USAID Serbia Competitiveness Project

To capitalize on these advantages, the Project is supporting MICE industry development by working with key partners in the National Tourism Organizations of Serbia and Belgrade, the Serbia and Belgrade Convention Bureaus, as well as PCOs and other private sector partners. This support has included several training initiatives on bidding, incentive product development, and sales strategies. We also work closely with the Serbian Convention Bureau in developing services within the Industry Partners Program that reinforce Serbia’s appeal as a MICE destination. Finally, we work directly with a range of private sector partners to prepare for key events, such as IMEX and EIBTM, through supporting market research, client identification, and development of presentations and promotional materials.

The USAID Serbia Competitiveness Project is a 4-year, $14.7 million project to promote the most competitive Serbian sectors. The project began in September 2007 and early on identified tourism as a high potential sector, particularly the MICE industry where Serbia has significant competitive advantages in terms of facilities, location, experience in hosting major international events, expanding hotel capacity, and the buzz of a new destination.