January 31, 2020 - A small municipality with a big vision. Meet Brela, located in the heart of Dalmatia, a few kilometers away from Makarska and Omis. 

Dalmacija Danas writes that for several years now, Mayor Stipe Ursić and his team have been bringing the municipality new projects and several state-of-the-art technological solutions that would be envied by larger cities in Croatia and even in more developed European countries.

After paving almost all roads in the town, investments in beaches and the promenade followed, and the construction of a new kindergarten worth HRK 10 million is currently underway. The municipality is increasingly turning to the introduction of high technology in its area.

In 2015, Brela became one of the first municipalities in Croatia to modernize the entire public lighting system (over 900 lighting fixtures) by replacing old harmful lights with modern LED technology that is entirely environmentally friendly and saves up to 75% of electricity. This has allowed the Municipality of Brela to save up to half a million kuna a year. The Ministry of Environmental Protection funded seventy percent of this project.

However, one of the major infrastructure problems in the municipality itself was the slow ADSL Internet, and there were numerous complaints from tourists who did not have an adequate internet connection. The municipality then decided to solve the problem and bring the latest technological solution. 

Namely, in 2018 and 2019, thanks to a project worth HRK 3 million, the Municipality of Brela became the first municipality in Croatia with super-fast internet, i.e., with optical technology. In two years, every household has received fiber optic cable and now every inhabitant has access to fast internet of a maximum 500 Mbps, which is up to 100 times faster than what they had before. It is all done at the expense of the new service provider.

After numerous letters of intent, the municipality called on the new operator for this investment because it guaranteed the logistical support as well as almost immediate issuance of all necessary permits in the form of excavating new channels, installation pipes, etc. This is a great success considering that Brela has only 1700 inhabitants, and larger Croatian cities cannot boast such modern technology.

However, the Mayor and his team continue to work on implementing new technologies for their residents and guests, and bring the latest solutions to make their lives easier, especially in the peak tourist season when up to 10,000 tourists visit Brela daily. Of the newer solutions mentioned, one of the most important is redeploying the fleet of utility controllers who now all drive electric vehicles, which is another example of how the emission of harmful gases is reduced and nature itself in Brela is protected.

The project currently under construction is the installation of "smart" bus waiting rooms, which are a novelty on the market. Namely, Brela has decided to install several smart bus stations powered by solar energy or renewable energy sources. These modern stations feature LED lighting, mobile chargers, WiFi wireless HotSpot Internet, bus timetable screens, and season and event information. It serves both guests and residents of Brela and is especially helpful to students traveling to school.

The municipality also funded the first smart board for the Brela Primary School. After numerous smart solutions, the Mayor and his team are not giving up, but look forward to new challenges and advances in technology that will further facilitate everyday life.

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

When we hear about investment in Croatian tourism, the cash injections usually come from abroad or at least from foreign accounts, but not always. Makarska is just one fine example.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 17th of October, 2019, Mate Jujnović, the owner of Promet Makarska and both the Makarska and Split bus stations, has purchased the company "Romana Apartmans" d.o.o. according to a recent report from Slobodna Dalmacija.

Project manager Marinko Sulić, who has so far sought partners from within Spain's famous "Iberostar", and later on Germany's equally well known "Der Touristik", managed to get the right partner with whom the story should get a safe and secure "happy ending" in no less than Mate Jujnović.

A few months ago, the very well known Dalmatian entrepreneur revealed to Kronika that he wanted to invest an enormous 35 million euros into Makarska, a picturesque, mountainous and extremely popular tourist destination in central Dalmatia, from the sale of some valuable land across the world in New Zealand, and apparently found the so-called ''golden goose'' in the aforementioned "Romana" hotel, which many consider to be the flywheel of tourism throughout not only the City of Makarska, but the heavily frequented Makarska Riviera, too.

As such, on September the 23rd this year, the director of the company ceased to be Robert Sulić, the son of Marinko Sulić.

