BiH is becoming more and more interesting as a tourist destination, which is showed by the increase in the number of tourist visits. Data from the Agency for Statistics of BiH show that tourists realized a total of 156,256 overnight stays in March, which is by 9, 3 % more in comparison to the same period of 2016. However, the question is whether BiH can meet the increased demand with quality and number of accommodation capacities.
“We are becoming a more interesting destination on the tourist map of the region, and thus there is a need for increased number of accommodation capacities, from apartment type to luxury hotels,” as announced by the Tourist Organization of Republika Srpska (RS), one of the entities in BiH. They also added that the number of tourist movements, i.e. the number of arrivals and overnight stays of domestic and foreign tourists, is recording a constant increase.
According to the Ministry of Trade and Tourism of the RS, there are about 168 facilities for accommodation in this entity, including hotels, motels, hostels, garni-hotels, apart-hotels, etc.
Haris Caluk from the Tourist Board of Canton Sarajevo stated that there is a huge increase in the number of tourist visits recorded in the last few years, but he noted that hotels and other accommodation capacities can still fulfill the needs of the market.
When it comes to the forthcoming Sarajevo Film FestivaL (SFF), when a record number of tourists visits Sarajevo, he says that he is not sure what will be the exact situation. Due to a number of unregistered private accommodation facilities, he believes that tourists will be able to find accommodation.
According to the Tourist Board of Canton Sarajevo, there are 27 hotels with 4 stars and 5 hotels with 5 stars in this canton.
Data from the RS show that there is an increase recorded in the number of 4 stars hotels in that entity, while there is a decrease in the number of those with 5 stars.
(Source: akta.ba)
