The Novi dvori (New Palace) in Zaprešić, a small town situated some 17 kilometres west of Zagreb, is a noteworthy historic complex that recently saw the launch of the first phase of its renovation. The palace was once the residence of Croatia’s best-known Ban (viceroy), Josip Jelačić.

Besides the reconstruction of the palace itself, the City of Zaprešić, as of recently the proprietor of the entire estate, plans over the coming five years, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, to renovate the other 17 buildings in the complex and adapt it entirely for tourism.

The first phase of the renovation will see the complete reconstruction of the palace itself - the façade, roofs and the building’s foundations will be renovated, and plans have already been drawn up for the further reconstruction of other parts of the palace. It is already known that the eastern wing of the palace will feature a memorial room dedicated to Ban Josip Jelačić, while the palace’s basement will feature a luxuriously appointed wine cellar and multimedia facilities.

The central and largest hall in the palace has been conceived as an area in which formal occasions and receptions would be organised.

Besides the diverse culinary offer and sports facilities that will make up a part of the future Novi dvori, a part of the rooms in the complex will be set aside for suite-type accommodations. The plan is to grant caterers concessions for the lion’s share of the estate grounds that will then continue the reconstruction of the buildings in the complex. For now it is also known that that part of the catering offer will also include a pastry shop where sweets from the time of the Banovina (Banate, or viceroyalty) can be sampled. A few years ago, namely, the last book of recipes once owned by the Countess Jelačić was found in Zaprešić.

The book has been translated into the Croatian language and it is to be the source of recipes for many sweets that will be at the heart of the pastry shop’s offer.

Also in the works is the complete revamping of the estate’s grounds that will, after the entire complex is reconstructed, be the setting for fashion shows, exhibitions and other open-air affairs.

source: Croatian National Tourist Board at www.croatia.hr

Resources

• City of Zaprešić Tourist Board

Gorski kotar, a highland region situated not far from the Kvarner area and maritime Croatia, is recording more and more tourist visits from year to year, and naturally an increasingly diverse tourism offer. Of course, only the winter “offer” is of interest now, and it is, give the growing number of highland ski trails, a very attractive one.

The Petehovac ski resort is situated in the direct vicinity of the town of Delnice and features Alpine and Nordic skiing trails, ski tows and a small ski jump. There are three ski resorts on offer in the area of the small town of Mrkopalj, allowing skiers to enjoy the terrain of Begovo Razdolje, situated at about 1,100 metres above sea level.

Here too are the Čelimbaše grounds where there are some three kilometres of ski trials maintained, while fans of the biathlon can practice on the four kilometre long trail of the Zagmajna Biathlon Centre.

In the settlement of Tršće, home of the Rudnik ski resort, skiers can ski on two trails and on cross-country skiing trails. Similar trails are maintained in the area surrounding Ravna Gora, where there are other grounds available suited for sledding, children’s activities on the snow. Trails have been set up there for recreational skiing and the alwaysattractive night skiing. Skiers can try their hand at the Platak ski resort’s trails where some nine kilometres of trails are maintained with five ski lifts, a children’s ski lift and a cable car. The resort offers guests ski and snowboard lessons, daytime and nighttime safaris through the surrounding forests and cross-country skiing and hiking. Under the highest peak in Gorski kotar (1534 m) on the southeastern part of Mount Bjelolasica is the largest winter sports centre in Croatia, the Bjelolasica Olympic Centre, with trails for all types of skiers - from beginners to top-trained recreational skiers.

source: Croatian National Tourist Board at www.croatia.hr

Resources

• Gorski kotar

Europe’s leading low-budget air carrier company - Ryanair, has officially launched flights from Croatia.

Ryanair flights will be flying the route from Pula to London’s Stansted airport every week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Since the first official information was released on the collaboration between Ryanair and Croatian airports more than six thousand flight reservations have been received, a more than good indicator of successful cooperation in the future.