An eye-watering cash injection of roughly twenty million euros should help Sulić complete the financial structure and come to the end of the grand hotel complex project, worth a massive sixty million euros in total. According to Sulić, the same Makarska facility boasting almost 270 beautiful luxury rooms should open its doors before the next summer tourist season begins, namely as early as May the 9th, 2020.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business and travel pages for much more information on both domestic and foreign investments in Croatian tourism.

October 4, 2019 - Kazakhstani cyclist Yevgeny Gidich, a member of the Astana team, won the third stage of the CRO Race cycling tour, which started in Okrug and ended in Makarska on Thursday but was shortened from 165 to 66 kilometers due to bad weather.

HRT reports that the Astana member won the final sprint with a time of 1:32:21 ahead of Slovenian Grega Bole (TBM Bahrain Merida) and Australian Alexander Edmondson (MTS Mitchelton Scott). 

Gidich also took the lead in the overall standings with six seconds ahead of second-placed Edmondson.

Edmondson took the blue shirt for best sprinter, the new leader for the best young rider is German Georg Zimmermann (CCC), while Austrian Markus Wildauer (Tirol-KTM) retains the green t-shirt for best climber.

Of the original 165 kilometers in the third stage, which was driven entirely through Split-Dalmatia County, only about 60 kilometers could be completed due to bad weather. Unfortunately, at the start of the third stage, not one of the favorites for the overall victory before the start of the CRO Race could be seen. Namely, Slovenian Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Merida), had to retire due to injuries sustained in the fall after the end of the second stage in Zadar.

Shortly after the start in Okrug, the stage was neutralized for three hours due to high winds. Drivers were transferred by team cars and buses to Baska Voda where the race continued, and the cyclists completed the last 47 kilometers.

Even before the race was interuppteed, six cyclists stood out from the peloton, creating just over two minutes of an advantage. Among them was the leading duo in the standings for the best climber, Austrian Markus Wildauer (Tyrol KTM) and Australian Benjamin Hill (Ljubljana Gusto Santic), Austrians Stephan Rabitsch (Felbermayr Simplon) and Dominik Hrinkow (Hrinkow Advarics), Dutchman Lars van den Berg (Metec-TKH) and German Robert Jageler (P&S Metalltechnik).

After the restart, the leading six managed to retain the 1:30 minute lead until the first finish line on the Makarska Riva. Still, already in Podgora, that advantage fell below a minute - and already in the first kilometers of ascent to Biokovo, Wildauer dropped from the leading six. Hill soon followed, with only Rabitsch and Van den Berg at the helm. Rabitsch was the first to cross the second category climb at Biokovo, while Van der Berg was captured by a group of favorites just 10 meters before the summit. The second place on the climb was taken by Briton Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott), and third by David Villel (Astana).

In the last 10 kilometers, on the downhill towards Makarska, the leading group of cyclists increased from seven to almost 30, and the fastest in the final sprint was Gidich.

The fourth stage will run on the 155-kilometer route from Starigrad-Paklenica to Crikvenica on Friday. 

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

September 27, 2019 - The Makarska Riviera, Imotski and Vrgorac, which includes Biokovo, are actively working together to promote cycling tourism in the county.

HRTurizam writes that one of the projects that will promote this outdoor segment of tourism is the cycling spectacle ‘CRO Race’, which starts from Osijek on October 1st and rides to Biokovo and Makarska on the third day.

Specifically, CRO Race is organized by Top Sport Events, which has proven itself through the successful organization of all ‘Tour of Croatia’ editions over the past four years. This year, the race will include six stages, covering more than a thousand kilometers across Croatia. The race will be broadcast on six continents of the world.

When it was previously organized as ‘Tour of Croatia’, the race also passed through the Makarska Riviera, Biokovo and Zabiokovlje, and footage of the race itself was shown in 190 countries, which contributed globally to the promotion of this part of Split-Dalmatia County. It is the result of a collaboration between the Makarska Tourist Board and Spot, which through its brand "Trail - Full Cycling Experience", develops the Makarska Riviera, Biokovo and Zabiokovlje as a cycling tourism destination. 

"Beautiful nature, spectacular views, along with quality roads, accommodation facilities, and the gastronomic offer makes the Makarska Riviera and Biokovo ideal for cycling tourism. It is an enormous potential that can be greatly developed with a serious approach and program,” announced the race organizer Vladimir Miholjevic.

