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Development of Sarajevo as a Tourism Destination

Article  in  International Journal of Basic & Applied Sciences · April 2017

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 Development of Sarajevo as a Tourism Destination
Lejla Žunić

Associated Professor at the Department of Geography, Faculty of Science, University of Sarajevo

Zmaja od Bosne 33-35, 71000 Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina
pmflejlazunic@yahoo.com

Abstract – The presented paper takes a closer look at the issue of tourism in a lesser
known European destination – the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo. For
evaluation commonly used indicators of tourism were used, such as the number of
visitors, the number of overnight stays and revenue (sales) from tourism, which were
analyzed within the selected period from 1991 to 2014. Sarajevo is the most popular
tourist destination of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1/3 of total national tourism
revenue). Sarajevo has a convenient geographical location for tourism as it is
located on the confluence of important highways in Europe which are at the same
time tourist corridors. Indicators of tourism show that Sarajevo has a positive trend
of tourism growth.

Key Words – Tourism Destination; Visitors; Stays; Revenue; Tourism Growth Rate.

1 Introduction

“Tourist and geographical position shows the ratio of individual motives and places according to
directions of tourist movements.” (Jovicic, Z, 1986) There are the results of numerous studies by
different authors that confirms a favorable tourist and geographical position of the Sarajevo tourist
destination. Cehajic (1984) posited that Sarajevo has a favorable tourist and geographical position, due
to two significant road travel directions passing through it towards the coast: 1 Zagreb- Okucani- Banja
Luka - Jajce - Travnik - Kiseljak - Sarajevo - Mostar - Metkovic - Adriatic Highway; 2 Belgrade -
Zupanja - Orasje - Tuzla - Kladanj - Sarajevo and on towards the Adriatic Sea. Both directions actually
represent the Dubrovnik tourist route with two contractive legs, belonging to the East Mediterranean
direction, and more recently, due to the construction of the main road, also to the Central Mediterranean
direction, the largest and most impressive tourist direction in Europe. Therefore, since Sarajevo has a
favorable macro geo-location, and because of its significant tourist direction towards the Adriatic sea -
the natural exit to Dubrovnik and Makarska tourist region, there are opportunities for a transit tourism
function with attractive tourist motives of the city and surroundings in the narrowest Sarajevo tourist
area. Such an approach of the assessment of a tourist-geographical position of Sarajevo is based on the
understanding that Sarajevo has a favorable geo-traffic position as it is located at the intersection of
important traffic routes which are also tourist corridors. Accordingly, the tourist geographical position
of Sarajevo is assessed as favorable by numerous authors (Kurtovic, 2008; Nurkovic, 2006; et al). “From
Sarajevo, as the meeting point of all the roads through Bosnia and Herzegovina, tourists can continue
their journey: towards the Adriatic Sea through Mostar, towards Montenegro and Albania, across Foca,
and towards Bulgaria and Turkey through Visegrad. Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as its capital city
of Sarajevo have a favorable position in relation to the routes that tourists from Germany, France, Austria
and other countries of western and northern Europe use when travelling to Albania, Turkey, Greece and
Montenegro. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Sarajevo have a favorable position in relation to road
directions leading from Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Russia and Serbia to Dubrovnik and other places
on the Adriatic Sea.” (Kurtovic, 2008) “Thanks to its very favorable traffic-geographical and tourist-

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Vol. 05, No. 04, April 2017, pp. 1-13

