Raonic: Growing Interest in visiting Serbian holy sites in Kosovo

During the Christmas fasting period, it is the perfect time for believers to pray at Serbian holy sites in Kosovo, says Vesna Raonic, a tour guide from Novi Sad, who recently led a group of pilgrims on a pilgrimage. She reports that her passengers are aware of the security risks in the area, but interest remains undiminished. The offer includes Banjska Monastery, which, despite an incident in September 2023, tourists are keen to visit to "feed their soul."

During 2024, Raonic organized 11 trips to Kosovo. Thanks to her dedication, approximately 500 people from the entire region visited Serbian holy sites last year, including parents with children. She expects to lead even more tours in 2025.

"Last year in 2023, I went seven times to Kosovo and Metohija, and this year I have gone 11 times. A few days ago, I returned my 11th bus of passengers from Kosovo and Metohija, among them a four-year-old boy, a 78-year-old grandmother. I had the widest range of passengers from Zrenjanin, Pozarevac, Velika Plana, people from Belgrade, Kraljevo, Kragujevac, Valjevo. Some also came from Montenegro and I had passengers from Republic of Srpska," Raonic told Kosovo Online. She highlights that the holidays are an ideal time for believers from the region to visit Kosovo.

Last year, she organized a pilgrimage for Easter and, to her great surprise, since it is a family holiday, parents with children also joined.

"Of course, people want to spend the holidays in Kosovo, entire families sign up and go together. Now is the fasting period approaching one of the major Christian holidays, the Birth of Christ. We fast and it is a real opportunity to pray at our greatest holy sites," Raonic assessed. She says that for the year 2025, departures are already scheduled for January and February.

Raonic emphasizes that tourists are aware of the security situation in Kosovo, but their priority is to "feed the soul" and experience the greatest Serbian monuments of culture and faith.

The offer includes Banjska Monastery, despite an incident there in September 2023.

"We just visited Banjska Monastery, they welcomed us nicely, in fact, we keep going despite everything. We see everything happening around us, but we simply focus on what interests us. We didn’t have any specific problems, so we know what our priority is, to pray to God, to feed our souls," she indicated.

However, she notes that many things have changed regarding the visit to Banjska - the monastic lodgings are no longer available for tourists, nor is the nearby Rajska Banja complex.

"We come to Banjska with sorrow, however, some things have changed. We previously used accommodation in the beautiful lodgings of Banjska Monastery, we had dinners, went to liturgy, and then continued our journey. Now, we pass by, stay about an hour, and then move on. It's a bit sad. Below was the Rajska Banja complex, with pools and a hotel. We used to stop there to have lunch, now that's not possible because the complex has been taken over. But, passengers still go to Banjska Monastery," explains Raonic.

Raonic began her career as a humanitarian, then started leading tours to Kosovo on her own.

As tourist interest grew, she decided to become a licensed tour guide. "I think what I do, I do well, because it is my mission and I have found myself in it. Really, I take fifty passengers to Kosovo and Metohija per tour and return 50 joyously ecstatically happy passengers. There is great interest from all sides, as there are few of us who lead tours to Kosovo and Metohija, maybe no more than five excluding priests and presidents of organizations. It's a big responsibility, but also a great pleasure, it's a different world, everything has to be viewed differently. On a scale of one to ten, it’s difficult at 30, but the level of satisfaction is at least a hundred," concluded Raonic.