"We will cover all places of the Makarska Riviera, and cyclists will go through all their centers. It will be spectacular! Thanks to fantastic television footage from earlier races that toured the world, a group of UK reporters arrived, riding across Biokovo on a fascinating road leading to the very top. They were thrilled! They wrote a great report, published on 7-8 pages, a subtle, honest, personal experience. Those of us who live in this destination realize that we really do not appreciate it enough only when others open our eyes. Cycling tourism can only do good to the destination, and discover it in a new way, with a different perspective,” he explains, pointing out that it is necessary to develop infrastructure that includes cycling paths, as well as other services that cyclists need.

Miholjevic notes that he participated in the meeting with the tourist board and hotelier and is pleased that the potential has been recognized and that there is a will to develop it.

"The Makarska Riviera, Imotski and Vrgorac is a unique area along Biokovo, ideal for the development of cycling tourism, so we have contracted with Spot, who will then propose measures that we will take to raise the offer to a higher level, complement it with all that the modern cycling tourist needs, and promote it. The development of cycling tourism is one of the strategic plans for the development of our destinations for the development of the post-season and pre-season,” said Hloverka Novak Srzić, Director of the Makarska Tourist Board.

Spot is trusted with developing the destination for cycling tourism. “We are currently reviewing the condition of existing trails and looking for new ones. After determining the complexity of the route, we go to different stakeholders. Of course, it defines how the route is prepared, its equipment, services, and other things. We also educate business people who are familiar with the specifics of our guests, as well as the local governments, who will be educated on ways to maintain the route,” explains Karlo Kucan, the company's director.

"After that, there is the promotional part in which we include hotels, prepare photo, video and printed materials, and in 2020 and 2021, we will present the Makarska Riviera at four tourist fairs. The destination cannot be branded overnight,” Kucan emphasizes, adding that “we cannot have adrenaline parks on Biokovo because of the karst, which does not allow it, but we have an excellent opportunity to develop mountain biking. On the coastal part, we are somewhat restricted by the traffic on the highway, but that is why the hinterland of Biokovo is an uncut diamond for cycling tourism."

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

September 17, 2019 - The peak tourist season has come and gone. But how was it in the Croatian coastal hotspot of Makarska?

Dalmacija Danas spoke to the director of the Makarska Tourist Board, Hloverka Novak Srzic, where tourism is the beating heart of the town.

It's been two years since Srzic was appointed the director of the Makarska Tourist Board. Makarska tourism is delivering results in numbers, and numerous projects have been launched. 

“I can unashamedly say that we have made big changes. When I became director, there were some nice manifestations in terms of klapa singing and fish evenings. The tourist board was located on the waterfront, in a neglected area, completely inappropriate to Makarska tourism. They had a lot of copyright-free photos, a few leaflets that were decades old. So, the situation was not so good. In these two years, we have acquired a bank of photographs, more than ten thousand photographs in particular. We have created a logo, which should be recognizable in all advertisements, brochures, in which we want to highlight our natural beauty. So the slogan is 'Embraced by Nature', as Makarska is.

I would emphasize that the Tourist Board did not advertise on any social platform before my arrival. In addition, we have created two new locations for tourist events. They are Fr. Jure Radic Park, which we opened with a craft beer festival, and the plateau in front of the Osejava Hotel, where two years ago the Russian Imperial Ballet performed Swan Lake. This year, there was the opera ‘Ero s onoga svijeta’, which was performed for the first time in Makarska. We had almost 4,000 visitors in just those two events. We have also organized several new events. I want to single out Šumoteka, in which we promoted writers and books, also in the Fr. Jure Radic Park, and Music Night Under the Stars. We had a Tribute festival, which was visited by almost 1,000 guests. We also raised the bar of our Jazz Festival, whose artistic director is Ante Gelo. The festival was visited by world-renowned musicians, and I believe it is one of the best events we have had this summer.

After two years, are Srzic’s goals the same or are things different than she imagined?

