Some estimates talk about more than 120 different hotels, guest houses, hostels and accommodations in Canton Sarajevo and this industry has an increasingly important role.
The capital of BiH is visited by more and more tourists for several years in a row.
Tourists are coming with certain expectations and experiences from other countries, and our caterers have to adapt. Due to their accommodation, the number of constructed and renovated hotels, as well as their offer, is increasing. Currently, the exact number of hotels in Canton Sarajevo is not known, and some estimates show that there is more than 120 different hotels, guest houses, hostels and other types of accommodations. We are opening new hotels in Sarajevo every day, which shows that this industry occupies an increasingly important role.
Professor of Marketing at the Faculty of Economics in Sarajevo, Vesna Babic-Hodovic, said that the increasing number of hotels in Sarajevo can be explained by a simple formula: the number of investors – the number of hotels.
“Investors are interested only if they can earn some money. Even before was attempted specific management strategy of number of hotels, but no one can forbid anyone to make a hotel,” said Babic-Hodovic.
President of the Association of Hoteliers and Restaurateurs of BiH, Amir Hadzic, said that the hotel occupancy in the summer is in average 45 %, and that there are problems if we observe the entire season.
“Sarajevo is a tourist city and visitors are coming throughout the year, but there is no strategy for management, especially when we leave out the summer season,” said Hadzic.
He believes that hotels in Sarajevo are following the trends in the region and the world, but we should not forget the kindness of our people, who are an important factor in the overall impression of our visitors.
Vesna Babic-Hodovic said that hotel offer in the capital is facing the demands of guests and that there are two trends in the domestic hotel industry.
“The first is the trend of luxury hotels, which are trying to be different from its competitors. Other hotels are targeting guests who care about price, and they compete to offer the lowest price.
(Source: A. Secunovic/Faktor.ba)
