Sustainable Tourism Development in the Western Balkans

The International Trade Centre (ITC) is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD). ITC enables small business export success in developing countries by providing, with partners, sustainable and inclusive trade development solutions to the private sector, trade support institutions and policymakers. Further to ITC needs and opportunities review analysis conducted in four Western Balkan countries it was identified that the tourism sector was playing a vital role in the social and economic development. Nevertheless, promotion of tourism already exists in the Western Balkan countries, but it is hard for these countries to promote themselves individually. The objective of the workshop was to assess in-depth the tourism sector in each country and identify opportunities for regional tourism. Through in‐depth field and desk research as well as on‐the ground interviews, the team conducted an evaluation of the opportunities and constraints for tourism development in each country in order to situate the kind of financial and technical assistance the ITC and selected partners can provide in order to implement a regional tourism development program.