The flights from Pula will be run with Boeing 737 jets with a passenger capacity of 189, and the air connection to London will be run three times a week year-round.

This cooperation marks an important turning point for Istria and Istrian tourism as this region did not up to now have a permanent air connection that linked it to European destinations the whole year round. And, Istria will now be able to expand its tourism offer with some new products adapted to year-round tourism, while the low-budget flights will be yet another reason for tourists to come to Istria during the winter months.

But that is not all - Ryanair has announced other air routes to and from Croatia. February 8 of next year will see the launch of Ryanair’s low-budget flights from Pula to Dublin while negotiations are ongoing for flights from London to Zadar and from Dublin to Zadar.

source: Croatian National Tourist Board at www.croatia.hr

Resources

• Directory:Pula
• Ryanair
• Pula Airport

One of the chief players in the tourism industry of Brodski Stupnik, a town in Slavonski Brod-Posavina County, is the Hotel Zdjelarevic, also known as Croatia’s first wine hotel. The hotel opened its doors three years ago, emerging from the foundations of Slavonia’s renowned Zdjelarevic winery and the restaurant of the same name that offers a wide array of Slavonian specialities and selected quality wines. All this, and the fact that a wine road, attractive for tourists, had been opened in Slavonski Brod-Posavina County, led to the proprietor’s decision to expand to the hotel business.

The hotel currently offers some fifteen rooms. What is, however, of much greater importance than the typical information on the hotel’s accommodation capacities, is the story this hotel offers its guests. The entire hotel is, namely, fashioned in the traditional Slavonian style, and is located in the very heart of a luxuriant vineyard. Three themes relate the unique story of Slavonia to the guest, and the programs on offer as a part of your stay at the hotel complement the story with a series of other elements - off-road tours of the vineyards are organised for the guests, guided cycling and walking tours, paintball, hunting tourism, exceedingly well developed in the area, and numerous “romantic” moments for lovers such as a ride in peasant’s carriage or a romantic candlelight dinner.

The hotel’s offer is also suited to business guests, as it features several conference rooms, outfitted with the latest equipment, and the hotel staff often organises interesting team-building programs and excursions in the nearby wine producing areas.

And while the proprietor does not aspire to large buildings, the experience to date has often indicated a shortage of accommodation capacity so that their widening has already been undertaken. A new building will be added to the existing facility with a further fifteen rooms, while the hotel’s offer will be complemented with an indoor pool, a small wellness centre and a new 100-seat conference hall.

source: Croatian National Tourist Board at www.croatia.hr

Resources

• Hotel Zdjelarevic

Rijeka’s Hotel Bonavia, a part of the Adriatic Luxury Hotels Company is this year celebrating its 130 anniversary, which is being marked both in a celebration of the jubilee and in the already launched reconstruction of a part of the hotel that aims to see the hotel offer’s already high level of quality further improved.

The hotel is located at a much-frequented location in the very heart of the city, right next to Rijeka’s well-known Korzo promenade. The Hotel Bonavia is one of the busiest hotels in Rijeka, but it has more than just its location to thank for that - it also has a long tradition behind it and a high level of services on offer. The hotel boasts a four-star rating, but, as this is one of the oldest hotels in this part of Europe, the time is right to somewhat modernise it. As the hotel management has announced, a large spa centre is to be created by the year’s end featuring numerous wellness and fitness facilities, the construction of which will see the revamping of the hotel’s entire basement, an investment of some half a million Euros.

The future spa centre will be spread over some 250 square metres - besides a fitness hall guests will be offered the services of numerous wellness facilities like Finnish saunas, Turkish baths, a cosmetics area, massage parlours and many other relaxation treatments.

