Infrastructure characteristics as an important factor of sustainable development of sports tourism

This paper analyzes the area of the municipality of Travnik and its position as an important factor for sustainable development of sports tourism. The analysis was done on the entire territory of the municipality of Travnik when it comes to resources related to sports tourism. These analyses are: description method, analysis method, synthesis method, compilation method and comparative method. Municipality of Travnik is primarily reflected in its favorable geographical position, natural characteristics and attractions, and a rich tangible and intangible heritage. It is exactly the central location within Bosnia and Herzegovina that has conditioned Travnik to always be an important part of the interests of all civilizations and peoples who have inhabited the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, from prehistoric times to the present day. Thus, today in the Travnik area we have significant tangible remains from the time of the earliest cultures that inhabited these areas: the Neolithic period, ancient period, mediaeval Bosnia, Turkish and Austro-Hungarian period and recent history. Geographical characteristics, size and distribution of the municipality, and specific configuration of the terrain provide a comparative advantage for the municipality of Travnik in tourism through the possibility of developing a large number of specific types of tourism, such as: mountain tourism, cultural tourism, recreational tourism, hunting tourism, gastronomic tourism, and extreme tourism. Therefore, we can say that the shown characteristics are an important factor for a positive impact on the sustainable development of sports tourism. These results can be a guide for a planned sports tourism program, which in addition to sports tourism also includes a recreational type of tourism.