Abstract
Tourism economy is severely affected by COVID-19 pandemic, and if it is not adequately handled, the industry will suffer further negative consequences, resulting in economic failure. This study attempts to formulate post-COVID-19 recovery strategies for Destination Management Organizations (DMO) in six ex-Yugoslavia (Ex-Yu) countries. In order to achieve this, firstly, an overview of popularity of tourist sights in the Ex-Yu is given, benchmarking pre-COVID-19 to the current pandemic scenario; secondly, global best case practices of post-COVID-19 recovery strategies in Tourism economy are analyzed, drawing paralles with Ex-Yu countries. 
 
 To understand the effect of the global pandemic on the international tourism and in Ex-Yu countries, statistical data from reputable and authentic data sources was collected and analyzed. The research findings prove that effective, long-term strategies are necessary to recover the industry from the negative effects of the pandemic.
 
 This pandemic has left such an impact on this industry, that it will be a challenge to overcome the consequences, some of them for years to stay. Therefore, governments and international organisations, as well as private companies, must establish a long-term plan for the industry so that it does not fail again, as it did in this case, in order to continue on the path of growth. At various stages, methods should be consistent and complementary. Thus, recovery strategies need to respond to challenges in a way that ensures a planned and effective recovery of the industry.
Highlights
Tourism economy in 2020 was marked with restrictions and travel cancellations, closed companies and agencies, all due to COVID-19 pandemic outbreak
Concerning the various case studies pertaining to COVID-19 recovery strategies in tourism economy, existing data published by various governmental and non-governmental organizations dealing with tourism was collected and analyzed
The previous data shows a clear picture of the tourism industry in Ex-Yu countries in the period when they were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as examples of countries that have found functional mechanisms to help their economies while coping with the virus
Summary
Tourism economy in 2020 was marked with restrictions and travel cancellations, closed companies and agencies, all due to COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. The ongoing crisis, which strongly impacted travel and tourism, still presents an unpredictable outcome. Until 2020, tourism economy has made significant progress and the document „Tourism and the Sustainable Development Goals – Journey to 2030― provided progressing and future recommendations. It was hard to predict that an outbreak of a disease such as COVID-19 could devastate the global economy and bring global travel to a halt. The economies in the Ex-Yu countries depend on varying degrees on tourism. The pre-COVID-19 importance of the tourism economy in the six Ex-Yu countries is explored in more detail in Xu & Agačević (2020) and reported in the Table 1
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