The hotel offers 114 luxuriously appointed rooms and seven suites, including a presidential suite. Besides its classic tourism offer the hotel is also targeted to the organisation of conferences. Rijeka is sought out more and more as a congress destination, and the Hotel Bonavia’s offer of three multi-functional conference halls definitely fits into this concept. The cuisine offered by the hotel’s restaurants, the Classic, Zimski vrt (Winter Garden) and the Kamov, renovated this year, is well suited to the needs of larger conference groups.

source: Croatian National Tourist Board at www.croatia.hr

Resources

• Directory: Rijeka
• Grand Hotel Bonavia

Representatives of the Swiss Tourist Bureau recently granted Sibenik’s city fathers their recognition of a very attractive tourism product that consists of an exceptional combination of the city’s rich and glorious history and its numerous natural beauties, all of which are why they foresee a coming boom in the city’s tourism industry.

Sibenik has a wealth of cultural and historical monuments. The best known of these is certainly Sibenik’s St. James cathedral, one of the most original edifices of Late Middle Age Europe that is now a World Heritage monument under the protection of UNESCO. Sibenik is, in fact, a city of mysteries, of treasures hidden behind closed doors and in the catacombs that spread under the medieval fortresses.

Sibenik’s famous water wells, constructed in the 15th century, are located next to St. James cathedral. Nowadays one can live the city’s past and present inside them, as multimedia centres have been set up in the interiors of these deep wells, in which visitors can themselves build one of the Sibenik fortresses, dive into the sea in search of sunken ships, help St. Michael fight a dragon or just revel in pictures of Sibenik’s natural beauties – one of which is certainly the Krka National Park. Enthusiasts of recorded history can, for their part, enjoy themselves touring a rich monastic collection in which over 150 incunabula are preserved and as many priceless hand-written codices, among which is the renowned Sibenska molitva (The Prayer Of Sibenik) – the first Croatian poetic text written in the Latin script.

Besides all this, the city stands out by its unique position, as it is situated in a wide bay at the mouth of the Krka River, also the site of the Krka National Park, always popular among tourists.

source: Croatian National Tourist Board at www.croatia.hr

Resources

• Directory: Sibenik
• City of Sibenik Tourist Board

The City of Sisak and the City of Sisak Tourist Board are this year’s recipients of the European Federation of Tourism Journalists’ F.E.S.T. Charter, awarded at the 13th International Tourism Review recently held in Split.

The prestigious recognition, granted to the City of Sisak and the town’s Tourist Board, is in recognition of a grand tourist event and historical pageant – the “Sisak Medieval Tournament” – which has for many years now provided an excellent stage showcasing the tradition and wealth of historical heritage of the entire Sisak region.

Sisak, known as a city that was once deemed to be one of the key bulwarks against the Ottomans and before that an important centre of the Roman, and even the Celtic cultures, is home, besides of the medieval tournament, to other events that are also geared to presenting the city’s rich history and incorporating these programs into the tourism industry. Among these are the traditional Flower Fair, the Carnival festivities and many other events, all of which are complemented by the offer of Sisak’s souvenirs, predominantly jewellery that features copies of Roman coins minted in Roman-period Siscia.

Parallel to this valuable recognition, especially given that the award is granted by eminent journalists working in the tourism industry sector, the renovation of the city’s largest hotel, the Panonija, has been announced, an investment of some 1.3 million Euros targeted to improving the quality of accommodation and securing additional catering and entertainment possibilities.

source: Croatian National Tourist Board at www.croatia.hr

Resources

• City of Sisak Tourist Board

German tour operator Neckermann Reisen has declared Porec’s Hotel Luna to be the best all-inclusive hotel in Croatia and one of the 100 best vacation hotels in the world.

