AIRLINES: Sarajevo to be connected with 23 new destinations in the next two years

(Patria) - At a press conference held today in the Sarajevo Canton, new destinations with which Sarajevo will be directly connected by air routes were presented, aiming to further strengthen the tourist and economic potential of the Sarajevo Canton.

In the next two years, Sarajevo will be connected with Berlin, Hanover, Geneva, Dusseldorf, and Hamburg, as well as with the already existing destinations: Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Memmingen, Warsaw, Gothenburg, London, Brussels, Milan, Rome, Abu Dhabi, Thessaloniki, Antalya, Izmir, and with five new destinations by Ryanair, one of which is Stockholm, recently announced. These new routes are the result of incentive measures by the Government of Sarajevo Canton, the Ministry of Economy of KS, the Sarajevo Tourist Board, and Sarajevo International Airport, who are jointly working on improving Sarajevo's accessibility as an attractive tourist destination.

Zlatko Mijatović, Minister of Economy of Sarajevo Canton, Haris Fazlagić, President of the Sarajevo Canton Tourist Board, and Vedrana Vikić Musić, Director of the Airport Services Sector at Sarajevo International Airport, addressed the present media representatives.

Minister Mijatović emphasized the importance of introducing new air routes due to their impact on the economy and the development of all economic sectors.

„When we talk about the importance of introducing new direct routes for our canton's economy, it is important to emphasize that research has shown that a 10% increase in connectivity increases GDP per capita by 0.5%, and Sarajevo's connectivity has increased by 16% compared to 2023. It was also concluded that one euro invested in economic incentives returns 15 times. Motivated by such results, we as the Ministry of Economy of KS intend to continue supporting such projects and, together with our partners, work on improving conditions for the sustainable development of the tourism sector. Sarajevo Canton is open to new opportunities and investments, and I firmly believe that this is just the beginning of an even more successful period for our tourism and business community,“ stated Minister Mijatović on this occasion.

Director Vikić Musić announced the results of the Public Call, partially revealing the destinations.

„Sarajevo's ever-improving air connectivity with a large number of new and strategic destinations is the result of the strategic and proactive approach of the management of Sarajevo International Airport, as well as the dedicated work and commitment of all employees and supporting services. Sarajevo Canton, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole, are recording the best results to date in terms of tourist numbers, and at Sarajevo Airport, we have continuously broken records in the last two years, exceeding 1,500,000 passengers by the first half of October and counting down the last months of our already record year in terms of passenger numbers and air operations. Data for the first 10 months of 2024 confirm this: 1,587,583 passengers, 14,535 air operations, 33 airlines, 37 direct destinations.

We have successfully completed five public calls so far to promote air traffic in Sarajevo Canton, which have resulted in new companies and new destinations. The last and most successful public call for incentives in the period 2024-2026 attracted the largest number of airlines, as many as seven: Norwegian, Lot Polish Airlines, Ryanair, Wizz Air, Eurowings, Swiss, SunExpress, which will connect Sarajevo with 23 destinations in the next two years. These include eight completely new destinations from Sarajevo, with Ryanair planning to significantly expand its network by introducing as many as five additional strategic destinations,“ stated Director Vikić Musić.

On behalf of the Sarajevo Canton Tourist Board, President Fazlagić addressed the attendees, expressing satisfaction with the strengthening of the tourism sector in Sarajevo Canton and announcing the continuation of co-financing air traffic over the next two years.

“We are extremely pleased that we will connect our tourist destination with 23 cities, thus facilitating travel and certainly strengthening the tourism sector in Sarajevo Canton. The co-financing of air traffic so far has resulted in exceptionally positive outcomes in terms of increasing arrivals and overnight stays in Sarajevo Canton, and according to the latest statistics for ten months of this year, we are recording more tourist arrivals and overnight stays than in the entire year 2023, i.e., a 20% increase in tourist traffic. We are continuing the co-financing of air traffic over the next two years, expecting growth in tourist traffic, and one of our goals with the support of this program is to position Sarajevo as an extremely desirable tourist destination,“ said Fazlagić.