geographical position (at the potentially important corridor of circulation of the central European tourist
clientele to the Mediterranean), great wealth of natural, historical, cultural and other values, the Canton
of Sarajevo has a very favorable predisposition for development of tourism which is becoming its
increasingly important economic activity.” (Nurkovic, 2006) Recent studies rely on the potential
benefits of the 5C corridor for the improvement of tourist and geographical position of Sarajevo and its
total tourist and geographical development. “The traffic direction of Corridor 5C in Bosnia &
Herzegovina will have a large gravitational field and its significance will be of a two-fold character. It
will enable the connection of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, and beyond, to the Adriatic
Sea, and its other significance lies in the fact that it will enable the development of the area which it
passes through and the country as a whole. This route, from the aspect of development of tourism, will
have a special significance because, besides connecting more countries to the Adriatic Sea, at the same
time it connects its north and south along all of its path through our land, a distance of 330 km, and it
will be the backbone of the transport network of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The corridor stretching
through our country includes: E-road E-73 Samac - Sarajevo - Mostar - Capljina – Ploce port - an exit
to the Adriatic Sea, while in the north via Osijek connects, in Budapest, the railroad Samac - Sarajevo -
Mostar - Capljina - Metkovic, Sarajevo and Mostar airports, waterways and harbors on the Sava, Bosnia
and Neretva.” (Kurtović, 2008) Another important thing is the fact that Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia
and Herzegovina, so it has central cultural, tourism and gravitational function. Sarajevo has huge natural
and anthropogenic heritage with recognizable tourism value. It represents at the same time a very
specific area in Europe because it is a unique symbol of universal multiculture. There are no places
which are so rich in diversity of culture-phenomenal character in simple natural environment, geography
of landscape and power of genius loci. Institutions-guardians of pluralistic society and multiculture of
Sarajevo phenomenal symbolize especial attributes within activity which intensive development of own
models existing has been continually following grammar of culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They
are the most complex spiritual nucleus and symbolic matrix of Golden Valley authentic expression.''
(UNESCO »Culture», World Heritage Centre, »The List», Global Strategy, Tentative List, ''Sarajevo -
unique symbol of universal multiculture - continual open city'', 2015) Motives from Ottoman and
Austria-Hungary period have the highest tourism value. Due to its long and rich history of religious and
cultural variety, Sarajevo is sometimes called the "Jerusalem of Europe" (Stilinovic, 2002) or "Jerusalem
of the Balkans" (Benbassa & Attias, 2004).

Fig.1: The position of Sarajevo and its links via the PanEuropean corridor network in the Balkans;
Corridor V is recognized as the main tourist corridor in Bosnia and Herzegovina as it connects the
middle countries of Europe with the Mediterranean- Adriatic Sea
(Source: Strategies of the Pan-European Transport Corridors and Transport Areas, 2002)

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2 Research materials and methods

The research methodology included the collecting data for statistical analysis of tourism parameters.
The statistical analysis explored the growth of tourism over the last decade. Tourism parameters are:
number of tourists, overnight stays, revenue from tourism, growth rate of accommodation, rooms, beds,
arrivals, and length of stay at a destination. The aim of this article is to explain the trend of tourism
growth in Sarajevo. Tourism growth has a huge impact on economical, geographical and spatial
development. The scientific problem is to do the analysis and evaluation of tourism parameters that are
relevant to indicate trend of tourism development of Sarajevo. Scientific methods are: quantitative and
qualitative analysis, evaluation, comparison, classification, statistical method, synthesis. Zelenika
(2000) defined the analysis as a scientific method of researching and explaining the reality by divided
components of one system. Hence, tourism parameters are the basic components of tourism system. The
assessment of tourism parameters was evaluated according to their quantitative value (low, medium,
high rates). On the other hand, synthesis enabled understanding the relationship between each element
and their integrative function. This way we could understand how single parameters determine the
growth of tourism. The comparative method helped in understanding the changes in tourism growth
before and after the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is very important as Sarajevo (Bosnia) used
to be the part of former Yugoslavia, while the war started after the country became independent (1992)
and later it effected the tourism sector a lot (different tourism growth, structure of tourists, aspects of
tourism planning and tourism offer). Statistical method was used to understand the trend of tourism
parameters whether it was growth, stagnancy or regression.

3 Research results

A few parameters are relevant in understanding the tourism development of Sarajevo: number of
tourists, structure of tourists (visitors), number of overnight stays, length of stays at a destination,
revenue from tourism. It was important to analyze each of them during a longer period of time (1991-
2014; 1999-2014). This way we could determine the trend of tourist growth. It was not only about the
trend but also about understanding the changes in tourism development and their impact on the Sarajevo
destination.

