The tourist season in the Archaeological Park: The Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun was extremely successful, not only from an archaeological and scientific point of view, but also from a cultural, sports and musical point of view. Semir Osmanagić, director of the Archaeological Park Foundation: Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun, said this for Visit BiH magazine.
– This year we had the largest number of visitors to our festivals so far, especially in June. There were thousands and thousands of visitors. Park Ravne 2 has become a cultural oasis for the entire Balkans, people support us, they come to visit several times a season – said Osmanagić.
World attraction
According to him, in the archaeological sense, they were doing excavations, especially in the underground tunnels Ravne 3, Ravne 4 and Ravne 5. They are currently doing georadar tests where they are trying to determine the entrances to the pyramid and the new prehistoric tunnels that have become a world attraction.
– The volunteer season lasted from the beginning of June to the end of October and we had more than 100 volunteers from 20 countries around the world. We have maintained that tradition and hope to return to the numbers we had by 2019, i.e. around 500 volunteers per year. As for the number of tourists, the visit was at the level of last year, which means around 150,000. The political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the world was delicate, and if it wasn’t like that, we would have had an additional 100,000 visitors – said Osmanagić.
The Bosnian Valley of the Pyramids in Visoko has truly become a world attraction that attracts tourists from all over the world. The tourism potential is extremely large and requires significant support from all levels of government. The Archaeological Park Foundation: The Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun has been operating for 17 years and during this period, according to Osmanagić, they had significant cooperation with all levels of government.
Osmanagić especially emphasizes cooperation with the Government of Zenica-Doboj Canton, which was the first to grant research permits in 2006, and later with the Ministry of Spatial Planning, which approved archaeological, geological and geodetic, geothermal, satellite and other research. He says that they have been cooperating very well with the Ministry of Economy for years, and that they support all projects, especially the construction of tourist infrastructure.
How significant this cooperation is, is also shown by the fact that the total approved and paid funds for improvement of tourist infrastructure and offers at the Park Ravne site in the period from 2018 to 2022 are 338,848 BAM.
– In 2018, the Foundation Archaeological Park: Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun was granted the amount of 150,000 BAM for the project Improving the tourist infrastructure of the Ravne tourist complex. Moreover, Visoko Municipality was granted the amount of 140,000 BAM for reconstruction of the Ravne road. In 2019, the Foundation was granted 28,848 for the project of installing LED lighting in Ravne Park. This year BOSANSKE PIRAMIDE Ltd. Visoko received 20,000 for the project of building tennis courts in Park Ravne – they told us from the Government of Zenica-Doboj Canton.
Big plans
Osmanagić emphasized that this support is extremely important, and on this occasion he thanked the cantonal government, which recognizes the touristic importance of this locality.
– Can more be done? Of course it can, because this is a project of global importance that will attract hundreds of thousands of visitors in the coming years. Through additional activities such as tennis and tournaments in other sports, we hope to cooperate with the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Zenica-Doboj Canton – Osmanagić pointed out.
We also asked him what the Foundation’s plans are for the next tourist season. He says they have big plans.
– Our event “NBA Stars for Orphans” will grow into something more, into “Sports Stars for Orphans”. We will have basketball again in the park Ravne 2, but also tournaments in other sports, so we will prepare unforgettable events for about 500 children without parents. In this way, the Foundation continues to be socially responsible. We are also going to organize a tennis tournament with several world tennis stars. It will happen in July, right after Wimbledon. We are already arranging numerous concerts and festivals and we believe that next year will be even more successful in terms of tourism – said Osmanagić at the end.
