In the last few years, Saudi tourists have shown great interest in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Numerous countries, from Spain through Switzerland to Albania, are making great efforts to promote their tourism potential and are fighting for every tourist from Saudi Arabia. Bosnia and Herzegovina does not have such capacity for its own promotion, but still the best advertisement we have are the experiences of those who were in B&H and who gladly return to it every time urging their friends and acquaintances to join them, said Ambassador of B&H in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Muhamed Jusić in an interview with FENA.
According to him, a serious obstacle to the arrival of a larger number of tourists is the demanding visa regime, because every potential tourist must come to the embassy for an interview.
-Saudi Arabia is a huge country and it is too complicated for many families. That is why more and more of them decide to travel to B&H with the visas of the Schengen countries, which they can get easier and faster than the B&H visa- said Ambassador Jusić.
He expressed hope that "the initiative of the association of workers in the tourism and hotel sector from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina, which demanded that Saudi Arabia, as has already been done for all other Gulf countries, abolish visas, or at least abolish suspends the visa regime during the tourist season".
-This would bring us a quick financial injection into the worst affected sectors of the economy from March, when the permission of the citizens of Saudi Arabia to travel abroad after several months of ban due to the Covid-19 pandemic is expected. I hope that there will be a hearing from the authorities for such a decision, that it will not be politicized and that we will not miss this opportunity- Ambassador Jusić emphasized.
It should be noted that Saudi Arabia is a member of the G20 and one of the world's largest economies, and that the largest companies and countries are vying for its market.
-They are among the most potent investors in the world and many countries, especially Europe and North America, are making serious efforts to attract investors. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is very difficult for our companies to compete with these "world players", so it is very important that our performance is serious and based on realistic possibilities. What Bosnia certainly has is a "soft power" that rests on the incredible friendship of citizens, business people and even people in power, and especially King Salman, who through his entire social and political engagement was especially attached to B&H. But we cannot base everything on the sympathies that these people have towards us, especially not when we talk about exports, investments and business relations,” said Jusić, commenting on the possibilities of cooperation between B&H and Saudi Arabia.
Speaking about the current situation in Saudi Arabia and its response to the coronavirus pandemic, Ambassador Jusić points out that "Saudi Arabia has been declared the sixth country in the world, and the first among the Gulf countries in its response to the Covid-19 pandemic."
-A little over a month ago, the competent authorities in the Kingdom declared that they have a pandemic under control on their territory. Now the state is working rapidly to repair the consequences that the pandemic has left on the economy. We are working on reducing the budget deficit, encouraging citizens to invest in the domestic and world economy and the gradual return of the visits to Mecca and Medina. Here, vaccination is largely underway and the whole process takes place using digital technologies. In any case, everything indicates a gradual and careful return to normal flows- said Ambassador Jusić for FENA.