The Balkans has shed its negative image and is emerging as a tourism hotspot.
New operators are starting to feature Balkan tours, including Cox and Kings, which has introduced city breaks to Sarajevo following a one-off tour led by Martin Bell last year.
One of the longest standing operators to the region, Balkans Holidays, insists that the future is bright. Sales and marketing manager Chris Rand said: “Today the Balkans has a positive reputation. Many holidaymakers have been to the Western Med so it doesn’t hold any mystery, whereas the Balkans does.”
So where are the Balkans? The states lie between the Black Sea to the east, the Adriatic to the west, and the Mediterranean to the south.
The northern border is somewhat more ambiguous – Slovenia is often regarded as Central Europe rather than the Balkans. Yet it still pops up in brochures next to Croatia, largely because it was also part of the former Yugoslavia.
Technically, the Balkan states consist of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and, historically, Greece.
The region is named after the Balkan Mountains, which run through the centre of Bulgaria and eastern Serbia. But the name has since evolved from its geographical meaning, and centuries of conflict have left some countries eager to define their own identities and shake off the name ‘Balkans’.
Croatian National Tourist Office director Josip Lozic said: “The term Balkans is unhelpful to travel agents. It was used by the media when reporting on the war, but that was back in 1995.”
Croatia is leading the way in Balkan tourism – it was visited by more than 270,000 British tourists in 2007. Following Croatia, Bulgaria’s burgeoning tourist industry is one of its main incomes; Cosmos has reported a 54% year-on-year increase in packages, while adventure tour operator Explore says walking tours are up 60% since 2006.
Financial assistance from external grants is helping the Balkans – Belgrade has received extra investment for hosting this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. This, combined with direct daily flights from the UK, will help put Serbia on the map.
Investment in airports by Montenegro and Albania has led to regular direct flights from London. British Airways and easyJet fly daily to Bucharest – one reason for Romania’s 31% increase in tourism in 2007.
Visitor numbers Bosnia-Herzegovina were also up 16.5% in 2007, but Macedonia has got off to a much slower start, because there are no direct flights from the UK.
Rivalling Croatia’s busy resorts are the historic coastal towns and secluded Adriatic beaches of Montenegro and Albania. Holiday Options director of sales and marketing Rupert Diggins said: “Interest continues to grow for Montenegro as agents have a new, unspoilt destination to sell on the Adriatic, which offers value for money and is just a short flight away.”
Holidays in the Balkans might be a new sell for you – and there are a lot of different countries to remember – but get your head around it now and you’ll be an expert in no time.
