June 24, 2021 - The first Camino Imota weekend, organized by the Imotski Tourist Board and the Brotherhood of St. James, gathered more than a hundred participants in three days. It was the first organized pilgrimage along the new Camino Imota route. In addition to the pilgrimage, an international round table, "Camino pilgrimage in the 21st century," and an exhibition of photographs were held.

The Imota Tourist Board organized a free bus transport from Imotski to the starting points of certain sections and a return to Imotski after the pilgrimage, whichh speaks volumes about the great interest in participating in the Camino Imota weekend, reports HRTurizam. 

“Interest in the Camino Imota route, according to the number of pilgrims, but also according to the number of interested people who want to pass the route, is great. The Facebook group quickly gathered more than 600 members. On Tuesday, two days after the event, we already had the first individual pilgrims, who decided to cross the Camino Imota trail," said Luka Kolovrat, director of the Imota Tourist Board.

Several pilgrims walked the new Camino Imota route. Despite the high temperatures, their impressions are very positive, and this is not surprising given the spectacular landscape offered by the Imotski region. However, besides the natural beauties on the Camino Imota route, there are also numerous sacral buildings and significant sites of natural and cultural heritage. Pilgrims received commemorative stamps in their pilgrimage passports, which serve as a confirmation of the route crossed - Camino Imota Compostela.

“On the first day, we had about 40 pilgrims, on the second about 60, and the third about 90. Some of them walked all three days, and some only one, so we can say that more than 100 pilgrims visited the first Camino Imota weekend. We are pleased with the response, and participants expressed satisfaction with the trail. About twenty of them already had experience with Camino routes, especially the one starting from France. When they passed the route, they shared their impressions with us and gave us suggestions. According to them, the Camino Imota reminds of the trail through Galicia," says Kolovrat.

And for Camino Imota to fully justify its name, it is essential to cooperate with the local population, which on this first pilgrimage proved to be an excellent host by offering pilgrims refreshments along the way.

“In April, we held meetings with parish priests who are on the route and introduced them to our plans. They passed it on to their parishioners, which gave excellent results, and the residents of this area were pleased to help the pilgrims," said Kolovrat.

In addition to the pilgrimage on the new route, Camino Imota weekend also had an accompanying program in which a round table called "Camino pilgrimage in the 21st century" was included. The roundtable brought together representatives of Camino associations, priests, theologians, and scientists from as many as nine countries. A special guest was Igor Vidmar, president of the Brotherhood of St. James from Slovenia, who announced the arrival of Slovenian pilgrims on the Camino Imota trail next year.

“The Round Table, which was actually a video conference, discussed why people choose the Camino pilgrimage, whether it is for religious or adventurous reasons, and why the pilgrimage has gained so much popularity. At the moment, about one and a half million people are making a pilgrimage to the Camino, and that number is increasing every year," Kolovrat emphasizes.

The first Camino Imota weekend met the organizers' expectations, who are now facing the continuation of work on the route itself, to be even better marked. A mobile application is also planned, and a website is already online and should be filled with information about the route, instructions, and practical tips for pilgrims in the next few days.

“After the first Camino Imota weekend, which was a great success, we are even more optimistic, and I believe that this route will come to life in the future. Interested individuals already contact us, but also entire parishes, who want to take an organized walk along the trail," emphasizes Kolovrat and adds that the Camino Imota weekend also served as an agreement on intensifying works on the second phase, i.e., connecting the route to Sinj and Medjugorje.

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October 30, 2019 - Did you know that the Imotski region has its own islet, with an excavation currently underway? Meet Manastir.

This islet is located along the western edge of the Imotski field, in Prološko Blato - and with its distinctiveness and beauty, it’s so small that it could fit comfortably into the frame of a football field.

The area around it on the west side consists of three beautiful lakes in the Lokvicici municipality, and on the east and south sides, it is surrounded by the water of Prološko Blato, which only slightly recedes in the late summer days and early fall, so that this islet, called Manastir or Školjić, remains dry for a short time. 

You might be familiar with the fact that the Imotski region even had another island in the Runovici municipality, though it has been dry for decades. The island referred to in this story, however, conceals and preserves the rich history of the Imotski region.

