Bosnia and Herzegovina can earn millions annually from religious tourism

The Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina will officially address religious tourism in our country for the first time today, reports the BH News Agency Patria.

Namely, Gazi Husrev-beg's Waqf is organizing the first round table on religious tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina today, titled "Religious Tourism, Perspectives and Opportunities of the Islamic Community".

Dženan Kaljanac, secretary of Gazi Husrev-beg's Waqf, told the Patria agency that Bosnia and Herzegovina can earn millions of convertible marks annually from religious tourism.

- Last year, around 20,000 tourists entered the Emperor's Mosque alone, and about 100,000 tourists visited the mosque's courtyard. Of course, these are the figures we managed to record; the number of tourists must be far greater - says Kaljanac.

- Religious tourism holds a significant place in global tourism. Countries like the Vatican, Italy, Jordan, and others attract thousands of tourists annually based on religious tourism, thereby generating a double benefit for religious communities: promotion of religion, dogma, and ideas they represent, as well as material income - he adds.

- Međugorje in BiH, Kaljanac explains, is one of the most famous tourist destinations of this type in the world, and the Catholic Church in BiH, regardless of the controversies surrounding pilgrimages to this place, benefits in multiple ways.

- The Islamic Community in BiH, apart from establishing a Museum in Gazi Husrev-beg's Waqf in Sarajevo and charging for visits to mosques in Mostar, has unfortunately not yet offered a religious tourism program to the domestic or foreign public, and there are almost no informational materials about the Islamic Community, Muslims, and their cultural-civilizational heritage in our country - warns Kaljanac.

And our country, he says, has much to offer tourists from the Islamic world, from religious buildings that are often several hundred years old to religious-cultural events like Ajvatovica or the prayer at Karići.

- After today's round table, conclusions should be known regarding the direction the religious tourism development strategy in our country should take, said Kaljanac, writes Patria.