KONGRES MAGAZINE MAY ISSUE

Page 37

Kongres meetologue

Destination grade: Recommendable Meetings Destination

3.36

Grades: 5 excellent meetings destination 4 quality meetings destination 3 recommendable meetings destination 2 average meetings destination 1 so so

Individual grades: A. Natural and cultural factors

4.2

Comparison to the Region: The brand ‘Sarajevo’ is one of the strongest trademarks in the region. It gets its character from the dramatic juncture between East and West. In the meetings industry the brand and destination are completely unexploited despite their immense potential. With proper positioning and investments in the meetings industry Sarajevo can quickly catch up with other destinations in the region. A special asset for the development of the meetings industry is the attitude of the people of Sarajevo, who are known for their humour, tolerance and understanding.

Sarajevo is known for its incredible countryside spiced with historical, social and cultural attractiveness. Due to the recent history Sarajevo is one of the more exciting cities in the region. The negative aspect is the attitude towards the environment and the general state of the environment and architecture, a consequence of the war in the nineties. In Sarajevo, geography intertwines with chemistry.

Cool meetings: Sarajevo burek (only with meat), Bosnian pies and ćevapčići at Baščaršija rule! The Bosnian black coffee goes great with baklava, urmašice, tulumba and ratlukom. We grew up with Sarajevan music: Bijelo Dugme, Crvena Jabuka, Plavi orkestar as well as Kemal Monteno, Zdravko Čolić, Dino Merlin and sevdah. Even the culinary offer and multi-ethnic – cultural and national – Olympic spirit are a part of the congress Sarajevo from our past.

B. General and transport infrastructure

More on SARAJEVO on www.kongres-magazine.eu

3.2

The general infrastructure and traffic infrastructure of Sarajevo is average, with huge investments needed in some areas to help Sarajevo catch up with developed congress destinations. This is especially the case with road and air access and public transportation. C. Tourism infrastructure

3.2

The tourism infrastructure of Sarajevo is gradually picking up and rejuvenating, however everything is happening independently and without a clear and coherent strategy. The biggest attribute of their current offer are that numerous cafes, restaurants, čevabdžinice and bars Sarajevo is famous for. Tourist development is slowly followed by the tourist “superstructure”, such as information centres and support services. D. Congress infrastructure

2.8

The weakest part of the offer is the congress infrastructure – first and foremost the lack of a convention bureau rounding up the offer and the fact that Sarajevo lacks a mid-sized convention centre. Other congress infrastructure is at best average. E. Subjective assessment

3.4

The biggest asset of Sarajevo is the hospitality of the locals and a good balance between price and quality. In the area of political stability, safety and competitiveness, Sarajevo is an average destination. To be on the way towards becoming a developed congress destination, the attitude towards the meetings industry will have to change.

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