The summer tourist season is coming to an end, and the Tourism Board of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (TZ HNK) is optimistic about this year’s results.

“What sets Herzegovina apart from typical coastal destinations is perhaps the length of the main season, the nice weather, the approachable people, and the hospitality. Year after year, we record a gradual increase in tourists from Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as international visitors, who regularly return because they feel a certain love for the entire Herzegovina region,” said Maslać.

“As for this summer’s main season, everything is going smoothly, and I think this could perhaps be the most successful season in our region in recent times, but we will comment on that at the very end of the year.”

Statistical data on the number of visits are not yet available.

The problem is the lack of an integrated visitor registration system, Maslać notes.

“I have to say that we are somehow establishing that system. Besides the cantonal tourism board, we have established tourism boards in Mostar, Čitluk, Neum, and Ravno, and three years ago the possibility of establishing tourism boards at the local level was reinstated. Now we are all working toward creating a system that will literally track every tourist’s movement, so we know where they come from, how long they stay, and their preferences when visiting Herzegovina. Unfortunately, until now we haven’t had accurate statistics, because there is a lot of a ‘grey zone.’ Many people were providing accommodation but were not registering guests in our program Prijava.ba, which is now being revived. What we have is not 100% accurate data, but we have to work with the statistics we have and act based on them.”

Tourists come to the Herzegovina region from all parts of the world.

“Tourists from neighboring countries, Croatia and Serbia, are the most numerous, but we also receive significant numbers of visitors from Turkey, Poland, France, Italy, and Slovenia, as well as from other countries in Central and Western Europe. I can confidently say that we are encouraged by the fact that the visitor profile is quite diverse. Recently, we have also seen tourists coming from distant parts of the world. I hope that the TZ HNK contributes to this, as we regularly participate in domestic, regional, and international tourism fairs, where we present the tourist offerings of our municipalities and cities to potential visitors,” says Maslać.

The Herzegovina region is a major tourist destination.

“We have three main ‘hotspots’: Mostar, Neum, and Međugorje, but I should also emphasize that our other municipalities and cities, such as Konjic, Čapljina, Jablanica, Stolac, and Ravno, are by no means lagging behind. Their progress is evident as they increasingly invest in tourism and attract visitors. Konjic has developed as a center for adventure tourism thanks to the Neretva River and surrounding mountains (outdoor tourism), Čapljina is increasingly visited due to the Hutovo Blato Nature Park, the Trebižat River, and Počitelj, Jablanica attracts nature and hiking enthusiasts, Stolac is rich in cultural and historical heritage, while Ravno is increasingly showcasing its potential through wine tourism and the unmissable Vjetrenica cave.”

Road and air connectivity for improving tourism

“I believe this is due to our improved road connectivity, but ultimately also better air connectivity, as we know that recently Mostar Airport has been recording an increasing number of flights and arrivals of foreign visitors. It seems they are expecting over 80,000 arrivals this year, which is not a small number—just a few years ago, they had only a few thousand. I think that the planned, continuous growth of all these segments is gradually contributing to higher tourist arrivals in our region,” says the Director of TZ HNK, Anđelko Maslać.

Tourism is one of the fastest-growing economic sectors in the world. The entire Herzegovina region has resources that can be further developed.

“Many of the innovations being implemented in this sector in our region open up the possibility that in the years to come, we will be able to compete with European tourist regions,” said Maslać.

Source of text and photos: Radio Konjic –https://radiokonjic.ba/maslac-tz-hnk-ovo-bi-mogla-biti-najuspjesnija-sezona-na-nasem-podrucju/