Hanan Alnufaie

Saudi Gazette

RIYADH — Due to political and economic instability in many countries in the world, which has affected tourism, GCC citizens have begun to consider Bosnia and Herzegovina a good choice for them for tourism and investment. That is because their nature, economic prices, safety and stability, culture, delicious and cheap food (you can have three meals a day which only can cost you SR30), rich history, museums, friendly nation and most notably because it is an Islamic country. The GCC citizens recently tend to invest and buy properties in Bosnia. In this regard, Saudi Gazette met with Ali Al-Majed, who is the Financial Manager of real estate Bosnian company 'Acon Estate' on the sidelines of Restatex Cityscape Riyadh, held on Sept. 27-30 under the patronage of the Minister of Housing.

"We have two projects in Bosnia: apartments and villa projects, both in Konjic which is a town and municipality in northern Herzegovina, around 50 kilometers southwest of the capital Sarajevo. It is a mountainous, heavily wooded area, and is 268 m above sea level," he said.

He explained that the reason behind them selecting these locations is that it is one of the tourists' favorite destinations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. "We are currently working in the infrastructure. All our projects have a view of Jablaničko Lake. We chose it to satisfy tourists," he added.

Furthermore, he explained that the properties' prices in the country is very cheap compared to many other countries. "To buy one studio (39m), that will start from SR155,000," he noted.

When asked about the number of GCC citizens visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina for tourism and investment, he said: "I first visited it three years ago, there were real estate companies from the GCC. However, when I visited it a year later, I found the number of GCC real estate companies have significantly increased due to the increased number of GCC tourists there."

Kuwaitis ranked first in travelling for tourism and investment, then Saudis, after that, UAE citizens.