Client

 US Agency for International Development - Cluster Competitiveness Activity 

Challenge 

 Economic development was considered essential to underpin the political gains that had been made in the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords. A lasting peace would depend on growing prosperity. Tourism offered a significant opportunity to kickstart economic development throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. It transcended both geographical and political boundaries. Of all sectors, tourism required least investment to develop, offered relatively quick returns, and was politically uncontroversial in that it favoured no particular community over another.

The challenge was to change Bosnia and Herzegovina's image from a war-torn country to a destination worth visiting.

Solution

• Key stakeholders in both public and private sectors were consulted at state level, entity level (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Rpblika Srpska) and district level (Brcko) to establish a unified view of Bosnia and Herzegovina's tourism assets

• Tour operators were interviewed in several international markets. A picture was built up of Bosnia and Herzegovina's strengths and weaknesses as a tourism destination. This reflected tour operators' own views, as well as those of their clients

• Workshops were held with key stakeholders from all regions and levels of government, tourism operators and academics, seeking consensus on Bosnia and Herzegovina's core brand values

Result

• Consensus was achieved between private and public sectors, and all levels of government throughout the country, on Bosnia and Herzegovina's brand strengths

• Competitive brand strengths were identified within the following areas:

            -  nature

            -  culture

            -  heritage

            -  adventure 

• A clear brand platform was established for the future promotion of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was based on external customer perceptions and internal citizens' consensus 

View Bosnia and Herzegovina destination ads:

"Enjoy Life" - Selection of 9 x 20 second ads

"Enjoy Life" - full version (3mins 40 secs)