Following the successful completion of a Balkan Hotel Market Access Program, independent travellers exploring the Balkans can now research, plan and book their trips online through locally owned and operated travel websites.
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The Stari Most (Old Bridge) of Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina, spans the Neretva River. Originally built during the Ottoman era, it was destroyed during the Bosnian-Herzegovian War and then rebuilt according to the old design and using as much of the recovered original stone as possible. The bridge and surrounding historic neighbourhoods are now a World Heritage Site.
Situated in the southeastern Europe, the Balkans is fast becoming one of the most popular destinations for intrepid travellers. It’s a region of incredible untouched nature, delectable cuisines, rich historical lands begging for exploration and understanding, cool ocean breezes across golden sandy beaches, awe-inspiring mountain peaks dotted with centuries-old villages and genuinely friendly and smiling locals. The Balkans is also now quite a safe place to travel, so there’s no excuse not to visit this wonderful part of the world.
Bringing new Balkan travel experiences to visitors in the region has been one driving mission of the International Finance Corporation Advisory Services in Europe and Central Asia (IFC is a member of the World Bank Group), along with the WHL Group and local stakeholders. Working together since 2008 to develop tourism market readiness and infrastructure, these partners have, through a Balkan Hotel Market Access Program, succeeded in improving access to the region for independent travellers who prefer to book and pay for services online.
The project targeted eight destinations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania for which Web-based travel portals were developed. In each destination, a local operator was carefully selected to own and operate the website, with follow-up support in technical development and web marketing provided by whl.travel (part of the WHL Group). It was not all about building websites though; the hard work fell to the local stakeholders, who worked directly with small accommodation owners unfamiliar with new technologies and therefore more reliant on traditional marketing. Despite the obstacles, Sarajevo, Mostar and Medjugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Bay of Kotor, Budva and Podgorica in Montenegro; and Tirana and Shkoder and the Albanian Alps in Albania are now directly connected to the global e-marketplace.
A screen shot of the Tirana, Albania, website
After just one year of operation, the Web portals made possible by the Balkan Hotel Market Access Program had already generated over €105,000 for small accommodation and tour operators in the region. With over 150,000 unique visitors and some 620,000 page visits, the project had far exceeded expectations. The ongoing impact of the project is now also expected to be significant, having spurred commercial development in new destinations across Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia and further destinations in Albania.
“We managed to achieve all program objectives and the project has been recognized by the IFC management as successful and efficient with significant impact on regional tourism development,” praised Denis Mesihovic, IFC Program Coordinator. “The fact that the program revenue for the first year of the operations was three times higher that the program budget and expenses speaks for itself.”
This is no time to rest on one’s laurels though. “While giant strides have been made with the development of the region’s first online e-commerce enabled booking portals, there is still quite a bit of work that can be done at the product level,” said Zachary Rozga, CEO of WHL Consulting (also a WHL Group company), the entity that managed the project for IFC. “As with many new and emerging tourism destinations, targeted assistance needs to be delivered to the individual hotels, B&Bs and guesthouses on issues like pricing and commissions, digital content development and e-commerce distribution.”
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For more information about the Balkan Hotel Market Access Programme, please contact Luke Ford in the Europe office of whl.travel.
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Posted under Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, General, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, countries, media, responsible travel, whl.travel news, whl.travel newsletter
This post was written by editor on December 9, 2009
Be aware. There is a lot of Alqauida in Bosnia. Not in Mostar but in the north and middle of the country. Even Haris Silajdzic, the muslim member of the presidency was ineligible for visas or admission of the United States because of his radical islamistic views.
Dear Kate,
before leaving any comment you should reconsider your source of information, learn more about BiH and islam in Balkans. You will find surprising information. You’re always welcome to visit our beautiful contry!
Best regards.
Nina
It’s a shame people like Kate take these views without actually having any idea of what they’re talking about. A real problem in our world is the inability for people to accept people of different cultures, those like Kate just frustrate the situation even further.
I so agree with Nina and Luke’s comments.
Ignorance and lack of education sure are the cause of many conflicts.
If you can’t see the great job this agency is doing to promote something beautiful and undiscovered like Balkans than maybe you should not even make any comments.
Great job guys, keep up fantastic job and the rest of us will continue to promote all great things that those beautiful countries have to offer.
I have lived in Turkey for almost 10 years and have yet to have a Turkish person “target” me for anything other than a discussion over the invasion of Iraq. No argument there, I agree with the Turks, Iraq was a George Bush debacle. Turkey is over 95% Muslim but that covers things with a broad brush stroke. There are probably as many different types of “Muslims” as there are Christians around the world. Judge a person by the “content of their character.” I am sure the same can be said for the Balkan Muslims.
In response to Kates\’ post, I have been visiting the Balkans on holiday for 5 years and have lived in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina for nearly a year. The people are overwhelmingly welcoming and hospitable. I can rarely work out someone\’s ethic background without asking and I have never been asked about my religious beliefs by anyone other than close friends. I would say visit, explore, and enjoy this beautiful part of the world. It is truly magical.
There is a lot of everything in this world. It probably exists if you have thought about it.
We have deliberately decided to focus on that which is beautiful, uplifting, and exhilarating. There is so much beauty in our Balkan region. The endless old growth forests, rough Dinaric Alps, turquoise Adriatic, various unique religious & cultural traditions, the traditional architecture, the strong family circles of support etc. etc…
Now a days the media is full of negative images. This leads to just more hatred, fear and misunderstanding amongst ourselves. This article and project offers you an uplifting story about real people working together and achieving something extremely positive.
Our message is simple: The region is alive and amazing and we are working together to make these places a joy to visit.
We hope to see you soon.
Thierry
Great article, thanks for posting. The Balkans (not only the countries mentioned in this article) is the next big thing in emerging destinations.
And, please stop with political review on the Balkans, specially when you don’t know what you are talking about. Any Balkan country is 100 times safer then many of the US neighborhoods – from NYC to LA and from Miami to Chicago. You can walk on the street in the night much more safely in most parts of the Balkan cities and villages, as long as you don’t behave as an arrogant tourist or a neo-nazi.
Go, visit, see you by yourself – you will be rather delighted.
I have lived in Turkey for almost 10 years and have yet to have a Turkish person “target” me for anything other than a discussion over the invasion of Iraq.
Bowflex
Alqauida in Bosnia? IRA in Northern Ireland, Separatists in Spain, Algerian Fundamentalists in France… Don’t leave your home it’s not safe anywhere, just stay indoors and watch TV.
, the muslim member of the presidency was ineligible for visas or admission of the United States because of his radical islamistic views.