Destination competitiveness and sustainability indicators: Implementation of the European Tourism Indicator System (ETIS) in Serbia

Abstract

Incorporating sustainability into the Destination Management Organization (DMO) policies is important because it is a competitive factor. Additionally, this is due to the requirement for effective planning and the proper management of tourism development. To promote and evaluate the sustainability aspect of tourism destination competitiveness, it is essential to create a system of sustainable tourism indicators and ensure effective stakeholder involvement and communication as a key strategy for the implementation of the indicators. This paper addressed the issues of Serbian tourism stakeholders' awareness and knowledge regarding the importance of the European Tourism Indicator System (ETIS) for the evaluation of sustainability aspect of tourism destination competitiveness. The results indicate that there is a significant knowledge gap regarding the availability of sustainable indicators and collection methods. The authors suggest that significant efforts need to be made to raise awareness of ETIS and its importance for tourism destinations governance, while DMOs need to continuously improve the methods they use to collect key sources of information.