January 19, 2021 – Tourist boards in Zagreb County are uniting in two projects – to develop and promote cultural and gourmet tourism.

The new Law on Tourist Boards and the Promotion of Croatian Tourism encourage the tourist boards' association, both project-wise and formally. Local and regional tourist boards, as well as tourist boards and local self-government units that do not have an established tourist board for their area, may join a project (agreement) association.

Many tourist boards have already taken advantage of this opportunity, such as the Zadar Archipelago and Southern Istria tourist boards, and more recently, the tourist boards in Zagreb County.

Namely, they unite to promote and develop cultural and gourmet tourism. As the Zagreb County Tourist Board director Ivana Alilović points out, their goal is to intensively promote the Zagreb Green Ring region and existing tourist products and programs.

Scene from Zagreb County / Romeo Ibrišević, Zagreb County Tourist Board

"Our goal is integrated quality management of the Zagreb County's tourist destination product, which will reduce the gap between the level of quality that tourists expect and the level of quality that the destination can provide and deliver. Also, we want to improve the quality and content of Zagreb County tourism product, increase tourist satisfaction and tourist spending in Zagreb County and the benefits for entrepreneurship in catering and tourism," says Alilović.

Gourmet tourism in Zagreb County

Local tourist boards of Jastrebarsko, Samobor, and Sveti Ivan Zelina cities have concluded an agreement on the local Zagreb County Tourist Boards' association. In this first project, the joint activity will be the development of gourmet tourism. Wine roads and cheese roads are among the many tourist attractions of rural, eno, and gastro tourism of Zagreb County.

Vineyards and wine cellars in Zagreb County are located on three wine roads – Plešivica Wine Road, Zelina Wine Road, and Samobor Wine Road. Along wine roads, you can find Purtugizec Plešivica and Kraljevina Zelina wines from the Zagreb County brand, as well as Bermet, a traditional and widely recognized Samobor aromatized wine.

Also, there are wines produced from indigenous varieties Plavec yellow, sweet Zelenac, and Šipelj, and many other wines such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon, black, gray, and white Pinot, Rhine Riesling, Traminer, Frankovka, Škrlet, yellow Muscat, Šipon.

Vineyards in Jastrebarsko / Copyright Romulić and Stojčić

The main goals of the association through the gourmet tourism project are:

• The smart specialization of Zagreb County.
• The development of a tourist destination for gourmet tourism.
• Improving the value chain of gourmet tourism.
• Digitalization and application of new technologies.
• Multi-sector connectivity.
• Development of local production systems (Agri-food).
• Positioning and promotion of Zagreb county.

Cultural tourism in Zagreb County

Cultural tourism in Zagreb County is based on protected natural heritage and cultural and historical heritage. Zagreb County has a rich treasury of natural heritage and beauty. It has many protected natural areas, which contribute to the development and success of cultural, hiking, picnic, and sustainable tourism in Zagreb County.

The association project aims to establish a basis for the integrated management of cultural tourism. Alilović says they want to create a recognizable tourist destination product that will be the main instrument for encouraging tourism competitiveness in Zagreb County. She adds that cultural resources are the leading destination's product in the promotion of a tourist destination, and what makes one destination different from the other is its intangible cultural heritage.

Lužnica Castle, Zaprešić / Zagreb County Tourist Board

"Heritage is the essential element by which a tourist destination's management attracts tourists to the destination. It is an attractive basis for branding. Creativity based on traditional intangible heritage thus pushes the boundaries of the mere functionality of a product.

Through the example of a cultural thematic route, we seek to show how myth can become a potential attractive basis for the development of mythological tourism in Zagreb County. The thematic route's stories and locations offer a choice according to criteria of collective and personal importance. Therefore, the thematic route is an open system that can be toured individually or organized with expert tourist guidance.

Special attention was given to the local identity. For example, the customs of St. George and St. John were highlighted, as well as other customs that are traditionally woven into the Zagreb County and surrounding regions," says Alilović.

The tourist offer of Zagreb County abounds in cultural and historical heritage, such as stories and legends, wooden construction, sacral construction, indigenous architecture, and archaeological finds and monuments of its rich past.

