Hello Zagreb: Project that Proves Thematic Tourist Maps are Not a Thing of the Past
Zagreb, September 9, 2020 - When was the last time you took a real map, not Google Maps, searching for a good restaurant or an interesting museum? Although today the information about tourist destinations is only two clicks away on our smartphones, the Zagreb company Hello Zagreb proves that real thematic tourist maps are still in high demand.
Croatia, a country that lives off tourism, is visited by millions of tourists every year. To provide them with the best products and services during their stay, tourism workers are constantly finding new and effective ideas to bring closer and present Croatian destinations in the best way.
The project, aptly named Hello Zagreb, was created within the Hello Croatia brand and offers tourists various free themed tourist maps such as Grill, Beer & Burger map showing the locations and a list of pubs and fast food restaurants in Zagreb, or Sweet Spots in Zagreb showing how can you sweeten your sweet tooth in Zagreb. There are also, for example, Best Spots in Zagreb, Pulse of Zagreb (Zagreb 0-24h), 72 hours in Zagreb, and Good Food Guide.
Hello Zagreb thematic tourist maps / Hello Zagreb
Modeled on Barcelona
Sven Darrer, the founder of the Hello Zagreb project, explains that they design maps with special care and love, promoting Croatian cultural heritage, language, customs, and new tourist attractions and trendy locations.
He started making thematic tourist maps for visitors of Zagreb and Croatia after a trip to Barcelona, where he came across a map of the city, which, as he says, fantastically combined information and education. This inspired him to transfer this idea to Zagreb.
"The idea of starting a business of making thematic maps is driven by a strong desire and will to describe our perfect city of Zagreb and other beautiful cities of ‘Lijepa naša’ and present it to tourists and casual travelers through innovative, different, funny stories that represent famous locations, but also less known ones,” describes Darrer.
During the multi-award-winning Zagreb Advent, when most tourists stay in Zagreb, the offer includes maps adapted to that theme. Apart from them, the Gold Edition Luxury Shopping guide and the Night Map are also very attractive ones. A beautiful GLAM map whose name signifies a combination of Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums stands out as an interesting museum map with which Hello Zagreb brings visitors a touch of Zagreb culture.
The Advent Zagreb thematic tourist map / Hello Zagreb
One month for one map
However, although classic maps are a thing of the past due to technological progress, Hello Zagreb proves just the opposite. Namely, Darrer says that tourists are delighted with their thematic maps.
“We are faithful to the good old 'piece of paper' which, after fulfilling its primary function in touring Zagreb and other Croatian cities, remains a lasting memory (souvenir) for tourists, special places, walks, streets, squares, monuments, and experiences from these locations,” says Darrer.
Maps are not for sale but are distributed to all tourist points, tourist boards, info-centers, and hotels, restaurants, bars, and museums.
The team of Hello Zagreb, i.e., the whole of Hello Croatia, functions in such a way that the leader of an individual project first brainstorms an interesting topic, after which it starts to be realized with the help of copywriters and graphic artists. It takes about a month to create each segment of the map, from buying the copyright for the city plan, setting up thematic symbols, writing texts, and, finally, printing maps. Maps are printed from 50,000 to 100,000 copies and are funded by advertising.
The first map in Korean
So far, they have brought out 61 maps, most of which relate to the city of Zagreb. Other maps called Hello Croatia show selected Croatian coastal cities, and they have made nautical maps of all ACI Marinas in Croatia.
Other cities and places represented include Rovinj, Umag, Novigrad, Poreč, Pula, Opatija, Rijeka, Cres, Mali Lošinj, Zadar, Šibenik, Pag, Split, Dubrovnik, and the island of Brač.
"We welcome young back-packers in Croatia with our specialized 'Use-it Zagreb' map, which is part of the European 'Use-it' family, and with which young people can easily get around Zagreb like locals," Darrer points out.
Interestingly, all Hello Zagreb and Hello Croatia maps are in English, which is understandable, since English is used equally by tourists of all other nationalities. However, Hello Zagreb stands out because they were the only ones to issue a map of Zagreb in Korean, which they did, as Darrer says, given the large number of tourists from South Korea who have difficulty with English.
Tourists from South Korea with a Hello Zagreb map / Hello Zagreb
"We still don't have a map in Croatian, but we have prepared a whole series of Croatian phrases and terms for foreigners in our maps in English, through which we introduce them to the Croatian language, but also common phrases and colloquial expressions through which they learn about our customs and culture," explains Darrer.
And this is exactly what modern tourists are looking for today – an authentic experience of a destination where they can meet and experience the lifestyle of local people.
As Darrer explains, they make maps "listening to the needs of the modern tourist, to whom, in addition to information, they also serve a specific experience of our cities through innovative and educational texts."
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