Example: Service with vision
There are two approaches to service in tourism, where I would put the emphasis less on business models and more on the philosophy of experience.
One example could be, say, Cappadocia and a balloon flight.
From the experience of those who have been there, it is a carefully designed experience in which many people take part. From the drivers who pick you up at dawn, the guides who bring you into the story, the photographers who know exactly when to catch the shot, to the teams who take care of safety and balloon preparation, and the hosts who greet you with breakfast and a smile. Everyone has a role. Everyone earns. Everyone contributes.
In that chain, every person is a link of value.
And then you have those other examples, where one provider wants to do everything alone. Drive, greet, photograph, guide, offer lunch, sell souvenirs, and even do negative advertising against others. Everything under their logo, everything under their direction.
Those are diametrically opposite approaches. And as much as I respect resourcefulness, I respect trust more. I respect it more when someone says, let's all earn together.
Tourism is not a solo business.
When, even in one experience, however short, space is left for everyone who made it possible to earn, then we are talking about a sustainable offer. Then tourism is what hosts live, not only what guests see.
Also, when we offer a service in tourism, it must come with a vision of the tourist's final feeling. Because tourism is a process, continuity, and trust.
And why service with vision?
Because tourism is not only about what we offer, but about how we do it. Ideas can be small or large in size, but tourists value and count most on those that are large in the feeling they bring.
Maybe the second example from the beginning of the text reminds you more of the "rules of work" here, but not everything is like that. There are ideas that simply deserve praise because they make a stay more practical.
One of them is a creative offer that appeared on Tara rafting: "photos that are ready and waiting for you before you have even collected yourself after the impressions".
No rush. No complications and no question of "is there one where I look good?"
Everything is already ready.
It is enough to know when you will go down the river, which camp you are starting from, and with which skipper, and your most exciting moments will be waiting for you, because someone else captured what you will only later try to tell in words. This is the kind of detail from the beginning of the text that makes the difference. I love them.
And that is why, as far as I am concerned, bravo for the idea of "rafting photos". Not because of marketing, but because of the feeling that you have truly understood the people who come.
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Derventa - the town that waited to be noticed
I had never been to Derventa before. I admit, nothing in particular was pulling me there. But over the last year I started noticing something I would call an invisible invitation. A picture, then a video, then another photograph, and all of it suggested that something worth seeing was happening there. When you tell someone you are going to Derventa “as a tourist”, they greet you with mild surprise, and that someone, as a rule, has no idea what the town looks like today. We decided to check for ourselves. One of the roundabouts From Banja Luka the drive takes about an hour. Right at the entrance to town you are met by a handsome, thematically designed roundabout — and not only that one. Almost all of them in the town are conceived in an interesting way: a pan on the scales, scissors… suggestions of the textile industry, because Derventa is primarily an industrial place. Along the way I also noticed a well-kept children’s playground, a sign that urban space is being thought about in more than one dimension, not only the tourist one. I remind myself of something I deeply believe. For a town to be attractive to tourists, it must be a good place to live for the local population. We parked near the main promenade. At weekends parking is free; otherwise a day ticket costs 2 KM. Interestingly, there is also a charger for electric vehicles, a detail that shows the town is following trends. We notice a handsome mural on a nearby building. Mural on a building After breakfast we set off for a walk across the main square. Although it was already 11 in the morning, the town seemed almost empty, just the occasional passer-by. Streets clean, waste bins tidy. You get the impression that this is taken care of with particular attention. Orthodoxy Square Details from the main square At the Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos we stopped by an outdoor chessboard. A pensioner came up to us and asked where we were from. I told him my wife is from Banja Luka, I am from Herzegovina. He immediately mentioned that Derventa has quite a few people from Herzegovina, and named a well-known surname: Nozica. Chessboard We continued on and, off to the side, noticed the Posavska kuca shop. An idea that, following the good practice of Hercegovacka kuca in Trebinje, has taken root in several regions. We passed the Catholic Cathedral of St George and the Ali-aga Mosque. There is a fountain too, benches, and in a few places swings fitted in with a pleasant aesthetic. It is not unusual in our parts for the places of worship of all three confessions to stand so close together, and Derventa is one of those towns. That says enough about multicultural wealth, the connectedness of peoples, and, unfortunately, the absurdities of the times and the narrative we live in. Fountain and the Ali-aga Mosque Fountain and a view of the