Zagreb County can also boast more than 200 cultural and historical heritage sites. Among them, castles Novi dvori Jelačićevi are a unique example of a complete manorial-economic complex preserved to this day. Then there are forts, manor houses, rich wooden sacral heritage, of which the most prominent is the chapel of St. Barbara in Velika Mlaka. A beautiful example of autochthonous secular architecture is the manor house (curia) Modić-Bedeković in Donja Lomnica. A special attraction is the memorial room of Alojzije Stepinac in Krašić.

Krašić, Zagreb County / Zagreb County Tourist Board

Valuable is the archeological finds in Ščitarjevo, not far from Velika Gorica, and Budinjak (10th-6th centuries BC), one of the most important prehistoric archaeological sites in Croatia.

The project area includes the tourist boards of the cities of Zaprešić, Velika Gorica, Vrbovec, and Dugo Selo, the tourist boards of the municipalities of Pisarovina and Krašić, and the tourist board of area of the Sava-Sutla valley and hills.

"Agreements of project association in the Zagreb County Tourist Board are an example of planned activities. It is clear that the destination through joint action has the opportunity to better position itself in the market and develop projects that will stimulate overall economic development," said Alilović.

Alilović concludes that the association should result in numerous synergy effects. Not only in quality but also much-needed cost-effectiveness of promotion and project implementation.

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The renowned Draga di Lovrana is located at the foothills of the Učka mountain range, just above the eponymous municipality of Lovran. Built on the edge of a cliff, it overlooks the entire Bay of Kvarner, and the view is nothing less than spectacular. To get to the hotel, you have to drive up the serpentine road to an elevation of about 380 meters – for those who don't speak metric, that's a little over 1200 feet – but Draga di Lovrana is indeed "worth every curve," as their motto says.

With an eerie history of mysterious accidents, lightning strikes, fires, and other unfortunate events, the hotel had become notorious for its macabre past and tragedies that have haunted its halls for over a century. In fact, the locals often say that the entire estate is haunted, and that ever since it was built in 1908 by a Viennese entrepreneur Anton Urm, and then intentionally burned to the ground in 1923, it's been as if the house itself had been choosing its new occupants while the ghosts of old ones still roamed around, keeping company with the living.

So is it really haunted? – I asked Dragan, the charming hotel manager, jokingly stating it was only logical that the house named Draga would choose to be managed by someone bearing the same name. And he does take good care of the classic-looking beauty, together with the rest of the personnel, because Draga di Lovrana is in mint condition. It has a special kind of energy, Dragan said to answer my question, and I immediately agreed – its aura is almost tangible.

And even if numerous stories about Draga had some truth to them, it seems the bad luck had turned around in 1978, when the Nikolac family bought the place, with the intention of restoring it to its original splendor. In 2005, the hotel underwent a complete renovation, retaining its historical design.

Over the following years, the owners' vision and hard work have transformed Draga di Lovrana into what it is today – a successful boutique hotel whose restaurant received the Michelin Plate designation in this year’s guide; the newest hallmark of fine dining quality.

Under the creative guidance of chef Deni Srdoč – Gault & Millau Young Talent of the Year 2018 – the restaurant offers mostly seasonal food, combining gourmet cuisine with traditional flavors, using only top quality, hand-selected local produce, while all the fish comes from the Nikolac family's fishing business.

Apart from the amazing lodging options and an outstanding cuisine, with such a romantic setting suitable for the most intimate celebrations, Draga di Lovrana is also known for organizing weddings and various other gala events.

Today, this magical place seems to be haunted only by good spirits, and it stands there proudly defying time, inviting anyone to visit and experience their own kind of happy ending.

Keep up with our lifestyle page for more.

On March 1^st 2018, the Michelin Guide released their 2018 edition and the Croatian gastronomy scene has a lot to be excited about. Michelin awarded three restaurants a star and recommended 59 others; unsurprisingly, a lot of these restaurants are along the coast, so we have created a ‘Michelin Guide to Croatia’s Coastal Restaurants.’