The Croatia U19 national football team will play in the Elite round qualifying tournament for the European Championship in front of their fans in Dugopolje and Sinj. Croatia’s qualifying group includes Germany, Hungary, and Norway. 

The national teams gathered already on Sunday, and on March 20, Croatia will kick off against Germany at 15:30 in Sinj. Croatia’s next clash is against Hungary on March 23 at 17:00 in Dugopolje, and their final game against Norway, on March 26 at 14:00 in Sinj. Only the winner of the group secures a place in the European Championship, which will be held in Armenia this year. The entry for all viewers will be free.

Match Schedule:

1st round, Wednesday, 20.03.2019.

Dugopolje, 13.00: Norway - Hungary,

Sinj, 15.30: Germany - Croatia,

2nd round, Saturday, March 23, 2019

Sinj, 11.00: Germany - Norway,

Dugopolje, 17.00: Hungary - Croatia,

3rd round, Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Sinj, 14.00: Croatia - Norway

Dugopolje, 14.00: Hungary - Germany

Hrvoje Kulušić

The Croatia team includes Dominik Kotarski (Ajax), Boško Šutalo (Osijek), David Čolina (Monaco), Marko Bulat (Šibenik), Josip Šutalo (Dinamo), Hrvoje Smolčić (Rijeka), Michele Šego (Hajduk), Ante Palaversa (Hajduk), Roko Baturina (Dinamo), Antonio Marin (Dinamo), Marko Hanuljak (Fiorentina), Ivor Pandur (Rijeka), Mislav Matić (Lokomotiva), Mario Vušković (Hajduk), Ivan Dolček (Slaven Belupo), Jakov Blagaić (Hajduk), Leon Kreković (Hajduk), Denis Bušnja (Rijeka), Leon Šipoš (Dinamo) and Jurica Pršir (Hajduk).

In addition to coach Ivan Gudelj, the coaching staff is made up of chief instructor Petar Krpan, trainers Ardian Koznik and Dražen Madunović, goalkeeping coach Miroslav Žitnjak, fitness coach Hrvoje Josipović, physician Bartol Petković, physiotherapist Matej Ivić, secretary Antonio Grahovac and economist Livijo Cvrk.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.

March 19, 2019 - The Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board, in cooperation with the Sinj Tourist Board, has organized educational lectures for private renters. 

The educational lectures will be held in the hall of the hotel Alkar on March 22 (Friday) at 17:00.

Lecturers, topics and order of education:

BARBARA MARKOVIĆ - "Villas and holiday homes; arranging, cooperation and self-linking with agencies" (duration 1,5 h).

Pause - 15 min

ROBERT BAĆAC - "Competitive tourist products and innovative tourist services in rural areas” (duration 1,5h).

The educational lectures are conducted by the Tourist Board of Split-Dalmatia County and are intended primarily for representatives of private renters.

The content is related to the possibilities of improving the services of private renters, and the development of rural tourism.

The maximum number of participants is 40 representatives from the county in which the education is held and will take into account those applications that arrive in due time.

Those interested can apply at the following link https://goo.gl/forms/WqQ5Sn4gSRICGmb43

More info: http://www.visitsinj.com/en/

Split-Dalmatia County Prefect Blaženko Boban introduced a new stimulating demographic project on Wednesday titled ‘This is Your Home’, which aims to create the necessary conditions for young families in rural areas. The project hopes to increase the number of inhabitants and bring balanced economic development in these areas of Split-Dalmatia County, reports Dalmatinski Portal on March 13, 2019. 

“We are witnessing that in the rural part of our County people are migrating not only from Croatia but also to the urban centers within Croatia. Through a series of measures we have had so far, we present the top measure today. We divided the County into settlements where we dissected each settlement in our County based on the development index, based on demographic indicators, which was the basis for classifying the categories we included in this program. The public call for this program will be released tomorrow, and the interest for this program is already extremely high. At this point, we have secured 4 million kuna, and our ultimate goal is to bring back or keep 300 families in the areas covered by this incentive program throughout three years. Our wish is for this measure to be an incentive for all local communities in our County. Some of them have already expressed interest in participating in these programs through their own budgets,” Boban said.

Four million kuna has been secured for the construction and reconstruction of buildings for young families in rural areas. In the Split-Dalmatia County area, more than 200 settlements, 32 cities, and municipalities have been divided into five categories according to the development index and four categories according to the number of children covered by this co-financing program.

The project includes financing the purchase of land for construction, professional supervision costs, developing project and technical documentation, constructing or reconstructing uninhabitable buildings, and more. 