3.1 Tourist traffic in Sarajevo

Table 1: Growth in tourist number in Sarajevo in the period of 1991-2014

Year Total tourists Foreign tourists Foreign Percentage

1991 280.117 18.805 6.7%
1999 60.158 44.951 74.6%
2004 105.629 72.117 68.3%
2009 170.612 127.590 74.8%
2014 291.712 245.160 84.1%

(Sources: Yearbook of Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1992;

Development planning institute of the Sarajevo Canton)

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300,000
250,000
200,000
Total tourists
150,000
100,000 Foreign tourists
50,000
0,000
1991 1999 2004 2009 2014

Fig.2: Growth in number of total and foreign tourists in Sarajevo in the period of 1991-2014
(Based on the data from Table 1)

According to the statistics (table 1) and the graph (fig 2) of growth in number of total and foreign tourists
in Sarajevo, it is possible to conclude the following:

a. The number of total tourists in Sarajevo was higher before the war (1991) while the number of
foreign tourists was lower than it is now;
b. There was a positive trend in growth of number of total and foreign tourists in Sarajevo in the
period of 1999-2014;
c. There is a significant share of foreign tourists after the war as they make over 70-80% of the total
number of tourists.

What happened after the war? Actually, after the Dayton agreement for peace in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, there were established two entities (Republic of Srpska and Federation of Bosnia &
Herzegovina). At the same time, the total area of Sarajevo was reduced from 2,095 km2 to 1,277.3 km2
(Institute of Statistics of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo). Not only that the area of
Sarajevo municipality was reduced but also Sarajevo as a tourist destination was divided into two parts:
the Canton of Sarajevo (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina) and the city of East Sarajevo (Republic
of Srpska). That is one of possible reasons why the number of tourists has been reduced nowadays. At
the same time, before the war and the country’s independency, Sarajevo was a part of former Yugoslavia
that was much bigger than Bosnia is now (255,804 km2 : 51,209.2 km2, Agency for statistics of Bosnia
and Herzegovina). This has caused changes in the structure of tourists as most of them count as foreign
tourists now (tourists that come from the Balkans) while they used to be national domestic tourists from
one country. The positive trend in growth of number of total and foreign tourists in Sarajevo confirms
its attractivity and tourism value of the authentic European destination. On the other hand, in comparison
to the capital urban destinations of neighboring countries in the region of the Balkans, e.g. Zagreb
(Croatia) with over 800,000 of tourists and 1,4 million overnight stays (Tourism Association of the City
of Zagreb, 2013) or Belgrade (Serbia) with over 600,000 tourists and also 1,4 million overnight stays
(Institute of Informatics and Statistics of the City of Belgrade, 2013), Sarajevo has still got half the value
(less number) of tourists.

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Fig. 3: Tourist density - spatial distribution of tourists in Sarajevo in the year 2014
(Author Map Design. Institute of Statistics of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo)

The map of tourist density in relation to the number (percentage) of tourists shows the largest
concentration of tourists of 47% at Ilidza on the southwest of the destination. This place is very
populated because of a vast number of hotels and other type of accommodation units with good prices
(lower prices than in the center). At the same time, Ilidza is well connected with the downtown (by tram,
bus or taxi). Moreover, it is near natural attractions (Springs of the Bosnia river) as well as some of very
important cultural attractions (Tunnel of Hope, The Roman Bridge). What is interesting is that the tourist
density in Sarajevo is different now than before the war. The analysis and comparison of data (Yearbook
of Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the years 1991, 1992) showed that the most visited place
(municipality) in Sarajevo in the year 1991 was actually the Center (it had doubled the number of tourists
when compared to Ilidza). Today, it is Ilidza because of the most expansive tourism development: huge
investment in tourism sector; high growth rates of accommodation units, rooms, beds, etc.; unique tourist
motives e.g. ''Tunnel of Hope''- tunnel & authentic museum under International Airport of Sarajevo with
its symbolic historical story of life of people in Sarajevo during the last war 1992-1995 (Zunic, 2016).

