Serbia's capital Belgrade - the region's most popular night life hub - lost more than €220 million in tourism revenue since the coronavirus pandemic began, Deputy Mayor, Goran Vesic, said on Wednesday.

He said that there were 1.7 million fewer overnight stays recorded in the Serbian capital in 2020 than in 2019. “Serbia is the country with the least strict measures. We have to protect our health care system and economy. Serbia is in a better situation than Germany in terms of the number of cases per 1,000 people which is why it has less strict measures,” he said in a live appearance on state television RTS.

Vesic said that efforts will be made to revive economic activity as soon as possible because that will mean more money for health care. He said that people who have been inoculated should be allowed to get back to normal life gradually, and that people who have been vaccinated will get 30 percent discounts on theater and festival tickets.

“The dilemma that people are being divided along those lines is wrong. The people who got vaccinated showed responsibility for themselves and the people who do not want to get vaccinated are agreeing to live under different conditions for the duration of the pandemic,” Vesic said.