The Sarajevo Canton Tourist Board works continuously to promote tourism, and according to the director of that institution, Haris Fazlagić, the goal is to position Sarajevo on the tourist map of Europe and the world as a desirable, favorable and attractive tourist destination.
In an interview with Fena, Fazlagić compared the results of the tourist season in the past few years and said that tourist visits are measured by the record year 2019. Last year was a record number of tourists, and the first data from the first three months of this year indicate that 2023 could be a record year as well.
”Last year, Sarajevo was visited by about half a million tourists, 1,200,000 overnight stays were recorded. Data from the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina show that the inflow from tourism is more than two billion BAM, and the Canton of Sarajevo generates half of that income,” said Fazlagić.
Speaking about what attracts tourists the most, he said that it is the Sarajevo Film Festival, a regional and world event, and it is logical that it should be attractive to tourists, domestic and foreign guests.
The highest attendance of guests and tourists is from neighboring countries – Croatia, Serbia, then from Germany, Austria, the Gulf States, and the USA.
Fazlagić adds that they also monitor China and the return of Chinese tourists to Bosnia and Herzegovina, because before the Covid-19 pandemic, Canton Sarajevo had the largest number of tourists from China.
According to Fazlagić, the Canton Sarajevo Tourist Board has prepared a lot of projects that should be realized this year, and, as he says, they have just completed a public call for specific forms of tourism, which is what Sarajevo offers.
“We try to follow world trends. We recently presented ourselves at a fair in Brazil, where Bosnia and Herzegovina and Sarajevo Canton were presented for the first time. We are going to France and Sweden already in the fall,” he says.
These, he adds, are projects for tourists of the third age, because we always target countries, fairs. We specially prepare for each fair differently, because every tourist is different, what that country wants and what we want from those tourists from that country.
Of course, one of the big investment projects is the alpine coaster in Bjelašnica, which they want to implement in cooperation with ZOI, the line ministry and the Municipality of Trnovo.
We are also proud, says Fazlagić, of the Sarajevo City Card, which has united the tourist offer of CS in one place, and is the most sold in the digital company. According to Fezlagić, that is what tourists expect from us – that everything be unified, public transport, cultural and sports destinations.
“Our task is that upon arrival, tourists know that they have transportation from the airport to the city center, that they can ride Gras’s trolleybuses or trams, and through the Sarajevo City Card, they can see all the desired destinations, the institutions they will visit,” he points out.
The Sarajevo City Card can be purchased for 24 and 72 hours, but not for 48 hours, because they are trying to make it a potential trigger for tourists and guests to spend more nights.
Therefore, Fazlagić believes, it is necessary and he wishes to achieve better cooperation with institutions of culture, sports, hotels…
That is why, he emphasizes, he accepted the position of director of TZKS, because he wants to improve and promote the most beautiful natural and cultural wealth in BiH and Sarajevo. Given that he is close to sports and sports organizations, and therefore to events, he believes that sports and tourism are indivisible.
“Sports events and cultural manifestations generate the most tourists,” emphasized Fazlagić.
Therefore, they launched a series of tourism promotion projects abroad, presenting tourism at fairs and events that take place outside the borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“Through fairs and gathering experiences and information, we know exactly what we as the Canton of Sarajevo can offer, which are specific forms of tourism. Now are the months of Ramadan, Pesach, Easter, Easter. It is unique in Baščaršija, in addition to gastronomy, war, outdoor tourism… That is why they call Sarajevo the European Jerusalem,” emphasizes Fazlagić.
There is potential, he adds, and we are aware that tourism can develop a lot, but, he says, we must be accompanied by road infrastructure, the airport, direct lines, because that is what people are looking for at fairs.
Fazlagić points out that Sarajevo has a good gastronomic offer, it is an Olympic city, but it needs to connect more with the world, so that communication and arrivals here are better and faster.
“Everything we do and co-finance are projects in the field of sports, summer fest, winter fest, skiing, music, film festivals and everything that will happen during this summer. All of that is part of our tourist offer and it’s a fight for more than one night. So we expect that the year 2023 could be a record year in terms of the number of visits by tourists, domestic and foreign guests,” said the director of the Sarajevo Canton Tourist Board, Haris Fazlagić.
