicalities

Date and Time: Saturday, December 17th at 17:00 

Location: Cafe Bar 16, Cetinjska 15a, Belgrade, Serbia 

Language: Serbian 

Registration: No advance registration is necessary, but you can join our facebook event for the latest updates.  

This event is organized by the Green European Foundation with the support of PolEkol and with the financial support of the European parliament to the Green European Foundation.