SWOT ANALYSIS OF THREE RIVER VALLEYS (THE UNA, NERETVA AND DRINA RIVER VALLEYS)
T
his SWOT analysis, taken from a study prepared by a working group, is a result of numerous research projects and workshops. As part of the research, working groups conducted an exercise whose aim was to evaluate, through discussions and analysis of indicators of the internal situation, the market competitiveness of the valleys (strengths and weaknesses) and their external surroundings (potentials and threats). The potentials prompted a decision that a special attention should be dedicated to the sectors that offer the most sold basis for the development of eco-tourism. The final synthesis of all the elements identified through the research and workshops, offered basic information about the issues that should in particular be targeted and the opportunities and risks of development of the eco-tourism and sustainable tourism, primarily the following ones:
Agriculture and food industry Agriculture is faced with many problems that have been identified, including insufficient subsidies, fragmented agricultural land, “brain drain” from rural areas, insufficient and non-specialist educational capacities, obsolete technology, feeble presence of government institutions, lack of modern technology and insufficient knowledge of marketing techniques for the promotion of locally grown products.
Tourism Despite the fact that the regions of all three river valley abounds in natural resources, tourism has failed to develop at a more significant pace. There are many issues that deserve attention and whose resolving would require serious investments and planning. Shortcomings observed during research of the three river valleys are as follows: polluted environment, mine-contamination, inadequate protection of natural assets, inadequate quality of roads and other infrastructural tourist facilities poor marketing and insufficient investments in tourism. Sustainable tourism in BiH through support to the concept of responsible tourism
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