The ‘New Paris’ is in Croatia!

The countries of Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, Albania and Macedonia are considered collectively as the Balkan nations. They all were once part of Yugoslavia, but like people, states also sometimes go separate ways. The term ‘Balkanization’ was inducted into the English dictionary that described the disability of a region and the continuous fission of larger states into smaller independent countries. The grim picture of the area attracted no tourists at all in the 1990s’. But things are changing!

Even though the Balkans can never compete with the more common travel destinations in Europe like France, it is clear that the Balkans are the Next Paris of Europe for tourists, not only from within the continent but from the entire world. Statistics show that there has been a spike in the constant flux of tourist that chose Europe as the vacation destination. Over the course of the last decade, 150 million more tourists came to Europe. The larger chunk of that fresh brigade of tourists chose one of the former Yugoslav states to be their travel destination.

The figures are mind-boggling; Bulgaria tourism industry has grown 47%, Croatia is reporting an increase of 64 %, Slovenia 75 %, Macedonia 147 %, Bosnia and Herzegovina 212 % and Albania’s tourism increased by a staggering 502 %. The Albanians are welcoming this growth, thanks to the Muslim heritage of the country (only Muslim majority country in Europe) and the Arab investment in their infrastructure. Most rich Arab tourist head for Albania to escape the heat of the desert and to enjoy the lush green European environment that also meet their Halal tastes.

As compared to France and the UK tourism industries have only grown by 10% over the last decade. If this attraction towards the Balkans continues Bulgaria might be THE place to visit on your (second) honeymoon. This boom has resulted in an increase in the local employment of the Balkan states.

The recent shooting of the famous TV series “The Game of Thrones” in the rustic Croat city of Dubrovnik has but only added to the desire of many tourists of the world to reach the Balkans. The welcoming and calm beaches of Croatia, the hills of Macedonia, and the people of Bulgaria make most who visit the countries wish they had been born there.