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Toronto Sun
11-08-2025
- Toronto Sun
Bosnia's mountain resorts pivot to summer tourism as climate changes
Mid-altitude mountain resorts near Sarajevo -- traditionally dependent on snow sports -- are pivoting to attract summertime tourists Published Aug 11, 2025 • 2 minute read Tourists enjoy a giant swing overlooking the city on Trebevic mountain near Sarajevo, Bosnia, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025. Photo by Armin Durgut / AP Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — A short drive from the Mediterranean coast, mid-altitude mountain resorts near Sarajevo — traditionally dependent on snow sports — are slowly but steadily pivoting to attract summertime tourists. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Despite Bosnia's notoriously poor record-keeping, tourism officials in the mountainous Balkan country of 3.3 million say a clear trend is emerging. 'We used to rely on snow, but there is no escaping the fact that snow is now likely to fall and accumulate at altitudes above 2,500 meters (8,000 feet) and our mountains are simply not that high,' said Haris Fazlagic, the Sarajevo tourism board president. Fazlagic believes that by expanding their summer offerings, mountain resorts can lure tourists away from the scorching heat and high costs of traditional seaside vacations along the Adriatic coast of Croatia and Montenegro. He said increasing the area's year-round appeal is 'the future of tourism,' but acknowledged it's a long-term strategy. Plan your next getaway with Travel Time, featuring travel deals, destinations and gear. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. An aerial view of trail and hiking routes on Bjelasnica mountain near Sarajevo, Bosnia, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025. Photo by Armin Durgut / AP In 2017, after several winters with little snow, the Jahorina and Bjelasnica mountains near Sarajevo began to expand their summer offerings. These mountains, which hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics, have elevations of 1,906 meters (6,253 feet) and 2,067 meters (6,781 feet), respectively. They now operate ski lifts year-round for scenic views and are steadily adding new hiking, biking and ATV trails and tours. 'The weather here is fantastic — it's not hot at all,' said Dusko Kurtovic, a visitor from the Bosnian town of Doboj, while on a walk during a short vacation in Jahorina last week. Like other visitors exploring the forest trails and riding ski lifts around Sarajevo, Kurtovic was dressed for balmy summer weather. Temperatures here typically stay between 24 and 30 degrees Celsius. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The weather is a welcome change for tourists, as coastal regions in Central and Eastern Europe have experienced increasingly frequent and prolonged heat waves, with daily temperatures often reaching 40 degrees Celsius in the past few years. Vasilije Knezevic, who leads quad tours of Jahorina's highest peaks, noted that while the ski season was 'bleak' because of the snow shortage, they are 'having a fabulous summer so far.' A Bosnian Muslim woman prepares wool that she later knits into sweaters or socks and sells to tourists in Umoljani village on Bjelasnica mountain near Sarajevo, Bosnia, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025. Photo by Armin Durgut / AP Business might be growing in the mountains of Sarajevo, but it remains far less profitable than seaside destinations in neighbouring Croatia, where tourism accounts for up to 20% of the country's gross domestic product. Just a five-hour drive from Sarajevo, the ancient city of Dubrovnik is grappling with an abundance of tourists. Unlike their Bosnian counterparts who are trying to increase visitors, Dubrovnik's tourism authorities are focused on managing crowds, limiting the number of tourists from cruise ships in the city to 4,000 at any one time during the day and restricting traffic around the Old Town to local permit holders. Despite these restrictions and extreme summer heat, Dubrovnik recorded nearly two million overnight stays in the first seven months of 2025, almost double that of the Sarajevo region. While climate change is driving Bosnia and Croatia toward different tourism strategies, both countries share a common objective: to 'extend the season' and become a 'year-round tourist destination,' in the words of Aida Hodzic of the Dubrovnik tourism board. Toronto & GTA Columnists Toronto & GTA Sunshine Girls Sunshine Girls
Glasgow Times
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Glasgow Times
Thousands gather to mark 30th anniversary of Srebrenica genocide
Seven newly identified victims of the 1995 massacre, including two 19-year-old men, were laid to rest in a collective funeral at a vast cemetery near Srebrenica on Friday, next to more than 6,000 victims already buried there. Such funerals are held annually for the victims who are still being unearthed from dozens of mass graves around the town. Relatives of the victims often can bury only partial remains of their loved ones as they are typically found in several different mass graves, sometimes kmiles apart. Such was the case of Mirzeta Karic, who was waiting to bury her father. A flower is seen on a monument with the names of those killed in the Srebrenica genocide,(Armin Durgut/AP) 'Thirty years of search and we are burying a bone,' she said, crying by her father's coffin which was wrapped in green cloth in accordance with Islamic tradition. 