Cities as Destinations of Urban Ecotourism: The Case Study of Novi Sad

Ecotourism in an urban environment takes places in areas that offer a certain degree of naturalness in a situation when they are significantly modified by previous human activities. Concept of urban ecotourism recognizes the significance of ecotourism in facilitating cultural exchange, environmental protection and sustainable urban development. Contrary to classic ecodestinations, urban ecotourism is more acceptable considering a higher capacity of urban destinations and the potential to renovate locations that have been degraded by industrial, traffic or other human activities. The experiences and examples from Europe and North America indicate that such projects significantly contribute to a sustainable ecological and social-economical development of many cities. In Serbia, the practice of quality preparations and including natural and other resources into the development of urban ecotourism has still not been established. The paper found that Novi Sad has the resources which would make it also interesting as destination of urban ecotourism. As the most significant point, Danube should be mention with its coastal green zone and numerous islands, as well as the city parks. There are green complexes, available surfaces and abandoned objects and facilities of previous economical activities located in the peripheral and suburban zone. In the immediate surroundings of Novi Sad, there are numerous messuages (Čenej messuages are in the city itself), that have been recently redecorated as eco and ethno oases. The purpose of the paper is to suggest manners of their inclusion into the integral tourist product based on the research of resources for the development of urban ecotourism in Novi Sad. The paper emploied analytical-synthetic method, a combination of secondary sources of literature data, internet, and other sources, with the primary data gained by field observation, analyzing the content of advertising materials and contact through informal interviews with various organizations and experts from the field of ecology, ecotourism and tourism in general, and with decision makers. This research suggests the ways of including ecotourism resources in the tourist offer of Novi Sad.