SARAJEVO
The recent unusually high temperatures in Bosnia and Herzegovina have adversely affected skiing and winter tourism in the country.
Traditionally, the Bjelasnica, Igman and Jahorina mountains that surround Sarajevo are very popular destinations for tourists from both Europe and Arab countries. These regions have hosted sporting competitions in the 1984 Winter Olympics. However, with the snowfall of early December melting by early January, tourists who bought 15 day skiing holidays in resorts around the Bosnian capital were compelled to leave the mountains soon after the New Year's celebrations.
Anadolu Agency (AA) team found tourists in Bjelasnica and Igman walking instead of skiing on the mountains. Children continue to sled in the artificial ski lanes which are about to melt in next few days due to the unusually high temperatures.
In the first week of January, the mountain temperatures ranged from 7 to 15 Celsius degrees. At this temperature the utility services find it impossible to maintain the artificial ski lanes and the tourists were forced to walk rather than ski through the muddy ski trails on the mountain.
"What concerns us is that the weather forecast does not predict snow until the end of January, so we can determine that a large part of the season has failed," said Muamera Sehic, spokeswoman of the Winter Olympic Games '84, a utility public company.
Sehic confirmed that January is the month which hosts the most guests in their Winter season, and if there is no snow in this month, it is considered to be a severe loss to the tourism industry.
However, there is some hope with local visitors from Bosnia and Herzegovina's cities who in an attempt to escape the polluted air in urban areas spend weekends in the mountains, "People escape the fog and smog and spend their free time in the fresh air," said Sehic
The country's meteorological authority has confirmed that heavy snowfall was not expected before the end of January, of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