'I think it would be easier if I could bury all of him. What can I tell you, my father is one of the 50 (killed) from my entire family,' she added. July 11 1995 is the day when the killings started after Bosnian Serb fighters overran the eastern Bosnian enclave in the final months of the inter-ethnic war in the Balkan country. After taking control of the town that was a protected UN safe zone during the war, Bosnian Serb fighters separated Bosniak Muslim men and boys from their families and brutally executed them in several days. The bodies were then dumped in mass graves around Srebrenica which they later dug up with bulldozers, scattering the remains among other burial sites to hide the evidence of their war crimes. The UN General Assembly last year adopted a resolution to commemorate the Srebrenica genocide on the July 11 anniversary. Scores of international officials and dignitaries attended the commemoration ceremonies and the funeral. Among them were European Council President Antonio Costa and Britain's Duchess of Edinburgh, Sophie, who said that 'our duty must be to remember all those lost so tragically and to never let these things happen again'. Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp said he felt 'humbled' because UN troops from the Netherlands were based in Srebrenica when Bosnian Serbs stormed the town. People mourn during the funerals in Srebrenica (Armin Durgut/AP) 'I see to what extent commemorating Srebrenica genocide is important,' he said. In an emotional speech, Munira Subasic, who heads the Mothers of Srebrenica association, urged Europe and the world to 'help us fight against hatred, against injustice and against killings'. Ms Subasic, who lost her husband and youngest son in Srebrenica along with more than 20 relatives, told Europe to 'wake up.' 'As I stand here many mothers in Ukraine and Palestine are going through what we went through in 1995,' Ms Subasic said, referring to ongoing conflicts. 'It's the 21st century but instead of justice, fascism has woken up.' On the eve of the anniversary, an exhibition was inaugurated displaying personal items belonging to the victims that were found in the mass graves over the years. The conflict in Bosnia erupted in 1992, when Bosnian Serbs took up arms in a rebellion against the country's independence from the former Yugoslavia and with an aim to create their own state and eventually unite with neighbouring Serbia. More than 100,000 people were killed and millions displaced before a US-brokered peace agreement was reached in 1995.
Western Telegraph
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Western Telegraph
Thousands gather to mark 30th anniversary of Srebrenica genocide
Seven newly identified victims of the 1995 massacre, including two 19-year-old men, were laid to rest in a collective funeral at a vast cemetery near Srebrenica on Friday, next to more than 6,000 victims already buried there. Such funerals are held annually for the victims who are still being unearthed from dozens of mass graves around the town. Relatives of the victims often can bury only partial remains of their loved ones as they are typically found in several different mass graves, sometimes kmiles apart. Such was the case of Mirzeta Karic, who was waiting to bury her father. A flower is seen on a monument with the names of those killed in the Srebrenica genocide,(Armin Durgut/AP) 'Thirty years of search and we are burying a bone,' she said, crying by her father's coffin which was wrapped in green cloth in accordance with Islamic tradition. 'I think it would be easier if I could bury all of him. What can I tell you, my father is one of the 50 (killed) from my entire family,' she added. July 11 1995 is the day when the killings started after Bosnian Serb fighters overran the eastern Bosnian enclave in the final months of the inter-ethnic war in the Balkan country. After taking control of the town that was a protected UN safe zone during the war, Bosnian Serb fighters separated Bosniak Muslim men and boys from their families and brutally executed them in several days. The bodies were then dumped in mass graves around Srebrenica which they later dug up with bulldozers, scattering the remains among other burial sites to hide the evidence of their war crimes. The UN General Assembly last year adopted a resolution to commemorate the Srebrenica genocide on the July 11 anniversary. Scores of international officials and dignitaries attended the commemoration ceremonies and the funeral. Among them were European Council President Antonio Costa and Britain's Duchess of Edinburgh, Sophie, who said that 'our duty must be to remember all those lost so tragically and to never let these things happen again'. Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp said he felt 'humbled' because UN troops from the Netherlands were based in Srebrenica when Bosnian Serbs stormed the town. People mourn during the funerals in Srebrenica (Armin Durgut/AP) 'I see to what extent commemorating Srebrenica genocide is important,' he said. In an emotional speech, Munira Subasic, who heads the Mothers of Srebrenica association, urged Europe and the world to 'help us fight against hatred, against injustice and against killings'. Ms Subasic, who lost her husband and youngest son in Srebrenica along with more than 20 relatives, told Europe to 'wake up.' 'As I stand here many mothers in Ukraine and Palestine are going through what we went through in 1995,' Ms Subasic said, referring to ongoing conflicts. 'It's the 21st century but instead of justice, fascism has woken up.' On the eve of the anniversary, an exhibition was inaugurated displaying personal items belonging to the victims that were found in the mass graves over the years. The conflict in Bosnia erupted in 1992, when Bosnian Serbs took up arms in a rebellion against the country's independence from the former Yugoslavia and with an aim to create their own state and eventually unite with neighbouring Serbia. More than 100,000 people were killed and millions displaced before a US-brokered peace agreement was reached in 1995.
