Thessaloniki and Belgrade “join” their forces for culture and tourism
With two brand new residential units, with 60 new hotels and full compliance with pandemic protection measures, its capital Serbia, the Belgrade ready to welcome tourists during the festive season. Belgrade as a destination for Christmas, New Year, City Break and Culture was presented at an event in Thessaloniki organized by Belgrade Tourism Organization (TOB) and the Consulate General of Serbia in Thessaloniki, in cooperation with Tourism Plus. Belgrade has 120 hotels, several thousand restaurants and cafes, 10,000 private accommodation. In all the measures and suggestions of the World Health Organization for the protection from Covid-19, stressed the Deputy Director of the Belgrade Tourism Organization, Slobodan Unkovic. We point out that the last four years 60 new hotels and over 5,000 private accommodations were built made special reference to the completely new part of the Serbian capital, the “Belgrade Waterfront”, a monumental project of urban revitalization and the renovation of squares, gardens, but also to the cultural heritage of Belgrade. During the Christmas and New Year period for the residents and the municipalities of the city A program of festive events has been prepared which will last from December 20 until January 13. (New Year with the old calendar), as he clarified.
The events will take place in parks, squares and political spaces with the participation of clubs and choirs and the entrance is free.
The New Year reception in Belgrade will take place with two musical events. A star of the turbo-folk scene will take the stage in front of the Serbian Parliament, and a concert with the world-famous composer and musician Goran Bregovic will take place on the city’s sidewalk.
“As Belgrade embraces two rivers, the Savoy and the Danube, we will welcome our families with a warm embrace and they will have a beautiful and memorable time,” Mr Unkovic said.
In 2019, Greeks were the nationality with the most overnight stays in Belgrade
In 2019, the overnight stays of Greeks in the capital of Serbia were 100,000. Greeks were the nationality with the most overnight stays in Belgrade, as stated by the CEO of Tourism Plus, Nikos Sapountzis. About one million tourists visited Greece in the same year, he added.
“Greek-Serbian relations are traditionally friendly, dating back more than 150 years and contributing to the stability of the wider region, but there is definitely room for improvement, especially in the economic field,” said the Serbian consul in Thessaloniki. Jasmina Milacic.
Despite the growing number of Greeks visiting Belgrade and Serbia, The number of Serbs visiting Greece remains higher.
“In order to balance these figures, we need to define our relations more specifically,” he stressed.
The mayor of Thessaloniki Konstantinos Zervas referred to the recent Balkan Cities Conference in Istanbul, in which he participated that one of the issues discussed and co-decided was cooperation in the fields of culture, tourism and sports. “After the signing of the pact, I am very happy to see that we are here and we are implementing it,” said Mr. Zervas.
The mayor of Thessaloniki said that on the sidelines of the conference he discussed with the mayor of Belgrade, Zoran Radojicic the prospects of cooperation between the two municipalities.
“The proportion of tourists coming from Serbia to our country may not correspond to the tourist flow from Greece to Serbia, but it is very difficult to find all those who are from Thessaloniki and Northern Greece who are not safe even once . Belgrade, “he said Alexandros Thanos, Head of Tourism of the Region of Central Macedonia, emphasizing that the wave of tourism can be further strengthened in Thessaloniki and the Region of Central Macedonia and that culture unites the two peoples and can create the basis for further development of relations between the two countries.
Angela Varela, head of the EOT Office in Serbia, referred to the love that Serbs feel for everything Greek. “Greece is a favorite tourist destination for Serbs, not now, for many years. “It is worth every effort for the Greeks to return this love to the Serbs and to develop bilateral relations in tourism,” he said.
“2.5 years have passed, we were separated by Covid-19 but I hope that we will have positive and we will cooperate and we will be close again” stressed Liliana Alaibegovic, Directorate of Development, Promotion and Marketing Program of the Belgrade Tourism Organization.
“Belgrade has not slept for 2.5 years, we have acquired two fantastic housing units, ‘Belgrade on the Water’ and the renovated Savski Trg square, which are suitable for walking by the river,” he added.
The Mayor of Kalamaria, Giannis Dardamanelis, and the director of the Museum of the City of Belgrade, Jelena Medakovic, addressed a greeting.
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