Tourism2030 - Good Practice

Environmentally Friendly

2014-11-20T14:07:42Z

Croatian national environmental label "Environmentally Friendly" is a voluntary instrument of general environmental policy in the Republic of Croatia, which certifies products and services that have less negative impact on the environment compared with other similar products or services.
Through that eco- label manufacturer or provider of service in a hotel or campsite shows consumer and tourist company that it meets high environmental standards. Trends show that today consumers and tourists are increasingly looking for some relevant environmental labels, which belong to the type 1 of labeling according to DIN EN ISO 14024:2008 certification when the labeling awarding scheme includes a qualified independent assessment on the basis of specific criteria.
Ministry of Environmental and Nature Protection is a croatian competent body for the national awarding system of environmental label "Environmentally Friendly" as well as of the environmental label of the European Union, "EU Ecolabel" (both belong to the eco-label type 1).

Within the national ecolabelling awarding scheme review and revision of specific criteria for the two groups of services: "Hotel accommodation" and "Campsite” were carried out recently. Both criteria were revised in collaboration with experts from the Commission for the award of Environmental Label (Ministry of Tourism, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, etc.) as well as other professionals who have been working on the establishment of these criteria and the certification (Institute of Tourism). The criteria are based on examples of good practice in the procedures of awarding the eco-label "Environmentally Friendly" to hotels and campsites as of 2011 and in accordance with changes in legislation. They are focused on energy and water consumption, the reduction of waste production, on the use of renewable natural resources and on the use of less harmful substances to the environment.

Currently, 10 hotels and 5 campsites hold the eco-label "Environmentally Friendly" for the period 2011 – 2013.

All hotels and campsites are invited to start the certification process and apply for eco-label in order to continue to work together in protecting the environment and promoting sustainable production and consumption.

Croatian National Tourist Board - I love Croatia

2018-02-07T18:09:09Z

„ I LOVE CROATIA " is an ecological-educational project initiated by CNTB. The aims of the project are: tidying up of tourist areas, creating a warm atmosphere to welcome tourists and visitors to the area/ destination, improving the diversity and quality of specific elements as well as the entire tourist destination offer, encouraging the development of new products in various tourist offer segments, improving the tourist product/ offer, elements and quality, encouraging new cultural-tourist initiatives and events based on traditional, historical and cultural heritage, encouraging improvements in the development of tourist infrastructure, enhancing the hospitality level and creating a warm welcome, developing consciousness concerning the importance of tourism to raise the overall quality of life etc.

Croatian National Tourist Board - BLUE FLOWER

2018-02-07T18:09:09Z

BLUE FLOWER - annual evaluation of the best arranged destinations and individual elements in the Croatian coastal area according to established criteria (Accessibility of the destination, maintenance of the destination, range of products/attractions of the destination, public facilities, beaches) and after inspection in the field. The aim of this action is the preservation of tourist areas, improving tourist areas, protect the environment and promoting tourism.

The list of awarded destinations: http://business.croatia.hr/hr-HR/Hrvatska-turisticka-zajednica/Projekti-HTZ-a/Arhiva-Plavi-cvijet?Y2lcMjQ5OQ%3d%3d

Croatian National Tourist Board - GREEN FLOWER

2018-02-07T18:09:09Z

GREEN FLOWER - annual evaluation of the best arranged destinations and individual elements (best arranged park, garden, balcony, souvenir and tourist offer) in the Croatian continental area according to established criterias (accessibility of the destination, maintenance of the destination, range of products/attractions of the destination, public facilities, beaches) and after inspection in the field. The aim of this action is the preservation of tourist areas, improving tourist areas, protect the environment and promoting tourism.

The list of awarded destinations: http://business.croatia.hr/hr-HR/Hrvatska-turisticka-zajednica/Projekti-HTZ-a/Arhiva-Zeleni-cvijet?Y2lcMjUwMw%3d%3d

The EkoPartner programme

2018-02-08T14:32:41Z

The EkoPartner programme ( http://www.eko-partner.hr/) is a initiative launched by the associations Sunce (http://www.sunce-st.org/) and Zelena Istra (http://www.zelena-istra.hr/) , respectively from Split and Pula, with the aim of:

integrating environmentally responsible practices in the management policy of small tourist objects (small hotels, rural accommodations, private accommodations) in Croatia;
developing a platform for cooperation between different sectors in the promotion of sustainable forms of tourism;
raising the awareness of the wider public, of national and local authorities, as well as tourist associations and entrepreneurs, at all levels, concerning environmental protection and sustainable development.

