Practice is the best teacher: tourism students visit the first Green destination in Croatia

As part of their field trip, around 40 tourism students from the University of Zadar visited Međimurje. 

Graduate students Sustainable tourism development, Entrepreneurship in culture and tourism and study Cultural and natural heritage in tourism and undergraduate studies Culture and tourism management of natural heritage under the leadership of a professor at the Department of Tourism and Communication Sciences, University of Zadar Gabriela Vidic, they came to Međimurje because - according to Professor Vidić - it "an example of sustainable tourism management".

"Međimurje recently received Green Destinations certificate which are the only ones in Croatia to have. And this status is not accidental. Even before the certificate, the leadership of the County Tourist Board - whom I had the opportunity to meet at the World Tourism Fair in Russia - saw that they were thinking strategically and understanding the principles of sustainability. They had already implemented this in their destination, which amazed us, especially when comparing Međimurje with some coastal destinations. Međimurje seemed like another world to us., says Gabrijela Vidić.

With the students, she visited the Međimurje Ecomuseum Visitor Center, the Lina rural vacation home, the Sveti Martin Spa, and the viewpoint on Mađerkin Breg.

Of all the vacation homes, they chose Lina because it was the first private accommodation in Međimurje with the Ecolabel certificate, awarded by the European Commission, while Terme Sveti Martin is the first Croatian hotel with the Eco label.  

"We really couldn't have chosen a better location, and our students, especially those from the Sustainable Development Studies, are taking the course 'Managing Sustainable Development of a Tourist Destination', while undergraduate students are taking the course 'Specific Forms of Tourism'. We wanted to show them how a destination develops complementary specific forms of tourism such as cyclotourism, eno-gastrotourism and of course cultural tourism, and what it looks like on the ground. Everything we hoped to find, we found. We find this strategic planning and cooperation between different stakeholders of the destination fascinating.", said Professor Vidić. 

President Međimurje County Tourist Board Rudi Grula, said about the students' visit: "We are glad that Međimurje and local tourism serve as an example of good practice, this time for the University of Zadar. This means that we are on the right track and that what we do, we do well. Most of the students have never been to Međimurje before." 

"I just asked them if they would return and if they would recommend a visit to Međimurje and they all said they would be happy to, which in tourism is a perfect indicator of doing something well.", the professor is pleased and continues: "Wherever we went, it was as if what you teach in theory was found in practice. You know that when professors teach something, students are often skeptical, only when they see it for themselves do they see that we are not telling fairy tales. They had the opportunity to see for themselves that when we talk about sustainability in tourism, the involvement of the local community is very important."

They were surprised that Međimurje had a project 'hop in – hop off' buses, which no region has. Big cities have buses that drive from one tourist location to another, but not the entire county. "The special thing is that the entire region cooperates", says Professor Vidić. Namely, tourists can park their car when they arrive and get back in it only when they leave, and see all the tourist attractions of the destination. "That's an excellent thing, especially when you cultivate wine and food tourism. Međimurje wines are famous," notes, and concludes that the leadership of the Međimurje County Tourist Board "too modest for what he does".

Source, photo: Međimurje County Tourist Board