24 October 2021 - This year the Biograd Boat Show celebrated it's 23rd show with 21 years of continuous record breaking shows, a unique accomplishment with so many boat shows around the world. Held at Marina Kornati in Biograd na moru, this is Central Europe’s largest in-water boat show and has gained international popularity amongst both exhibitors and visitors alike. Industry events held within the Biograd Boat Show  include the 5th HGK (Croatian Chamber of Commerce) Nautical Days (20th-22nd), the Croatia Charter Expo (21st-22nd) and the Biograd B2B business networking event.

The first day was opened by the Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds, Nataša Tramišak.

Stretched out across four marquee halls and three piers spanning the northern and western wings of Marina Kornati, the Boat Show offered visitors the chance to peruse over 300 registered exhibitors across all aspect srelated to the marine industry, including apparel, solar energy, boat charter agents, food products , chandlery and textiles. A highlight for many visiting the boat show, there were also up to 300 boats on display, with many of them open to the public to look through and inspect. 

Of course, in these COVID times, safety measures were in place such as RAPID testing available at the entrance for 50 kuna per person for anyone who did not have a COVID passport (required to enter the event.) There were also many sanitizer stations laid out all over providing many opportunities for both exhibitors and attendees to ensure that they were abiding by the COVID guidelines.

Some of the new vessels that were introduced to the Croatian market included:

• Seamaster 45 Fortuna - Presented by Angelina Yachting, this is the largest motorboat from the Seamaster range, with a 13.5m flybridge. contemporary design and luxe interior. Available for charter with Angelina Yachting.

• Flammifer FFB 640 F-RPA compact firefighting boat - Made domestically in Croatia, this powerful machine is designed to emit jets of up to 45 meters, useful for its’ purpose of fighting fires in marina’s, on ships and in coastal areas where access is only by sea.

• Bali Catamaran in sizes 4.2 and4.6 - Bali is known for its’ unique catamaran designs maximising on lounging space and open living areas. Their 4.2 and 4.6 models are already popular in the charter industry here in Croatia. 

• Agena Marin solar ferry boat - With it’s clean lines and retro design, this lightweight 8.5m long vessel has a maximum of 12 passengers. Equipped with a solar panel with a capacity of 1800 W that constantly charges the batteries, the boat can sail constantly from 5 to 8 hours, depending on the load.

• See below for a quick walk-through of the Bali 4.6 with 45D in their Biograd Boat Show vlog. Charter a Bali catamaran with Croatia Yachting Charter HERE  

A few other noteworthy exhibitors were: 

• EcoFlow - A compact and highly attractive portable solar power system, boasting the worlds fastest portable power stations.

• Big Green Egg - A bbq with a distinctive name and appearance, it comes in three different sizes and is made in Croatia!

• Lampuga - Premium, electric, emission-free surfboards.

A Biograd Boat Show favourite returned this year as well. Christian Buchair, also known as “Rocket Man” took to the air with his Flyboard Water Jet Pack. Christian is also associated with Efun Waterways, who were also at the Boat Show showcasing their luxury water toys! Efun maximized on being at the Biograd Boat Show and premiered the Messestand, their new German-made carbon electric surfboard from WaterRebels. 

Every evening of the event was closed with live entertainment from local artists, such as Three Little Birds, Mate Skračić band, The Dreamers and a special performance on Saturday night from Freeway “Unplugged”, a band consisting of local nautical workers! 

For more detailed information and some great articles relevant to both the Biograd Boat Show and nautical tourism within Croatia, check out the Biograd Boat Show Croatia Yachting magazine here.

Photo credit: https://www.facebook.com/BiogradBoatShow

If you have questions on anything sailing in Croatia, feel free to ask below in the comments or check out Total Croatia, Sailing in Croatia: Your One-Stop-Shop for Everything Sailing.

For more about Travel in Croatia follow TCN's dedicated pages - Digital Nomads | Travel.

17 June 2021 - Jadrolinija national ferry company acquired a new ship that will connect the town of Biograd with Tkon on Pasman island.

"Jadrolinija" is one of the most used words in the Croatian language during the summer, at least on the coast. This national ferry company has been connecting the mainland and the islands of the Croatian part of the Adriatic for decades. Its international lines see it connecting Croatia with Italy for part of the year as well.

Because of the small size of the towns and villages and the scarce population living on the islands, only a portion of these lines are profitable and the fleet is pretty large. It is therefore quite a newsworthy item to see Jadrolinija presenting a new addition. Ferry „Tkon“ joined the fleet that now counts 55 ships in total.

