The Tourism Organization of Nis presented the business results for 2017, as well as activities aimed at increasing tourist traffic in 2018. According to statistical data the number of tourists in Nis increased by 26% in 2017 compared to the same period of the previous year, with the number of domestic tourists increased by 16% and foreign tourists by 34.5%. If the average estimated spending per tourist is 70 euros, it is concluded that the total income of the city from tourism is about 14 million euros, or 1.6 billion dinars, which, for a period of four years, represented the increase of almost 70%, as the director of Tourist Organization of Niš Uroš Parlić said, adding that over RSD 26 million was the income from the residence tax. According to him the trend of growth continued this year, so in the first five months the number of tourists increased by 19%, and the number of foreign tourists by as much as 25%  which showed that investments in being present at international fairs, the promotion, marketing and improvement of the tourist infrastructure brought the result. Nis has become the third destination in Serbia, after Belgrade and Novi Sad, popular for city tourism. Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatović said that the positive trend of increase of tourists, which is counted in dozens of percent, indicated that the city, in cooperation with the Nis Tourism Organization, recognized the importance of tourism and tourist economy as the basis for the overall economic growth of the city. The Mayor pointed out that the City would continue to support the activities of Nis Tourism Organization and to invest in the creation of new and improving the existing tourist facilities and events so that these positive trends would continue, and Nis would become recognizable on the tourist map, and the city with increasing revenues from tourism.

Based on the results of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia dated 31/05/2018 a positive trend in the number of tourists in the first four months of 2018 was realized in Nis. The results show that in April 2018 the total number of tourists increased by 15.9%, with the number of domestic tourists increasing by 11.8%, while the number of foreign tourists increased by 21.8% compared to the same month of 2017. Also, in the category of overnight stays, the increase is recorded, with 17.5% more tourists in total than in April 2017, with the number of domestic tourist staying overnight increasing by 15.9%, while the number of foreign tourists increased by 19.8%.

In the period from January to March this year, the total number of tourists who visited our city has increased by 12 % compared to the same period last year. The number of domestic tourists increased by 7 %, while the number of foreign guests, according to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, increased by 16 %. The number of overnight stays for the same period increased 13 % compared to the previous year, and now it amounts to 33 389, with the number of overnight stays of domestic tourists increasing by 17%, and foreign by 9%. When it comes to the countries of origin of foreign guests, in the first quarter of this year, the largest number of tourists in Nis came from neighboring countries Bulgaria and Greece. However the number of foreign guests from China, Macedonia and Sweden was also noticeable. The largest number of tourists visited Nis in March, when the total number of guests increased by 22 % compared to the same period last year.

March 29^th

The Fair of Tourism and Active Rest has been officially opened today in the Cair Hall. The opening was attended by high officials and a large number of fellow citizens, as well as a large number of exhibitors. Director of the Tourist Organization of Serbia Marija Labović welcomed all the guests with congratulations to the hosts on the excellent organization. “It is a great pleasure for me to be here today. I wish you many more years of successful work and that next one, jubilee 20^th fair is really special. I believe that it will really be so, because when we look at what results we achieve in tourism in Serbia, we can rightly expect this event to continue to live “, Labovic pointed out. Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic welcomed all the distinguished guests and exhibitors. “This year I would say that it is a little bit easier than last, because we intensifying our activities in one of the important branches of the economy, such as tourism, and it seems to me and we begin to understand its significance, not only because we are good hosts because we know what we have and what we have to show but because tourism is significant for our entire city and region, “said Bulatovic. He announced significant progress and greater investment in this segment and added that extra efforts would be dedicated to make Nis powerful regional touristic center of the south-east of the country. Assistant Minister of Tourism Renata Pindzo said that it was a great pleasure to greet the present guest and exhibitors on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and our line ministry. “I truly believe that this fair is just another opportunity for Nis to present and show to all of Serbia what it possesses, its exceptional nature, extremely valuable cultural and historical heritage, but above all that something for which it is most famous for  – the hospitality, “she stressed .

