Implementation of Kosovo’s Tourism Law Draws Reactions from Serbian Politicians and Church in Belgrade

Starting August 1, the Kosovo government has announced that it will begin implementing the Law on Tourism. The legislation provides for penalties against anyone working as a tour guide in Kosovo without the appropriate license.

The decision aims to raise standards in the tourism sector by ensuring that visitors are accompanied by professionals certified and licensed by the relevant institutions.

According to the authorities, formalizing the profession of official tour guide is expected to improve the quality of tourism services, help protect cultural heritage and guarantee accurate information for both domestic and foreign visitors.

Once the penalties take effect, the profession will no longer be permitted to operate without a license. The Ministry of Culture has asked everyone working as a tour guide to obtain the necessary documentation so they can continue their activities in compliance with the law.

The measures have prompted a reaction from the leader of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), Miloš Vučević. He accused the Kosovo authorities of using provisions of the Law on Tourism, which he said are expected to be implemented from August 1, to pursue the “eradication of Serbian identity” in Kosovo.

Vučević, who also serves as the Serbian president’s adviser on regional affairs, described the measures announced by Kosovo institutions as an “open attempt to erase the Serbian name and identity in Kosovo.”

In a statement on Instagram, he claimed that Prime Minister Albin Kurti, “under the guise of regulating the market,” was acting against the Serbian Orthodox Church and Serbian believers.

The SNS leader also opposed the possibility of Serbian pilgrims being accompanied by tour guides during visits to the monasteries of Deçan, Gračanica and the Patriarchate of Peć. He claimed that these guides would promote the “theory of Albanian heritage.”

Vučević described such an approach as “historical falsification” and an “attempt to appropriate what was built by Serbian kings and emperors and preserved by Serbian monks over the centuries.”

For the second consecutive day, the Raška-Prizren Diocese also reacted to the new measures governing organized visits to religious sites. According to the diocese, Kosovo Police distributed leaflets to groups of pilgrims informing them that the Law on Tourism would be implemented from August 1.

The eparchy said that pilgrims’ religious journeys should not be treated in the same way as commercial tourism.

It stressed that the monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church are “living shrines” that believers visit for prayer and religious services, not as tourists.

The diocese called for any possible implementation of the provisions of the Law on Tourism to fully guarantee freedom of religion and pilgrims’ right to enter religious sites without hindrance.

Concluding its statement, it noted that these rights are guaranteed both by Kosovo’s legislation and by international agreements.