Minister Glavina held a meeting with representatives of the tourism sector of the Istrian County

Minister of Tourism and Sports Tonči Glavina held a meeting with the tourism sector of the Istrian County in Rovinj today on the topic of current tourism results and future activities as part of the implementation of the tourism development management reform. The meeting was attended by Minister Glavina, the County Prefect of the Istrian County Boris Miletić, the Mayor of the City of Rovinj Marko Paliaga, and the Director of the Croatian National Tourist Board Kristjan Staničić, as well as key stakeholders in the tourism sector of this county.

"This year, the Istrian County achieved the best results in Croatia, once again taking first place in terms of tourist traffic. I would especially like to highlight the direction of tourism development in Istria, which is not limited to coastal towns, but also focuses on branding the interior, which attracts tourists just as much as the coast, which contributes to a diverse and attractive year-round tourist offer.", said the minister Tonči Glavina and emphasized that the Government of the Republic of Croatia continuously takes care of the development of the Istrian County, not only through projects in tourism and sports, for which more than 19 million euros have been provided in the last four years, but also through large infrastructure projects such as the recently opened second tube of the Učka Tunnel.

At the meeting, the Minister referred to the course of the reform of the management of tourism development and emphasized that we are entering a new era of tourism development, an era of managing tourist flows, and we are moving away from the constant growth and counting of arrivals and overnight stays in the summer part of the year and from the mass model.

"With the new reform, which includes a strategic and legislative framework, we are focusing on tourism that is based on quality and sustainability. We are focused on developing year-round and more regionally balanced tourism, which as such brings positive developments for the economy, tourists, and the local population.", Glavina concluded.

"We welcome this comprehensive reform of sustainable tourism management in the Republic of Croatia and we are always glad when we are the first in Europe in something positive, and that is certainly the adoption of the Tourism Act. This Act will, we hope, provide local and regional self-government with enough tools to establish the highest quality tourism management system in the direction of sustainability, and will clearly and transparently present to citizens the situation in the area in which we live. Since as a region, but also as a country, we occupy a fairly high position in Europe on the scale of sustainability and clean natural resources, and a very high position on the scale of perception of safety, we must take all measures to ensure that this status of a sustainable destination and the perception of a safe destination are not jeopardized in any way. We must be excellent in tourism, because we are too small to be average. It is our duty to preserve authenticity, our special features and space as an exceptionally valuable resource, and above all, to take care of the local population, whose quality of life must not suffer.", said the prefect of Istria County Boris Miletić.

"Istria represents our most developed tourist region, which can boast of its recognition and position on the global tourist market, but also a very high-quality structure of accommodation capacities. Given that this region accounts for as much as 28 percent of our country's total overnight stays, we consider today's meeting with colleagues and tourism workers to be extremely important, especially when we talk about Istria's contribution to the transformation processes of Croatian tourism. As a destination, we must move towards sustainability, quality and year-round business, that is, we must strive for tourism in all our regions to mean further growth and development while maintaining the quality of life of the local population.", he said Kristjan Staničić, director of the Croatian Tourist Board.

The county meeting of the tourism sector of the Istrian County was attended by representatives of professional associations, state institutions, members of the Croatian Tourist Board's Tourist Council, representatives of emergency services, the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service, and firefighters.

Let us add that the 37th session of the CNTB Tourist Council will be held later in the day, during which the council members will, among other things, discuss and adopt decisions on the upcoming call for implementation of marketing cooperation with the organizers of TOP events in 2025, as well as the call for allocation of funds to tourist board projects from the Fund for Associated Tourist Boards and the Fund for Underdeveloped Tourist Areas and Continents.

Source and photo: MINTS