As of the next weekend, all the accommodation facilities on Mt. Zlatibor will be almost one hundred percent completed. There are more satisfied guests than last year, and all facilities are in operation - Darko Djurovic, director of the local tourist organization, told a press conference in Belgrade. Jelena Gligoric has more.
It is well known that Zlatibor is traditionally the most visited tourist destinations in Serbia, and all who come will realize the validity of the slogan "Zlatibor – more than a mountain“. Guests have the opportunity to enjoy hiking, swimming, and sunbathing. As of this summer, they can ride mountain bikes as well. At this time of year, ski lifts at the highest peak of Zlatibor, Tornik, take tourists for the panoramic sightseeing, and the novelty is that the tracks are now used by cyclists, too - says Ana Jovanovic, a representative of the Serbian Ski Resorts. In addition to more than 20 kilometers of hiking trails, she says, facilities include a tubing path, a summer sled track, and a playground for children.
The summer travel season has started better than last year, and those employed by tourism companies on Mt. Zlatibor believe that this trend will continue. Prices of catering services are unchanged compared to last summer, because, as Darko Djurovic, director of the local tourist organization, says, Zlatibor is primarily a destination for local visitors. In recent years, however, statistical records show that more and more foreigners, especially Russian tourists, visit Zlatibor.
The rich cultural program involves daily events throughout the summer season. The most popular events include qualifications for the Trumpet Festival in Guca and the beauty contest semifinals, as well as numerous concerts and children plays. Free entertainment is under way in the downtown square - folklore schools, medicinal herbs studies, bike caravan on Saturdays, etc.
The 39th Trumpet Festival of Western Serbia will be held from 20 to 22 July, while the semifinal for Miss Serbia, who will represent our country in the global beauty queen contest, is scheduled for July 26. According to Darko Djurovic, available also are trips to natural and tourist attractions of this mountain, which is also a health resort due to its specific climate. Picnic trips are organized to ethno park Staro Selo, Stopic cave, waterfall in Gostilje, ski center Tornik, or Drvengrad, which can be reached by Sargan Eight, the only narrow-gauge railroad in Europe. The tourist train and a variety of open vehicles take guests for sightseeing and visits to the swimming areas, lake and several outdoor pools, including the one with salt water. The program for children has been given a lot of attention and facilities have been designed carefully, the most popular being biking, summer sledding and tubing, horse back riding, as well as lake water sports.
Zlatibor is an ideal place for vacation, but for investments as well. Several new hotels, involving private investments, will open in 2013, of which "Tornik" will be the most representative. The completion of the reconstruction works is also expected in some of the existing hotels.