The Tourist Information Centre opened today at Smederevo Fortress, and the event was attended by Nicola Bertolini, Head of the Cooperation Section of the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia, and the Mayor of Smederevo, Jovan Beč.
This information centre will be of great importance for the city, which is visited by more than 40,000 tourists a year, as it will allow them to obtain all the necessary information in one place.
The activity is being implemented as part of the “EU for Cultural Heritage and Tourism” project, which is financed by the European Union, co-financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
The “EU for Cultural Heritage and Tourism” project is awarding over EUR 650,000 in European Union grants for projects to improve the tourist offer and cultural heritage in seven cities and municipalities in Eastern Serbia and the Lower Danube region, including the City of Smederevo.
“Smederevo is a city with significant potential; what we have here is not only part of Serbia’s rich cultural heritage, but also part of our common European heritage. In this project, ‘EU for Cultural Heritage and Tourism’, we support the development of municipalities that can become attractive tourist destinations, as well as small entrepreneurs in the tourism sector, so that they can expand and improve what they offer to visitors and potential guests. This is an important element of economic and financial improvement for this region,” said Bertolini.
He also recalled that the EU had allocated more than EUR 65,000 for the opening of the Tourist Info Centre in Smederevo, and that the EU is Serbia’s key partner in investments, grants and other areas.
“What I saw today while touring the fortress assures me that EU support for the development, better knowledge and modernisation of Serbian cultural heritage is the right path,” he concluded.
“Smederevo Fortress, as the main tourist attraction in the city, attracts a large number of visitors. Based on tickets sold, more than 40,000 visitors come to the Small Town of Smederevo Fortress every year. However, the number of tourists is much higher, because visitor numbers are not recorded during the events organised at the fortress, such as Smederevo Autumn, Theatre in the Fortress, Dunav Film Fest and the knights’ festivals. In most cases, our fortress is the first place people visit in the city, and also the first destination for a tour of the Lower Danube, so with today’s opening of the Tourist Information Centre a significant step has been taken towards building on the existing interest in this treasure of Smederevo. This is a way to obtain reliable information about the city and about the main tourist attractions of the Lower Danube, which will certainly influence visitors’ decision to stay longer at the destination and to come back to us again,” said Mayor Beč.
He pointed out that the value of this project is more than EUR 87,000, most of which is an EU donation, while the City of Smederevo is contributing EUR 18,500. Beč expressed his great gratitude to the European Union and the German partners (BMZ and GIZ) for the opportunity to further promote tourism in Smederevo.
