Sarajevo
Fresh Bosnian brew for business tourism
RAMY SALAMEH REPORTS ON SARAJEVO’S EMERGING MICE SECTOR THAT IS POWERING CHANGE
“Conferencing is a big opportunity here,”
says Martin Field, The British
Ambassador in Sarajevo, Bosnia &
Herzegovina (BiH). He was part of a
delegation invited on the inaugural
two-hour flight from London-Luton to
Sarajevo recently with national carrier
‘FlyBosnia’ – symbolic of the growing
links to the city.
The airline offers a
three-times-a-week service. Yet for
many, the name ‘Sarajevo’ conjures-up
TV images of a war-torn city also
famous as the place of assassination of
Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1914), an act
which precipitated the First World War.
More positive memories, maybe,
include the Sarajevo Olympic Winter
Games in 1984.
Now, a new wave of interest in
Sarajevo and BiH is centred on good
value for money and a vibrant culture
reflecting ‘east and west’ diversity.
The city is in the early stages of
realising its MICE potential; there is no
dedicated convention bureau or
stand-alone congress centre, but a
growing portfolio of hotel-based
conference facilities are at least indicative
of momentum in the nascent MICE
industry.
The Rotana Aparthotel recently
opened, offering intimate meeting spaces
and the uber-modern Swissotel Hotel, a
glistening high-rise at the Sarajevo City
Centre Mall (SCC), offers a dedicated
meetings level with a 400-capacity
Conference Hall.
The neighbouring Hotel Holiday
incorporates a Convention Hall able to
host 600 delegates.
The largest conference spaces in the
city belong to Hotel Hills Thermal Spa
& Resort, which has capacity for 1,500
and plans to expand to host 5,000 people.
It is also located near to the airport in
Ilidza and recently hosted the Global
Islamic Finance Awards.
Sarajevo hosted the global European
Bank of Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD) conference in May
2019, an event that drew 2,637
participants.
Local PCO ViaMedia organised a
cluster of buildings within the business
district to host the conference and Axel
Reiserer, a representative of EBRD,
commented: “We aimed for a campus
effect by using four different buildings
which were all located within walking
distance of each other: the Council of
Ministers’ Tower, the Parliamentary
Assembly Building, the Hotel Holiday
and the Swissotel.”
The EBRD’s Board of Governors held
its reception in the Austro-Hungarian-
era Town Hall, which re-opened in 2014
after restoration. It had been targeted by
shells in 1992 from the nearby Mt.
Trebevic. The summit is reached by a
cable-car that passes the Olympic
bobsledding track, now a relic in the pine
trees scarred by war and graffiti,
although there is still a fascinating
walking-trail back down the mountain.
Last year also saw the European
Youth Olympics in Sarajevo and its 2,000
participants.
The Olympic Games Museum, within
the old quarter of town, is one of many
special venues for hire. The Marriott
Courtyard’s multi-purpose meeting
spaces can be divided into ‘Torvill’,
‘Dean’ and ‘Bolero’ rooms, spreading
across 229sqm.
Dajana Zildzic, Head of Operations at
Pro-Optimus, a PCO based in Sarajevo,
helped organise 12 congresses last year,
although she acknowledges the need for a
dedicated convention centre in the city.
As far as incentives go, Zildzic said:
“We can do anything from quad-biking,
white-water rafting and skiing. One client
wanted to use a national monument (The
White Fort) for a gala dinner and I
sourced permission from the
municipality.”
There is also a twin-centre incentive
option incorporating Mostar, a city about
two hours’ drive or a scenic rail journey
away.
Visitors to Mostar can admire local
divers leaping off the rebuilt 16th
Century Ottoman bridge or cross the
Nretva River by zip-wire.
The Bosnian war created many
educational incentive options around the
city’s war-focused museums.
The Tunnel of Hope is a museum
preserving a 20-metre stretch of an
800-metre long underground passage,
which citizens dug to create a route from
the besieged city to the outside world.
From the famous symbol of Sarajevo
Sebilj (a kiosk-shaped fountain) one
walks in the shadows of minarets,
Orthodox-Christian domes, Catholic
Church Towers and Jewish Synagogues.
Within this compact bazaar-like
quarter, many of Sarajevo’s historical
sites can be found, amidst the signature
aromas of grilled Cevapi and strong
Bosnian coffee.
The MICE aroma is also brewing up
nicely, making it a destination to note.
Above: Old Town
of Sarajevo with
Gazi Husrev-beg
Mosque and red
tiled roofs of the
main bazaar
A new
wave of
interest in
Sarajevo and
BiH is centred
on good value
for money
and a vibrant
culture
reflecting ‘east
and west’
diversity.”
ISSUE 105
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CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD
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41