The World Rally Championship Promotor and FIA have given the green light: The World Rally Championship could happen in Croatia by 2019!
The World Rally Championship attracts more than 700 million viewers per year, of which four million spectators followed 13 WRC rallies in 2016. The World Rally Championship is tracked by 1350 accredited journalists, producing over 12,000 broadcast hours shown in 155 TV markets worldwide. This is just a part of the numbers and data the WRC produces, potentially making the championship the largest event ever to be held in Croatia, reports Poslovni.hr on September 7, 2017.
While WRC approved Croatia for 2018, Turkey was faster, and in just one week, they obtained all of the necessary permits and state guarantees and signed a contract with the WRC promoter for the end of September - something Croatian organizers hoped to accomplish. After that, the term offered to Croatia was in July 2018, which was by no means acceptable considering the busy tourist season here. Croatia would like the WRC to be organized in April, May, early June, late September or October, and it looks like in a few years we just might.
After the Croatia Rally, which was held as a round of the European Rally Championship in 2013 in Istria, the teams from Auto Club D.T. from Poreč, A.K. Cro Dakar Team from Zagreb and A.K. Delta Sport from Zagreb, with the inevitable support of Croatian Auto and Karting Association (HAKS) Matka Bolanče, HAKS Vice President Domagoj Kamensky and HAKS secretary Zrinko Gregurek, began to work concretely on the idea of bringing WRC to Croatia. Thanks to Zrinka Gregurec, HAKS Secretary, Croatia’s beauty, the tourist infrastructure, winding, sloping, hilly and narrow Istrian and Kvarner Streets, and with the persistence of project manager Daniela Šasina, Marina Frcka and their team, the WRC came knocking on Croatia’s door.
The organizers, with the permission of the mayor of Pula, anticipated the start of the WRC in the ancient Pula Arena and the finish in Poreč. The race would last for four days, and during that time, cars would drive almost 1000 km throughout Istria and parts of Kvarner. Part of the program could also be held on the islands of Cres and Lošinj.
The organizers of the Croatia Rally were given support from the Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, and the Central State Office for Sport headed by Janica Kostelić. They were even given a letter of support from Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, the Ministry of Tourism and the Croatian Olympic Committee.
The Croatian National Tourist Board will play a fundamental role in bringing the WRC to Croatia in the coming months. Minister of Tourism Gari Capelli and the new director of HTZ Kristijan Staničić confirmed that there is considerable interest from the tourism industry for this project. While they have expressed their willingness to cooperate, they have cited the extension of the tourist season where new content and strong entertainment and sports events in the pre and post season can be conceived.
Based on data from other WRC races around the world, it has been proven that this project is of great benefit to Croatia. Consumption generated in the most conservative calculations would amount to 22 million EUR. Direct revenue for the country, just through VAT, would amount to at least 4 million EUR, and the indirect profit of the project through media amounts to a massive 11 million EUR.
According to official data from the WRC in Portugal, in 2016, WRC was monitored live by 910,000 viewers (50% were foreigners, half of them from neighboring Spain). The direct impact on the Portuguese economy was 67.6 million EUR, while the indirect effects amounted to 61.7 million EUR. When looking at the impact on tourism, Portugal achieved more than 1.5 million overnights from WRC annually!
Croatia, as one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in the world, could reach these numbers, and even go beyond them, in just a few years.
The WRC would certainly start in Istria and Kvarner, and the organizer desires to "relocate" the WRC back to Croatia every few years. Interest has already been expressed by the Tourist Board of Šibenik-Knin County, while organizers want to bring the WRC to Slavonia one day, and more precisely to Vukovar, Vinkovci and Osijek.
Bringing more than half of the world's automotive industry to Croatia is not just sport, tourism and entertainment, but one day, with proper routing and support from state institutions, it can become much more.
Translated from Poslovni
