Conference in Mostar: Connecting with French Avignon to Sustainable Tourism

‘’Challenges and Solutions – Transfer of Good Practices’’ is the title of the conference that was held on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, organized by the Tourist Board of the City of Mostar and in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of France in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the French Institute in BiH, in the City Hall of the City of Mostar.

The conference brought together experts from various fields who discussed the current challenges facing society, the tourism sector and the environment, and exchanged examples of good practice and concrete solutions.

‘’We want to create guidelines that will help Mostar position tourist boards in BiH, for a smart strategy and how to make Mostar a sustainable tourist destination, and I also believe that our guests from France will be able to take some good practices from Mostar. Among other things, the focus is on how much CO2 footprint can be harmful when it comes to tourism, so large numbers of tourists come, and this certainly damages nature and certainly leaves a mark on the monuments that are visited, so we have to take care of’’, emphasized the Director of the Tourist Board of the City of Mostar, Elvira Ćemalović, adding that this conference is just a continuation of the good cooperation that Mostar has with the French Embassy in BiH.

Loé Lagrange, Director of the French Institute in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Advisor for Cooperation and Culture of the Embassy of France, referred to the similarities between the French city of Avignon and Mostar and the importance of exchanging experiences for mutual benefit.

“As everyone knows, France is a tourist country, and BiH also has great potential. Mostar has challenges that are similar to those in Avignon in France, and that is why we decided to have opportunities for exchanging experiences between these two cities. These are small cities that need to attract tourists in parallel and do everything to ensure that tourism remains sustainable and that tourism does not go against the interests of the residents. There are many similarities between these two cities, the climate is similar, Mediterranean vegetation, cultural and historical heritage and I think that because of that, a lot can be done together,” said Director Lagrange.

Almir Peštek, a professor at the Faculty of Economics in Sarajevo, also spoke about the importance of sustainable tourism and shifting the focus of tourism development from economic goals to social and environmental ones.

‘‘The terrible price increases at tourist destinations are symptoms of the problem we are facing, which is that we are not managing tourism as a system. An increased number of tourists is a good thing for local communities in terms of employment and income generation, but on the other hand, tourism has many negative effects, especially on society and the environment,’’ said Peštek, adding that the time has come to start thinking about tourism as a system and to establish organizations that will lead to satisfaction in the long term.

Lectures within the scope of this conference were also given by Philippe Bonfiglio, Marc Simelière and Marija Vukoja.

After the official part of the conference, the event was symbolically concluded by planting an olive tree in the courtyard of the City Hall – as a message of peace, cooperation and sustainability, while the Tourist Board organized more than 20 saplings in the area of ​​the city of Mostar the day before.