Foreign tour operators' perception of Serbia as a tourism destination

Understanding the factors that influence the competitiveness of a tourist destination is crucial for decision-makers, tourism industry, and academia. In previous research, the evaluation of a country's tourism competitiveness involved analyzing various dimensions, including natural and cultural resources, infrastructure, marketing, management, and the political framework, mainly from the perspectives of experts and industry. Studies focusing on the perception of foreign tour operators regarding the competitiveness of a destination are scarce. Given that they act as a link between the destination and foreign visitors, their perspective on the circumstances in the destination they sell is crucial. Therefore, the goal of this research is to evaluate the competitiveness of Serbia as a tourist destination from the perspective of foreign tour operators who include or plan to include Serbia in their offerings, identifying the strengths and weaknesses in Serbia's tourism. Based on literature review and discussions with selected tourism experts, a questionnaire with 61 items and five factors of Serbia's competitiveness model as a tourist destination was created. The research was conducted in March 2023 during ITB Berlin. A total of 58 foreign tour operators were surveyed. The results showed that foreign tour operators gave the highest ratings to natural and cultural resources, followed by the quality of nightlife and entertainment, local food, and restaurant offerings, indicating these aspects as key advantages of Serbia as a tourist destination. The hospitality of the local population, a pleasant atmosphere at the destination, and the attractiveness of Serbia as a tourist destination were also highly rated by tour operators. However, foreign tour operators also pointed out certain shortcomings in Serbia's tourism, especially in segments such as infrastructure, hygiene, political stability, marketing, visitor experience, and environmental sustainability, providing a clear picture of areas that require improvement for Serbia to better position itself in the international tourism market.