“Things are different in that the mentality is as it is. I was not promised something by either the HDZ or the SDP. I opened the doors to all young creative Makarska citizens, from designers to creators, painters, writers and various others, to collaborate on various events and projects. I don't want to look back at what was. You have to look forward, and there is not much to brag about because the works speak best about you.”

When will the announced Multimedia Visitor Center begin operating?

“We have new offices in the new PP Biokovo building, and a multimedia visitor center will be completed by early October. As soon as I became the TZ director, we proposed the project to the Ministry of Culture and we received 700,000 kuna for the center. In doing so, the City of Makarska and the Tourist Board invested their money.

There will be a gift shop, a place where tourists will be able to feel the familiar bura wind, which will be very interesting. There will be a big display around the tourists, and we have recorded the biggest bura, so everyone will get a real experience of our wind.

We will also open a Public Invitation for creatives to participate in the souvenir-making business. We will have our famous desserts, Makarska cake and rafioli, which are widely known. There will be a large interactive desk where they can find all the information.”

Furthermore, Kotisina, the historical and cultural pearl of Makarska, is almost ready. 

“We renovated the churches of Sv. Ante and Sv. Martin and Multimedia Kastel will be ready by next summer. It is a brand new tourism product. 

There will be a Skywalk at Biokovo, also by next year. The cable car is, for me, a capital project of the City of Makarska, which will completely change the image of the city. We did not give up on this project, it has just slowed down a bit, but I will do my best to push the project. I think it might all be completed in two years, in terms of economic studies and papers. This miracle that would drive from the sea to Biokovo is our wealth and highest quality.

People outside Makarska are worried about over-concreting the beautiful city. Is Makarska working on sustainable tourism?

“All of us, of course, are committed to this sustainable tourism. And that sounds great. I want to say that there can be no tourism unless you are protecting your space and natural beauty. Makarska was largely devastated by residential buildings, poor tourism and communal infrastructure, which did not accompany that construction. We also had one panel this year, at which the famous architect, Ante Vrban, said that Makarska is quite devastated, but not to the point where things cannot be fixed.

I will probably suggest that the City of Makarska decide that a building permit cannot be issued for residential buildings with more than ten apartments without a connection to water supply, sewage, electricity and that the access road must be at least nine meters wide. In the last session, I asked how it's possible that a hundred apartments were built without this utility infrastructure on a two-meter-wide road. I appeal to all councilors, and especially to the executive branch, that we all sit together and discuss urbanism, which is the wound of our tourism.”

Is the structure of Makarska's guests changing? 

“We can be very satisfied in terms of tourism results. We have a 2 to 3% increase in arrivals and overnights. The guest structure is changing. The German market is returning to us, arrivals from the UK have intensified. Also, the Italians are coming back to us. We still have the most Pole, and they will be our regular guests. I would also like to single out the Czechs, who are a wealthy country compared to Croatia. I am pleased to note that four-star hotels have increased by 7% and private four-star accommodations have increased by as much as 14% compared to last year. The message to our investors is that they need to put money into accommodation. Those garages won't work anymore.

Srzic added that at the state level, we need to stop counting overnight stays. 

“In terms of population, we have reached the growth limit. The respected Politico magazine surveyed tourism trends in Europe from 2009 to 2017. Accordingly, Croatia grew by 130%. Lithuania ranks first with 189%, Portugal growing 62%, France 47%. It's about the number of overnights. The EU has about 31 million beds, a third of which are in France and Italy. However, Croatia is at the top by the number of beds in terms of population. Thus, in Croatia, there are 255 beds per 1,000 inhabitants. By comparison, France has 77 tourist beds per 1,000 inhabitants, Italy 83. Competitive Greece has 118 and Spain 76.

In Makarska, we do not want to count more tourists, but to see how much money they have left, how they received our gastronomy, what our employees are like, the cleanliness of the city, and many other things,” Srzic concluded.

Excerpts translated from Dalmacija Danas.

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

Something new for lovers of the underwater world and all of its natural glory in the Dalmatian City of Makarska as the rich and interesting malachological collection in the Franciscan Monastery in Makarska is now open.