February 8^th

Nis continues to record exceptional results in the field of tourism in 2017, and the revenue of the city for the observed period is 24,664,000.00 RSD coming from local tourist fee.
More than 100,000 tourists visited Nis during the stated period and that represents the increase of 26% in the total number of tourists, while the number of domestic tourists increased by 16%, compared to the same period in 2016. In total, 17% more tourist stayed overnight in Nis than in the same period of 2016; the number of overnight stays of domestic tourists increased by 6%, and the number of overnight stays by foreign tourists increased by 32%, which makes total of 190,000 overnight stays in 2017. The greatest number of tourists came from: Bulgaria, Greece, Germany, Turkey, Romania, China, Poland, Slovenia, Italy, Russian Federation, Slovakia and Sweden. Shown hospitality is the biggest tourism advantage in our city!

November 1^st

New Ryanair flight Stockholm-Nis-Stockholm was introduced today. The welcoming ceremony for the first flight from Stockhol was attended by His Excellency Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to the Republic of Serbia Mr. Jan Lundin, Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and the General Manager of the Nis Airport Constantine the Great Vladica Djurdjanovic. Passengers will be able to fly to Stockholm and back on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Ambassador of Sweden Jan Lundin underlined the importance of establishing this route to connect two nations and two countries. “Now the Swedes have the opportunity to travel to Nis and see the potentials here, not only tourist attractions, but also business potentials.” Mayor Bulatovic said that each new destination represented a new window to the world and once again confirmed that the money, which the city and the state had allocated for the development of Nis Airport, was fully justified investment. He stressed that, in the future, the City of Nis would, in accordance with its capabilities, do everything to further improve the capacities of the Constabtine the Great Airport. The General Manager of the Nis Airport Constantine the Great Vladica Djurdjanovic said that he was proud of such a large number of passengers in the first year and underlined that this was just another proof of the great significance and potential of the Nis airport.

October 25^th

At the press conference held today at Nis City Hall Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and the management of Nis Airport Constantine the Great announced the new destination to fly to from Nis Airport – Stockholm, Sweden starting from October 31^st with a twice weekly service starting in October, as part of our Niswinter 2017 schedule with 5 routes in total.  The biggest low-cost airline Ryanair will introduce another flight from Nis to Stockholm (Skavsta Airport) from October 31^st during the winter flight schedule. Ryanair celebrated its new Nis route to Stockholm by releasing seats from Nis to Stockholm Skavsta for sale from just €19.99 for travel in November. At this moment, the number of passengers in 2017 is already around 270,000, so it is realistic to expect that in December, a record number of passengers, i.e. 300 000 passengers would be reached.  Thanks to the engagement of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the City of Nis the ALS system for ground guidance of the aircraft will be installed on the runway and the construction of new tour will begin next year. Starting from next year Nis Airport will be a self-sustaining company and city subsidies will be reduced to a minimum.

September 9^th

The hotel capacities in Nis will be increased from next year as the reconstruction of the Hotel Park and the Hotel Ambassador will be completed, as it has been announced by the owners of these facilities on the occasion of Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic visiting the construction sites. Both of these hotels were previously owned by the Company Srbijaturist, but due to the unsuccessful privatization of that company for years they were without guests and in a very bad condition. Andrija Radojicic, the new owner of the Park Hotel, announced that this hotel, which was built in 1936, would be returned to the old splendor most likely by the end of this year. He also announced new contents such as spa center, congress hall, sightseeing and panoramic elevator and this will be five-star hotel. Ivan Spasic, the owner of the company My Place Group who is the new owner of the Ambassador Hotel, emphasized that the reconstruction of this hotel would be completed next year, by the end of April, and that the opening was planned for May. It will be five-star hotel. Out of the former 140 rooms, after the reconstruction there will be 58 studios, 10 apartments and two presidential suites of 85m2. It will also have new facilities, such as a spa center, conference facilities and a billiard room, as well as a parking plot with 35 slots. According to the announcements of the owners, the renovation of both hotels will cost five million euros and will provide the opening of 200 new jobs. On the occasion of visiting the construction sites, Mayor Bulatovic said that the city needed new hotel capacities because Nis was the center of this part of Serbia. He pointed out that the local government helped with the construction permit for the Hotel Ambassador, because the usage permit was never obtained for the old building.

