The tourist regions in Kosovo and the analysis of competition

Tourism is one of the most important activities in Kosovo. The development of tourism can make direct and indirect impacts on the economy of a country. The direct impact is associated with the social product, increase in the national incomes, development of economic activities that are linked with tourism (catering, transport, trade, development of cultural heritage, increase in the employment, increase in the investments, payment balance etc.). Meanwhile, the indirect impact is associated with activities which provide services and products to the citizens, such as: agriculture, construction sector, industry, artisanship etc. The participation of tourism in the creation of GDP in Kosovo is about 7 % , while it is expected that this participation will be about 12 % by 2020. Kosovo is fairly rich in tourist resources (natural and cultural), such as: mountains, rivers, lakes, gorges and canyons, caves, thermal and mineral resources. It has a good geographical position and cultural, historic and religious heritage (towers, monasteries, mosques) etc. The competitive position of Kosovo in the region isn’t still strong enough despite strengths and opportunities for development. It is extremely necessary to develop public-private funding in the fi eld of tourism and a$ ract direct foreign investments