In seven days, from December 29 to January 5, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina was visited by 30 percent more tourists and almost 23 percent more overnight stays were achieved compared to the same New Year’s period in 2023. These data from the Sarajevo Canton Tourist Board (KS) are an indication of the continuation of a successful tourist season, especially in the summer and winter periods, when a significant influx of guests is expected.
This year, Sarajevo was the regional center for New Year’s celebrations. The New Year celebration lasted two nights during which four stars gave performances; DJ Salvatore Ganači, Serbian singer Sara Jo, Adi Šoše and Severina, where the total cost of the organization was 800,000 KM. There is still no official data on how much of the tourists’ stay was returned to the city coffers, but there are some related to the length of the tourists’ stay.
Occupancy in hotels
Since free outdoor concerts were also organized in Sarajevo on January 2, 3 and 4, in order to extend the stay of tourists, in the end a longer stay of tourists was recorded, which amounted to 2.2 days.
According to the data of the Sarajevo Canton Tourist Board, from December 29 to January 2, Sarajevo was visited by 10 percent more tourists than in the same period last year, while the number of overnight stays was eight percent higher.
Occupancy in hotels was more than 97 percent, and when it comes to the countries from which tourists came to the main BiH. the city of Rijeka, led by those from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the countries of the region; Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Slovenia, while a significant number of them were also from Austria, Germany, Turkey and distant China.
Good atmosphere, diverse gastronomy, rich culture and history are the main assets that make Bosnia and Herzegovina an increasingly attractive destination for foreign tourists. According to forecasts and previous statistics, it is expected that the number of visitors will continue to grow in the coming period.
In seven days, from December 29 to January 5, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina was visited by 30 percent more tourists and almost 23 percent more overnight stays were achieved compared to the same New Year’s period in 2023. These data from the Sarajevo Canton Tourist Board (KS) are an indication of the continuation of a successful tourist season, especially in the summer and winter periods, when a significant influx of guests is expected.
This year, Sarajevo was the regional center for New Year’s celebrations. The New Year celebration lasted two nights during which four stars gave performances; DJ Salvatore Ganači, Serbian singer Sara Jo, Adi Šoše and Severina, where the total cost of the organization was 800,000 KM. There are still no official data on how much of the tourists’ stay was returned to the city coffers, but there are some related to the length of the tourists’ stay.
Occupancy in hotels
Since free outdoor concerts were also organized in Sarajevo on January 2, 3 and 4, in order to extend the stay of tourists, in the end a longer stay of tourists was recorded, which amounted to 2.2 days.
According to the data of the Sarajevo Canton Tourist Board, from December 29 to January 2, Sarajevo was visited by 10 percent more tourists than in the same period last year, while the number of overnight stays was eight percent higher.
Occupancy in hotels was more than 97 percent, and when it comes to the countries from which tourists came to the main BiH. the city of Rijeka, led by those from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the countries of the region; Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Slovenia, while a significant number of them were also from Austria, Germany, Turkey and distant China.
Good atmosphere, diverse gastronomy, rich culture and history are the main assets that make Bosnia and Herzegovina an increasingly attractive destination for foreign tourists. According to forecasts and previous statistics, it is expected that the number of visitors will continue to grow in the coming period.
97 hotels are registered in Sarajevo, eight of which are five-star hotels
In order to see the readiness of the country to respond to the growing demand, we researched the hotel capacities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a special focus on the capital Sarajevo. In this context, we analyzed how Sarajevo, with its offer, copes in comparison with other metropolises in the region.
According to the data provided by the Ministry of Economy of Sarajevo Canton, 97 hotels with 4,971 rooms and 10,550 beds are registered in the capital of BiH. Of the other types of accommodation, there are two registered youth homes with a total of 69 rooms and 217 beds, 10 tourist resorts/apartments with a total of 366 rooms and 1238 beds, nine motels with a total of 111 rooms and 251 beds. 21 hostels with a total of 135 rooms and 505 beds, six guesthouses with a total of 64 rooms and 177 beds, while there are 31 registered lodgings, which together have 247 rooms and 591 beds. 750 facilities in Sarajevo are managed under the category of other accommodation, and together they have 1709 rooms and 4202 beds. In total, the number of all registered accommodation facilities in Sarajevo is 926, the number of rooms is 7,672, while the total number of beds is 17,731.
Four five-star hotels in RS
The Federal Ministry of Environment and Tourism explains to Forbes BiH that there are a total of 13 5-star hotels in the Federation of BiH entity, eight in the Sarajevo Canton, two in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, two in the Central Bosnia Canton and one in the Tuzla Canton.
In the second entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska, 202 hotels, motels and guesthouses are registered, of which four are five-star hotels.
“Official data from the Ministry of Trade and Tourism say that most hotels are categorized with three stars – 99 of them, followed by four stars, of which there are 64,” Ana Lakić from the Tourism Organization of the Republika Srpska (TORS) told Forbes BiH.
When it comes to the region, according to data from the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Belgrade has 109 hotels with a total of 7,434 accommodation units that provide a capacity of 10,084 beds and a total accommodation capacity of 13,783. There are the most hotels with four stars, of which there are 73, with a capacity of 9,266, followed by 31 with three stars, with a capacity of 3,184, while Belgrade also has five 5-star hotels with a capacity of 1,333 units.
There are 71 hotels operating in the city of Zagreb, of which 23 are located in the city center. Looking at the number of hotels by city district, the largest number of hotels is located in the Lower Town (18 hotels), followed by Trnje with 12 hotels, and Novi Zagreb – West with 8 hotels. , and there are five hotels in Gornji Grad – Medvešćak.
According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Croatia and the list of categorized tourist facilities from May 2023, the number of five-star hotels has grown to 52. There are most of them in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County – 18 in total.
Source: Forbes