At the moment 6 tourist objects in Dalmatia and 10 in Istria are members of Ecopartner program. To entry into EkoPartner program, tourist object should satisfy 33 initial criteria divided into eight categories, waste, water, energy, food, transport, noise, local values, education and communication. Considering the objective limitations existing in many environments (underdeveloped public infrastructure, underdeveloped separate waste collection systems and so on) criteria selection was based on two principles: basic environmental protection requirements and additional provisions which smaller tourist facilities are able to implement instantly, with limited or no financial investment. They are called initial criteria, as the programme is going to entail facility grading in the future, meaning that the tourist facilities which achieve a higher degree of sustainability are going to be elevated to a higher level.

Project „Business Cooperation and Skills Improvement for the Development of Outdoor Tourism

2018-02-08T14:32:41Z

Project „Business Cooperation and Skills Improvement for the Development of Outdoor Tourism (Projekt „DOT“)

Project was implemented by Association Sunce, Croatian Mountain Rescue Service (CMRS), the Center for Initiatives in Sustainable Tourism and UNDP Montenegro through the 2011 and the first half of 2012 within the IPA CBC program Croatia and Montenegro.

http://www.sunce-st.org/eko.php?category=projekti&blob_id=815&lang=en

The goal of the project was to create successful tourism products through the establishment of cross-border business cooperation, travel agencies, upgrade skills and knowledge of tour guide services and rescue services and the increase in small-scale tourism infrastructure. In this way, it significantly contributed to the development of adventure tourism as one of the important forms of sustainable tourism.

Clean and rich biodiversity Adriatic sea, rivers, mountains and forests are the core values and a framework in which people spend their free and as such represent an important tourism resource because for the majority of tourists, especially adventurers, most attractive places are these one with a rich and preserved nature. In the spirit of its vision and mission, the Association Sunce as a partner in the project helped to increase the guides’ knowledge on the natural heritage and on environmental protection measures. In three courses, organized through the project, participated in total 64 participants.

During the entire project Sunce have coordinated tourism "cluster" and led the process of tourist itineraries development, offered in five forms of adventure tourism (cycling, hiking, sea kayaking, family and multiactiv program). In addition, we developed 6 educative boards for interpretation of natural heritage in cross border areas in Dubrovnik-Neretva County.

GREEN TRIPS

2018-02-08T14:32:41Z

Green trips are service provided by the Association Sunce as a part of the business plan, "Green trips- Workshops in the nature under the educational guidance of the Association Sunce” implementation. For the implementation of this business plan NESsT approved a support in the form of financial support and mentoring of the further development of social enterprise. With the activities provided by the business plan we started in June 2012, and the realization of the first Greens trip is planned for fall 2012. Green trips will be organized by the Association Sunce in cooperation with travel agencies. It will be organized in Dalmatia and include a visit some of the protected areas.

They are primarily intended for the education of elementary school students about the different ecosystems. Today, ecosystems are endangered, although we are often not even aware of it, as we are sometimes not even aware of all the services that we provide specific ecosystem and what is their actual value. Ecosystems of certain rivers, lakes, meadows, mountains, forests, wetlands, sea, and source of every day are endangered and the question is how much they need to cross over the edge.
Through the Green trips, students learn about the characteristics of each ecosystem, the services provided by specific ecosystem, and threats to which they are exposed. Also, fundamental goal of the Green trips is to learn students on principles of environmentally responsible behavior and encourage their practice in daily life. In the future, Green trips will be organized to other target groups, international tourists, retirees, pre-school children, etc.

DESTqual

2018-02-08T14:32:41Z

“DESTqual: QUALITY EVALUATION OF THE TOURISM SUPPLY"

CCE, HRT and the Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar signed an agreement of cooperation in 2006 launching DESTqual quality evaluation as a national project with the aim to raise awareness and responsibility for the competitive and sustainable development of Croatian tourism.

