Turkey, Montenegro make top 10 travel list
31/10/2012
Montenegro's coast and Turkey's resorts land the regional countries in the top spots. Also in business news: the EBRD forecasts that almost all of the regional economies will fall in growth for next year.
 Luxury resorts, like this one in Golturkbuku, on the southwest Aegean coast of Turkey, helped place the country on the Best in Travel list. [Reuters] |
Montenegro and Turkey have been included in the Top 10 "Best in Travel 2013" list published annually by the travel magazine Lonely Planet. Montenegro is at second position, distinguished for its rugged interior with a growing number of hiking and biking trails, as well as for its beautiful coast. Turkey is at eighth, not only because of Istanbul and beautiful coastal resorts, but also for attractive and cheap destinations beyond. Sri Lanka topped the magazine's list.
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The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development lowered its forecast for the Central and Eastern European economies, citing the delayed recovery in the eurozone. The bank now expects Croatia's economy to register a negative growth of -1.9 percent in the end of this year versus -1.2 percent in the July forecast. Serbia too will be in the negative with -0.7 percent compared to a previous forecast of 0.1 percent. Albania's GDP is expected to expand by 0.6% this year versus 1.2 percent.
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Despite the economic crisis, Greece holds the highest position of all Balkan countries in the 2012-13 Country Brand Index released by international think tank FutureBrand on Thursday (October 25th). The country is at 39th in the ranking, which uses culture, industry, economy and public affairs to determine how key audiences see the world's 118 country brands. Croatia is next at 41st, followed by Turkey at 45th. Switzerland, Canada and Japan led the listings; Somalia, Pakistan and Afghanistan were at the bottom.
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Serbia's state gas utility Srbijagas and Russian giant Gazprom decided on Monday (October 29th) to invest in the building of the Serbian section of the South Stream pipeline, which is scheduled to open by 2015. The 470-kilometer utility, with offshoots to Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, will cost around 1.7 billion euros, Srbijagas CEO Dusan Bajatovic said. Work will start in December.
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The World Bank and Croatia signed an agreement for a 50 million-euro loan for the country on Monday (October 29th), aimed to additionally finance the Croatia Export Finance Intermediation Project. The money was granted to the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development to continue supporting the private sector's access to finance and to boost competitiveness, particularly among exporters, as Croatia moves towards EU membership.
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The Montenegrin government decided on Thursday (October 25th) to reduce the number of foreign workers' permits in the country for next year from 25,000 to 16,500. The move aims to stimulate employment among residents.
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Serbia's oil and gas company Naftna Industrija Serbije plans to expand its exploration activities to 10 southeast European countries, including Romania, Greece, Montenegro, Albania, Bulgaria and Croatia, to meet its 2020 production target, the Novi Sad-based company announced on Thursday (October 25th). According to the plan, the firm will triple its output to 5 million tonnes of oil equivalent by that year.
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Bulgaria's parliament on Thursday (October 25th) approved in the first reading amendments to local tax legislation introducing a 10 percent flat income tax on deposits in local banks. The controversial move has sparked serious public debate.
(Various sources -- 24/10/12-31/10/12)
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Human rights violations continue in the region, according to a recent report by Amnesty International.
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