Irish Examiner
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Thousands gather to mark 30th anniversary of Srebrenica genocide
Thousands of people from Bosnia and around the world have gathered in Srebrenica to mark the 30th anniversary of a massacre there of more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim boys and men. Seven newly identified victims of the 1995 massacre, including two 19-year-old men, were laid to rest in a collective funeral at a vast cemetery near Srebrenica on Friday, next to more than 6,000 victims already buried there. Such funerals are held annually for the victims who are still being unearthed from dozens of mass graves around the town. Relatives of the victims often can bury only partial remains of their loved ones as they are typically found in several different mass graves, sometimes kmiles apart. Such was the case of Mirzeta Karic, who was waiting to bury her father. A flower is seen on a monument with the names of those killed in the Srebrenica genocide,(Armin Durgut/AP) 'Thirty years of search and we are burying a bone,' she said, crying by her father's coffin which was wrapped in green cloth in accordance with Islamic tradition. 'I think it would be easier if I could bury all of him. What can I tell you, my father is one of the 50 (killed) from my entire family,' she added. July 11 1995 is the day when the killings started after Bosnian Serb fighters overran the eastern Bosnian enclave in the final months of the inter-ethnic war in the Balkan country. After taking control of the town that was a protected UN safe zone during the war, Bosnian Serb fighters separated Bosniak Muslim men and boys from their families and brutally executed them in several days. The bodies were then dumped in mass graves around Srebrenica which they later dug up with bulldozers, scattering the remains among other burial sites to hide the evidence of their war crimes. The UN General Assembly last year adopted a resolution to commemorate the Srebrenica genocide on the July 11 anniversary. Scores of international officials and dignitaries attended the commemoration ceremonies and the funeral. Among them were European Council President Antonio Costa and Britain's Duchess of Edinburgh, Sophie, who said that 'our duty must be to remember all those lost so tragically and to never let these things happen again'. Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp said he felt 'humbled' because UN troops from the Netherlands were based in Srebrenica when Bosnian Serbs stormed the town. People mourn during the funerals in Srebrenica (Armin Durgut/AP) 'I see to what extent commemorating Srebrenica genocide is important,' he said. In an emotional speech, Munira Subasic, who heads the Mothers of Srebrenica association, urged Europe and the world to 'help us fight against hatred, against injustice and against killings'. Ms Subasic, who lost her husband and youngest son in Srebrenica along with more than 20 relatives, told Europe to 'wake up.' 'As I stand here many mothers in Ukraine and Palestine are going through what we went through in 1995,' Ms Subasic said, referring to ongoing conflicts. 'It's the 21st century but instead of justice, fascism has woken up.' On the eve of the anniversary, an exhibition was inaugurated displaying personal items belonging to the victims that were found in the mass graves over the years. The conflict in Bosnia erupted in 1992, when Bosnian Serbs took up arms in a rebellion against the country's independence from the former Yugoslavia and with an aim to create their own state and eventually unite with neighbouring Serbia. More than 100,000 people were killed and millions displaced before a US-brokered peace agreement was reached in 1995.
Toronto Star
10-07-2025
- General
- Toronto Star
Exhibition in Srebrenica shows personal items of victims before the 30th genocide anniversary
Personal documents found in a mass grave are shown as a part of the exhibition 'Lives Beyond the Fields of Death' opened at the Srebrenica Memorial Center in Potocari, Bosnia, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut) AD flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: : sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false :
