Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajić has opened today a regional conference “Region for tourism, tourism for the region” saying that the political stability is the basic prerequisite for establishing a joint touristic offer of the countries in the region.
Mr Ljajić has reminded that the Balkans and the region, apart from the populism and nationalism also has tourism, which has remained the only sector which, as the last of the Mohicans, is struggling for a normality in the region.
“The thing with tourism is that it has full consent of all of the countries and the interest is to improve the cooperation. In the past it seemed it could be sport and culture, but it turned out it was difficult”, Minister has said.
He has stressed that the basic conditions for a tourist to visit one of the countries are safety, policy of stability and image.
“The precondition is a full political stability and the best relations in the region. This should be a zone of peace and stability, not a zone of potential conflicts”, Mr Ljajić has stated.
In his speech, the Minister has also mentioned several potential innovative markets we should be focusing on in the future, such as China, Japan, South Korea, Iran, USA, Australia and Canada. As he has stated, China is becoming a significant market for us bearing in mind the fact of visa-free regime for tourists and citizens of China, and this year we expect opening of direct flights from Belgrade to China.
“When it comes to distant touristic destination, only a joint touristic product and joint promotion can serve us to attract tourists, and we believe that there is willingness of the countries in the region to enter this project, which would benefit their economies”, Mr Ljajić has concluded.
A Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Mladen Ivanić has said in his speech that it is difficult to build trust based on what happened in the past, since each side believes to be the victim and thus blames others.
He has said that willingness to work together in tourism exists, and that he himself, regardless of political clashes and tensions, can’t see a reason against that cooperation.
Mr Ivanić has said that the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbian Government have made a huge step forward in the field of tourism, and that tour operators have organised for tourists from Turkey also visits to Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“We are all equally small to be attractive, but together we can offer a lot, and I believe that this is a hope of this industry for the time to come”, Mr Ivanić has said.
The regional conference “Region for tourism, tourism for the region” has been organised by the regional portal “Business plus” in cooperation with the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications.
