Tourism in Kosovo

Kosovo is situated in south-eastern Europe. With its central position in the Balkans, it serves as a link in the connection between central and south Europe, the Adriatic Sea, and Black Sea. Tourism in Kosovo is characterized by archaeological heritage from Illyrian, Dardanian, Roman, Byzantine, Serbian and Ottoman times, traditional Albanian and Serbian cuisine, architecture, religious heritage, traditions, and natural landscapes.

The New York Times included Kosovo on the list of 41 Places to go in 2011.[1][2] In the same year, Kosovo saw a jump of about 40 places on the Skyscanner flight search engine which rates global tourism growth.[3][4]

Kosovo's monuments are classified as common property for which the society is responsible to maintain them in order to transmit their authenticity to future generations.[5][6]

Kosovo has a variety of natural features. It is surrounded by mountains: the Sharr Mountains are located in the south and southeast, bordering Macedonia, while the Kopaonik Mountains rise in the north. The southwest borders with Montenegro and Albania are also mountainous, and home to the country's highest peak, Gjeravica, 2,656 m (8,714 ft) high. The central region is mainly hilly, but two large plains spread over Kosovo's west and east, respectively, Metohija plain and Kosovo plain.[7]

The bulk of international tourists going to Kosovo are from Albania, Germany, Italy, the United States, the United Kingdom, Croatia and Austria. Tourism is a growing sector with more tourists visiting the country every year.

Attractions

Cities

Some of the most visited cities include:

  • Pristina — the capital of Kosovo. Pristina accommodates the grave of Kosovo's first president Ibrahim Rugova. The Gërmia and the Italian park are the most visited parks in the city. Other attractions in the capital include the Kosovo museum, the clock tower and the Jashar Pasha Mosque.
  • Gjakova — a city with nightlife and historical monuments. Monuments include mosques, churches, bridges and museums.
  • Peć— a city along the Peć Bistrica river. It is located near the Prokletije mountains. The center of the city is marked by different craft shops, such as tailors, goldsmiths and leather tanners. Old mosques like the Bajrakli mosque and the Orthodox church are part of the historical monuments of the city.[8]
  • Prizren — a town with a well-preserved Ottoman quarter, and a Roman-built castle. Prizren is located on the Prizreni River and is near the Šar Mountains. Prizren contains the Kaljaja Fortress as well as the Serbian Orthodox Our Lady of Ljeviš church.[9]
  • Novo Brdo- a municipality in central Kosovo. Novo Brdo offers its visitors various hiking and mountain-biking possibilities. Some archaeological localities of the medieval town include the medieval castle, religious buildings and cemeteries.[10]
  • Ulpiana- an ancient city of Illyrian Dardania from the 2nd century in the Balkan peninsula. It is known to have been re-constructed by emperor Justinian I.

Natural features

Via Ferrata Ari is a metallic structure in vertical rock which enables people to climb it. Via Ferrata date as structure from world war one. The one in Peć was built by Marimangat e Pejes in 2013 and 2014 with the support of donors. It has more than 100 stairs and the whole trip is around 3 kilometers.

Architecture

Statistics

The Statistical Agency of the Republic of Kosovo published hotel statistics on a quarterly basis beginning in 2008. The reported number of hotel nights spent by non-residents was between 10,000 and 13,000 per quarter in 2008; between 14,000 and 24,000 in 2009; between 16,000 and 22,000 in 2010 and 11,000 and 22,000 in 2011. According to the Kosovo Agency of Statistics (KAS), the total number of visitors in the third quarter of 2016 was 36,872 visitors, of which 29.23 per cent were local and 70.77 per cent were foreign.[14]

The following table illustrates the number of non resident visitors according to country of origin recorded in 2011. The data was issued by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Kosovo.[15]

Rank Country Number
1 Germany2,750
2 Italy1,938
3 United States1,628
4 United Kingdom1,251
5 Croatia871
6 Austria500
7 France301
8 Netherlands278
9 Belgium43
10 Greece37
Total9,597

Issues affecting tourism

Serbia considers Kosovo to be an integral part of its territory and thus does not consider the designated crossing with Kosovo to be an international border. Serbia does not apply entry or exit stamps to the passports of those using these crossings. Serbia also does not recognize the designated entry points between Kosovo (including Pristina airport) and third countries because they are not under the control of Serbian authorities. Foreign nationals have been denied entry to Serbia by Serbian border officials if they don't have a current Serbian entry stamp in their passport. If a visit to Serbia is planned after visiting Kosovo, the initial entry to Kosovo must be via Serbia.[16][17][18]