With all the recent talk of sharks in the Adriatic sea, we tend to forget about the much smaller creatures which dwell on the seabed, away from publicity. Shells from all over the world can now be seen in Makarska, following a lot of renovation and huge sums of money having been poured into this praiseworthy project, which will certainly be popular among tourists of all ages and from all backgrounds.

As Morski writes on the 14th of July, 2019, the Croatian Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds has set aside a total of 500,000 kuna for the reconstruction and re-arrangement for the project, alongside money from the Ministry of Culture with a further 440,000 kuna, Split-Dalmatia County with 100,000 kuna, the City of Makarska with 100,000 kuna, the Makarska Tourist Board with 50,000 kuna and 195,000 kuna from the aforementioned Franciscan Monastery.

Judging purely from the above mentioned amounts, this is a large project that many feel is worth investing into as it will very likely bring a quick return, being a big hit with tourists. Prime Minister Andrej Plenković also attended the opening of the collection yesterday.

The Makarska malachological collection was initially started by Dr. Fr. Jure Radić sixty years ago.

''The permanent exhibition has exhibited as many as 3,000 shells, carefully collected from all over the world,'' emphasised Petar Crnčan, a curator who was in charge of Makarska's stunning permanent exhibition of shells.

The Makarska malachological collection is open to visitors every day from 10:00 to 19:00, and on Sundays from 10:00 to 13:00. The ticket price is 25 kuna for adults and 10 kuna for students and retirees.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more.

Remember the film Jaws? Now remember that sharks don't really behave anything like that. Wanting to stay out of the way of humans, sharks and people only ever really meet accidentally, or if the sharks know that humans taking tours to see them might offer them food. Makarska has been playing host to one such shark, most likely a Mako shark.

Ever wondered if there are any potentially dangerous sharks in the Croatian Adriatic sea? Well, there are. None of them pose any particular danger to humans, and will gladly stay well out of your way, but getting to see one of them and be in its presence, let alone capture it on video so clearly, is a rare treat indeed.

As Morski writes on the 9th of June, 2019, it isn't particularly uncommon to see these types of sharks swimming in the Croatian Adriatic, but this shark, which is likely a Mako shark, is certainly one of the larger examples of his species. The video of this stunning animal was taken by Micheal Braun from Germany, who was sailing near Makarska with his family, and the video was published by the Cro2go page.

Although Mako sharks, which is what it looks like this particular shark is, are classed as dangerous animals, it is extremely unlikely to pose any risk to humans. Mako sharks don't typically ever attack people, preferring, much like other sharks, to steer well clear of us. Instead of fearing this beautiful creature, we should admire its strength, grace, and ability.

The experts who have looked at the video have confirmed that the shark filmed swimming along near Makarska is most likely a Mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus), which, because of its prominent and pointed muzzle and large, usually uneven looking teeth, is often referred to as a ''dugonosa'' (long nosed) shark in Croatia. Although it lives mainly on fish, this type of shark, if given the opportunity, if unwell or rogue, and indeed if large enough, can attack people should circumstances allow. Such incidents however, are extremely rare.

The largest measured and confirmed specimen was caught off the French coast, measuring an impressive 4.45 metres in length.

Youtube/Morski

Follow our dedicated lifestyle page for more.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Slavica Vukovic/VL writes on the 4th of June, 2019, the "Tourism and Urbanism" conference organised by Večernji list, Poslovni dnevnik and the Tourist Board of Makarska proved to be a hit.

The proof of this can easily be found in the fact that the conference halls are full of those interested in hearing about investment, including Predrag Štromar, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Construction and Physical Planning, and Ante Vrban, one of the best European architects.

A panel discussion "The Problems of Apartmentisation - Makarska today and tomorrow", is also being held, where numerous speakers from the world of hospitality and beyond will speak alongside Ante Vrban.

In the example of Makarska, the need for sustainable and planned development of the Croatian coast was discussed, as well smart capacity building and the activation of the local population in the design and construction of the area in which they live. In addition, the problems that come with overbuilding, apartmentisation, concreteisation and a lack of adequate infrastructure were discussed. These are issues that not only Makarska but the majority of the Croatian coast is faced with.