Namely, while it is full of juicy fig trees and cherries, Manastir is the current excavation that is provoking a lively interest in Imotski locals. 

Slobodna Dalmacija's Braco Ćosić writes that Manastir, or Školjić, was one of the symbols of the resistance of the entire Imotski region to the Turkish rule, which oppressed the people of Imotski for a full 224 years, from 1493 to 1717. This islet always gave hope that after two centuries of occupation, freedom would come. 

So, what will the excavators find on Manastir?

Here is what we do know: It was precisely the Imotski Franciscans who inherited the Benedictines in the Imotski region at the end of the 14th century, who lived there during the Turkish rule, from 1600 to 1715.

Braco Ćosić

Thus, it was only in 1715 that the Franciscans left Manastir. Two years later, on August 2, 1717, Imotski and the Imotski region were finally liberated from the Turks, though Manastir remained abandoned to this day. Overgrown with foliage and weeds for years, it would sometimes receive a stray visitor, a farmer from a nearby vineyard, a shepherd who kept sheep or cows nearby, or one of the many fishers after carp in Prološko Blato. 

Braco Ćosić

Ivan Alduk, Head of the Conservation Department of the Imotski Ministry of Culture, is leading the excavation. 

“After five years of hard work and cleaning, because the terrain at Manastir was very inaccessible and difficult, we finally started with the archeological excavations of the oldest preserved Franciscan monastery in the Imotski region. While we are talking about this, there is a debate among my associates about what we have found so far. It is clear to us that the monastery was very large at that time; it is nearly fifty meters in length, has a ground floor, a floor, and the first room we dug up is a monastery dining room, or chapel. We will see this when we see the documents. We are delighted and satisfied with what we are finding and if the Ministry of Culture continues to support us, as they have so far, continuing the research will be interesting,” says Alduk.

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On Monday, the Tourism Development Strategy of the Imotski region was presented until 2025, whose implementation should provide essential prerequisites to advance the region in tourism and open the entire area to even more segments of tourism demand, reports Dalmacija Danas on March 11, 2019. 

The presentation of this Strategy was attended by the Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli, Croatian National Tourist Board Director Kristjan Staničić, County Prefect Blaženko Boban and Mayor of Imotski and president of TZ Imota Ivan Budalić. The Strategy was developed by the Institute for Tourism for the Tourist Board of Imota, with the support of the Ministry of Tourism and the Croatian National Tourist Board. On this occasion, the fundamental guidelines and goals were presented by the Director of the Institute for Tourism Dr. Damir Krešić and the project leader dr.sc. Ivo Kunst.

“Over the past years, the Imotski region has made great strides in the development of tourism products and promoting the offer. To fully valorize the whole region, and strengthen the brand and its recognition, the first steps were made through merging all the municipalities and the city of Imotski into the Tourist Board of Imota. This Strategy represents a new chapter for the entire Imotski region and gives clear guidelines to valorize all the richness of natural and cultural heritage fully and, in addition to creating new offers, stimulates not only tourism development but also the overall economic development of this area. Sustainability, responsibility and human capital are crucial for our tourism, as well as systematic long-term management following destination management, which we provide with a new legal framework,” Minister Cappelli pointed out during the presentation.

“I am pleased that today, a year after the establishment of the Imota Tourist Board, we present the Tourism Development Strategy for this area, which created all the preconditions for the complete implementation of marketing and other activities that will aim to have an even stronger market positioning of the Imotski region. Namely, this is a true example of destination management that served as an example and additional confirmation of the importance of the unification and joint actions with other colleagues in the area. Such a model of cooperation provides even better promotional effects, greater visibility and more systematic development of tourist infrastructure, taking into account sustainable development,” said the director of the Croatian Tourist Board, Kristjan Staničić.

The prefect of Split-Dalmatia County, Blaženko Boban, pointed out that the Imotski region is a pioneer in merging the tourist boards and hopes that all stakeholders will actively work on implementing guidelines and measures emphasized as crucial for further development, and strengthen the recognition of the Imotski region as a destination, which will contribute to the overall economic and demographic growth of this area.

