page_title: Tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina
section_title: Sarajevo
hierarchical_section_title: Tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina / Regions & cities / Sarajevo
caption_attribution_description: A picture of Baščaršija in 2006
context_page_description: Tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a fast-growing sector making up an important part in the economy of the country. The tourist business environment is constantly developing with an increasingly active tourism promotional system.
  Tourist arrivals grew by an average of 24% annually from 1995 to 2000. The European region's solid growth in arrivals in 2007 was due in significant part to Southern and Mediterranean Europe's strong performance.
  In particular, Bosnia and Herzegovina were among the stronger players with a growth of 20%. In 2013, the World Economic Forum reported in its Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report that Bosnia and Herzegovina was the world's eighth friendliest nation towards tourists.
  In 2015, Bosnia and Herzegovina surpassed 1 million arrivals and continued the growth in 2016 recording 1.148.530 arrivals combined with 2.376.743 overnight stay. 67,6% of the tourist arrivals and 69% of the overnight stays came from foreign countries. According to an estimate of the World Tourism Organization, Bosnia and Herzegovina will have the third highest tourism growth rate in the world between 1995 and 2020.
context_section_description: The capital city Sarajevo is known for its traditional religious diversity, with adherents of Islam, Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Judaism coexisting there for centuries. Due to this long and rich history of religious diversity, Sarajevo has often been called the "Jerusalem of Europe"
  Sarajevo has a strong tourist industry and was named by Lonely Planet one of the top 50 "Best City in the World" in 2006. Sports-related tourism uses the legacy facilities of the 1984 Winter Olympics, especially the skiing facilities on the nearby mountains of Bjelašnica, Igman, Jahorina, Trebević, and Treskavica. Sarajevo's 600 years of history, influenced by both Western and Eastern empires, is also a strong tourist attraction. Sarajevo has hosted travellers for centuries, because it was an important trading center during the Ottoman and Austria-Hungarian empires. Examples of popular destinations in Sarajevo include the Vrelo Bosne park with Roman thermal springs, the Sarajevo cathedral, the Gazi Husrev-beg's Mosque and old town of Sarajevo; Baščaršija. Tourism in Sarajevo is chiefly focused on historical, religious, and cultural aspects.
  The city is rich in museums, including the Museum of Sarajevo, the Ars Aevi Museum of Contemporary Art, Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, The Museum of Literature and Theatre Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina (established in 1888) home to the Sarajevo Haggadah, an illuminated manuscript and the oldest Sephardic Jewish document in the world issued in Barcelona around 1350, containing the traditional Jewish Haggadah, is held at the museum.
  The city also hosts the National theatre of Bosnia and Herzegovina, established in 1919, as well as the Sarajevo Youth Theatre. Other cultural institutions include the Center for Sarajevo Culture, Sarajevo City Library, Art Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Bosniak Institute, a privately owned library and art collection focusing on Bosniak history.
  The Sarajevo Film Festival, established in 1995, has become the premier film festival in the Balkans. The Sarajevo Winter Festival, Sarajevo Jazz Festival and Sarajevo International Music Festival are well-known, as is the Baščaršija Nights festival, a month-long showcase of local culture, music, and dance.
  The Sarajevo Film Festival has been hosted at the National Theater, with screenings at the Open-air theater Metalac and the Bosnian Cultural Center, all located in downtown Sarajevo and has hosted such world-renowned actors, directors, and musicians as: Robert De Niro, Steve Buscemi, Bono, Coolio, John Malkovich, Morgan Freeman, Nick Nolte, Daniel Craig, Willem Dafoe, Anthony Minghella, Katrin Cartlidge, Alexander Payne, Sophie Okonedo, Stephen Frears, Michael Moore, Darren Aronofsky, Mickey Rourke, Gillian Anderson, Kevin Spacey, and many other major cultural figures from the Balkans, Europe, and the Americas.
  In the past thirteen years, the festival has entertained people and celebrities alike, elevating it to an international level. The first incarnation of the Sarajevo Film Festival was hosted in still-warring Sarajevo in 1995, and has now progressed into being the biggest and most significant festival in South-Eastern Europe. A talent campus is also held during the duration of the festival, with numerous world-renowned lecturers speaking on behalf of world cinematography and holding workshops for film students from across South-Eastern Europe.
  The Sarajevo Jazz Festival has been entertaining Jazz connoisseurs for over ten years and has hosted such artists as Richard Bona, The John Butler Trio, Cristina Branco, Dhafer Youssef, and many more. The festival takes place at the Bosnian Cultural Center (aka "Main Stage"), just down the street from the SFF, at the Sarajevo Youth Stage Theater (aka "Strange Fruits Stage"), at the Dom Vojske Federacije (aka "Solo Stage"), and at the CDA (aka "Groove Stage").
  •  List of shopping malls in Sarajevo
caption: Old town Baščaršija
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