Surprising Belgrade !

From the professional point of view, what did the meeting in Belgrade bring to you?

First of all, the great classics of ECM meetings – networking possibilities, sharing experience and learning from the others. In a more particular way, I have really appreciated the case study “Experience Design in City Tourism – Feel the power of surveying together” presented by Wonderful Copenhagen. I had worked on a similar issue within the frame of the city of Amsterdam and for me, it is extremely useful to have a look at what is done in the other destinations. An experience like that provides me much wider perspective which is absolutely necessary in my day to day business.
And then the presentation for the R & S Knowledge Group that we made together with André Moura from Turismo de Lisboa because to work with someone on a specific subject gives you the opportunity of exchanging ideas and that is always excellent. And then you have, of course, the second part of your job when you can present it to other people, have their opinions and feedback. This is really something extremely enriching.

You are an expert of the Research & Statistics Working Group. What were the “hot” topics discussed in this Working Group in Belgrade?

Research & Statistics is a very active Working Group and our meeting in Belgrade was no exception to its usual fruitfulness. “Shopping barometer” project, which is currently in a testing period, will allow us to build benchmark on comparison of prices of various commodities that a tourist may purchase during their stay in a destination. The range of commodities is wide, it includes the prices from a cup of coffee to a hotel room.
We have also two projects to facilitate the ECM members the process of getting information from the area of Research & Statistics. First of them is “e-library”, which should be a real plus for ECM members who are interested in various researches, data and reports. The other project is R&S newsletter that will provide a regular update on research in city tourism. The very first number is to come in a couple of weeks.

Professional stay in Belgrade apart, what are your personal impressions of the city? Did Belgrade fulfill your expectations or was it rather a surprising experience for you?

I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by the professionalism of the whole organization of the event and the warm welcome, not only by the people working for Belgrade Tourist Organization but by the whole city. I had an opportunity to shortly visit Belgrade as a common tourist and I have found the atmosphere very amiable and lively. I was completely astonished be the cordiality of the local people. To give you an example, I took one of the Belgrade buses to get to the centre of the city. When the driver understood that I am a tourist, he didn’t want me to pay for the ticket! And when I got off, I haven’t even opened the map that the people passing by were already asking me if I needed some help. This kind of approach becomes rare in most big European cities.

Is there something that you have learned through the stay in Belgrade that will influence you in the future?

These few days in Belgrade have offered me a bit of context to the separate items I had got through the media. We simply shouldn’t rely entirely on the image the media convey: whenever it is possible, we need to meet and to talk to people. Of course, I am far from saying that my vision of Belgrade and Serbia is now complete, I just feel that it is much more complex than before.