DESTqual method of quality control in Croatian tourist destinations developed a six-year research database (2006.-2012). Presenting the results of tourism quality in selected Croatian destinations.

With growing competition, the quality of the supply and service in tourism becomes an important competitive advantage because it •represents one of the determining factors of satisfaction and customer loyalty (consumers), is directly is connected to level of profit and long-term success, provides inputs for sustainable management of destinations.

The aim of the project was to empirically establish the elements of quality and their relevance ranking, translate these findings into relevant criteria (standards) and build a system that will allow effective maintenance and continual improvement of quality of destinations involving all stakeholders in an integrated approach.

DESTqual quality evaluation of tourism supply proves to be a useful and important tool for developing effective tourist strategies, based on objective facts. It also provides direct insight into the true quality of the tourism supply integrating all stakeholders providing valuable feedback for quality management of tourism supply. Basically it allows a comparison of characteristics between destinations and an analysis of changes over time resulting in sustainability and quality improvements.”

List of winners: http://www.mint.hr/UserDocsImages/12-turist-cvijet.pdf

EXPERIENCE CROATIA

2018-02-08T14:32:41Z

EXPERIENCE CROATIA – Quality marks in cultural tourism is a national program aimed at raising awareness about long-term sustainable development based on quality, requiring cooperation and cultural tourism sector in creating the overall cultural tourism product.

- Grad Zadar

- Memorijalni centar "Nikola Tesla", Smiljan

- Rabska fjera

MAN - KEY TO SUCCESS IN TOURISM

2018-02-08T14:32:41Z

MAN - KEY TO SUCCESS IN TOURISM is a national program aimed at raising the level of hospitality and creating a welcoming environment in the destination. The purpose of this program is to cover all activities involved in creating a "picture" rating on the Republic of Croatia as a hospitable and attractive tourist destination and those that may affect their work on raising the quality of tourism services, the most important Croatian export product.

The list of awareded by CTNB:

http://business.croatia.hr/hr-HR/Hrvatska-turisticka-zajednica/Projekti-HTZ-a/Arhiva-Covjek-kljuc-uspjeha-u-turizmu?Y2lcMjUwMQ%3d%3d

CHILDREN WRITE AND DRAW CROATIA

2018-02-08T14:32:41Z

CONTEST CHILDREN WRITE AND DRAW CROATIA each year the project is implemented and education of preschool children and primary schools about the importance of tourism and raising awareness of the need to preserve and protect the environment. To this end, the Croatian National Tourist Board annually organizes the competition for the best children's artistic and literary works on a given topic, which is associated with the objectives of the action.

The lists of winners awarded by CTNB: http://business.croatia.hr/hr-HR/Hrvatska-turisticka-zajednica/Projekti-HTZ-a/Arhiva-Djeca-crtaju-i-pisu?Y2lcMjQ5OA%3d%3d

CROATIAN ISLAND PRODUCT

2018-02-08T14:32:41Z

Due to the desire to preserve the essence of Croatian islands, in early 2007, Government of Croatia initiated the project of visual labelling of island products with the label "Croatian Island Product", with the intention of providing an incentive for island manufacturers of authentic and quality products.

Taking into consideration the National Island Development Programme and the Islands Act, the project’s preparation took several years. The basic goal is to identify and distribute quality island products, which will then be recognised as such within and outside Croatia.

These are the products manufactured as a result of island traditions, research and development, innovation and inventiveness, whose level of quality must be quantifiable. They originate from limited island sites and they are manufactured in small series.

DISCOVER CROATIA

2018-02-08T14:32:41Z

Project “Discover Croatia” was launched in 2010th as a joint project of the Ministry of Tourism and the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies. The purpose of the project is to reposition the image of Croatian tourism from the tourism of “sun and sea products” towards the tourism of special interest in order to encourage the development of at least 50 competent DMC agencies and about 2000 new tourism programs. Discover Croatia project is focused at developing tourism offers in undeveloped areas. Such an approach undoubtedly reduces unemployment and displacement of the population and it directly affects the general welfare. Also, the project aims to activate the untapped tourism resources in the vicinity of the shoreline which would result in reducing the negative impact of high seasonality of Croatian tourism. The development of tourism programs that are implemented in the pre-and post-season is undoubtedly increasing occupancy rates and profitability of tourism enterprises.