Citizens of Albania, Montenegro and Serbia may use a national ID card at border crossings with no stamping involved. Meanwhile, citizens of EU countries, Macedonia, Monaco and San Marino may use a biometric national ID card (excluding e.g. Austrian, French and Greek citizens, but including e.g. Dutch, German and Swedish citizens)

See also

Notes and references

Notes:

a. ^ Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The Republic of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on 17 February 2008, but Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. The two governments began to normalise relations in 2013, as part of the Brussels Agreement. Kosovo has received formal recognition as an independent state from 113 out of 193 United Nations member states.

References:

  1. ↑ "The 41 Places to Go in 2011". The New York Times. 7 January 2011.
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-08-04. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
  3. ↑ Kosovo improves on tourism. June 15, 2011
  4. ↑ http://www.visitkosova.org/ VisitKosova.org Portal
  5. ↑ Doli, Flamur (2009). Arkitektura Vernakulare e Kosovës (in Slovak). Prishtine: Association for the preservation of architectonic heritage. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  6. ↑ Ismajli, Rexhep (2011). Kosova Vështrim Monografik (in Slovak). Prishtinë: Akademia e Shkencave dhe Arteve të Kosovës. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  7. ↑ Kosovo Travel Guid
  8. ↑ http://beinkosovo.com/en/what-to-see-in-major-cities-in-kosovo#-peja
  9. ↑ http://beinkosovo.com/en/what-to-see-in-major-cities-in-kosovo#-prizren
  10. ↑ "Rural Tourism in Novo Brdo". tourism-novobrdo.com. Retrieved 2013-02-23.
  11. ↑ "Southeast Europe- People and Culture". southeast-europe.eu. Retrieved 2013-02-23.
  12. 1 2 3 McAdam;D'Arcy; Deliso; Dragičević; Elliott; Marić; Mutić, Marika; Jayne; Chris; Peter; Mark; Vesna; Anja (2006). Western Balkans. Lonely Planet. pp. 269–280. ISBN 978-1-74104-729-5.
  13. ↑ Crucified Kosovo. The Voice of Kosovo and Metohia. p. 9.
  14. ↑ http://ask.rks-gov.net/en/add-news/statistikat-e-hoteleris%C3%AB-tm3-2016/
  15. ↑ https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:dwl1hv14aBMJ:esk.rks-gov.net/ENG/publikimet/doc_download/1013-hotel-statistics-q4-2011+kosovo+tourism+statistics&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgh2xgm8ljspfIz3OmaFYVEQ-iSd_sQ99kZeR0p6APSDB_1tlHDXoWGkJ3pCaWcoMWxXLp3r_ovlcWCxTP-7C3ttcxeqlMv38zsQ1f4bBT_x1r5KmzNMD233tBH4i_tqu5JHLh-&sig=AHIEtbTeCfTA1IxBKglrdr7sckTfKYcatA
  16. ↑ "Special press briefing on the UNMIK Regulation No. 2005/16 on the movement of persons into and out of Kosovo and its implementation". UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo. 22 Jun 2005. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  17. ↑ "Foreign travel advice Serbia". https://www.gov.uk. GOV.UK. Retrieved 20 February 2017. External link in |website= (help)
  18. ↑ "Entry, Exit & Visa Requirements - Kosovo". https://travel.state.gov. US Department of State. Retrieved 20 February 2017. External link in |website= (help)

Official sites

News articles

  • Zach, Elizabeth (14 January 2016). "The most striking aspect of Europe's newest nation: Its normalcy". Washington Post.
  • Graham, Adam (20 August 2015). "In Kosovo, a Thirst for Progress, and Beer, Too". New York Times.
  • Graham, Adam H (10 December 2014). "Best places to travel in 2015: Pristina, Kosovo". Travel + Leisure.
  • Perry, Marc (10 September 2014). "Nine things to know about Kosovo/". Rough Guides.
  • Rowley, Tom (2 October 2013). "Kosovo: what to see in Europe's newest country". Telegraph.
  • "Prizren: The Best Value European Destination You've Never Heard Of". Five Dollar Traveler. 9 December 2014.
  • De Blocq van Kuffeler, Venetia (1 September 2011). "Picturesque Kosovo". Diplomat Magazine. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  • "The 41 Places to Go in 2011". The New York Times. 7 January 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2011.

Commercial sites

Travel publications

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