Bosnia and Herzegovina tourism up 1% early 2026, while Central Bosnia reports 3‑5% July dip

The Bosnian tourism sector recorded modest growth in the first five months of 2026. According to the Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina, arrivals rose 1.1% to 669,202 and overnight stays increased 3% to 1,431,276 compared with the same period in 2025. Domestic tourists accounted for 31.1% of stays, while foreign visitors made up 68.9%. Among foreign guests, Serbia supplied the largest share of overnight stays (21.6%), followed by Turkey (8.2%).

In the Central Bosnia Canton, the tourism office observed a 3‑5% decline in arrivals and overnight stays for July versus previous years, attributing the drop partly to a sharp fall in visitors from Saudi Arabia, which fell by more than 70% because of conflicts in the Middle East. The region’s director, Miroslav Matošević, said, “We can say that this is the peak of the summer tourism season, which will last another month or so,” and expressed optimism that numbers will rebound in August, ending the season with a 5‑10% overall increase.

May alone brought over 200,000 tourists to Bosnia and Herzegovina and generated more than 400,000 overnight stays, again led by visitors from Serbia and Turkey. The data suggest a steady recovery in the country’s tourism market despite regional fluctuations.