Lošinj - Island of Vitality

2018-02-08T14:32:41Z

The Island of Lošinj is part of the Cres-Lošinj island group, which constitutes the western segment of the Kvarner’s islands inside the Kvarner Bay. The Kvarner Bay together with that of Trieste forms the most inland point of the Mediterranean Sea. The archipelago of Lošinj comprises the Island of Lošinj (74,68 km²) and smaller islands: Unije (16,77 km²), Ilovik (5,88 km²), Susak (3,76 km²), Vele Srakane (1,17 km²), and a series of smaller uninhabited islands. The islands of this archipelago form the natural bridge between Istria and Dalmatia.

Sustainable development, preservation of flora and fauna, high living standard for islanders, quality tourism product and experience for our guests, economic development, education, certified products, eco-friendly economy. The island of Lošinj and the archipelago offer preserved natural environment, dense centennial pine forest, 1200 plant species, clean air of the highest quality and clean sea; over 220 km of arranged routes and walking trails on five islands and indigenous heritage converging with high standards expected by today’s guests.

Hotel Laguna Parentium

2013-12-18T13:32:33Z

PLAVA LAGUNA, POREČ - ECOLOGY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Preservation and protection of the ecological balance in exploiting the existing natural resources falls among the most prominent Company’s goals. The environmental conditions playing an important role in the overall quality of the tourist product and in view of their effect on the overall competitiveness and economic efficiency, considerable efforts in terms of investment allocation have been made towards constant upgrading of their attractiveness. For example, most of the Company’s investment in 2012 had to do with a complete reconstruction of the Hotel Laguna Parentium. Consequently, the new hotel has been upgraded to a 4 star category. Further, the application of the heat pump systems, a high degree of energy efficiency, as well as the environmental sustainability of this investment have made the Plava Laguna Company open a new chapter in the Croatian hotel industry. A certified energy efficiency study has assigned the hotel a high A class.

Small and family run „ECO Hotels“

2018-02-08T14:32:41Z

Small and family run „ECO Hotels“ can be recognized by the eco-labels logo 'heart with a leaf' and are known as objects that lead the greatest environmental concerns in their area.
Croatian eco-label for tourist accommodation for small and family-run hotels follows the structure of the European Eco-label Eco-flower. Eco-certificate confirms that the property is using their energy rationally, that there are certain procedures each hotel must follow to prevent unnecessary loss of energy and resources.
Building must have all the necessary checkpoints and means to prevent energy loss. Also, the certificate relates to sorting and selective collection of waste generated as a by-product in the production process within the hotel.
The eco hotel OMH dishes are prepared according to traditional recipes, from domestic products grown in the area where the hotel is located.
Eco label implies spreading environmental awareness among staff, hotel guests and all those who come into contact with their services.
The project was created as a collaboration of the Association of Small and family-run hotels, and the Ministry of Tourism.

ECO HOTELS:

Hotel Korana Srakovčić

Hotel Vicko

Hotel Savus

Hotel Bitoraj

Travelife - Sustainability in tourism

2018-02-07T18:09:12Z

Travel agencies and tour operators from Croatia, Greece, Latvia, Poland and the Netherlands began exchanging good practice examples within the Travelife system in the field of sustainable tourism.

http://www.uhpa.hr/article/sustainable-tourism-good-practice-examples-32990

HISTRIA AROMATICA PARK

2018-02-08T14:32:38Z

Located near town Bale on 25 acres, park Histria Aromatica is a natural paradise for senses. It is an agriculture, productive, educational and touristic centre, with more than 300 species of domestic aromatic, spice and medical herbs, olive groves and vineyards of Adriatic hinterland and islands. Thereof the eno – gastronomic offer is based on high – quality organic ingredients, in a best way representing Istrian Mediterranean cuisine.

Nin, Croatia – unique secret in the Lagoon

2015-05-04T07:15:03Z

Nin, Croatia – unique secret in the Lagoon – development of the Eko-park Ninska Laguna

Nin - European Destinations of Excellence, is only 14 km from the regional center Zadar. Nin is located in a unique lagoon on the Adriatic coast, at the beginning of the fertile lowland areas.