(2 Feb 2017) LEAD-IN:
Bosnia's newest ski resort is thriving thanks to recent good weather and perfect skiing conditions all season, guaranteed by snow machines.
One man's vision and investment have resulted in an economic boost to the Pale region.
STORY-LINE:
Thousands of people, skiers and tourists, flock the "Ravna Planina" resort near Sarajevo in Bosnia, enjoying mountain sunshine and perfect winter slopes.
Using natural cold water lakes of Ravna Planina mountain, snow making machines, called "snow cannons" can produce perfect snow throughout the winter season, and resort is absolutely not dependent on weather conditions.
Other ski resorts in Bosnia have been struggling to produce enough high quality snow, especially in last few years, when due to high temperatures and lack of natural snow, resorts have been closed in peak times.
The resort is the brainchild of one man, a local local entrepreneur called Veljko Golijanin, who built state of art ski facility in his home village of Ravna Planina, opening his project in 2015.
Golijanin invested more then 20 million euros to build slopes, hotels, restaurants and ski lifts.
"I can pass on what other people said about this resort - God gave us nature, and we really used it well. Only 2 percent of ski resorts in the world can guarantee permanent skiing. We are producing quality snow here, and we are doing it quickly, we can create a ski slope in 2 nights. Even when the weather is not ok for skiing, we can fix it up and create conditions for perfect skiing, and that's the key. We can guarantee skiing here for 100 full days during one year," he says.
Traditional ski resorts in Bosnia are all state owned and much has been invested in rebuilding of their facilities after the end of Bosnian war, but with slow administration and problems within state institutions, resorts have been struggling to survive.
Golijanin plans to expand this year to include summer tourism, introducing heavy cable cars taking tourists to the top of resort.
The cable car can carry up to 3500 people an hour.
Golijanin has created long bike tracks and paved the roads through the mountain enabling tourists to enjoy the mountain in the summer.
"We have constructed a "gondola" here, ski lift cabin, and this is almost done, we need to finish the last ten percent. We are opening this facility and its capacity is 3500 skiers per hour. We can fit 10 people in one cabin, and this is what we plan to use in the summer too, we want to make Ravna Planina a summer resort as well."
Stanislav Vukicevic, the Serbian ambassador to Bosnia, says he spends every free weekend at "Ravna Planina" resort.
"What he (owner of the resort) has done here is an ideal project. It is a risky project, he probably invested lot of money, it will take a lot of time for the profit to come back, but it will be forever recorded that one man single handedly has created this resort which will always be a place the people of Pale and Jahorina are proud of."
International ski competitions are already taking place at Ravna Planina, and FIS (international ski federation) is expected to set a firm date for annual competitions to be held here.
Branka Spasojevic, head of East Sarajevo tourist board says that hotel capacities around the resort are fully booked throughout the winter. She adds the the snow machines are a key factor.
Professional teams and competitors often train at night in Ravna Planina, simply because there is smaller number of amateur skiers and slopes are less crowded.
One of those skiers is Igor Sljuka, a former slalom skier and member of Bosnian national team.
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