Several years ago the streets of Bulgaria’ western neighbor Serbia were flooded by posters of the Croatian National Tourist Board(Hrvatska turistička zajednica) which read the following: Go on holiday where your parents used to! The implied meaning was clear- Croatia was the country with the most popular sea resorts in former Yugoslavia and that country appealed to Serbia’s citizens: Visit Croatia Again! As a matter of fact, the number of Serbian citizens visiting Croatia’s resorts in the recent years has been insignificant. Their number is expected to reach 5,000-7,000 for the first time this summer.

Do citizens of Southeastern Europe go on holidays where their parents used to go?

According to data of Serbia National Association of Travel Agencies (Nacionalne organizacije turističkih agencija- YUTA), 71,000 Bulgarians visited Serbia in 2015, which was 20% more as compared to the previous year. Most Bulgarian citizens prefer to visit monasteries and places situated close to the Bulgarian-Serbian border. However, many Bulgarians visit Serbia’s capital Belgrade and the city of Novi Sad. Moreover the EXIT music festival in Novi Sad, the Belgrade Beer Fest and the Boat Carnival in Serbia’s capital also welcome many Bulgarian tourists. The number of Bulgarian citizens visiting the Rostiljijada Barbecue Festival in the town of Leskovac (southern Serbia) is also high. Serbia’s National Association of Travel Agencies also informs that in the first five months of 2016 the number of Serbian nationals visiting Bulgaria’s capital Sofia increased with 10% year on year. However, with regard to the traditional summer tourism, both countries, which have a population of around 7 million people, send nearly half a million tourists each on a holiday to their neighbor-Greece.

So, why Serbian citizens rarely go on a holiday where their parents used to go? The number of Serbian nationals who believe that they are still not welcome in the country they fought with in the 20^th century is still high. However, this is also due to financial reasons. The number of Bulgarian tourists visiting Croatia is also low due to financial reasons. Bulgarians and Croatians maintain good historical and cultural relations, but the high prize of the tourist service at the Adriatic resorts and the lack of convenient air transport make that tourist destination less popular for Bulgaria’s tourists who choose Greece and Turkey instead. Otherwise, according to the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies, Croatia welcomed a record high number of tourists in 2015- nearly 14 million. Croatia is an expensive tourist destination for all former Yugoslavian republics as well, except for Slovenia which places second in the ranking of foreign nationals visiting Croatia, after Germany. It is interesting to note that the British, the Russian and the French tourists are the biggest spenders in Croatia’s resorts. Although the number of French tourists amounts to only 5% of the total number of foreign tourists visiting Croatia, they mainly prefer cultural, sport and adventure tourism. Moreover, they represent a nation where food is culture and a way of life. That is why, French tourists show interest in enogastronomy (tasting of local fish dishes and wines).

The number of foreign tourists visiting Macedonia marked a 10% increase in 2015. Most tourists came from Bulgaria, Turkey, Serbia and Greece. Macedonia attracts many fans of cultural and religious tourism, as well as tourists who prefer to spend the hot summer days near the Ohrid Lake and taste the authentic and affordable local cuisine.

The number of foreign tourists visiting Slovenia saw an 11% increase last year. Its citizens prefer to go on a holiday where their parents used to go- in Croatia, but many Slovenians prefer to travel to Italy, Greece, Germany and France, too.

Traditions are not what they used to be. Nowadays tourists have different taste and interests. The tourist conditions in the abovementioned countries have also changed. It is always good when people go on holidays where their parents used to go, but at the same time tourists should also enjoy the emotion of finding their own favorite tourist destinations.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov
Photos: wikipedia.org