The City of Sarajevo and the USAID-Sida FIRMA Project signed a cooperation agreement in the Sarajevo City Hall Building on January 21, confirming their readiness to collaborate on the development and promotion of Sarajevo as a tourist destination.

The agreement was signed by Alija Behmen, Mayor of Sarajevo, and David King, Chief of Party of the USAID-Sida FIRMA Project.

“Our common objective is further development of the BiH tourism industry, which we consider one of the key factors for the future development of this country in general. Sarajevo represents a unique and rare destination for tourists, and we must do our best to bring them here”, said Behmen.

Under the agreement, signing parties will start identifying areas of joint collaboration to address obstacles to competitiveness in the BiH tourism sector, with a particular focus on developing the capacities and offer of Sarajevo as a city-break and cultural tourism destination.

"The City of Sarajevo and the USAID-Sida FIRMA Project both recognize Sarajevo as an ideal setting for developing cultural and city-break tourism and improving the BiH tourism offer overall, and we share common goals for developing and promoting the City as a prime tourist destination," Mr. King said.

USAID analysis preceding the USAID-Sida FIRMA Project showed that Bosnia and Herzegovina has strong potential for developing a robust tourism sector, particularly in the areas of cultural-historical, city-break and outdoor tourism. The rich cultural heritage of BiH provides fertile ground for augmenting the existing offer. And considering the busy, modern lifestyle, city-break tourism -- which includes short excursions or long weekends in the city -- has considerable growth potential, too.

The formal partnership stems from previous joint activities of the City of Sarajevo and FIRMA, including promotion of Sarajevo as a “City Break Destination“ at the Weekend Media Festival in Rovinj, in September 2010, and promotion of the Sarajevo region in the candidacy process for the European Winter Olympic Youth Festival, in November 2010.

"Through this cooperation agreement, FIRMA and the City of Sarajevo seek to more effectively leverage each other's respective strengths, experience, methodologies and resources in order to pursue our joint objective: to increase growth, employment and exports in the tourism sector," Mr. King said.

In accordance with this agreement and in order to accomplish their goals, the parties will work together with FIRMA’s tourism sector coordinators, Sarajevo Navigator and the Citizens’ Association Zona - Baščaršija [Business Improvement District - Baščaršija].

The USAID-Sida FIRMA Project is a five-year project to support sustainable economic growth, employment expansion and increased household incomes in Bosnia & Herzegovina, with a focus on three sectors of the economy – wood processing, tourism and metal processing.

Its work in the tourism sector focuses on three value chains: outdoor tourism, cultural/historical tourism and "City Break” tourism.

To ensure sustainability and effectiveness, the FIRMA Project work with and through a network of local partners known as the FIRMA Consortium -- which includes tourism coordinators Bascarsija ZUP, Sarajevo Navigator, REDAH and Green Tour (Banja Luka) -- to enhance tourism products, expand global connections, improve the regulatory environment and develop the BiH tourism workforce.