Comparative analysis of urban tourism offer of Belgrade and Sofia

Abstract

In this paper a comparative analysis was conducted of the tourist offer of the cities Belgrade (Republic of Serbia) and Sofia (Republic of Bulgaria), which are recognizable as urban tourist destinations on the tourist market. The basic elements used to compare the tourist offer of the mentioned cities are their qualitative and quantitative characteristics. Qualitative characteristics refer to natural features, transport infrastructure, tourism resources and associated facilities, which are significant for the urban tourism development. Quantitative characteristics include tourist traffic ( total number of tourist arrivals and overnight stays) and population. The objectives of the comparative analysis are to identify best practices in the development of this form of tourism and ways and measures to improve the position of Belgrade and Sofia on the tourism market. The results of the comparative analysis showed that both of analyzed cities have a developed offer of urban tourism.