Medjugorje marked the 36th anniversary of Virgin Mary’s apparitions last month, and it is expected that this season will be even more successful than 2016.
The official Vatican still doubts the authenticity of the apparition, and Pope Francis repeatedly stated that Virgin Mary is not sending messages every day. However, this does not affect the number of tourists and believers who are visiting Medjugorje.
Andrija Kresic, director of the Tourist Association of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, noted that they expect more tourists than last year will visit Medjugorje, as well as the entire HNC.
“People are coming to Medjugorje to visit something, and they will still come despite the statements of Pope Francis. Although the trend of tourism recorded decline in recent years, according to our analysis, on the 36th anniversary of Virgin Mary’s apparitions was recorded a drastic increase in the number of tourists in the place of her apparitions,” stated Kresic.
He said that it is difficult to talk about exact figures, but they are expecting this season to be much more successful.
“According to certain estimations, about a million people visited Medjugorje last year, and we are hoping that the number of our tourists will be even higher this year than the previous one. According to our findings, the accommodation capacities will be occupied throughout the entire season,” stated Kresic.
However, he noted that there is a problem of not reporting the stay of all tourists.
“The application system is not working the way it should be, and paid taxes are different from the real number of tourists. This is a problem that we will have to solve soon and all the competent institutions need to be included in that,” said the director of the Tourist Board of the HNC.
(Source: Radiosarajevo.ba)