August 1^st

Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia and Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, prof. Dr Zorana Mihajlovic said today that Nis Airport Constantine the Great was an example of how the cooperation between the state, local self-government, state and local companies has yielded good results, because in three years the number of passengers increased from 1,300 in 2014 to more than 183,000.  “We worked as a team – the Government of Serbia, the City of Nis, Nikola Tesla Airport, Constantine the Great Airport, the Civil Aviation Directorate, SMATSA – with the common goal of developing Nis Airport according to all standards”, Mihajlovic said after the visit to Nis Airport cargo terminal and at the signing of the contract on the donation of equipment worth 400,000 euros by the Belgrade airport. Mihajlovic said that the investments in the furnishing of the Nis airport will surely continue, as the number of passengers and goods constantly increases. “We will soon choose the project designer for the tower to be built next year, which is one of the conditions for Nis Airport to be completely ready to become a Belgrade Reserve Airport,” she said. “The plan for the next four years is to invest 6.3 million into Nis Airport to make it even more developed and more modern than it is now “, added Mihajlovic.

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic thanked Nikola Tesla Airport for donations and Vice-President Mihajlovic for the support to the citizens of Nis and the whole region of South Serbia. “After so many years of stagnation, Nis and the south of Serbia have a reason to hope and see a prospect and a better future. I would like to express my gratitude to the Belgrade airport on the donation and to the Ministry and the Government for support without which we would not survive all the difficult years that are behind us. Today, Nis airport is a real airport and an example of how to fight for a better standard and living conditions “, Mayor Bulatovic said. He added that the city budget for the next year will no longer have costs for peoples’ salaries at the airport, and that the city would invest only in equipment and reaching the highest standards.

Saša Vlaisavljevic, acting general manager of the Aiport Nikola Tesla, said that both Belgrade and Nis airports are part of the air traffic system of Serbia and that with the support of the Government and the Ministry they record best business results. “Both the City of Nis and Nis Airport can count on us, and in autumn I expect to come again, with fire trucks, “said Vlaisavljevic. Vladica Djurdjanovic, the general manager of Nis Airport Constantine the Great, thanked the Belgrade airport for donations and the Government of Serbia for many years of support, adding that without this assistance, the Nis airport would not have had the results it has today, more than 183,000 passengers and nearly two thousand tons of goods transported for the first seven months of 2017. The donation of Nikola Tesla Airport to Constantine the Great Airport for which the contract was signed by the directors of two companies, Sasa Vlaisavljevic and Vladica Djurdanovic, is worth 400,000 euros and includes, among other things, X-ray machines for inspection of goods and mail, X-ray for inspection of luggage, three metal detector doors, as well as detectors for explosives for checking the hand luggage.

August 1^st

According to the data of the Republic Bureau of Statistics, in June, a record number of people who are not from Serbia visited Nis. According to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, “tourism turnover” increased by almost 60% in June, mostly thanks to foreign tourists. Even 67% more people visited Nis this June than last June. In figures, this is 6 300 tourists. In June this year Nis was visited by more citizens of Serbia than in the same period last year. It is even 49 percent more or 4,200 people. According to the Tourism Organization of Nis, from month to month, there are more and more tourists in the city, and this trend is noticeable starting from 2013, when Nis was categorized with the first category. In 2013, 60,000 tourists visited Nis, while three years later this figure was increased to 85,000. In the first six months of this year, there were 80,000 overnights in Nis, which positively reflects on the economy of the city because the city administration is collecting almost 12 million dinars from tourist tax paid by tourists. The number of tourists increased in Niska Banja by as much as 65 %, with the number of domestic tourists increasing by 115 and foreigners by 1,6 percent compared to June last year.