Overview of the economic diversification policies (focus on rural tourism) of the Republic of Serbia

Transcription

1 Regional Expert Advisory Working Group (REAWG) on Economic Diversification in Rural Areas through Rural Tourism (ED-RT) Kick-off Meeting, January 23rd 25th 2019 Skopje, Macedonia, Lidija Aćimović, Head of Group, Sector for Rural Development Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, Republic of Serbia Overview of the economic diversification policies (focus on rural tourism) of the Republic of Serbia Dr. Suzana Dordevic-Milosevic, Ass. Prof. - National expert for Serbia on rural tourism as a means for economic diversification of rural areas in SEE

2 Rural areas of Serbia & its socio-economic status highlights of importance for diversification of rural economies - 85% of the territory of the Republic of Serbia is rural - 55% of the population lives in rural areas - 41% of GDP comes from rural areas - 21% is unemployment rate in rural areas - 75% of the population in rural areas deals with agriculture for their own needs - 56% of all households in rural areas have up to 3 ha - rural areas intensively depopulated - brain drain in rural areas catastrophic - aging of rural population is critical - cultural and natural heritage of rural areas under threath

3 Diversification of rural economy strategic decision for development actions Diversification of rural economy, harmonized with the intensification of agriculture, wherever is possible, is identified as the only way for the recovery of the Serbian rural areas. In the National Program for Rural Development from 2018 to 2020, it is noted that rural tourism can initiate the development of rural areas and balanced regional development. It is a source of additional income in agricultural holdings. Rural tourism can greatly alleviate the permanent unemployment problem in rural areas.

4 Definition of rural tourism* Rural tourism is defined as tourism that offers to the visitor rural environment" by allowing him to experience a combination of nature, culture and people. This implies that the visitor enjoys authentic, original experiences and return to the roots, which is the essence of the rural way of life. Rural tourism involves a range of activities and services organized by the rural population. This is the only definition of rural tourism in current national legal documents. *The Program for Development of Sustainable Rural Tourism in the Republic of Serbia ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia", No. 85/2011) developed on the basis of the Tourism Development Strategy of the Republic of Serbia and the National Master Plan for the Development of Rural Tourism, in line with the Law on Tourism of the Republic of Serbia.

5 Rural tourism in Serbia developing intensively from 70s, particularly in some parts of Vojvodina, Western and Central Serbia: million overnight stays were made in rural tourism in 2010: 145,354 directly and 2,556,128 can be attributed to rural tourism -participating with 27% in the total number of overnight stays which contributes with 10.4 billion dinars of income to Serbian rural economy Live experience: Rural tourism can obviously bring money and life to rural areas, regenerating peripheral regions and helping small farms to market their products through short value chains

6 Rural tourism in Serbia Based on the Statistical Yearbook of the RS 2018: There are 675 rural households providing the service, as of August There are 1,723 beds in all rural tourist households, as of August Accommodation facilities by type of tourist resorts and facilities, 2017 Rural tourist households Total Spas Mountain resorts Other tourists resorts Other resorts Rooms Beds 1,

7 Based on the Statistical Yearbook of the RS 2018: There are 5,061 arrivals in all rural tourist households in Rural tourist households Total arrivals Foreign arrivals Arrivals Serbia North total Arrivals Serbia North foreign Arrivals Serbia South total Arrivals Serbia South foreign All 5, , star 1, , star 2, , star

8 Legal framework 1. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry & Water Management: - Law on Agriculture and Rural Development - Law on Incentives in Agriculture and Rural Development - Regulation on the Distribution of Incentives in Agriculture and Rural Development in Ministry of Trade, Tourism & Telecommunications: - Law on Tourism

9 Legal framework Law on Agriculture and Rural Development prescribes adoption of the 10-year Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development and envisages adoption of two national programs, which should define ways of realizing strategic goals, namely: the national agricultural program and the national rural development program.

10 Overview of the policies Strategy of tourism development of the Republic of Serbia for the period ( OG RS, No. 96/16) Strategy of agriculture and rural development of the Republic of Serbia ( OG RS, No. 85/14) for the period , recognizes rural/farm tourism development among the priorities of rural development under priority area 11 Diversification of rural economy and conservation of cultural and natural heritage The most comprehensive strategical document for rural/farm tourism development in Serbia, prepared in 2011, was Master plan for sustainable development of rural tourism in Serbia, as an output of the project: Joint UN Program Sustainable Tourism for Rural Development, implemented from Programme of Sustainable Rural Tourism Development ( OG RS, No. 85/2011) Strategy of Spatial Development of the Republic of Serbia Policy related to economic diversification

11 Policy related to economic diversification Strategy of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Republic of Serbia for the period identifies the strategic development goals: -production growth & stability of producers' income; - increasing competitiveness with adapting to the demands of the domestic and foreign markets and technical and technological improvement of the agricultural sector; - sustainable resource management and environmental protection;

12 - improving the quality of life in rural areas and reducing poverty; - efficient management of public policies and improvement of the institutional framework for the development of agriculture and rural areas. The established strategic goals are foreseen to be achieved through interventions in several priority areas, including preservation of cultural and natural heritage and diversification of rural economy.

