Tourism Vouchers: 30,000 Slots, Applications Open Monday
Serbia's Tourism Ministry is handing out 30,000 vouchers worth 10,000 dinars each, 300 million dinars in total. Pensioners with a pension up to 80,000 dinars can apply, counters open at 8:00 a.m.
Serbia’s Ministry of Tourism and Youth opens applications on Monday for 30,000 tourism vouchers worth 10,000 dinars each, a total of 300 million dinars (roughly 2.5 million euros) set aside for a single group of recipients. Applications start at 8:00 a.m. on August 3, at counters in corporate post offices across the country.
When the measure was first announced, the public only knew the basic breakdown: 30,000 pensioners, 10,000 dinars apiece. What was released today is the part that actually decides who gets a voucher, namely the income cap, the list of required documents, and the deadline for using it.
Who Qualifies for a Voucher?
Pensioners whose monthly pension does not exceed 80,000 dinars are eligible to apply. The cap is based on the pension itself, not on total household income, and it is the only filter that narrows the pool of applicants in advance.
Minister of Tourism and Youth Husein Memić tied the call for applications to how the program has been used in previous years. According to the ministry, pensioners have consistently been the largest group of users of this measure, which is why this year’s program is aimed at them exclusively.
“I invite all pensioners who meet the requirements to apply and take the opportunity to spend their vacation in one of Serbia’s many tourist destinations. Tourism vouchers have proven to be one of the most successful measures for developing domestic tourism, because they support citizens and improve business for hospitality providers and tourism operators at the same time,” Memić said.
Applications must be filed in person at the counter. The form can be downloaded from the ministry’s website or from the website of Pošta Srbije, Serbia’s national postal service, and should be filled out before showing up.
What to Bring to the Counter
Along with the completed form, applicants need to bring three documents:
- an ID card or passport
- proof of accommodation reservation
- proof of pension entitlement
The order of that list is not a technicality. Having a reservation confirmation means the accommodation has to be booked and arranged before the trip to the post office, in other words before the voucher has even been approved. Anyone who goes to the counter first and only then starts looking for a place to stay loses their spot in line and has to come back another day.
How Fast Will the Quota Run Out?
The ministry expects the vouchers to go quickly again this year.
“Our goal is for as many citizens as possible to discover the beauty of Serbia and spend their vacation at one of the country’s domestic tourist destinations. We are pleased with how many hospitality providers have signed up to take part in the program, which gives users an even wider range of tourism options. I expect that, as in previous years, the vouchers will be distributed in record time,” Memić said.
The quota is fixed and is used up in the order applications are received, so the gap between the first and third day of applications is a real, practical difference, not a paperwork detail. Once all 30,000 vouchers are gone, applications close regardless of how many pensioners are left without one.
Deadline and How Vouchers Can Be Used
The voucher is valid through November 1, 2026. That deadline pushes the measure well past peak season: September and October fall within the usage window, which is the cheaper stretch of the calendar for spa and mountain resorts and the month when their capacity usually sits empty.
The voucher is not a cash payment. It can only be used to pay for accommodation at properties enrolled in the program, so the 10,000 dinars cannot be redirected toward transport, food, or any other travel expense. If the accommodation costs more, the difference is paid on the spot.
For the state budget, the 300 million dinars goes in full to domestic hospitality providers, since the money never passes through recipients’ hands. For a pensioner whose pension sits close to the cap, 10,000 dinars is an eighth of a month’s income, and that is the kind of sum that puts lines outside post offices on Monday morning.