"The conference was organised in an attempt to stop building predators who come and take over spaces for their own profit without taking the public good into account at all. This isn't just a problem faced by Makarska, we read what is happening in Mandrača on Korčula, on Brač, it's a problem faced by the entire Croatian Adriatic,'' said Hloverka Novak Srzić, the director of the Makarska Tourist Board.

Jure Brkan, the Mayor of Makarska, touched on the unavoidable fact that Makarska, much like all other Dalmatian towns and cities, lives on tourism, and what happened in urban planning began a long time ago, when the resorts were built and the number of beds increased.

''We want to increase the quality of the hotel facilities, but we're not going to make such a step with our 4 and 5 star hotels. What happened is that we started to rent out residential buildings and that's why we have an urban boom,'' added Mayor Brkan.

Minister Stromar confirmed that urbanisation is increasing and that the infrastructure capacities just aren't good enough to match it or keep up with it.

Štromar stated that it was important to find out in which direction Makarska is heading, and he also lectured on the topic of "Results and Reforms to a more Competitive Croatia". His ministry has built 8,200 POS apartments, subsidised housing loans, thanks to which 13,500 young families managed to properly resolve their numerous housing issues, and in the last year, it has successfully withdrawn 60 percent more than was initially planned for from European Union funds for energy renewal, and now 1,300 hospitals, schools and kindergartens are undergoing energy renewal.

Speaking about construction reforms, he highlighted digitisation, which would result in the faster and simpler issuance of building permits and reduce the space left for corruption among other things.

"This is just the beginning of creating a more competitive society, we'll continue with it in all governmental areas," added Štromar.

Ante Vrban, who has 300 projects around the world under his belt, said that it isn't too late for Makarska, although there are many things that definitely need to be better than they currently are.

''I haven't been to Makarska for 15 years,, and as soon as I arrived I drove a bit around the city to see what has happened in the meantime. There are some nice examples, but also things that aren't good. I understand investors, and I work for them, they want their investments to pay off. I'm here to tell you that it isn't important to build a large building, you can make money from beautiful, smaller, better quality facilities that fit nicely into the environment,'' Vrban stated.

The panel discussion, moderated by Maja Mikulandra from Poslovni Dnevnik, began with a presentation by Željko Uhlir, who frequently talked about the conversion of regular apartments into rental apartments being a big issue, putting enormous pressure on the infrastructure and quality of a destination, but also on the life of local people.

''The Department of Physical Planning knows how to make a space with better quality and be more attractive. Quality spatial plans, urban planning and area rehabilitation will help to get better clientele and increase earnings. Good urbanism can create rehabilitation and the regeneration of spaces,'' Uhlir said.

The aim of the conference was to place emphasis on the fact that Makarska can be a leading example to other Croatian destinations, up and down the coast, in terms of creating proper infrastructure, enriching the lives of the local population and understanding their concerns. The main point was to highlight the face that everyone must work together to create a better situation for all, that brownfield investments were the key, and that building in the name of tourism should naturally come with respect to the local environment, not to mention local people.

Space is a limited area, therefore quality in the area on offer should come before anything else. Croatia definitely has issues in all of the above respects, but if enough energy is placed into working together to overcome such problems in the future, Makarska and the entire Croatian coast, as well as its inhabitants, can all be better off while still living primarily from tourism.

The conference held in Makarska is just one of many such conferences which will be organised in other towns and cities.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more.

Many comic book fans from around the world have marked in their calendars the period from 23 to 26 May, when Makarska will host MaFest, by far the largest and most popular international festival of comics in Croatia and the wider region. This will be the 12th edition of the annual festival. During its existence, MaFest has brought more than 12,000 visitors to Makarska, and a similar level of interest is expected this year as well, reports Lokalni.hr on May 7, 2019.

