“Abdulah Al Sanousi enjoys the breeze in the lush resort outside Sarajevo where his family bought a flat to escape the summer heat at home in Kuwait, one of thousands of new Gulf buyers whose investment has polarized local opinion. They discovered mountainous Bosnia, where half the population is Muslim, after the Arab Spring which destabilized many traditional holiday destinations such as Libya, Tunisia and Egypt. The trend has picked up with more direct flights, new resorts and the end of visa restrictions. Estate agents and local businesses have welcomed the economic boost. But in a secular country where many Muslims drink alcohol and wear European-style clothing, the arrival of a Saudi-built mall where no alcohol is sold and the sight of burqas and traditional Arab robes is worrying for some. “People from the Middle East come here because of the nature and good weather, and very cheap prices for property and other goods”, said 28-year old Sanousi, who works in the media industry in Kuwait. “Many Muslims feel it's a good place for them, they feel they are with their people, they feel comfortable here”, he said in the gated resort that is inhabited mostly by Gulf visitors. It was built by a Kuwaiti investor and opened last year.

The number of visitors from the United Arab Emirates surged to 13,000 in the first seven months of this year from 7,265 last year, according to hotel data from the Sarajevo tourist board. In 2010, there were only 65 visitors from the UAE. Bosnia does not have a national tourism authority and data on land purchases is patchy in the Balkan country which has a fragmented government system. Unofficial estimates put the total number of Arab tourists at between 50,000-60,000 a year, with about a quarter buying property. The visitors bring much needed cast to the economy which has not recovered from the 1990s war. But many local Muslims, who pray only at mosques or at home, were shocked when a group of Arab men dressed in traditional robes prayed outdoors at a popular weekend resort near Sarajevo last year. Others have been upset by a Saudi-funded mall that serves no alcohol or pork. “I'm not glad that they are coming”, said Amina, a Muslim pharmacist from Sarajevo in her 50s. “I'm worried about what influence they can have on our children if they stayed here”. – Daria Sito-Sucic via Reuters



Tourists from the Middle East look at jewelry in a shop in Ilidza near Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 19, 2016. (Photo by Dado Ruvic/Reuters)





Tourists from the Middle East enjoy on the Prokosko Lake near Fojnica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 20, 2016. (Photo by Dado Ruvic/Reuters)





Tourists from the Middle East enjoy along the Prokosko Lake near Fojnica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 20, 2016. (Photo by Dado Ruvic/Reuters)





Tourists from the Middle East enjoy along the Prokosko Lake near Fojnica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 20, 2016. (Photo by Dado Ruvic/Reuters)





Tourists from the Middle East take pictures of a cow along the Prokosko Lake near Fojnica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 20, 2016. (Photo by Dado Ruvic/Reuters)





Tourists from the Middle East take pictures at Vrelo Bosne nature park in Ilidza near Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 19, 2016. (Photo by Dado Ruvic/Reuters)





Tourists from the Middle East take pictures of sheep on the Prokosko Lake near Fojnica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 20, 2016. (Photo by Dado Ruvic/Reuters)





Tourists from the Middle East walk through Sarajevo Resort in Osenik near Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 10, 2016. (Photo by Dado Ruvic/Reuters)





Tourists from the Middle East are driven in horse carriages at Vrelo Bosne nature park in Ilidza near Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 19, 2016. (Photo by Dado Ruvic/Reuters)





Tourists from the Middle East walk through Ilidza near Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 19, 2016. (Photo by Dado Ruvic/Reuters)





Tourists from the Middle East ride a boat through Sarajevo Resort in Osenik near Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 10, 2016. (Photo by Dado Ruvic/Reuters)





A tourist from the Middle East takes pictures at Vrelo Bosne nature park in Ilidza near Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 19, 2016. (Photo by Dado Ruvic/Reuters)





Tourists from the Middle East enjoy at Vrelo Bosne nature park in Ilidza near Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 19, 2016. (Photo by Dado Ruvic/Reuters)





A tourist from the Middle East walks through Sarajevo Resort in Osenik near Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 10, 2016. (Photo by Dado Ruvic/Reuters)