Municipality of
Niška Banja

Projects

City and Mountain

01.07.2008.

The overall objective of the action is to explore and develop tourist potential of the municipality of Zemen through improvements in existing infrastructure and facilities and cross border cooperation with the municipality of Niska Banja.

 

 

 

 

 

The specific objectives of the action are:

• To establish a structure which will coordinate and support cross border initiatives in the field of tourism and infrastructure;
• To identify tourist sites of Zemen that are most potential for tourist development and set prerequisites for their infrastructural improvement;
• To create partnership relations on 3 levels: municipality-investors; investors-tourist stakeholder; municipality-tourist stakeholders;
• To search for financing options under tourism and infrastructure related programmes and provide municipal administration with skills to identify programmes, design concepts and manage projects;
• To integrate development of the cross border region of Zemen and Niska Banja in view of the unique tourist potential of each of the municipalities (mountain and city tourism) in a joint development strategy;

 

Preliminary Study of Tourist Development

 

The city municipality of Niska Banja, about 6 km away from the city of Nis, is the oldest city municipality. Niska Banja represents a specific economic entity by itself. The economy of Niska Banja is based on developing its tourist potential, valorization of the thermo-mineral water, healthy-food production and other tourist potentials necessary for the top-quality tourist offer. All potentials are directed towards the development of tourism, facilities, number and quality of catering services. The importance of Niska Banja to the city of Nis and the whole country is beyond all questions. Niska Banja represents one of the main initiators for the spa tourism development.

 

Niska Banja, without doubt, has qualitative and diverse base to develop tourism. Natural attractions as well as attained level of lodging and other capacities point out that numerous types of tourism could be developed, especially if one takes into account landscape diversity as well as natural potentials of the region. Previous development of tourism affirms its numerous effects which, in significant manner, have been embedded in economic and social development of the Nis region. In that sense, the aim of this work is to point out the necessity of stimulating tourism , which would form necessary assumptions for its dynamic role in the development of economy of Niska Banja and to give some recommendations concerning the future elaboration of tourist products.

 

JOINT CROSS-BORDER STRATEGY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TOURIST REGION ZEMEN AND NISKA BANJA

 

Over decades, regional development was not regarded as an integral part of the overall socio-economic development. The essence of regional development was marginalized and analyzed as a separate and not particularly important aspect of the overall development. The fact that development had its regional and spatial quality and that defining of institutional development mechanisms was by no means regionally neutral was being constantly avoided. Regional differences were observed from the aspect of the development level, so that their economic-development, social and political repercussions were neglected. Faster development of undeveloped areas was often the goal to be reached, for the purpose of which certain funds were allocated and stimulating mechanisms were defined. Regional development goals were defined in a general way and were being repeated for years. Incentive policy, as a kind of development compensation, failed to prevent further lagging of undeveloped areas. Such approach was inevitably leading towards deepening of regional and structural development problems. Consequences on the territory of the Republic of Serbia are apparent.

The basic motives for the country’s engagement in this area are enormous regional and inter-regional disparities that prevent development and initiate migration flows. Large and strategically important areas remain depopulated, and their resources unutilized. At the same time, developed centers record excessive concentration of population and economy, which provokes negative results in the economic, social, spatial and ecological sphere. The role of the state in the new regional policy is based on removing and attenuating restrictions that endangered areas are faced with, i.e. it is based on their capacitating for auto-propulsive development. It refers, in particular, to providing assistance to areas with special development problems, through investments and stimulating inflow of capital so that these areas could compensate for their structural weaknesses. In order to provide efficient support of the state, it is necessary to ensure its continuity and keep the intensity of support in the long term.

The complexity of inherited regional problems along with the emergence of new regional “transition poverty” reached such levels that it was necessary to start defining a new concept of regional development. In that context, the primary goal of the Strategy was to pass new institutional solutions, as all previous experience, and the existing tendencies in the regional development indicated that inadequate regional development was not only the consequence of defects in the implementation of the regional development policy, but of disadvantages of systemic and institutional regulatory mechanisms.
The proportions of regional disparities indicate that municipalities such as Niska Banja need such a development document for the purpose of identifying the ways for reaching the main goal to stimulate balanced regional development in the cross-border region Niska Banja-Zemen.

Operationalization of this goal includes, first of all:

• Enhancing regional competitiveness;
• Reducing regional discrepancies and poverty;
• Building institutional and regional infrastructure for support of tourism-related activities.

 

The Strategy is based on the three pillars:

• Determining the development level – categorization and typology of areas for cooperation in the field of tourism between Niska Banja and Zemen;
• Defining development policies for the purpose of stimulating regional development;
• Institutional Development Strategy.

 

Programme Funding Opportunities

Everyone who works and plans is well acquainted with two stages of project development: turning an idea into a consistent plan of actions with clear objectives and deadlines which should be met, and the other when financial resources should be sought from a donor for its implementation. Everyone who has been involved in project development may confirm that it is easier to prepare a project than finance it. Donor resources are not only limited, but also have to be sought at different addresses and used under different conditions which not many people are acquainted with in detail.

The following report is a thorough review of the various funding opportunities available in Serbia at national and international level. The research enumerated the resources provided by international donors and state institutions in Serbia. The report emphasis is on the programmes that provide funding for the infrastructure development and tourism related activities for which the Republic of Serbia is an eligible country. The report’ purpose is meant to contribute to better awareness of the municipal administration, the staff of the Coordination Centre in Nishka Banja and all their partners and tol provide insight into resources for implementing various programmes and project activities. The report provides assistance to those who already know what they need, what change they wish to sustain and what steps should be taken so as to achieve it. The report is made informative enough, as well as practical and the authors hope to make it a useful guide for acquiring means from international donors and state institutions. The authors expect that the following simple information on donors and learning about conditions for submitting projects shall contribute to a faster and more efficient implementation of good projects and initiatives in favor of the community of Niska Banja. The authors hope that an efficient tool has been developed which shall facilitate the identification of needs and enable efficient linking with donors.

The City and the Mountain.pdf (301 KB)

Preliminary Study of Tourist Development.pdf (180 KB)

Joint Cross Border Strategy.pdf (381 KB)

Programme funding opportunities report.pdf (385 KB)

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