The Tourist Organisation of Novi Sad has announced that, according to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, 14.051 tourists visited Novi Sad during December, which is a 22% increase in comparison to December 2015. There were 25.283 overnight stays, which is also an increase for 17.6% when compared to the previous year. One of the reasons for the increased number of tourists at the end of last year is most certainly festival celebration of New Year’s Eve entitled Dve.Nove, organised for the first time by the ‘Novi Sad 2021’ team.

When we talk about the total number of tourists that visited Novi Sad during 2016, the results are impressive. During last year, 174,489 tourists visited Novi Sad, which is a 15.3% increase in comparison to 2015. According to the same source, there were 360,578 overnight stays during 2016, which is an increase of 21.4% when compared to 2015. It is interesting that, during 2016, the visits of foreign tourists increased for 31.4%, which confirms that becoming a European Capital of Culture shows its first effects.

Nemanja Milenković, the CEO of the ‘Novi Sad 2021 – European Capital of Culture’ foundation, stresses that this research confirms that the dates stated in the bid-book were chosen well – the opening ceremony of the European Capital of Culture programme in 2021 in Novi Sad is set for 13 January, the day when we celebrate Orthodox New Year, i.e. New Year’s Eve according to Julian calendar, and the closing ceremony for 31 December, on New Year’s Eve according to Gregorian calendar.

– These dates are important, not only in the narrative context, which joins old and new through this unique time bridge, and which joins co-existence and interculturality, which are best seen during this period of holidays in Novi Sad. These dates have also demonstrated their economic justification with greater number of tourists, especially ones coming from abroad. This is something that needs to be developed in the years to come, and we will definitely continue to do so with energy and creativity – said Mr Milenković.

The promo clip, created by the ‘Novi Sad 2021’ project team, shows how the festival concept Dve.Nove was organised for the first time. It was held on four locations, during four days, for two New Years, with more than 100 performers, 60 of which were members of the symphony orchestra, who performed more than 40 hours of programme and presented the most diverse music offer so far – from jazz, pop and rock music, DJs, to symphony and brass bands.