Dr. Radmila Jovanović
Wine tourism in Serbia is still in its initial stages of development. It has the potential to grow and enhance the current tourism offerings in the country. One important element for progress is the development and management through business models. The BEX model, used in Croatia, can also be applied to Serbian wineries. In 2017 and 2018, wine production in Serbia remained below the global average, which poses a challenge for the development of wine tourism.
Wine tourism in Serbia offers experiences through tastings, visits to wineries, and local gastronomy. However, there is insufficient promotion of wine destinations and wineries, existing tourist attractions are often unrecognized, and the infrastructure and marketing strategies are poorly developed, making Serbia's wine tourism product still relatively unknown in the global tourism market. Newer wineries in Serbia, compared to developed countries and their wine tourism, strive to be innovative in introducing new attractions (such as developing authentic resources, stone wine cellars, rural buildings similar to other stone constructions, etc.).
The Oplenac, Aleksandrovac, and Fruška Gora vineyards, with their museums, offer a unique complement to the wine tourism experience. The paper presents some business models that could enhance offerings at wineries, education, and accommodation capacities. Mutual connections among local communities, tourist organizations, tour operators, and wineries could improve and connect the tourism offerings, marketing, and infrastructure of an area, positively impacting the local economy.
Keywords: wine tourism, business models, wineries, development, Serbia