Hoteliers to protest in front of Council of Ministers building tomorrow: Businessmen also ready to pay 800,000 KM to the Budget

(Patria) - Amir Hadžić, president of the Association of Hoteliers and Restaurateurs in BiH confirmed for Patria that a peaceful gathering of hoteliers will be held tomorrow, June 8, in front of the BiH institutions building due to the decision of the BiH Council of Ministers not to grant visa facilitation for citizens of the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Saudi Arabia, but also due to the decision that foreign citizens must still have a PCR test.

"This will draw attention to the shameful decision of the Council of Ministers, which is more political in nature. We will see if our message will be taken seriously," said Hadžić.

We remind you that the Decision was rejected because ministers from the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ BiH) did not vote for it.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH has repeatedly emphasized that the abolition of the visa regime would significantly contribute to the development of tourism in the country, especially in a period when the tourism sector has been damaged due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"This is precisely the point. I must thank the Minister of Economy of Sarajevo Canton, who offered 800,000 KM for the alleged damage to the BiH Budget due to fees, and I must say that businessmen are also ready to pay those 800,000 KM, considering that much more will be earned. This decision of the Council of Ministers is incomprehensible, especially from the aspect that it is political," emphasized Hadžić.

According to data from the BiH Agency for Statistics, with nearly 66,000 tourists, Saudi Arabia was ranked sixth in 2019 among countries from which the most visitors come to BiH. In terms of overnight stays, with around 158,000 overnight stays, tourists from Saudi Arabia ranked third, immediately after Croatia and Serbia.

This number accounts for more than six percent of the total number of overnight stays realized by foreign tourists in BiH that year.
According to data from the BiH Foreign Trade Chamber, tourism revenues in 2019 amounted to approximately 350 million convertible marks (175 million euros).