3.2 The structure of arrivals/ tourists in Sarajevo

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Croatia
Slovenia
Serbia
17,0% Montenegro
Austria
29,4% Denmark
France
9,1% Netherland
Italy
5,9% Hungary
1,2% 1,4% Germany
13,8% United Kingdom
3,5%
USA
0,4% Turkey
4,0% 2,2% Sweden
3,1% 1,8% 4,4% 1,4% 1,4% Other countries

Fig. 4: Structure of tourists of Sarajevo according to their arrival countries in the year 2012
(Source: Statistical Yearbook, 2013)

The chart above shows a huge diversity in structure of tourists at the Sarajevo destination in the year
2012. Tourists from Croatia, Turkey and Slovenia make the largest share of the total number of tourists/
visitors with about 40% altogether, then tourists from Serbia, Germany, Italy, Austria, the USA, etc.
These results prove that Sarajevo attracts tourists from Middle Europe as well as the eastside. While in
the year 1991 the majority of tourists were from the Balkans, we can see these days that tourists from
Turkey have taken the second place on the ranking list of visitors. Political and tourism relationship
between Bosnia & Herzegovina and Turkey is very important (two very friendly countries). There are
very good air connections as well (charter lines from Sarajevo to Turkey). The increasing number of
tourists from the United States is caused by the simplicity of tourism policies (same as for the tourists
from the Schengen Zone of Europe, American tourists don't fall under the special procedure for visa).
Besides, there was a popular promotion of Sarajevo in the USA when some of the earlier visitors shared
positive experiences. Johanson (2014) explained that Sarajevo is not a ’’taboo destination’’, but it’s a
peaceful and amazing place with authentically combined elements of European (Austria-Hungary) and
Orient culture (Ottoman) worth visiting. When it comes to other countries, the survey that was taken in
the period 2013-2014 at Sarajevo (over 100 tourists) showed that Arabic tourists have the largest share
among other countries (mostly from Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, etc.). (Zunic, 2016)

3.3 Overnight stays in Sarajevo

Table 2: Growth in number of overnight stays in Sarajevo in the period of 1991-2014

Year Total number of tourists Foreign tourists Foreign Percentage

1991 689.325 50.402 7.3%
1999 155.128 122.114 78.7%
2004 220.228 157.939 71.7%
2009 324.513 248.787 76.7%
2014 558.564 471.028 84.3%

(Sources: Yearbook of Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1992;

Development planning institute of the Sarajevo Canton)

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There is a positive growth in the number of overnight stays in the period 1999-2014, even though it
hasn't reached the prewar number of visits yet. However, it is very important to emphasize that it is not
easy to compare because the table here shows data for Sarajevo Canton (Federation of Bosnia &
Herzegovina) while on the other side we have different data from the city of East Sarajevo (Republic of
Srpska). If it was possible to unite statistics of both sides of the Sarajevo destination (Federation and
Republic), the number of overnight stays as well as the number of tourists would be even larger now
than before the war in Bosnia (1991). Thus, generally, we can conclude that the Sarajevo destination
has a positive trend of tourism development. The number of visitors who make overnight stays has been
continuously growing. The Sarajevo destination for now is divided into two sides (between the two
entities) but lately they have made a common site promotion which is considered as the first step to
successful united tourism development (URL-6).