The value of individual grants is from 40,000 to 120,000 kuna for family grants. Applications are welcome from spouses or single parents up to 45 years of age and families that want to build their home in Split-Dalmatia County in areas within the development index.

You can see which areas are included in the project here. 

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

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.

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

This year, the Croatian National Tourist Board is presenting the Croatian tourist offer at the world's leading travel fair ITB, which is held in Berlin from March 6 to 10. The Minister of Tourism, Gari Cappelli and the Director of the Croatian Tourist Board Kristjan Staničić are also participating in the fair, where they will meet with representatives of key partners in the German market such as TUI, FTI, British Airlines, Eurowings, Jet2, Condor, and others. Split-Dalmatia County perfect Blaženko Boban and the director of the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board, Joško Stella, are also in Berlin, reports Dalmacija Danas on March 6, 2019. 

This year, Split-Dalmatia County is represented for the first time with an independent stand, which will be presented to numerous partners who will be able to taste local cheeses, prosciutto, and wine under the theme "Heart of the Adriatic”. 

In his speech, the Prefect welcomed Minister Gari Cappelli, Director of the Croatian National Tourist Board Kristijan Staničić, Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to Germany Gordan Grlić Radman, the State Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism Tonči Glavina and the Director of the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board Josko Stella.

“In Berlin, at the biggest tourism fair in the world, we bring a taste of the clearest sea, the air of the warmest sun and the soul of the noblest man, our Dalmatia.”

The Mayor of Sinj Kristina Križanac, Mayor of Hvar, Rikard Novak, Mayor of Stari Grad Antonio Škarpa, Mayor of Jelsa Nikša Peronja, Mayor of Bol Tihomir Marinković, Director of the Makarska Tourist Board Hloverka Novak-Srzić, Director of the Split Tourist Board Alijana Vukšić, Director of the Sinj Tourist Board Monika Vrgoč, Director of the Hvar Tourist Board Petar Razović, Director of the Marina Tourist Board Iva Dvornik, Director of the Agency for Coastal and Inland Transport, Paula Vidović, and the President of HGK Split Jozo Tomaš, as well as other valuable tourist workers from the private and public sector, were all in attendance. Split-Dalmatia County was also represented by distinguished bartender Jure Vojković and owner of Villa Dvor Petar Ćurlin who presented their eco-friendly products. The stand was visited by Mayor of Rijeka Vojko Obersnel, Mayor of Korčula Andro Fabris and the Prefect of Dubrovnik-Neretva County Nikola Dobroslavić with his associates.

“Croatia is still very interesting in the German market, and we expect tourism traffic at the level of last year. Germany and Croatia are friendly countries, and I particularly emphasize investments in the Republic of Croatia amounting to EUR 3.2 billion in the last ten years. Our goal is to strengthen our relationships further, and next year, Croatia will be the partner of the largest agricultural fair Green Week, which will be held in Berlin in early 2020. It will be an opportunity to present, together with the Ministry of Agriculture and HGK, what Croatian villages produce for Croatian tourism - that is what we want to strengthen,” said Minister Cappelli.

“Considering the importance of the ITB fair, which has positioned itself as one of the most important tourist exchanges in the world, and considering the importance of Germany as the strongest market for Croatian tourism, the appearance, and presentation of our offer at this fair is of great importance. According to the information of the partners with which we have so far held meetings, Croatia's position on the German market is stable, sales are intensified, but the peak is still ahead of us. Our goal is to repeat the results from last year when almost three million German tourists visited us, who achieved more than 21 million overnight stays,” said the director Staničić.

ITB Berlin is the world's leading tourism industry fair that holds its 53rd edition this year. The fair welcomes more than 180 countries worldwide and is visited by more than 150,000 guests annually. It is estimated that contracts worth over 7 billion euro will be agreed during the fair.

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

March 4, 2019 - Behind us is another extremely successful Carnival! Organized by the City of Sinj and the Tourist Board of Sinj, and with the collaboration of the Cultural Center of Sinj, for the fifth consecutive year, visitors had the chance to experience an unusual, colorful, and loud Carnival celebration. 

Almost 500 participants from Glavice, Maovica, Karakašica (Bukva), Vrpolje, Čačvina, Bajagić, Obrovac Sinjski, Gala, Gljev and Trilj (Old Carnival Trilj and OŠ Trilj) started from the Hippodrome in a procession on the streets of Sinj. The lively Carnival groups were led by Kristina Križanac, the mayor of Sinj, Mate Čota, a member of the traditional group of the Vrpolje - Čačvina Carnival, Zlatko Ugrin, deputy mayor and Monika Vrgoč, director of the Sinj Tourist Board.

