ITB BERLIN FAIR: USAID SIGNS INNOVATIVE AGREEMENTS WITH EXPEDIA AND TRIPADVISOR

BERLIN, MARCH 14 (ONASA) – During the world’s largest travel fair ITB Berlin, the US Government, through USAID, launched new partnerships with the world-famous travel companies Expedia and Tripadvisor, so that these popular online platforms can be used for promotion rich and varied tourist offers of Bosnia and Herzegovina among contemporary travelers.
Cooperation with the companies Expedia and Tripadvisor are just two of the many new partnerships that USAID signed as part of the ITB Berlin fair with leading international tourism partners in areas such as joint regional promotion, improvement of gender equality in tourism, increasing the visibility of the country as well as brand promotion on different international markets.
From March 7 to 9, USAID’s Sustainable Tourism Development project in Bosnia and Herzegovina attended the ITB Berlin fair with a delegation of the leading tourist organizations in the country – Visit Sarajevo, the Tourist Organization of the Republika Srpska (in cooperation with Fortuna Travel) and the Tourist Cluster Herzegovina .
The delegation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the support of USAID, hosted the Bosnia and Herzegovina pavilion, further building the international tourism brand of BiH and presenting the country’s impressive natural, cultural and culinary heritage to more than 10.000 exhibitors and 100.000 visitors.
Another notable success for Bosnia and Herzegovina came in the form of two major awards for tourism films about Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Golden City Gate Tourism Multimedia Award: gold stars in the Country category for Robert Dacešin’s film Why Bosnia and Herzegovina can be the number 1 destination in the world?, and the City of Trebinje in the category City with the film A place for all generations.
“First and foremost, I want to thank you for receiving this award, which is one of the most prestigious in the tourism sector. I must express my sincere gratitude to the USAID team that contacted me with the idea of supporting the nomination of my video about Bosnia and Herzegovina for this award,” said Rober Dacešin, “but this is also an award for the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I sincerely believe that through fairs like this we can continue to convey a positive image of our people, and that small steps like this now can lead to big steps in the future.”
The delegation of Bosnia and Herzegovina held a big event on March 8, promoting the country in front of more than 100 representatives of the international media and world tour operators. Held in the BiH pavilion, the event “Bosnia and Herzegovina: A Journey through Sights and Tastes” helped further build the internationally recognized brand of BiH as an attractive and attractive year-round destination that offers world-class experiences.
During the manifestation, the Wine Road of Herzegovina, revitalized with the support of the US Government, presented a new website (http://hwr.ba) that will help in promotion, as well as additional connection of its wineries, hotels, restaurants and activities with potential international visitors. Selected local wines from Škegro winery, Carska Vina Grgo Vasilj, Andrija i Nuić, Puđa Livno cheese and other local food were also presented at the event.
“We are proud to have supported this very successful performance of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the world’s leading travel fair,” said the head of the USAID/BiH Economic Development Office, Karl Wurster.
“The great interest in the Bosnia and Herzegovina pavilion shows what the country can achieve when its leading actors work together. The US government will continue to support the private sector in leading the growth and development of tourism, including positioning Bosnia and Herzegovina as one of the most dynamic and attractive tourist destinations at the international level, with the goal of increasing the number of visitors, reducing seasonality and increasing value.”