Homepage

News

Denis Šulić, Minister of Trade and Tourism of the Republika Srpska - We must work on a joint tourism offer for the region

Source: eKapija

Tuesday, 05.03.2024.

23:36

Comments

srpski

Podeli

Denis Šulić (Photo: MTT)

In the Republika Srpska, the record in the number of arrivals and overnight stays was broken in 2023 - 481,041 arrivals and more than one million overnight stays by tourists were achieved. When we talk about the structure of guests, almost 60% are the arrivals of foreign tourists and there is a noticeable increase in the number of participation of these tourists, which speaks in favor of the fact that promotional activities outside of Srpska are yielding results, said in an interview for eKapija, Minister of Trade and Tourism of the RS Denis Šulić.

- Of course, the majority of foreign tourists are still tourists from the countries of the region, but with a detailed look we can see that we have guests from all continents. And precisely because of these guests, we must work on a joint, regional, tourist offer, so that, for example, guests from Asia or America, who come for longer vacations, are offered facilities for the entire stay.

As he points out, this was exactly one of the topics of the discussions they had with their colleagues from the countries of the region as part of the International Tourism Fair in Belgrade, which took place at the end of February.

- The idea of such an offer has been present for several years, there is a will on all sides and I am sure that soon we will have some concrete steps and results of those talks - says Šulić for our portal.

eKapija: One of the most current news since the beginning of the year is that the Government of Republika Srpska sold state land in Jahorina to the company Drvo-export for 41 million KM (20.5 million EUR). Is this money planned to be invested in improving the infrastructure on the mountain? Is there still space on Jahorina for the expansion of the ski area and the construction of new facilities, or is there a new sale of state land planned?

- The RS government sold land with a total area of 56,405 square meters at the Vučiji Most location in Jahorina for more than 41.1 million KM. These are 12 parcels of land, which were previously recorded in the cadastre as forest land, and this land was not previously exploited or used for specific purposes. As Jahorina developed as a tourist destination, there was also an expansion of construction and improvement of facilities at this location, so we can all testify that Jahorina has been a large construction site for more than two or three years now.

The Government of RS realized this sale with the aim of economic development of Jahorina and the region, after we have estimated that it is possible to achieve the highest selling price of this land under the current circumstances, and the financial resources from the sale of the mentioned land will be paid into the Budget of the RS and will be spent in accordance with the Government`s decisions.

As for some new land sales, I must mention here that the regular activities of our ministry, in cooperation with the Republic Administration for Geodetic and Property Legal Affairs and the RS Attorney General`s Office, also include the procedures for completing plots, where the owners of larger plots have the option of buying additional land, of smaller square footage, in order to complete the plot in accordance with the regulatory plan. And if, in the future, land like the one that is the subject of your question is sold, the public will certainly be informed in a timely manner and the entire sale procedure will be public and transparent, just like in this case.

eKapija: The mentioned company plans to invest more than half a billion KM (250 million EUR) in the construction of a total of seven facilities - hotels, apart-hotels on about 80,000 m2, new tracks and gondolas, as well as the construction of sports grounds. Does Drvo-export have a conceptual design for this investment? Have you seen it?

- The company Drvo-export bought the land at an auction to which all interested parties could apply, and in this regard the Ministry of Trade and Tourism and the Government of the RS could not have been informed of the conceptual project for the investment beforehand, because it was not mandatory to submit it according to the public invitation for sale, ie bidding.

What I have to emphasize is that the land was sold in accordance with the current regulatory plan and that the investment will be realized in accordance with the regulatory plan adopted by the local community assembly. Also, the forest under which this land is now, will be cleared according to plan and in cooperation with JP Forests of the RS, to whose farm the forest assortments will belong. This is what we prescribed in the Decision and what will be an integral part of the contract for the sale of land, while the purpose for which the land will be used and the method by which the project will be implemented depends solely on the investor.

As I have already mentioned, Jahorina has developed into a regional tourist center and I am sure that the investor will not postpone the implementation of the project, but will decide to realize the investment as soon as possible.

eKapija: Speaking of ski centers, tell us how the construction of "Igrište" is developing? It was announced that the ski area will be ready for this season.

- The Jahorina Olympic Center started the investment process at "Igrište" and the first phase was completed last year. For the complete implementation of the project, it is necessary to resolve some other property-legal relations and to implement the project of the snowmaking system, the lake for accumulation and additional infrastructure, so that already this year in December we can have guaranteed conditions for skiing at "Igrište". Our plan is to influence the growth of economic activities in this region through the construction of this ski center, increase employment and economic development not only in Vlasenica, but in the entire region.

eKapija: The project of the "Klekovača" tourist center is again current. What are the potentials of this place? What is hindering the implementation of the investment?

- The Klekovača tourist center project was launched some 10 years ago, but a few years ago there was a halt in its realization due to objective reasons, namely the death of one of the investors. During 2022, activities on this project were started again and, in this connection, the Government of the RS passed a decision at a session held at the end of December 2022 declaring the geographical area within the scope of the Spatial Plan of the special purpose area of Klekovača, on the territory of the municipality of Petrovac, to be an air spa.

The air spa includes an area where there is a natural healing factor, i.e. air/climate with healing properties determined through studies by competent institutions, and where health care and disease prevention services are provided, as well as tourist infrastructure and superstructure facilities. We expect that in the coming period the activities on this project will be intensified and that, after long announcements, a health-tourism complex will spring up in Klekovača, which will not only attract domestic but also foreign guests and contribute to the revival and repopulation of the Klekovača area.

eKapija: Medical tourism is the branch of tourism that is developing the most in the entire world. It is known that we have good staff and the "old school" in medicine, and the services are up to four times cheaper compared to the EU. Does the ministry you lead have any long-term plans for improving this type of tourism?

