How Serbian mountains become most visited in 2020? Cafe bills, or good roads?

Mountain tourism in Serbia experienced a boom last year, when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in mid-March. From that time until the winter of 2021, there have been more investments in mountains and their potential.

These investments are reflected in roads, infrastructure, renovation of some locations, sights, hotels, and construction of completely new hospitality and hotel facilities.

One example of how to "lure" in tourists, if they already know everything in a certain place, are the attractions: Zlatibor did it first by revitalizing its central lake, giving it a new look, and then, with the gondola.

The world's longest panoramic gondola, the ride on which costs 1,000 dinars for adults, which goes up to the Tornik peak, is an attraction for both domestic and foreign tourists. However, this time the emphasis is on the locals, who realized the importance of domestic tourism during the current crisis.

Weekend homes are in demand

We will start with what was especially in focus in the previous period, and that is the boom of houses for rent or for sale. It was noticeable that owners of mediocre real estate drastically raised the prices in both cases, because they noticed the increasing number of people traveling to our mountains.

That, however, is a trend that could stay. Prices of apartments rented on a daily basis also rose, compared to previous years, but also those of service facilities. One reason why owners of these businesses can charge so much for the service is that people are ready to pay, while on the other hand - the better looked-after a destination, the more the prices rise.

On the other hand, if you buy a house on a mountain, you can use it in several ways: move to a mountain for a while, especially if you can work remotely, go there on weekends or several times a year, and you can also rent it out, which is now especially popular.

At the end of December, we wrote about how log cabins were in high demand, one of which was the most sought after in 2020 and cost 17,000 euros. Most in demand are pine log cabins, with an area of ​​up to 40 square meters, and their construction costs between 20,000 and 25,000 euros.

Infrastructure

They say that roads connect countries, regions, people, so it is crucial to invest in them. People will find it easier to decide to travel 230 kilometers from Belgrade to Zlatibor if the road is new and safe. Also, you can't expect a rural idyll that is very close to a big city.

Another way to invest in rural/mountain tourism is accessability of modern solutions, such as the internet. Although they are looking for peace, freedom, nature, visitors don't want to be completely cut off from their everyday lives.

At the same time, it's necessary to work on construction solutions, offer people well-stocked up stores, markets, swimming pools, entertainment venues. It's interesting to note that during the pandemic, although tourism faced a problem, the number of new hotels in our most popular mountains such as Kopaonik, Zlatibor, and Divcibare grew.

This became evident even when it comes to some mountains just gaining in popularity, such as Beljanica, Zlatar, Golija... Good roads are a priority when it comes to choosing a mountain destination.

3 huge projects connecting Zlatibor and Belgrade

The state will help build a bypass around Zlatibor, as well as the entire infrastructure in order to develop the area as much as possible, and to make the tourist centers closer, we reported in mid-January.

The road to Pozega will be ready by the end of 2021, a bypass will be built around Zlatibor, while there are also plans to build a fast road to Uzice, that will branch toward Visegrad and Kotroman.

The idea is to bring this Serbian mountain closer to Belgrade, so that Belgraders would travel there in greater numbers, because it has a great potential. Apart from Zlatibor, attention should also be paid to Zlatar and the surrounding lakes, which can become a "domestic sea".

(Telegraf Biznis/B.DJ.)