Last Thursday, on July 14, the Action Plan for the Development of Green Tourism in Croatia was presented in Omiš. Environment and tourism are in complex interdependence and designed and implemented in a proper way, they can make a step closer to the transition towards an economically viable future.
At the presentation of the plan, Deputy Minister of Tourism Robert Pauletić called Croatia a natural jewel and warned that the development of tourism brings great benefits, but also “dictates environmental care so that our little paradise on Earth is not disturbed“.
Efforts to green tourism no longer only fall under the auspices of environmental protection organizations, but are also becoming a part of the strategic documents and a necessity of the Republic of Croatia.
In that sense, Dr. Sc. Hrvoje Carić from the Institute for Tourism highlighted the long-standing work of the Association Sunce with a special emphasis on the recent edition of the brochure “Be Natural Be Active – Active Tourism in Protected Natura 2000 Areas” as one of the tools to raise awareness of tourist and guest activities. Sustainable development in practice, according to Carić, is the protection of natural and cultural heritage, the achievement of local community profit, as well as the general well-being. An important element is a continual improvement and for example, he has indicated the necessary transformation of tourist communities from promotional to development institutions.
The Action Plan represents a simpler overview of the possibilities for using the available funds from the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI) and the EU Program, emphasized Vesna Rajković, Head of Sector at the Ministry of Tourism. Thus, for the development of green tourism in Croatia by 2020, as much as 120 million euros will be provided, which imply constant care for the environment and the preservation of natural diversity for us, our guests and future generations.
An action plan for green tourism development has been created in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and the Institute for Tourism, in order to contribute to the achievement of global recognition in the tourist market, market repositioning from the sun and sea destination to the offer of various authentic contents and experiences, time expansion and geographic dispersion of tourism demand; the promotion of the production portfolio of tourism, with the aim of increasing tourist spending and the number of tourist arrivals.