Muslim Friendly Tourism:
Developing and Marketing MFT Products and Services
In the OIC Member Countries
69
4.2 Bosnia
1. Type/Focus area for case study
Desk Case Study/ MFT Products and Services
2. Reasoning behind focus area choice
Bosnia has started attracting Muslim tourist from the Middle East in recent years. The Muslim
Bosnians constitute close to half of the population. Consequently, the country has a number of
Halal offerings targeting both domestic and international tourism. In 2015, the country has
attracted investments from Dubai-based developer Buroj Property amounting to $4.8 billion
to construct a luxury resort in Sarajevo.175
3. Background
Table 4: Bosnia - Tourism Figures
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 CAGR
Total Inbound Tourist
Arrivals (Mil)
0.54 0.59 0.65 0.71 0.78 0.86 0.95 10.00%
Total Inbound
Expenditure ($ Bil)
0.71 0.78 0.86 0.94 1.04 1.14 1.25 10.00%
Total Outbound
Expenditure ($ Bil)
0.17 0.17 0.19 0.21 0.23 0.25 0.28 8.84%
Muslim Tourist
Arrivals (Mil)
0.08 0.09 0.10 0.11 0.12 0.13 0.14 10.00%
Source: UNWTO; DinarStandard synthesis and analysis; Government Statistics.
Bosnia’s Muslim tourist arrivals have been estimated to grow by 10 percent CAGR from 90k
arrivals in 2015 to 140k arrivals in 2020. The CAGR reflects total inbound tourist arrivals and
total inbound expenditure, which is estimated to grow from 600k arrivals spending $780
million in 2015 to nearly 950k arrivals spending $1.25 billion in 2020.
Bosnia has the infrastructure and the potential to become a Muslim-friendly tourism
destination. In 2011, the Agency for Halal Quality Certification has collaborated with
CrescentRating to promote Halal-friendly tourism in Bosnia as well as other countries in
Southeast Europe. The have organized “roundtable” meetings with tourism providers to
promote MFT..176
175 “Dubai developer to build $4.8 billion tourist resort in Bosnia”
176 Pavlova, Iskra. “Uncharted Land.” The Sofia Echo. 11 Oct. 2011. Web.