This strategy will serve as a basic regulatory framework for the coordination and management of the activities of various economic entities, public sector institutions and all other stakeholders directly or indirectly involved in developing and improving the quality of the overall tourism product of this area until 2025. In this regard, and taking into account not only the need for enhancing the commercialization of the available natural heritage, ensuring its long-term sustainable use, but also the permanent preservation of material and non-material cultural heritage, the optimal use of available development space and strengthening the potential of this area for the development of sustainable and green tourism, the most important goal of this document is definitely the continuous increase in the quality of life of all inhabitants of the Imotski region.

Key objectives will thus include establishing a common vision, objectives, and concept of tourism development; creating a well-designed, market-recognized, diversified, but also complementary system of tourist experiences; identifying a number of priority development-investment and/or business-management projects in the private and public sector, through market (re) positioning of the entire project area on the tourism market in the function of strengthening its market recognition and desirability.

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Is the exceptional development of tourism in the Imotski region really an important factor in the development of this area, or is it just a trend, which, in turn, has been triggered by the arrival of many guests and the improvement of living conditions, primarily holiday home rentals?

This is a doubt many people from Imotski encounter, especially after the latest results of last year's tourist season. And they are fascinating.

Let’s remember that not so long ago in 2006, over two thousand overnight stays were recorded in the entire Imotski region, of which 30 percent were by foreign guests - and only 12 years later, according to the data from e-Visitor, the Imotski region recorded 9,917 arrivals with 73,830 overnight stays. This is an increase of 22.6 percent in arrivals, and 27 percent in overnight stays compared to 2017, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on January 6, 2019. 

Last year, 260 accommodation facilities were registered in the area of Imotski, most of which were holiday homes. In the same period in 2017, there were 173, which means that 90 new objects appeared in just one year. The best news yet is that in 2019, the region expects to reach 300.

The Imotski region has only two hotels and several accommodations, while the rest is made up of private vacation homes, either old or newly built, with a very impressive infrastructure, including swimming pools, gyms, children's playgrounds and marked trails for recreation.

If you ask any of the local self-government leaders in the eight municipalities and the City of Imotski about their priority in the coming period, all of them will highlight the improvement of infrastructure for the development of tourism.

All of this contributed to Inland Dalmatia’s prestigious award last year. It is no surprise that the Croatian Tourist Board recognized that the Imotski area plays a significant role in the development of rural tourism and, most importantly, collects excellent guest reviews on accommodation conditions, the ecology of the environment, and hospitality. 

The strategic document "Tourism Development Strategy of Imotski Region by 2025" was completed, which was developed by the Institute for Tourism at the Ministry of Tourism. Tourist deputies forecast this year to increase the number of overnight stays by 25 percent compared to 2018. And when all of this is added up, then it can be said that the Imotski region and people of Imotski have embarked on a new step in global top-level development, which is tourism.

“Of course we are satisfied with these results, and the approaches of people who provide services. But next year we will show where we are because every year there are new trends in this form of tourism, which we now offer. Will the guests be satisfied enough with the peace, pools, and walks or will new clients seek new content?

Therefore, we also have to keep up with the trends in the offer, so we have emphasized implementing cycling paths. Cycling tourism is now at the top of the tourist offer in the world, and we have beautiful destinations where these trails can be arranged.

We plan to create about 400 kilometers of cycling paths this year and have our renters certified as cycling friendly, which will surely be a delight to our guests.

Then the construction of themed trails in archaeological tourism, because the Imotski region has a lot of these sites, and a string of signals to OPGs, winemakers, and healthy food producers, so that tourists can feel the charm of the Imotski region,” said Luka Kolovrat, director of the Imotksi Tourist Board. 

All in all, what is currently happening in the Imotski region when it comes to tourism goes along with the assumption that tourism should be one of the main determinants of development.

But tourism, without the improvement of the traffic infrastructure (the fast road Imotski - Zagvozd motorway), without a systematic approach to the development of agriculture and the production of healthy food, for which the fields of Imotski has some capacities, will not be enough for the development of this region.

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