Table 3: Growth in overnight stays in Sarajevo in the period 1991-2014

1991 1999 2004 2009 2014

Old town 98.233 25.427 37.676 84.541 136.302
Centre 108.808 45.847 70.800 58.699 45.290
New Sarajevo 80.527 38.132 37.141 23.133 76.451
New town - 2.731 7.388 23.834 33.799
Ilidza 113.558 26.520 36.941 100.101 245.173
Vogosca 15.380 14.153 11.416 19.734 15.563
Hadzici 10.442 - - 6.430 3.619
Ilijas 6.830 2.318 623 - -
Trnovo 3.570 - 18.243 8.041 5.986
*Pale (excluded) 154.689 - - - -
SARAJEVO (1991) 592.037
CANTON SARAJEVO 155.128 220.228 324.513 562.183
(Sources: Yearbook of Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1992;
Development planning institute of the Sarajevo Canton)

The spatial analysis for the period 1991-2014 shows that the municipalities of Sarajevo do not have
harmonized development. The highest number of overnight stays was at Pale (1991) which is actually a
mountain region. What is interesting is that during the whole period from 1991 to 2014, the downtown
was losing its tourism importance while on the other side Ilidza was taking the lead. This municipality
had the highest growth of tourism parameters in general. In 2014 three out of nine municipalities of
Sarajevo Canton had the highest number of overnight stays: Ilidza, Old Town and New Sarajevo.
Sarajevo Old Town is very attractive as it is practically an area recognized as the famous tourism core
of Sarajevo (Bascarsija- oriental heart of the city). New Sarajevo borders with the downtown so it is at
a very good location that is popular by nice hotels (’’Holiday’’, etc.). Hence, the Sarajevo destination
(Sarajevo Canton) had the positive trend of growth in overnight stays in the period 1999-2014. Tourists
from Turkey, Croatia and Kuwait made the highest number of overnight stays in Sarajevo in the year
2013. (Tourism Association of Sarajevo Canton, 2013)

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Table 4: APGR of the stays in Sarajevo in the period 1999-2014 (percentage)

Year The length of stay (days) Growth rate of the length of stay
1999 2.6 (basis)
2004 2.1 0.1%
2009 1.9 0.0%
2014 1.9 0.0%
1999-2014 2.1 0.1%
(Sources: Institute of Statistics of Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina, Sarajevo;
APGR Calculations, University of Oregon, USA)

One of the basic problems connected with tourism development of Sarajevo is actually short length of
stay at a destination (2,1 which is less than 3 days, which is hardly sustainable). The strategy of providing
longer stays in Sarajevo should be one of the basic aims and priority tasks of tourism development
strategy. Growth rate of length of stay that is slightly above ’’0’’ shows stagnation. It is a prolonged
period of slow growth usually accompanied by weak tourism offer but there are also other reasons that
are linked to the transitional position of Sarajevo. Why is that so? The reason is that Sarajevo often is
only a pass-through where people stop for a short break (it is mostly planned as a city break destination;
city break means a short holiday spent in a city, Collins, 2016). These results were also confirmed by
the tourists who visited Sarajevo (interview 2013-2014); they arrived to Croatia (Makarska, the Adriatic
sea) from different parts of the world (Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, etc.) and then they took
excursion trips to Sarajevo of 1-2 days of stay (Zunic, 2016). Statistical data for municipalities showed
that Trnovo recorded the longest stay by tourists (2014), which is actually a mountain region (Bjelasnica
2,067 m).

3.4 Revenue from tourism in Sarajevo

Table 5: Growth in total revenue from tourism and overnight stays 1999-2009 year (EUR)

Total revenue from Revenue from overnight

Year Overnight percentage
tourism (sales) stays
1999 11.181.424 9.776.329 87.2%
2004 11.373.749 9.633.620 84.7%
2009 24.515.172 17.468.108 71.4%
(Sources: Development planning institute of the Sarajevo Canton; URL-7)

25
20
Total income of
15 tourism
10 Income of overnight
5 stay
0
1999 2004 2009
Fig.5 Growth in total revenue from tourism in Sarajevo in the period 1999-2009 (million EUR)
(Based on the data at Table 5)

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Using the data at Table 5, it is possible to determine the basic trends in growth of total income from
tourism as well as income from overnight stays. There are two different trends:
a) 1999-2004: stagnancy; there was a slow growth in total income from tourism and even a decrease
of income from overnight stays;
b) 2004-2009: expansion; there was a huge increase of total income from tourism (sales) as well as
income from overnight stays.