The Hotel Luna, situated in a pine woods in the settlement of Spadici, a hundred metres from the beachfront and only a ten minute walk from the picturesque old town core of Porec, is targeted to families and to all those who want to have their minds on nothing else but having fun and enjoying the many activities offered at this all-inclusive facility. The hotel is owned by the Porec-based Riviera Holding Company that is now a part of the renowned Croatian group Valamar Hotels & Resorts. In keeping with this tourist chain’s high criteria of quality, the Hotel Luna offers the possibility of high-quality accommodation and a wide array of entertainment facilities, especially during the summer months. Besides its accommodation capacity the hotel offers a diverse animation, recreation and sports program adapted to all ages and in particular to children, and all of the facilities in the hotel are automatically included in the price of accommodation. The other part of the hotel’s offer, especially the cuisine, works on the same principle, and guests in this segment are offered a great deal of flexibility, so that along with the buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner, there is a daily offer of cake parties and midnight snacks. Entertainment is organised every evening, with dancing and music, so that guests can, in fact, have a great time all day long without a thought to anything other than their own contentment.

This is one of the chief reasons the valuable recognition has been received, given that in a survey on the quality of food, availability of amenities and overall customer satisfaction in hotel services, the guests of Neckermann Reisen ranked the Hotel Luna among the 100 best vacation hotels in the world.

source: Croatian National Tourist Board at www.croatia.hr

Resources

• Directory: Porec
• Hotel Luna

Rovinj’s hotels Eden and Park, a part of the Maistra chain of hotels, are again this year recipients of British tour operator Thomson’s prestigious Gold Medal award. The Hotel Eden is an award recipient in the 4T Best Thomson Summer Accommodation category, which it has won now for the eighth time running, while the Hotel Park is for the third time recipient in the 3T Best Thomson Summer Accommodation category. The success this year of the Eden and Park hotels is all the more significant as both Maistra hotels have entered the very top end of their categories, which represent Thomson’s broadest travel program. The Hotel Eden has been ranked by quality as the sixth hotel in the world, and the Hotel Park seventh in its category. The Thomson awards are especially significant because of the fact that this leading British tour operator grants them on the basis of surveys made among guests year-round, in which facilities are evaluated in various categories – from location, quality and the level of personalised service, tidiness in the facility, room comfort, food quality, activities on offer, price versus quality, right up to the weather conditions at the destination, overall customer satisfaction and so forth.

It should be pointed out that the Hotel Eden is this year also recipient of the award for best four-star hotel on the Croatian Adriatic, a recognition it received during the 10th jubilee “Tourist Flower - Quality For Croatia 2006″ action sponsored by Croatian Radio & Television and the Croatian Chamber Of Commerce.

source: Croatian National Tourist Board at www.croatia.hr

Resources

• Directory: Rovinj » Hotels
• Directory: Vrsar » Hotels
• Maistra chain of hotels

In line with the development of the offer of health tourism in Vodice, a town situated in Central Dalmatia, a unique dentistry & medical centre was opened there recently that brings two currently very popular branches of healthcare to one location – dental implantology and aesthetic plastic surgery. The Medident Adria centre is housed in Vodice’s well-known hotel Punta, which now, besides a vacation, offers its guests operations in three basic aspects of healthcare – dentistry, dental implantology and facial and body plastic surgery.

The expert team of dentists, surgeons and physicians provide for the overall healthcare offer, while the hotel staff is likewise there to ensure an enjoyable stay in Vodice with their attractive tourist programs.

The basic purpose, namely, of this medical centre, constructed in one of the very popular tourist destinations on the Adriatic seaboard, is to offer a complete treatment and recovery package. Besides the very high quality of the surroundings, each guest/patient of the centre is ensured an individual approach with the offer of the appropriate recovery program.

When consideration was given to which city would house the centre, Vodice became the obvious choice because of its excellent road connections, and the tourist offer in the city is already traditionally recognised as being of a very high level of quality – diverse and entertaining.

There are similar facilities, offering only dentistry services however, across Croatia (in Rovinj and Zagreb, for example). The services are particularly popular among British guests who can find information on these services at www.treatmentabroad.net.

source: Croatian National Tourist Board at www.croatia.hr

Resources

• Directory: Health Tourism » Dental Tourism
• Directory: Vodice
• Medident Adria
• City of Vodice Tourist Board