Town Hall At the edges of the square, from the building materials, you can see that the arrangement is still going on. There are also the Homeland Museum and the Town Hall. The whole setting feels European. A little farther on, by the Cultural Centre, a whole family was photographing themselves beside a telephone booth. So did we. We decided that was enough for the morning and went on. We visited the viewpoint above the town, a nicely arranged and well-conceived location. Patkovaca picnic site In the meantime we reached the Patkovaca picnic site. A nice approach, a well-kept picnic area and bathing spot on the Ukrina River. There were people there. We met a family, and the conversation was started, a little symbolically, by the same name of their child and ours. We freshened up a little and went on. On my mind were the Detlak ambarine and Kalenderovac cheese. People I know had warned me I would have a hard time finding the cheese outside the village, and they were right. I passed through Kalenderovac, but I did not meet anyone I could ask, let alone anyone I could buy from. Donja Bisnja Monastery and the Ambarine We stopped at Donja Bisnja Monastery. We found no one; we were alone. We spent some time there and went on, toward Detlak and the Ambarine. We reached the monastery church of the Holy Prophet Elijah, but I did not know how to go on to the ambarine themselves. This is where I have to make a remark: information about sites and tourist signage must be at a considerably higher level. The sites are simply not marked, nor do they offer any additional information to the visitor on the spot. Fortunately, in the churchyard we found a kind lady who gave us all the directions we needed. It turned out she was the abbess’s own sister. We went into the church, then through the yard toward the ambarine. A small gate leads into the unknown — a path of wooden walkways and steps takes you down into a grove; at this time of year it has not been cleared, but it is quite passable. Monastery church of the Holy Prophet Elijah The Detlak ambarine The Ambarine are a phenomenon and probably one of the most mystical sites I have seen in our parts so far. There are 23 pits, up to three metres deep, carved into the stone, presumed to have once been used for storing food. The story says that fossils were also found in those pits, confirming that in the distant past the Pannonian Sea stretched here. When we finished the visit it was already late evening. Tired but satisfied, we agreed we would come back very soon, because there is more to see. Derventa, for example, also has two wineries, and it is known for a fair that, since 1851, has been held at the end of August. A detail from town – the Ciro train What, in the end, to say about Derventa? Absolutely worth the attention and the visit. One argument also comes from geography, because the EU border is only some twenty kilometres away. In the meantime I also received the information that the town will soon get a luxury hotel with conference and spa facilities, which, together with the trend of arranging the urban core and increasingly present investment, supports the thesis that Derventa will slowly but surely become interesting to a growing number of tourists.
Sipovo on the water
This is not my first time in Sipovo, but I have to admit that, unlike the last visit, the place feels much more touristy than before. At every turn there are apartments, bungalows, cottages, eco zones — of this kind and that, to be fair — but it is quite clear that a good part of the locals has started to take on the role of host. That is good for this place, because the situation with the attitude toward nature is critical, and I hope that a strong interest from locals and a significant flow of visitors will protect it — in the sense of seeing nature as a tourism resource from which the whole community can benefit, not only a few individuals. Source of the Pliva River Sipovo has, if one can put it this way, breathed out after corona. It has been discovered. We all discovered it a little, promoted it, saw something unique, important and potent to sell. Walking around, I feel a little important, because I know how many times and in how many places and occasions, recognising the potential, I promoted this place. There is still a great deal to do and to put in order. Some of the things I saw are not dear to me, but this text is not about that. Crowds on the islets At the Janj islets a crowd was waiting for me. Parking is paid, but so many cars parked in every possible way is itself enough to create unease. There is a bus as well, just arrived. As usual, I check in with Dragana first. I wanted to yesterday too, but that was impossible because of the crowds. The Janj islets at Dragana’s… colourful, sweet and packed like a pomegranate. Konoba kod Dragane Unlike some previous visits, it is noticeable that other locals have organised too, so you have a few more options nearby to sit down. It is not at some high level, let’s be clear, but decent in a village way. In the end you come for something like that. Fine, the bench for sitting could be repaired, because you are charging for sitting on it. But those are details. Waterfalls and “compensation” Earlier you could not really reach the waterfalls; now you can, along a nice gravel road. Again it is through private land, and passage is free, although a kind woman at the entrance, and a sign as well, suggest you buy something as compensation. The beer is cold. Prices are symbolic, but you know how the saying goes: grain by grain. My older boy even got a candy. The waterfalls are beautiful. One approach is easy; the other demands great caution because of the height and the terrain. And there too