For the first time at the Mostar fair, cyclotourism was presented as a separate topic, at which the president of the HerzegovinaBike association, Toni Zorić presented all the activities that have been done in the past years, and the goals that are ahead of us. The panel discussion was organized by the West Herzegovina County Government Office for European Integration, and the participants of the round table Ivica Sivrić, Toni Zorić, Ivan Jurilj and Nedo Pinezić they presented the possibilities of developing cultural cycling routes in Herzegovina.
At the panel discussion, the President of the Government of the West Herzegovina County addressed the attendees Predrag Čović, in his opening address, highlighted not only the rich tourist offer of the County of West Herzegovina and Herzegovina, but also the rich cultural and historical heritage, which is being restored and put into tourist use through various projects, such as the tower of Herceg Stjepan Kosača and the Roman camp of Gračine in Ljubuško, Ravlić's cave in Drinovci next to Grud, the necropolis of stećak Ričina in Posušje, which was also declared a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition to the mentioned projects, the Government of West Herzegovina County has also created a strategic and legislative framework for the further development of tourism in the County. The Tourism Development Strategy was adopted, which is the basis for the projects that are being implemented and will be implemented in the future, as well as the Law on Tourism, which enables the further systematic development of tourism in the County, President Čović said.
Heregovina, as a southern-positioned and tourist-oriented part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is comprehensively developing an offer for the increasingly popular cycle tourism, which includes the networking of the entire Herzegovina through a network of cycling routes both at the local and state level. As part of several EU projects implemented by the association as a partner of the ŽZH Government Office for European Integration and the Regional Development Agency of Herzegovina (REDAH), more than 2,000 km of cycling trails have been identified, recorded and presented, while resting areas have been arranged in some of the more busy and prominent parts of cycling tourism. and viewpoints.
„This is the first time that HerzegovinaBike has presented its activities at a business fair and we are very happy and excited about it. We are happy that our work and efforts are noticeable and that we are going in the right direction. At the panel discussion, the question was where do we see ourselves in 10 years; I don't know exactly what the future holds for us, but if we continue to work at this pace, it is certain that we will do many good things and Herzegovina will be one of the most important cycle tourism destinations for guests from all over the world", commented briefly Toni Zorić.
The development and promotion of cycle tourism and nature-oriented tourism in rural areas and their integration into the tourist offer is one of the possibilities of improving our tourist offer, but also of revitalizing our rural areas with the aim of keeping people in these areas by increasing activities in order to create opportunities for additional income.
After the round table, a meeting with the media was held, where the guests were directly presented with what Herzegovina has to offer in terms of tourism, and it was possible to connect and network while socializing at the County's exhibition area.
The Mostar Business Fair was also visited by the Minister of Environment and Tourism of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nasiha Pozder with whom they are Stanislava Borovac and Toni Zorić in front of the association HerzegovinaBike and Ivan Jurilj held a meeting, introduced Minister Podzer with their activities and presented the upcoming ones Blidinje BIKE Festival.
The largest cycling festival in Bosnia and Herzegovina gathers professional athletes, recreationists, children and entire families in one place in the Nature Park for three days and offers plenty of active events that attract a very large number of participants. As part of this year's Blidinje BIKE Festival, there will also be educational workshops for new cycle tour guides, as well as workshops with the youngest participants and children on training methods and nutrition that they will lead. Amar Njemčević, husband and coach of our best cyclist Lejla Njemčević. It is important to add how it is Lejla Njemčević ambassador of this year's Blidinje BIKE Festival.
Minister Pozder was delighted with all the activities presented and promised that the HerzegovinaBike association will from now on carry out these activities with the support of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
It should be noted that the president of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mrs. Lidija Bradara which is a great recognition and we see it as an additional incentive and tailwind for our activities in the development of cycling and cycle tourism.