13 Support policy within rural development sector Besides strategies, programming documents of the Sector for rural development of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management can be considered as strategical documents laying down the basis for subsidizing the development of rural/farm tourism: 1. National Programme of Rural Development ( OG RS, No. 60/18); The Law on Subsidies in Agriculture and Rural Development ( OG RS, No. 10/2013, 142/2014, 103/2015 i 101/2016) envisioned subsidies for diversification of incomes and improving the quality of life in rural areas through development of economic activities in rural settlements by supporting non-agricultural activities in Article 39. (Rulebook on subsidies for the development of economic activities by supporting non-agricultural activities ( OG RS, No. 67/16). Funding of this measure is planned on an annual bases. Policy

14 Priority investments recognized in the Rulebook on subsidies for the development of economic activities by supporting non-agricultural activities: Construction/Equipping of buildings (facilities); Purchase of equipment for the preservation and maintenance of traditional and art crafts; Promotion of non-agricultural activities in the rural areas through development or modernization and professionalization of tourist websites

15 2. IPARD II Programme of Republic of Serbia for the period of ( OG RS, No. 30/16 and 84/17) The Law on Agriculture and Rural Development ( OG RS, No. 41/2009, 10/2013, 101/2016) IPARD II measure Farm diversification and business development M7: Rulebook on IPARD support for the farm diversification and business development (draft prepared) Focusing on agri-tourism (traditional) rather than the tourism in rural areas would reduce the scope of potential beneficiaries and would pose a risk for absorption of the funds in the first phase of IPARD measure M7 ( Farm diversification and business development ) implementation. Plan for entrustment of the measure: 2019 Policy

16 Year Total eligible cost Budget for the measure Farm diversification and business development Public expenditure Total EU contribution National contribution Private contribution EUR EUR % EUR % EUR % EUR % 2=3+9 3=5+7 4=3/2 5 6=5/3 7 8=7/3 9 10=9/ ,102,564 2,666, ,000, , ,435, ,256,410 6,666, ,000, ,666, ,589, ,205,128 5,333, ,000, ,333, ,871, ,205,128 5,333, ,000, ,333, ,871, TOTAL 30,769,231 20,000,000 15,000,000 5,000,000 10,769,231 Aid intensity, expressed as the share of public support in the eligible expenditures of the investment amounts up to 65%. EU co-financing rate is 75% of the public aid

17 General objectives Policy Increasing the level of diversification and the development of economic activities in rural areas through development of business activities, with the possibility of creating new jobs and directly increasing farm and household income; Improving the quality of life in rural areas and thus reducing the depopulation of rural areas Specific objectives Investment support to development of tourist facilities and services in the rural areas; Support the development of tourist recreational activities, especially for family and children's tourism

18 Eligible recipients Policy Natural persons registered as agricultural producers in rural areas or members of the farm household diversifying on or off farm activities; Private legal entities established or operating in rural areas in the range of micro and small sized enterprises as defined in the Law on Accounting Legal entities, in the same range, established outside rural areas if supported investments/activities are located in rural areas. Specific eligibility criteria Maximum capacity in the number of beds is limited to up to 30 beds/establishment

19 Legal framework Law on Tourism defines catering facilities by type of catering services. All of them could be located in rural areas. This law provides in detail the conditions and manner of providing catering services in homecraft and catering services in the rural tourist household.

20 Support policy within tourism development sector Rural tourism was identified by the Government of Serbia as one of the priorities of development within the Tourism Development Strategy Rural tourism is one of tourism products of particular importance for Serbian tourism development A growth model of development from 2016 to 2020 year is based on nine main levels, 3 of them are specifically attributed to rural and hunting tourism: raising the quality of accommodation, upgrading promotion and increasing booking

21 Policy National Master Plan for the Development of Rural Tourism define 8 implementation programs for: - increasing overnight stays, - number of visitors, - demand for rural accommodation capacities and - increasing contribution of rural tourism to the national economy, as well as their - implementers, sources of funding and institutions that should have a strategic role in the governance structure.

22 Policy Program for Development of Sustainable Rural Tourism defines in detail concrete goals in terms of: positioning and experiences, quality social sustainability, partnership & governance, development of human capacities infrastructure and other aspects support, etc. ways in which they are implemented, the performance benchmarks, the "fastest results" after program implementation etc.

23 Policy The promotion of domestic tourism is being implemented since 2015 through vouchers for subsidized use of accommodation services in catering facilities for a minimum of five overnight stays, outside the residence of the user. Total of 100,000 vouchers of the 5,000 dinars value were distributed in 2018 valid through November 20, 2018 and the same is planned for 2019.

24 Policy Strategy of Spatial Development of the Republic of Serbia defines the basic goals of spatial development and priorities for their realization which include: development of tourism - eco, ethno, agro, gastro and other forms of tourism, reanimation of traditional agricultural activities, creation of an adequate environment for the development of agricultural and supplementary activities.

25 Institutional set-up National level - rural development and consequently rural economy diversification, is under the jurisdiction of the: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of State Administration and Local Self- Government, Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veterans' and Social Affairs, Various bodies of the Government

26 Institutional set-up Autonomous Province of Vojvodina Provincial Secretariat for Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, Provincial Secretariat for Interregional Cooperation and Local Self-Government, Provincial Secretariat for Economy, Employment and Gender Equality, Provincial Secretariat for Urban Planning, Construction and Environmental Protection, etc.

27 Regional level : - regional networks of the Chamber of Commerce, Cooperative Association, Agricultural Advisory Services, - business incubators, development agencies - professional bodies and associations, etc. Local level : - local self-governments and their tourist organisations, - civil society organizations, - producers associations, etc. Institutional set-up

28 Opportunities for the future development of rural tourism Trend of increasing funds for implementation of national and IPARD support (national budget for 2019: approximately EUR + IPARD budget for : EUR) Increasing interest of local authorities for supporting rural development and rural tourism as an option of rural economy diversification CSO interested to participate in development actions Increased number of opportunities for non-formal and formal education Start-ups for employment Interest for increasing and improving inter-sectoral cooperation Increasing interest for PPPs on the local, regional and regional cross-border cooperation Increasing rate of participation in policy creation of stakeholders

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