Reasons for stagnancy during the period 1999-2004 were mostly related to short breaks at a destination.
On the other hand, the expansion shows that Sarajevo did a huge improvement at the tourism
development. There was more investment in the tourism sector, better planning of tourism offer, new
strategies of tourism development etc. During the period 2004-2009, a lot of things changed in a positive
way: new accommodation units were built as well as other objects of tourism and hospitality interest;
tourism offer was enriched with new contents (Tourist Product of Canton Sarajevo, 2007);
environmental protection was provided for some surrounding areas which increased their tourism value
(ecotourism, etc.); there was an increase in number of tourists and overnight stays, positive experiences
of tourists and improvement of destination image, etc.

Unfortunately, it has not been possible to get information about the value of income from tourism lately
but the survey results from the period 2013-2014 (Zunic, 2016) show that most of hotels and tourism
agencies (45%) have an annual income of up to 5 million euros, some of them more than 6 million euros
(e.g. the Bristol Hotel Sarajevo, 2012). The analysis of data on the municipalities of Sarajevo (Institute
of Statistics of Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina, 2014) has resulted in a clear conclusion that the
downtown has the largest income from tourism (over 5 million euros). This is only logical because it is
the central zone of the destination with almost all needed facilities: for food and drink, banks, shopping
malls, etc. This way there is the biggest exchange and turnover of economic assets. On the other hand,
the peripheral zone of Ilidza with nice and cheaper hotels has the biggest value of income from overnight
stays (approximately 5 million euros).

250
200
150 Index of tourists
100 Overnight stay
50 Income of tourism
0

Fig. 6: Index of Sarajevo tourism growth in the period 1999-2009

(Sources: Institute of Statistics of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
Index (i) Calculations, Wertheimer-Baletic, 1982)

The graph above shows a similar trend at index of three parameters: number of tourists, number of
overnight stays and income from tourism (sales) from 1999 to 2009. What is obvious is a raising line
which represents the index of growth of total revenue from tourism. It clearly indicates the expansion
of growth in income from tourism by the end of the decade.

3.5 Comparative analysis of the parameters of tourism development

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Table 6: Comparative growth in the basic tourism parameters in the period of 1999-2009 (percentage)

The parameter- growth rate The value of the growth rate

Accommodation 9.0%
Rooms 11.7%
Beds 12.9%
Arrivals 11.0%
Overnight stays 8.7%
The length of stay -3.0%
Revenue from tourism 4.4%
Rentability of tourism capacities -4.6%
Average: 6%
Average (exclude rentability): 8%
(Source: Institute of Statistics of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina)

According to Table 6, there is a different trend in the growth of single parameters of tourism. Most of
them have a high value of growth rate: rooms 11.7%, beds 12.9%, arrivals 11% (each is over 10%).
Some parameters have medium growth rates: accommodation 9% and overnight stays 8.7%. Lower
growth rate is found at the income from tourism 4.4% (below 5%) while negative growth is seen at the
length of stay -3% as well as rentability (profitability) of tourism capacities -4.6%. The long-term
economic growth rate is around 2 to 5%. The fast-growing economies (market supply and demand), on
the other hand, show rates as high as 10% although these growth rates are not likely to be sustainable
over the long term. (Investopedia) The average growth rate of tourism 6-8% is at the medium level,
hence, it is an indicator of moderate tourism development of the Sarajevo destination. There was
calculated a double average growth rate with and without (excluded) a rate of rentability for the
following reasons: there was a malverzation in registration of number of overnight stays as well as of
the real value of income at some hotels etc. The true value is considered to be bigger and more profitable.
The fact that there is a higher growth rate of accommodation elements on one side and a negative growth
rate of rentability on the other side is a little bit contradictive. This is confirmed by results of terrain
work at the destination (Zunic, 2016) as well as at other sources (Tourism Association of Sarajevo
Canton). Therefore, it is not completely possible to take the growth rate of rentability of tourism
capacities for granted. However, the average growth of tourism in Sarajevo in both cases shows a
moderate/ medium level.

