Leveraging Green Tourism and Digital Innovation for Sustainable Urban Development: A Case Study of Belgrade

Green tourism and emerging digital technologies integration towards sustainable urban development is discussed in this topic, with special reference to urban parks of Belgrade. Green tourism has come up as a rising alternative for mass tourism in efforts to offset adverse environmental consequences of tourism practices and enhance the overall tourism experience. The role of urban green spaces towards enhanced urban living and their sustainability-potential towards promoting tourism growth is examined here. By applying GIS and remote sensing technologies, that is, LANDSAT satellite data from 1992 and 2022, the transformation in the composition of Belgrade’s urban parks is examined, where forest cover diminished by 0.34 km² and grassland expanded by 0.45 km² during the last three decades. These alterations suggest that the dynamics of urbanization and infrastructure development are impacting the ecological equilibrium of green areas. The importance of using digital tools (such as mobile devices and augmented reality) to enhance the visitor experience and support park management is also emphasized. These results underline the importance of monitoring-wise ways that the two can develop simultaneously, or do not. The findings indicate the need for careful monitoring and management to achieve a balance between urban growth and the preservation of green spaces. Other studies must target research on efficient ways of mitigating the negative effects of urbanization on green spaces so that they remain to serve ecological, recreational, and tourism functions.