I have visited Croatia, Bosnia-Hercegovina and Serbia and I’ve always been warmly welcomed and never felt threatened. As a keen traveller to this incredible part of the world I would like to say a few things. I can relate to the negative comments I receive when I tell people that I travel to any country within ex-Yu. The most predictable is always, “oh, don’t they have mines all over the country?” and “isn’t it extremely dangerous for foreigners to visit there?”
What most people fail to understand is that foreigners have always visited and made their home in ex-Yu for centuries and have always been as warmly welcomed then as they are today. The entire region has always set the standard for what the true definition of hospitality is all about. These days the materialism of Western Europe and North America can learn a lot about this. In my opinion only someone completely ignorant and insensitive need to worry about travelling to any part of the ex-Yu, including Serbia and Kosovo. Common sense, acceptance and unbiased understanding does indeed go a long way and in return you will get so much back. People will more likely be more open about the local feeling towards the rest of the region, and that to me is such a valuable thing to receive from the people, the local perspective.
People should really read at least one book on the recent history of any region before asking such outdated question, and also remember that most recent history is not covered by CNN. I mean, how many Americans have been to visit Vietnam as a curious tourist? They are more likely to inflame local feeling in Vietnam just by their presence than anywhere in the ex-Yu, including Serbia.
From my experience though, if you are likely to mix with people of a similar age to yourself they will most likely want to talk about music, football and things like that. The older generation are far more likely to share those stories of what the general feeling is like, and when they do the best thing to do is just listen and respect their view.
I have visited Croatia, Bosnia-Hercegovina and Serbia and I’ve always been warmly welcomed and never felt threatened or not included. Most outsider’s views of this region are, I find, very outdated and I’ve also found a little annoying. Through their bone idle ignorance they are missing out on so much. But I guess that ignorance is just some people’s way of coming to terms with something they have no intention to understand.
To me the region of the ex-Yu has often had many similarities to the differences between Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. Both speaking the same language and sense of warm welcome to visitors. There are certain areas of Northern Ireland that are seen as sensitive in the same way as certain areas along the borders of Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia. But as a visitor you will certainly be welcomed and you will always have the benefit of learning a real local perspective.