4 Discussion

Sarajevo is a developing tourism destination which is the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The results
of research showed that Sarajevo has an important tourism and geographic position in Europe. It is
connected with the Central and East Mediterranean tourist corridors, that is why the majority of tourists
come from Middle and Eastern European countries (Croatia, Slovenia, Germany, Austria, Serbia,
Turkey). The characteristics of tourism parameters: tourist traffic, structure of arrivals/ tourists,
temporary stays in Sarajevo, income from tourism; they show a positive tourism development of the
destination. Temporary stays are still a little bit shorter than expected but recently a lot of things have
been improved in order to increase the length of stays in a destination (new tourist products, new
activities, changing tourism offer). The comparative analysis of the parameters of tourism resulted in
different trends in the growth of tourist traffic on one side and income from tourism on the other side.
However, Sarajevo has a huge tourism potential and it is recognized as a very attractive tourism

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destination. That is why there is a positive trend of tourism development of Sarajevo. This destination
is growing up with the number of tourists being increased every year.

5 Conclusions

According to the results of this research, it can be concluded that Sarajevo has a very suitable tourism
and geographical position as it is well connected with the Central-Mediterranean and East-
Mediterranean tourist corridors. Tourism in Sarajevo is mainly focused on historical, religious, cultural
aspects and recreation at the protected areas. Due to its long and rich history of religious and cultural
variety, Sarajevo is recognized as ’’Jerusalem of Europe’’. Sarajevo has a positive trend in growth of
number of tourists as well as overnight stays, yet it still has less tourist traffic than the capital destinations
in neighboring countries (Zagreb, Belgrade). The Sarajevo destination has a huge tourism potential that
should be better valorized in the future. It is important to create a good strategy of tourism development
as the plan of tourism management of Sarajevo does not even exist at this moment. On the other hand,
the competitiveness of the destination at tourism market in the region of the Balkans as well as in Europe
should be raised up at a higher level. That is why it will be important to take the advantage of tourism
offers of other destinations in the region and then wisely create new tourism products. The structure of
tourists/ arrivals and overnight stays shows a great deal of variety but the majority of foreign tourists
mostly come from the region of the Balkans (Croatia), Turkey, Middle Europe (Germany, Austria, etc.)
and the Arabic countries (Kuwait, etc.). Steps to improve tourism development include the task to
research motives and demands of tourists. The other thing that is important is to find an effective
mechanism to explore positive experiences of tourists who have visited Sarajevo in the recent years.
That way we should improve the image of Sarajevo destination (as 1992-1995 war and political
problems have had bad consequences in this part). The area of Sarajevo tourism destination is now a
little bit smaller than before the war but it is still large enough to provide a pleasant stay. Results showed
that there is a stagnant trend in growth of the length of stays, so it will be necessary to enrich tourism
offer with more interesting products that will make tourists wish to stay longer. The other thing that is
also very important is to motivate tourists to come to Sarajevo directly and to make it their primary
tourism destination instead of a city break destination. On the other hand, there have been positive
changes at the growth of income from tourism lately even if it is still followed by a lower growth rate.
However, due to the malverzation in the number of overnight stays etc., we do not have real information
about total income from tourism (sales) especially when it comes to rentability of tourism capacities
(hotels, etc.), which is expected to be better. That is why there should be implemented more effective
monitoring of registering at hotels as well as in sales of services. However, Sarajevo has a moderate or
normal (medium) average growth rate of tourism (not slow neither fast-growing but medium as a golden
mean). Therefore, it can be concluded that there is a sustainable development of the Sarajevo as a tourist
destination.