After the groups paraded down the city streets, they gathered at the Pjaca where the central event was held. The brilliant and unrivaled Didi painted the long tradition of the Carnival customs of the villages from under Kamešnica mountain. 

And the Carnival did not fail to be comical either, when, for example, the group from Karakašica demonstrated how utility services should work in unfavorable weather conditions, and those from Gljev showed that bullfighting could also be held in Sinj.

The Carnival crowd then continued onto a cheerful party at Piccadilly Club in Sinj where they ate delicious beans, fry bread, cheese, donuts and live music by the group Priomani.

On this occasion, the Sinj Tourist Board would like to thank the participants of the 5th Carnival of the Cetina Region who, through their participation, completed and improved this event, which is essential for both the tourist promotion of Sinj and the preservation of valuable traditions and customs. They also thank the Association of SRMA and the Red Cross of Sinj for their invaluable assistance in the organization and preparations, and the Sinj Majorettes and Sinj City Music who performed at the event.

We hope that everyone has successfully dumped the evil spirits of winter and is ready to welcome spring!

Total Croatia News has already written about the tourist boom of the inland part of the Dalmatia, the so-called "Dalmatian Zagora", and there's even a dedicated section (Destination Inland Dalmatia), devoted to the promotion of the increasingly tourist part of Croatia, which was less than attractive for tourists in the past. 

Things are, luckily, changing rapidly, and last year Inland Dalmatia was given the title of the most successful destination for the rural tourism by the Croatian Tourist Board, and many media and tourists seem to begin to fully recognize the potential of the "Croatian Tuscany". 

So, website tportal has decided to create a selection of the top ten best vacation houses and villas in the region, spanning through Imotski, Sinj, Trilj, Vrlika, Vrgorac, Dugopolje and Klis.

Their list includes:

• Villa Elegance from Sinj, luxurious villa for 10 people, with 4 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, spa and wellness centre and a swimming pool
• Rural House "Kod Slapa" in Promina, just off Krka National Park, with 3 bedrooms, fitness centre and a swimming pool
• Villa Perinusa from Proložac near Imotski, one of the biggest villas on the list with 7 bedrooms, fitness centre and a swimming pool
• Grubine Weekend Home in Grubine, Imotski suburb, with 4 bedrooms, three bathrooms, large outdoors swimming pool and an amazing view of the Red and Blue Lake
• Villa Josipovi dvori in Skradin, a place where the Krka National Park meets the sea, with 2 bedrooms, sauna, jacuzzi, and a heated pool
• Villa Olka in Grabovac, for up to 12 guests in 6 en suite rooms, with an amazing swimming pool with a view, fitness centre, jacuzzi and a Finnish sauna
• Luića Dvori Hacienda, from Zmijavci, also close to Imotski is actually two villas on a 2000 square meters plot can host up to 16 guests, has a huge heated swimming pool
• Gornje Podbablje Villa, with 7 rooms, on one of the biggest plots on the list, with amazing views of the countryside, and a tennis court
• Villa Galić from Svib, located in a village a few kilometres off the A1 highway, for 8 guests in 4 rooms, with outside pool and a tennis court
• Villa Nada from Dicmo, halfway between Sinj and Split is family friendly, can host up to 8 people, it has a swimming pool, pool table and a children's playground.

There are so many options to vacation in Croatia, including those that include moving away from the overwhelmingly busy coast, while maintaining luxury for your vacation.

On Saturday, March 2nd, organized by the City of Sinj and the Sinj Tourist Board, and with the co-organization of the Sinj Cultural Center, the 5th Carnival of the Cetina Region will be held.

Thus, for the fifth time, the town of Sinj becomes the center of the yearly carnival celebration, featuring carnival groups from villages under the Kamešnica mountain, which has a long tradition and boasts the best inventors and guards of traditional customs in the Cetina region. This annual Carnival celebration is on the list of the protected intangible cultural heritage of the Republic of Croatia!

This aim of the event is to popularize exactly this rich tradition of customs that is unique in Europe The layout of the Carnival parade is based on traditional rules, irrespective of any changes, with only men allowed to participate. 

The most attractive and impressive part of the procession is the ‘didi’ (old men), who carry the fleece of sheep on their heads, standing tall at a height of up to 1.5 meters, with bells around their waist. They are dressed in old clothes with colorful fringes sewn on. The 'didi' symbolize the ritual battle of good spirits in winter and chase them away by making noise and jumping.

In addition to traditional Carnival groups, numerous other groups participate in the project, which, with their comical, witty stage performances, complement and enrich the whole procession.

