The competition, launched around two categories – high school students and undergraduates – attracted applicants from leading educational institutions from across the country. In making their decision, the expert jury looked at the feasibility of the ideas presented by the teams through their social media campaigns as well as on their potential to contribute to the fulfillment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Celebrating young tourism talent
In the end, eight teams made it to the final, representing the Srednja stručna škola (Team AANSS Tourist), JU Turističko-ugostiteljska škola Tuzla (Team Champions), Mješovita srednja škola Travnik (Team RoseBrandis), JU Mješovita srednja škola “Bosanski Petrovac (Team StazeSrece), JU Centar srednjih škola (Team Tribuni), Faculty of Economics Pale (Team Tusists Economy), Visoka škola za turizam i menadžment Konjic (Team VS-TIM) and University of Business Studies (Team We Grow with Nature).
The winning solutions from Team RoseBrandis from Mješovita srednja škola Travnik and Team Vs-Tim from Visoka škola za turizam i menadžment Konjic included social media campaigns to support rural development on the Via Dinarica in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Students also created synergies between the different teams by becoming film producers and created a video on traditional folk costumes in Rural areas.
The 2023 UNWTO Students’ League: Bosnia and Herzegovina has been organized by UNWTO, under the framework of UNDP BiH “Building Relations for intercultural Dialogue (BRIDGE) Project” which counts on the financial support of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS). The initiative is implemented and co-financed by the United Nations Development Programme in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNDP BiH) in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH.
For this first national edition, the jury panel was made up of national and international experts from UNWTO, UNDP, Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, Ministry of Trade and Tourism of Republika Srpska, Verne Tourism Experts and SISMOTUR.
Youth empowerment for tourism’s future
According to the participants, the Students League offered a unique chance to gain practical experience within the tourism sector while also benefitting from networking and mentorship opportunities.
“This project is a wonderful experience for young people who will be the bearers of tourism in the future, because they study tourism, ecology, economics, which are closely related to the sector,” said Team We Grow with Nature from the University of Business Studies.
“By participating in this project, we learned a lot and discovered various hidden treasures both in our and in other countries. The project helped us get introduced to Instagram and how we can use it in business. Most importantly, we had fun and enjoyed participating in this project,” addedTeam RoseBrandis, from Mješovita srednja škola Travnik
The UNWTO Students League Bosnia & Herzegovina has benefited the support of leading international partners, including representatives from the UNWTO Best Tourism ViIlages Programme – Cumeada and Krupa Na Vrbasu, Visit Blidinje, Greenways Association, Verne Tourism Experts, Sismotur, Outdoor Bosnia and the City of Trebinje.