6 Nomenclature

Table 4:

APGR= (V1-V2)/ V2*100/ N

APGR- Annual Percentage Growth Rate
N- Years
V1- Present Value
V2- Past Value

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International Journal of Basic and Applied Science, Žunić
Vol. 05, No. 04, April 2017, pp. 1-13

Fig. 6

i=P1,2,3,…/Px*1999=100
i- index of tourism growth
P- period (2000, 2001,…2009)
100- base
1999 year- 100 (base)

7 Citations of References

a. Articles in Journal, Magazines and Newspapers

1. Cehajic, J. (1984). Tourism of Sarajevo with review of XIV winter olympic games. Geographical
review, vol. 26-27. Geography association of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo
2. Johanson, M. (2014). Is it safe to travel to Sarajevo? 10 taboo destinations and why you should
visit them. International Business Times, New York
3. Kurtovic, H. (2008). Corridor Vc with function to improve transit tourism of Bosnia and
Herzegovina. Book of papers «Influence of traffic on a regional development». Tuzla, 17-
18.09.2007
4. Nurkovic, S., Miric, R., Dreškovic, N., Jahic, H. (2006). Regional aspect of tourism potentials of
Canton Sarajevo- classification and valorization. Book of papers «Tourism as the factor of
regional development». University of Tuzla, Tuzla
5. Stilinovic, J. (2002). In Europe's Jerusalem, Catholic World News, Catholic culture
6. Zunic, L. (2011). Socio-geographic components as a factor of the spatial plan of Sarajevo City.
Master paper. Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo
7. Zunic, L. (2012). Tourist Traffic and Tourism Profit of Sarajevo city as Reliable Indicators of
Tourism Development. Journal of International Environmental Application&Science, vol.7, issue
2. Selçuk University, Konya, Turkey

b. Books

1. Benbassa, E., Attias, J. C. (2004). The Jews and their Future: A Conversation on Judaism and
Jewish Identities. Zed Books, Londond, p. 27, ISBN 1-84277-391-7
2. Jovicic, Z. (1986). Tourist geography. Science book, Beograd
3. Wertheimer-Baletic, A. (1982). Demography- population and economic development.
Informator, Zagreb
4. Zelenika, R. (2000). Methodology and technology of creating scientific article. Economic Faculty
of University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia

c. Dissertations

1. Zunic, L. (2016). Tourism of Sarajevo- tourism geographic valorisation of receptional

anthropogenic factors and their importance for planning tourism offer. Doctoral dissertation.
Menthor: PhD Kristina Košić. Faculty of Sciences University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo

12 Insan Akademika Publications

 Žunić International Journal of Basic and Applied Science,
Vol. 05, No. 04, April 2017, pp. 1-13

d. Research Reports and Papers

1. Statistical Yearbook for 2012 year (2013). Institute for statistics of Federation of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Federal Office of Statistics, Sarajevo
2. Strategies of the Pan-European Transport Corridors and Transport Areas, Development and
Activities in 2000 and 2001 (2002). Transport Strategies, The European Commission, DG Energy
and Transport, Final Report, TINA, Vienna
3. Tourism at the area of Canton of Sarajevo during period 2009 to 2014 year (2015). Sector for
socio-economic planning of Development planning institute of the Sarajevo Canton, Sarajevo
4. Tourism of Sarajevo Canton 1999-2009 (2010). Study and report. Sector for socio-economic
planning of Development planning institute of Sarajevo Canton, Sarajevo
5. Tourist product of Canton Sarajevo (2007). Chamber of economy of Sarajevo Canton, Sarajevo
6. Yearbook of Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina 1991 (1992). Republic institute of statistics of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo

e. Undated Web site content, blogs, and data

1. URL-1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_rate
2. URL-2: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/tourism_trends
3. URL-3: http://pages.uoregon.edu/rgp/PPPM613/class8a.htm
4. URL-4: http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/906/
5. URL-5: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/city-break
6. URL-6: http://www.sarajevo.ba/ba/stream.php?kat=424
7. URL-7: http://sarajevo.ba/ba/files/info-turizam.pdf
8. URL-8: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/economicgrowthrate.asp

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