- Health tourism, especially spa tourism, is one of the most promising types of tourism in Srpska, which is supported by statistical indicators according to which more than 30% of the total number of overnight stays in Srpska are overnight stays in spa centers. The Government of Republika Srpska recognized the potential of this type of tourism a few years ago by launching significant investment cycles in Banja Mlečanica and Banja Slatina, and investments in Banja Vilina vlas near Višegrad are also planned.

What pleases me is that, in addition to institutions, the potential for the development of this type of tourism has also been recognized by investors - so now we have visited tourist centers in Banja Kulaša, Terme Ozren, and Banja Lješljani near Novi Grad, as well as Banja Vrućica, which already for years it has been attracting tourists from the region, but also from Western Europe.

Just before the pandemic, in cooperation with the RS Chamber of Commerce, the health tourism cluster project was launched, which, unfortunately, was slowed down by all that the years of the pandemic brought.

Illustration (Photo: Shutterstock/Pressmaster)

Our plan is to, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Social Protection and Minister Alen Šeranić, initiate activities for the additional development of this type of tourism, based on good results in spa tourism. As you yourself stated in the question, the Republika Srpska has good and professional staff, and we can be more than competitive in terms of price, and we can use this advantage for the development of health tourism, such as dental, aesthetic surgery, ophthalmology and others.

eKapija: Active tourism has become increasingly popular recently. How much work is being done on its development?

- We have already mentioned that in the past years, significant investments were made in Jahorina, which positioned it on the map of winter tourism destinations, and thanks to the expansion of the offer, Jahorina "lives" throughout the year and attracts tourists even during the summer months. Here, we must not forget our national parks, which are especially interesting for lovers of nature and adrenaline sports. In the area of the Sarajevo-Romania region, special attention was paid to the development of this type of tourism, with the arrangement of footpaths, via ferrata and other facilities.

The offer that is perhaps the most tempting for fans of adrenaline tourism is rafting - both on Tara and Vrbas. In this sport, we have already hosted various international championships, which contributed to the promotion of our offer, and in the coming period we will pay special attention to regulations in this area - in order to ensure both high-quality and safe service to tourists.

eKapija: The Balkan Solar Summit, which is held in Banja Luka, is among the ten most important conferences on sustainable development in the world, and we know the importance of the Energy Summit in Trebinje, which is why the congress center is being built. Do you see our chance in developing congress tourism?

- The development of congress tourism is one of the types of tourism to which special attention is planned in the coming period. In order to develop this type of tourism, it is necessary, along with investments in the professional competence of organizers, the range of topics and sectors in which it is possible to hold conferences of domestic institutions and organizers from Srpska, to work on the development of accommodation and congress capacities of destinations in Srpska, as well as traffic/ infrastructural connection of the destination.

In this case, we currently have the advantage of having arguments to justify the intensification of the story on this topic, and these are all successful conferences that took place in Srpska and from which the participants have more than positive impressions. On several occasions, I even had the opportunity to hear that the organizers of certain congresses planned the Republic of Srpska as a destination for holding their meetings, but that they had given up due to lack of capacity. And that`s what we all have to work on together - both institutions and investors, who would invest in tourism infrastructure, through various models of cooperation.

eKapija: What major projects are current in the field of tourism at the moment? Is a construction of a hotel of more categories planned and in which cities?

- The activities of the Ministry of Trade and Tourism of the RS are currently, for the most part, focused on arranging the legislative framework, arranging the operations of entities in the field of tourism and hospitality, and creating a framework for a successful fight against the gray economy. There are, of course, promotional activities carried out by the Tourist Organization of the RS in order to increase the visibility and popularity of our country on the international market and increase the number of arrivals and overnight stays in Srpska.

We are also open to discussions with anyone interested in investing in tourism and tourist infrastructure, and I personally, as well as my colleagues in the Ministry of Trade and Tourism, are at the disposal of all investors who have the desire and intention to invest in accommodation facilities in Srpska as well.

Slobodana Šubara

Click here to see the entire Special Edition Newsletter

"Tourism and hospitality - Meeting new trends"

Tags:

Ministry of Trade and Tourism of the Republic of Srpska

Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Republic of Srpska

Government of the Republic of Srpska

Banja Vilina vlas Višegrad

Banja Kulaši

Terme Ozren

Banja Lješljani Novi Grad

Banja Vrućica

Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the RS

Trebinje Energy Summit

investments in Jahorina

tourists in the Republic of Srpska

number of tourists in the Republic of Srpska

number of overnight stays in the Republic of Srpska

hotel construction in the republic Srpska

special edition newsletter tourism

special edition newsletter

tourism and hospitality to meet new trends

Comments

Your comment

Naš izbor

Most Important News

| News

01.01.1970. | News

Full information is available only to commercial users-subscribers and it is necessary to log in.

Forgot your password? Click here HERE

For free test use, click HERE

Follow the news, tenders, grants, legal regulations and reports on our portal.

Registracija na eKapiji vam omogućava pristup potpunim informacijama i dnevnom biltenu

Naš dnevni ekonomski bilten će stizati na vašu mejl adresu krajem svakog radnog dana. Bilteni su personalizovani prema interesovanjima svakog korisnika zasebno, uz konsultacije sa našim ekspertima.