This year, numerous Carnival groups of the Cetina region will invade the streets with noise and colors from 15:00. The route follows: Hipodrom – Put Šumarije – Put Piketa – Ulica Miljenka Buljana to the bus station – Put Ferate – Ulica Kneza Branimira -Ulica kralja Zvonimira - Brnaška ulica to Trg kralja Tomislava. 

The highlight of the event is at the Sinj Pjaca where the groups will be presented. The program will last from 15:30 to 17:00. After the event, the fun will continue with a live music program in the Piccadilly Club - Sinj!

To read more about Inland Dalmatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

Photos by Željko Zrnčić

On February 25th and 26th, the tourist boards of Inland Dalmatia - within the Tourist communities of the regions, cities and municipalities, including Imota, Sinj, Trilj, Vrgorac, Vrlika, Dugopolje and Klis - presented the potential of Inland Dalmatia to the Association of Tourist Guides in the Chinese language to further promote the destination on the Chinese market.

Inland Dalmatia, consisting of the areas of the Imotski region, the towns of Sinj, Trilj, Vrlika, Vrgorac and the municipalities of Dugopolje, Klis and Šestanovac, occupy as much as 70% of the area of Split-Dalmatia County. It is a destination of outstanding natural, cultural and historical sights, whose wide range of tourist offers is enriched by its unique gastronomic and oenological offer.

Last year's Croatian National Tourist Board acknowledgment for the most successful rural tourism destination shows that the joint efforts of all stakeholders in Inland Dalmatian tourism are moving in the right direction. For this purpose, they have also joined a project of networking the entire tourist offer in the Vision One mobile application, a smart travel guide with travel planning information throughout Croatia.

The application soon gets a version in the Mandarin language, and it intends to present the Croatian tourist offer at the upcoming Shanghai Travel Fair in China. Thus, employees of tourist communities of Inland Dalmatia (Klis, Dugopolje, Imotski, Sinj, Trilj, Vrgorac, Vrlika) decided to host the Association of Travel Guides in Chinese and show them the beauty and unique features of this tourist destination. On this occasion, they visited the source of the river Cetina, the early Christian Church of Holy Salvation, and Perućko Lake in Vrlika, the Sinjska Alka Museum in Sinj, Grab mills near Trilj, Red and Blue Lake in Imotski, Ethno village Kokorići near Vrgorac, cave Vranjača cave near Dugopolje and Klis Fortress.

The integrated tourist offer of Inland Dalmatia is included in the mobile application Vision One and will, along with a translation into English, release a version in the Mandarin language, which is an excellent opportunity to promote Inland Dalmatia on the Chinese market.

The Tourist Boards of Inland Dalmatia have so far participated in several joint projects with the support of the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board and the Croatian National Tourist Board, such as joint advertising, the development of thematic paths, the valorization of cultural heritage and the promotion of cycling tourism. This year, in cooperation with the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board, they even have the opportunity to present the region at the ITB Berlin.

To read more about Inland Dalmatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

February 24, 2019 - On February 23, organized by the Tourist Board of Sinj, the eighth educational action “Tourist in Your Town” was held under the guidance of the members of the Association of Tourist Guides of Sinj ‘Osinium’ and the curators of the Franciscan Monastery Collection, Sikirica Gallery and Sinjska Alka Museum.

The citizens of the town of Sinj, as well as numerous guests from Split, Trogir, Kaštela, Čakovec, Đakovo, and the pupils of Ivan Mažuranić, Obrovac Sinjski - Han, accompanied by the classmates of Grozdane Filipović Grčić, had the chance to get to know the city's landmarks as well as the invaluable cultural treasures in the Shrine of the Miraculous Lady of Sinj and in the city museums and gallery.

The goal of this free educational campaign is to popularize the historical and cultural heritage as one of the main factors for the development of tourism in the city, but also raise awareness about its importance in the whole society. It is important to emphasize the crucial role of the tourist guides in the interpretation of cultural and historical heritage, traditional customs and specificities of our region.

Thus, despite the unfavorable weather conditions, numerous participants of this action enjoyed sightseeing in Sinj with the expert guidance of tourist guides Jelena Banović and Ivana Vulete. Fr. Mirko Marić curated the collections of the Franciscan monastery, curator Branimir Župić for the Sinjska Alka Museum, and gallery manager Dragana Modrić in the Gallery Sikirica

All the participants of this educational campaign were given a souvenir of gingerbread, which was specially prepared for this occasion by Ankica Župić.

The Sinj Tourist Board thanks all the participants of this educational campaign as well as everyone who helped in its realization!

To read more about Inland Dalmatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.