TOURISTS ON THE RISE: CITY ON THE VRBAS SETS ANOTHER RECORD

Banjaluka continues its upward trend in tourism, as the largest city of Republika Srpska welcomed 109,559 visitors in the first ten months of this year — an 8 percent increase compared to the same period last year, when 101,457 arrivals were recorded.

Milada Šukalo, project manager for the City of Banjaluka, emphasized that the city administration has worked diligently on organizing numerous events, adding that the largest influx of tourists is expected in the final days of the year.

“This is truly one of the best tourist seasons Banjaluka has ever had. It is not at all pretentious to say that we expected these results, because we know how much effort we invested in numerous city events. We are recording a constant rise in both arrivals and overnight stays, which is the strongest confirmation that our city is becoming one of the most attractive and desirable destinations in the region. Banjaluka invests heavily in promotion, in improving its overall tourism offering throughout the entire year, as well as in creating content that attracts both domestic and foreign guests. All these results show that we are on the right path,” Šukalo said.

In the first ten months of this year, the city registered 168,758 overnight stays — an increase of 9 percent compared to 2024, when a total of 155,009 overnight stays were recorded.

These figures are expected to grow further once the overnight stays in apartments, rental rooms, holiday homes and rural tourism facilities are added, as their official records have been kept since January 1 of this year.

The holiday season will bring an additional boost, with a rich festive program ahead. At the end of November, the city opened its “Zimzobal” winter market in Peter Kočić Park, which will run until January 5, 2026. The winter market will feature more than 300 hours of cultural and artistic programming and over one hundred individual events.