Dario Antunović, director of MaFest, says that the first part of the festival, dedicated to primary school children from the Makarska area, has already been held. “The festival has been held in two parts for years. We have decided to split workshops for elementary schools in the Makarska area from events aimed at a wider audience,” explains Antunović, adding that the 12th edition of the MaFest will include two exhibitions of original drawings, numerous forums and comic signing events, as well as a comic book exchange and concerts. “The list of guests who have confirmed their visit to Makarska currently has 65 names on it, coming from 11 countries from around the world,” adds Antunović.

As many as 15 special guests are expected, including: Ivana Armanini (Croatia), Alessio Avallone (Italy), Vanessa Belardo (Italy), Krešimir Biuk (Croatia), Fernando Blanco (Spain), Serge Carrere (France), Matteo Cremona (Italy), Shawn Crystal (USA), Fernando Dagnino (Spain), Maurizio Di Vincenzo (Italy), Michele Masiero (Italy), Francis Portela (Spain), Zoran Smiljanić (Slovenia), Marco Soldi (Italy) and Frederic Volante (Italy).

“The tradition started in 2006, with posters in which some of the most famous comic books heroes appeared in Makarska. We continue this year, and 14 authors from the special guest list have already created them,” says Antunović, adding that the 2019 MaFest will be remembered for the third part of the exhibition of original drawings by great Andrija Maurović from 1937. Many were convinced that the drawings had been permanently lost because nothing was known about them for decades.

“We once again point out that this is a precious national cultural heritage, and that the public has until now never been able to see this third contingent. This year, we will also organize an exhibition of originals by Igor Kordej, one of the greatest Croatian comic authors, from the Colt & Pepper album. This will be its world premiere because the album will be released in France only in July,” adds Antunović.

The theme of this year's prize competition for elementary school students is "Extra-Terrestrials in Makarska", and the main prize will be a laptop. The festival will also present the new logo of Makarska – Town of Comics, designed by best Croatian designer Melina Mikulić.

The music part of the Festival will host two great Croatian bands, "Rezerve" and "Ischariotzcky".

All festival events are free for all visitors.

The MaFest partners are the Town of Makarska, the Ministry of Culture, the Makarska Tourist Board, the Split-Dalmatia Tourist Board, Split-Dalmatia County, the Pivac meat industry, Miramare Aparthotel, Biokovo Hotel, Apfel, Julius Meinl, Premise, and many other friends and smaller sponsors.

Translated from Lokalni.hr (reported by Slavica Vuković).

More Makarska news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

May 7, 2019 - Putting Croatian adventure tourism on the map, with the biggest welcome in the world. Day 46 of this incredible 2011 adrenaline trip covering 2,500 km along the Croatian coast. 

The World's Biggest Welcome, an ambitious adventure tourism project in 2011 in Croatia enters Day 46 of this 2019 appreciation of one of the finest tourism promotion projects ever in Croatia.  

The plan? To showcase the diversity and fabulous offer of adventure tourism in Croatia by following a GPS route the length of the Croatian coast in the shape of the word 'Welcome' - thereby creating the biggest welcome in the world from a hospitable tourism country. 

Day 46 moved from Makarska to Lovište. 

50 kilometres for the day: 25 km bike ride from Makarska to Živogošće, followed by 25 km kayak ride from Živogošće to Lovište to continue forming the ‘M’ in ‘Welcome’.

Day 46 began in Makarska. 

Before heading to Živogošće, located between Makarska and Drvenik.

The team prepares for their departure to Pelješac.

Živogošće (Blato) - setting off towards Pelješac.

Passing Ploče on the way. 

And the Ploče port. 

A hazy view over Pelješac.

And the town of Korčula.

The Welcome team arrived in Lovište, a small seaside town in a cove near the western tip of the Pelješac peninsula.

Upon arrival, they were greeted by the children of the town. 

And to end, a Lovište sunset. 

A key part of the project was promoting tourism, and the official website has details of the key places visited during the day. On Day 46, however, Lacko and his team did not pass any landmarks.

You can see the entire project on the Welcome website, as well as much more of Luka Tambaca's stunning photography on the Welcome Facebook page. 

Tune in tomorrow for Day 47, as Lacko moves from Lovište to Lumbarda. 

To follow the whole project from the start, follow the dedicated TCN page.