Valuable Addition

It was purchased from Rapska Plovidba (Rab Shipping) as index.hr reports. Tkon is a product of renowned Croatian shipyard Viktor Lenac. It is 42 metres long, 15,3 metres wide, and can hold 250 passengers and 35 cars. It was built in 2003. In comparison, ferry „Prizna“ that serviced this Jadrolinija line so far is over 50 years old. It will be on stand-by for the busiest parts of the year. After the purchase Tkon is heading to the docks for maintenace and re-painting. This is good news for all travellers to Pasman island, but also all the islanders and Biograd locals. Chairman of the board of Jadolinija, David Spota said the move goes along the strategic goal of updating and improving the fleet. This is the fifth new ship to come under Jadrolinija flag in the last four years.

It really is difficult to avoid blue-striped Jadrolinija ships along the Croatian coast. They bring much joy to all those wishing to visit some of over a thousand magical islands of Croatia. Here's to Tkon's smooth sailing!

Follow the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, October 17, 2019 - Nautical tourism is an important segment of Croatia's tourism because it enriches its offer and extends the season, which is the aim of the tourism policy, President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović said on Thursday while opening the 21st edition of the Biograd Boat Show which has attracted a record 400 exhibitors and is expected to attract about 20,000 visitors by October 20 when it closes.

"In two decades this nautical, economic and tourist event has developed into one of the leading nautical fairs in Europe and is visited by thousands of visitors. Fairs like this promote an exceptionally important segment of our tourism offer, nautical tourism, whose development we have to undoubtedly support," said Grabar-Kitarović.

She added that the success and importance of the Biograd Boat Show has been recognised by the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) which has organised the Nautical Days for the third year in a row.

The president underscored that it was important for the tourism industry to complement other industries in Croatia, particularly agriculture, "so that we can finally achieve what we are constantly talking about, for green Croatia to feed blue Croatia, for continental tourism to develop," said Grabar-Kitarović.

She said that nautical tourism was important because it attracted higher paying guests who, through higher consumption, contribute more strongly to the economy. Nautical tourism also extends the season as a lot of regattas are organised in the shoulder season and its development stimulates small shipyards in Croatia.

"Nautical tourism gives Croatia's tourism a prestigious image and that is why it is interesting to even the most demanding tourists and puts our country alongside the most developed tourist destinations," she said.

HGK vice president Dragan Kovačević said that Croatia is a nautical superpower and one of the most significant nautical destinations on the Mediterranean, and globally too.

"That is backed by numbers - Croatia has a fleet of 4,300 vessels and more than 140 tourism ports with more than 17,000 berths and one million passengers on cruise liners. Average spending by nautical tourists is €126 a day or €183 for charter passengers, with more than 30% of that money spent on other forms of tourism, from cultural events to wine and food," Kovacevic explained.

More yachting news can be found in the Travel section.

July the 25th, 2019 - On Sunday, July the 28th, Biograd town harbour near the historic city of Zadar will host an amazing display of various diving disciplines. Some of the top Croatian divers who are highly qualified and respected on the international level will dive using the Jump Blue open water discipline.

The fifth world record holder and the double world champion is Lidija Lijić who is set to remain the world record holder (for 171 metres) because this particular diving discipline is no longer officially done.

Alongside the Jump Blue discipline, other dynamics and diving disciplines will be showcased to interested parties, including mono fin.

Biograd is, alongside the whole of the Zadar region, a very popular destination for nautical tourism and Zadar has put itself on the map in those terms in several respects. Presenting Biograd and its surroundings as a diving destination is next in line when positioning the area as a popular one owing to its islands, beautiful coastline, and of course, the Adriatic sea.

This specialist diving event will be recorded with a sophisticated underwater camera that will serve the Biograd Tourist Board for the purpose of promoting this aquarium as a great diving destination.

The vicinity of the stunning NP Kornati and other beautiful islands in the Zadar region is more than sufficient enough bait for all lovers of the sea and diving into its hidden depths. The co-organisers of this diving oriented event are the Biograd Tourist Board), Ilirija d.d., and Bistro Europa for logistics.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more on what's going on in the Zadar area, Dalmatia and beyond this summer.

The Biograd Boat Show does it again!

Will you be paying a visit?

Biggest boat show in the region set for its 19th show with many novelties in store.

Instead of an occasional cat or dog casually strutting around town, residents of Biograd and the rest of the wider Zadar area are running into a different type of visitor these days.

Although we are nearing the end of the summer season, there is still one town that is brimming with events and crowds as though it is mid-July.

The tourist complex is categorized with 4-stars and spans 67,000 square meters with a total of 166 accommodation units and 20 luxury villas.