Bosnia and Herzegovina’s participation at the Swiss Travel Day 2018 has been initiated by the association i-dijaspora within the initiative i-platform – Diaspora for development of Bosnia and Herzegovina and organised in cooperation with the Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Chamber of Commerce of Republika Srpska and the company SEE Investment Solutions. This initiative aimed to foster the economic cooperation, promote the tourism potentials of Bosnia and Herzegovina and present the services offered by travel agencies from BiH on the Swiss market.

As part of the preparation for the Swiss Travel Day, a preparatory workshop for interested travel agencies in BiH has been held on 30th August 2018 in Sarajevo. The workshop was conducted by the tourism consultant Alexander Hofacker, who shared with the participants his longstanding expertise and knowledge regarding the Swiss market.

Ten destination management companies from BiH presented their services and offers at the Swiss Travel Day and were given the opportunity to get in contact with potential Swiss partners and main actors of the Swiss tourism industry. The following travel agencies attended the Swiss Travel Day: Balkanvibe, BH Passport, Fortuna Tours DMC, Hollywood Travel, Lasta Travel, Meet Bosnia, Narenta Travel, Nebotours, Visit Bosnia and Zepter Passport.

Furthermore, a media conference has been held at the Swiss Travel Day in order to present the tourism potentials of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a tourism destination to journalists and a wider public. Edin Dacić, member of the Steering Committee of i-dijaspora, stated in his welcome speech that the main aim of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s participation at the Swiss Travel Day is the presentation of BiH as a tourism destination as well as bringing together travel agencies from BiH with potential Swiss partners. Compared to the Business Forum, which was held on 10th November 2017 in Zurich focusing on the housing sector, i-dijaspora decided to concentrate this year on tourism, which represents one of the most important and prosperous sectors in BiH.

Walter Kunz, director of the Swiss Federation of Travel SRV, highlighted that Bosnia and Herzegovina currently represents a white spot on the map and that especially such destinations are very important for Swiss outbound tourism, considering the fact that saturated markets, as in the case of Switzerland, are constantly looking for new destinations.

Jörg Heeskens, originally from Germany and author of the guidebook Bosnia and Herzegovina on the hand (German: Bosnien und Herzegowina auf der Hand) gave initially a general overview regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina and stressed as well its huge tourism potential. Due to the fact that interested tourists in Switzerland and Germany are provided with very little information about Bosnia and Herzegovina, Heeskens decided to write a guidebook for BiH, which has been published in the German-speaking countries. Heeskens has been organising since many years tours throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina for tourists from Switzerland and Germany. Besides of the fascinating nature and diverse cultural heritage, he also mentioned the sincere hospitality of Bosnians and Herzegovinians as one of the main reasons to visit this country, which is located 1.5 hours away by plane from Switzerland.

The Apéro with various traditional BiH specialities, which took place right after the media conference at the stand of Bosnia and Herzegovina, left a lasting impression on the guests. Furthermore, the guests were given the opportunity to drink coffee, which has been prepared in a traditional Bosnian way, throughout the whole day and to taste original Bosnian wine from the winery Povratak.

The association i-dijaspora organised also in cooperation with the airline SWISS a competition for the visitors at the Swiss Travel Day. The main prizes were:

-       a journey to Bosnia and Herzegovina for two persons (first prize), including flight tickets, accommodation and an interesting travel program and

-       an issue of the monography Bosnia and Herzegovina – Seen with Loving Eyes by Samir Sinanović (second prize).

This monography follows the five big rivers Una, Vrbas, Bosna, Drina and Neretva. Exclusive photos, which have also been published BiH brochure for the Swiss Travel Day and which show the impressive natural beauty of Bosnia and Herzegovina, resulted out of a remarkable project that lasted for more than seven years and included over 60 flying hours.

Adela Smajić, celebrity and one of the most famous representatives of the BiH diaspora in Switzerland, also visited the stand of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Swiss Travel Day and drew the lucky winners.

Anđelko Grahovac, Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Switzerland, attended the Swiss Travel Day as well. Attached you will find the brochure with all exhibitors and further information regarding BiH’s first participation at the Swiss Travel Day.