Valuation of tourist potential spa of Nis (Niska banja) area (South-East Serbia)

Abstract

Tourism potential of the tourist destination is determined using the evaluation of natural and anthro­pogenic resources which are significant for the development of certain forms of tourism. Specifically, for the evaluation of tourist potential Spa of Niš, a tourist and geographical location and a concrete zone size can be used, as well as the attractiveness of natural and anthropogenic resources, facilities already built of infra and supra structures and so on. According to the recommendation of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) for precise inventory and assessment of tourist values, it is desir­able to outline a standard form by which the researchers could perform an inventory of tourist poten­tial of a particular spatial area, regardless of size or hierarchical rang. In this paper, in a universal way, through analysis and synthesis of the values of internal and external factors, an attempt has been made to determine the value of the tourism potential Spa of Niš. In addition, a scoring method is used, by which it is possible to examine and compare a number of properties of various tourism resources. Lack of the scoring method can be seen through subjectivism which prevails in all stages of evalua­tion, but if adequately implemented, it still can give satisfactory results. The main aim of the research to rank the valorization of tourism potential, identify the advantages and disadvantages Spa of Niš tourism, as compared to other tourist destination of health and wellness tourism in Serbia, and in the wider environment, as well.