you can see locals selling, mostly refreshments at symbolic prices. Nearby there are houses that rent accommodation. The impression is that everyone is renting accommodation. Demand does its work. I conclude that many people walk, circulate, leave and arrive. Sunday, it seems, is a special day for a weekend visit to the Janj islets. I see that also by comparing it with the trip to the source of the Pliva, where we were the only ones. There were no crowds on the visit to Vagan Cave either, but there was circulation there too. They have done it up nicely. The approach is paved. The explored part of the cave that is allowed for visits and tours is not long, so you can finish relatively quickly. Vagan Cave is worth visiting. Perhaps some basic equipment should be provided, say protective helmets. The cow as an attraction Back to the islets. Cows are all around us. From their milk comes one of the most beautiful cheeses we have — Janjska pletenica. It is interesting how many people photograph them. The impression is that they are an attraction. Carried by that, I photograph them too. And I often talk about this in the media and in workshops: original, simple, everyday situations, under the pressure of great changes in the way of life and its speed, are changing. We have become estranged from what we were. The cow is an attraction. Raj na vodi A few hundred metres from the main parking there is a nicely and tastefully arranged cafe/restaurant, “Raj na vodi”. You can also approach by car. Lord, it is terribly Instagrammable. There are plenty of details that wake your interest. Every guest holds a phone, turns their head and just clicks. I am here for the first time. The trout was tasty. I keep thinking how almost the entire Janj islets are photogenic. A formidable extra motive for coming, in today’s world “on a click”. Time will tell whether Sipovo, with its springs, rivers, caves, old-growth forests and the Janj islets, will manage to make a quality, sustainable story. Whether it will make a recognisable and unobtrusive setting, grounded in natural phenomena and an authentic experience — because it definitely has all the preconditions for that — or whether over time it will go to the completely opposite extreme. The chances, at this moment, are even.
The awakening of early-season tourism
Spring is the season that brings new energy to people, to nature, and to the idea of travel. Days grow longer, the sun warmer, and the colors of meadows and trees more vivid. Everything around us comes into bloom, so it is no wonder that this is when we start thinking about day trips, walks, bikes, hiking trails, and short weekend getaways. After winter stillness, free time once again finds meaning in movement and time outdoors. " Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind". Seneca Manjača/Milena Erceg Visoravan Morine/Miljan Rogan In this period, domestic tourism begins to bloom along with the vegetation. Ski resorts slowly grow quiet, but hiking, cycling, and walking trails wake up instead, along with river and lake shores, springs, and nature parks, all the way from Orjen to the Una. Camps and picnic sites across the country become centers of activity and enjoyment of nature, announcing the season that follows. Park prirode Orjen/Herz Adventures Polje lavande u Ljubinju/Radovan Dangubić What makes domestic tourism special is its authenticity. Domestic travelers have nothing to wait for from the "main season"; on the contrary, they are the first heralds of tourism, just as snowdrops are the heralds of spring. It is precisely these events and activities in our rural areas, lakes, and mountains that lay the foundations for developing tourism products in smaller communities, even if progress is slow, even if we are not yet aware of that fact, or simply overlook how much wealth we have within reach. Is it really far for someone from Trebinje to go to Lake Alagovac in Nevesinje? Or for people from Banja Luka to visit the springs of the Pliva? These mini adventures require nothing but willingness and a little time. Still, with growing interest comes responsibility. If we love nature, let us show it through our actions. Let us leave destinations clean, and not leave plastic, paper, or cigarette butts behind. Let us build a habit of respect for the space that feeds and calms us. Whom are we really leaving trash for if not ourselves? Every cigarette butt thrown from a car window, every bit of litter left after a picnic, and every unemptied container speaks to our relationship with the place where we live. Why give anyone the chance to judge us by trash thrown beside the road? We can do better than that. A little more conscience and collective responsibility is enough. It may sound ironic, but while the world changes rapidly and uncertainty grows, we are becoming one of the safer and more pleasant destinations. Where else can you reach a dense forest from the city center in an hour? Where can you scoop water from a spring with your hand and drink it, or nap on a bench without fear? Leave your personal belongings on the table while you drink coffee? Yes, we may not have perfect public transport, a taxi driver may count in euros, but almost everywhere you will meet a sincere smile and a readiness to help you arrive on time and at the right moment to any attraction or location. It is precisely that warmth and sense of safety that for years has been one of the more important reasons and motives drawing guests and creating value greater than expected. Regardless of the narrative we have been fighting for 35 years now. Perhaps it is time we start expecting more of ourselves, and that we value what we have, nurture nature, and proudly be tourists in our own country.