European Researcher, 2013, Vol. (42), № 2-3 443 UDC 38 The use of Geothermal Energy Resources in the Tourism Industry of Vojvodina (Northern Serbia) 1 Nemanja Tomić 2 Rastislav Stojsavljević 3 Igor Stamenković 4 Dejan Berić 1 University of Novi Sad, Serbia Faculty of Science, Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel management, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 3, 21 000 Novi Sad E-mail: airtomic@gmail.com 2 University of Novi Sad, Serbia Faculty of Science, Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel management, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 3, 21 000 Novi Sad E-mail: ralegeo87@yahoo.com 3 University of Novi Sad, Serbia Faculty of Science, Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel management, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 3, 21 000 Novi Sad E-mail: igor.stamenkovic@dgt.uns.ac.rs 4 University of Novi Sad, Serbia Faculty of Science, Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel management, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 3, 21 000 Novi Sad E-mail: bericdejan@gmail.com Abstract. Exploitation of geothermal energy in Vojvodina is still at an unjustly low level taking into account the abundance of resource locations, some of which are ranked among the most affluent in Europe. Moreover, development of geothermal exploitation started in Serbia at about the same time as in other countries whose geothermal energy facilities are now at the highest technological level and which are leaders in this field. The largest use of geothermal energy in Vojvodina is present in the non-energetic area, especially in spas and sports–recreational centers. Other, seasonal consumers of geothermal energy are from the field of industry and agricultural production where the energy is used for heating of cattle and poultry farms, greenhouses and other facilities. However these consumers use only a small portion of available geothermal resources. The main users are those from the tourism industry. The goal of this paper is to give an overview and an analysis of the use of geothermal energy resources, mainly geothermal waters, in the tourism industry of Vojvodina. It shows how these resources are used and also for what are they used by the tourism industry. The paper covers only geothermal resources that are currently being used by the tourism industry. The potential for future usage in this area is also briefly discussed. Keywords: Geothermal energy; Thermo-mineral waters; Spa tourism; Vojvodina; Serbia. 1. Introduction The combined effect of the widespread depletion of fossil fuels and the gradually emerging consciousness about environmental degradation has given priority to the use of conventional and renewable alternative energy sources such as geothermal, wind, hydro, solar and bioenergy sources [1]. Energy sources can be split into three categories: fossil fuels, renewable sources, and nuclear sources [1]. The focus of this paper will be on renewable sources, specifically geothermal energy in the Vojvodina region of northern Serbia. In this paper, an energy resource is considered as renewable if it has two distinctive qualifications. It has to be carbon neutral and it has to be derived from those natural, mechanical, thermal and growth processes that repeat themselves within our lifetime. According to this definition, renewable energy resources include wind, hydro, solar, bioenergy and geothermal energy sources.