We communicate daily with partners and event organizers during the season. Our goal is to map events and include them in a single calendar as part of a project we named “Calendar of Bihać Summer Events”. This was said by Armin Amidžić, director of the Tourist Board of the City of Bihać, in an interview for Visit BiH Magazine.
How’s the Tourist Board of the City of Bihać preparing for the upcoming summer season?
-Through our activity #TurističnePričeTZBihac, we visit hoteliers and tourist workers on a weekly basis in order to acquaint them with planned activities, awaken a sense of community and listen to their views on development of our destination. The Tourist Board of the City of Bihać is rather new and young institution, so it is extremely important for us to gain trust through daily communication and connect the entire sector in the common vision of development of our destination.
What can all those who visit Bihać expect this summer?
-This summer brings a lot of interesting events in our city, and it seems to us that the cultural and entertainment content has never been more exciting. Moreover, in our desire for the summer to be fulfilled, we are preparing several open-air concerts as part of our #BihacSummerGigs concept that tend to become a tradition. Through such a music program we try to motivate local bands to meet them in certain, unconventional, locations in the city center when, according to the calendar, we have space to organize additional content to complete the overall summer experience for our visitors.
Will there be new manifestations and events compared to the previous period?
-This summer in Bihać will be exciting, with lots of music, dance, research, adrenaline, and adventure. We need to mention that the famous music producer and DJ, Mahmut Orhan, will perform as part of the Imperium Festival. Bihać will also, after last year’s Balkan Championships, host another important UCI C1 XCO mountain bike race this year, which also collects points for the Olympic Games. We continue with opening of the medieval town of Sokolac to visitors, and to popularize it, within its walls, this summer, visitors will be able to hear both the sounds of electronic music and the sounds of sevdah. In addition, there are motor races, equestrian races, festival of performing arts “Bihać Summer”, and a handful of other events that will contribute to the fact that we can rightly say that this will be the best summer ever in the City of Bihać.
You have introduced the procedure for paying the sojourn tax online, “usk.prijava.ba”. Have you already had any logins through this app and how does it work?
-Applications on “usk.prijava.ba” are becoming a mode of work and development. To our delight, through our communication strategies and with the support of the Ministry of Economy of Una-Sana Canton, we are reaching a better position compared to the past – when it comes to sojourn taxes and its benefits. Despite the evident development of tourism in the City of Bihać in the last 15 years, Bihać only recently got an institution in charge of tourism development with first employees, and since last year guaranteed income through payment of sojourn tax. We are facing challenging moments to create a self-sustaining system, given that the income from the sojourn tax alone is not enough, but we think commercially, and on our own initiative we became managers of a medieval city and through its development we plan to generate our own income. Thanks to a great team we regularly apply to various projects that multiply our work and resources.
The Una River is probably the most visited and most famous tourist destination in Bihać and the USC. Still, there are many more destinations worth visiting. Can you tell us what are those other unavoidable destinations?
-That’s right. The Una River is the main backbone of the right to think, be and live tourism. In addition to it, there are many other unavoidable destinations that are worth visiting within the city, but also the Una-Sana Canton. The medieval town of Sokolac, Ostrovica, Martin Brod and Štrbački Buk, the complex of the former Željava Military Airport, adventurous activities such as rafting on the Una or a romantic lunch on Una boats, kayaking, the medieval town of Ključ, the wooden mosque in Bužim, the town of Ostrožac near Cazin, the town of Velika Kladuša, Blihe Waterfall near Sanski Most, Bobijaško Oko, beautiful scenes in Bosanska Krupa, Otoci, Krušnica – a tributary of the Una, many other natural or cultural-historical sites that make our area rich and interesting. In addition, our people who unite natural beauties that have always been there with their hospitality. Wherever you go in or around Bihać, we can see many beautiful, interesting and exciting destinations.
When will the Una regatta be held this year and how many participants do you expect?
-Una-regatta, 48th in a row, awaits us this year from 27 to 30. July. After two years of hibernation, I believe that the Una-regatta will take it by storm this year and that everyone is looking forward to it. Everyone will, of course, as always, have the opportunity to enjoy one unique event, nature, sports and socialize. The strategy for development of the Una regatta is not mass, but the quality of the experience, and in accordance with that opinion, the organizer Una National Park will work this year to improve the experience, quality of camps, entertainment program and safety. A hundred boats will float the river, as every year, and there is no doubt about it. I suggest everyone to make a reservation on time, visit this year’s regatta and gain a completely different perception of BiH tourism.
