Landlocked Serbia uses nature to woo tourists

A handful of the returnees saw the potential of the town, close to the capital and the Fruska Gora park, and turned a dozen of old farms known as Salasi into restaurants and guest housing, making the town and its surroundings a popular weekend outing from Belgrade.

But despite the government's efforts to promote tourism, there is still plenty to be done in terms of “infrastructure and educating people who work in the tourism sector,” Jovicevic added.

Serbia also has something of an image problem. Despite the fact most of it was untouched by the 1990s wars, many foreigners still have images of the 1999 NATO bombing campaign against Serbia in mind when they think of the country.

In addition, economic development was stunted by years of sanctions over Belgrade's key role in backing Serb fighters in the bloody wars in Bosnia and Croatia — sanctions that were only lifted after the fall of strongman Slobodan Milosevic in 2000.

But Serbia is determined to market itself as a hub for southeastern Europe, boasting untamed nature and famed Balkans hospitality. Its latest tourism slogan is “Life in the rhythm of the heartbeat”.

While Serbia's neighbors across the Western Balkans share the same natural beauty, few have yet tapped their potential for rural tourism, with the sector only just emerging in Bosnia or Macedonia.

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