Special Interest Tourism

Special Interest Tourism

Special interest tourism is the provision of customized tourism activities that caters to the specific interests of groups and individuals, undertaken to satisfy a particular interest or need. Special interest tourism consists of four main experiences: rewarding, enriching, adventuresome and learning. Special interest tourism clients seek to learn more, enrich their awareness, and express themselves. They expect high standards of service and individualized focus. Many wish to travel in an environmentally sound manner and to have authentic experiences be they: cultural, social or environmental, in which they have a positive engagement with the host community.

It is suggested that special interest tourists are not just tourists but travelers. Travelers, the argument goes, travel for personal fulfillment, to learn, to experience the diversity of human cultures and of nature. Think Marco Polo.

Bosnia4u is capable of catering to any of your special tourism – traveler’s – needs. Recognizing differences and creating travel products to cater for these different niche markets is a key to success in the travel industry. At this time, Bosnia4u caters to the following special interest groups:

• Rural-Eco Tourism – Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving visiting fragile, pristine, and relatively undisturbed natural areas, intended as a low-impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial mass tourism. It means responsible travel to natural areas conserving the environment and improving the well-being of the local people. Rural tourism focuses on actively participating in a rural lifestyle. It is a variant of ecotourism.
• Active-Adventure-Outdoor – Active Tourism is a new traveling philosophy that combines adventure, ecotourism and cultural aspects of a discovery tour. Both Ecotourism and Active Tourism share a high respect for Nature and Biodiversity. Adventure tourism (sometimes referred to as the Alternative Tourism) is a form of active tourism that involves many sports activities like mountain bike, cross country rally, speed boat riding, bungee jumping and extreme sports.
• Sports tourism – Sports tourism refers to travel which involves either observing or participating in a sporting event, or traveling for the purpose of remote preparations/conditioning for a sports event.
• Medical-Wellness Tourism – Medical tourism refers to people traveling to a country other than their own to obtain medical treatment, whether it is for treatment unavailable at home or for lower priced medical treatments. It covers a wide field of health-oriented, tourism ranging from preventive and health-conductive treatment to rehabilitational and curative forms of travel. Wellness tourism is a form of medical tourism for the purpose of promoting health and well-being through physical, psychological, or spiritual activities.
• Religious Tourism – Religious tourism, also commonly referred to as faith tourism, is a type of tourism where people travel individually or in groups for pilgrimage, missionary, or leisure (fellowship) purposes. Bosnia & Herzegovina features attractions and points of interests for four major religions, in alphabetical order: Catholicism, Eastern (Serbian) Orthodox Christianity, Islam and Judaism. All four religions have extensive history in the country.
• Business Tourism – Business tourism or business travel is a more limited and focused subset of regular tourism. Primary business tourism activities include meetings, and attending conferences and exhibitions. Business tourism can be divided into primary (work) and secondary (leisure) activities. Primary ones included activities such as consultations, inspections, and attending meetings. Secondary ones are related to tourism (leisure) and include activities such as dining out, recreation, shopping, sightseeing, meeting others for leisure activities, and so on.
• Cultural Tourism – Cultural Tourism is concerned with a traveler’s engagement with a country or region’s culture, specifically the lifestyle of the people in those geographical areas, the history of those people, their art, architecture, religion(s), and other elements that helped shape their way of life. Aside of the Religious Tourism listed above, an example of Cultural Tourism in form of History Tourism is the Bosnian Kingdom Trail. Culinary Tourism would also be a form of Cultural Tourism, a niche yet unexplored in Bosnia & Herzegovina that has an incredible potential due to culinary varieties and influences, as well as the organic produce that exist in the country.
• Industrial Tourism – Industrial tourism is tourism in which the desired destination includes industrial sites peculiar to a particular location. Also a form of Cultural Tourism, an example of Industrial Tourism is the Wine Route of Bosnia & Herzegovina.
• Culinary Tourism – Culinary tourism (food/gastronomy) is the exploration of food/drinks for the purpose of tourism, the pursuit of unique and memorable eating and drinking experiences. Also a form of Cultural Tourism, an example of Culinary Tourism is the Wine Route of Bosnia & Herzegovina. Food tourism includes activities such as taking cooking classes; going on food or drink tours; attending food and beverage festivals, participating in specialty dining experiences, shopping at specialty retail spaces, and visiting farms, markets, and producers.
• War Tourism – War tourism is recreational travel to active or former war zones for purposes of sightseeing or historical study.
• Other potential forms of tourism in Bosnia & Herzegovina soon to be pursued by Bosnia4u are: Agritourism, Halal Tourism, Honeymoon Tourism and Senior Tourism.