October 25, 2022 - This year's Sea Star festival in Umag, the first festival held in Croatia since 2019, brought a new 54 million kuna in profit for the Croatian economy. From 2017 to today, the total exceeded 225 million kuna, the festival organisers reported.

As Index writes, on May 27 and 28, more than 40,000 visitors came to the fourth edition of the Sea Star Festival, according to research by the consulting firm Hotelis, which specialises in tourism and hotel management, and the independent agency TIM Centar. The visitors brought a new 54 million in profit for the Croatian economy.

The total realised contribution from 2017 to today has exceeded HRK 225 million or almost EUR 30 million, and only direct consumption caused by the Sea Star event was included in the analysis.

Visitors from more than 40 countries and four continents

In addition to this amount, the total value of the marketing promotion of the festival and the destination, specifically Umag, the Stella Maris lagoon, Istria, and Croatia, has been estimated at more than HRK 128 million, or EUR 17 million. In 2022 alone, the value of the marketing campaign carried out in more than 20 countries exceeded five million euros.

In two evenings, visitors from more than 40 countries and four continents entered through the festival gates of this year's Sea Star. Fans from Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, BiH, and Serbia prevailed, and some came to Umag from the USA, Australia, Israel, and Kuwait.

Regarding audience size, Sea Star in 2022 was the most visited music event in Istria and Primorje and one of the three most visited in Croatia. According to the data of the Umag Tourist Board, about 15,000 tourists and almost 50,000 overnight stays were recorded at the destination from May 26 to 29.

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ZAGREB, 19 May 2022 - The winner of the 2022 Eurovision song contest, the Ukrainian rap group Kalush Orchestra, will play their first gig after the Eurovision victory at the Sea Star Festival in Umag, Croatia, on 27-28 May.

The global sensation from Ukraine is the new headliner of the Sea Star Festival, which will also feature another Eurovision competitor, the Serbian musician Konstrakta, who has become the most popular regional performer over the past few months with her song "In Corpore Sano".

At the recent Eurovision contest held in Turin, Italy, Konstrakta won the maximum number of points, 12, from both the Croatian jury and Croatian viewers of the Eurovision final.

In the lineup of the 27-28 Umag festival are also hip-hop star IggyAzalea, techno queen AmelieLens, the region's most popular band Dubioza Kolektiv, platinum hitmakers Meduza and Topic, Senidah, BučKesidi, Umek, Adiel, Insolate, Tijana T and Vojko V.

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April 7, 2020 - At a time when it's usually actively promoting its music festival, Sea Star in Umag has instead turned its efforts to volunteering, and is asking festival-goers to lend a hand to their neighbor instead. 

"Times are not so miserable when the Super Neighbor knocks," reads the opening remark of a video created by the EXIT and Sea Star festivals to encourage young people to become actively involved in helping their fellow citizens, reports Glas Istre.

During the current coronavirus pandemic, and after the Zagreb area suffered from a series of earthquakes, volunteering, the festival organizers say, has once again proven to be one of the most urgent human needs and traits.

Instead of promoting the festival, which is usually the most intense at this moment, EXIT and Sea Star have decided to focus their efforts on the "Super Neighbor" campaign to help volunteer associations and initiatives, both locally and nationally in Croatia.

The Super Neighbor campaign will gather information on volunteering in one place, where and how to apply, and keep track of all the worthy volunteer actions and suggestions.

For many of our fellow citizens, helping to meet basic living needs has become crucial, and many volunteers are needed in Croatia to help older citizens go shopping, get medicines, or walk their pets and take out their trash. In Zagreb, the situation is even more difficult because the earthquake has permanently or temporarily damaged houses and apartments.

All volunteer posts that feature the hashtag #SuperNeighborhood in the description will be promoted through the social networks of the Sea Star Festival and through the Super Neighbor profile on social networks, which will always have more information and positive examples.

Everyone is invited to submit photos of their actions in order to involve as many citizens as possible to help those who need it most. Also, experiences from the field can be exchanged in this way to make it easier for others involved in this action to cope with social distancing, disinfecting and operational functioning.

According to the organizers, Exit Festival as a social project has been promoting sincere human values ​​for 20 years, announcing positive social changes and acting to convey love and freedom worldwide through various humanitarian, educational and cultural events, while the Sea Star Festival in Umag, as Exit's sister festival, has been following the same path for the fourth year in a row.

“Super Neighbour” is the sister of the same campaign that has been successfully operating in the territory of Serbia for the second week and is delivering good results, with a great response from young people to help older citizens.

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December 10, 2019 - The Sea Star Festival in Umag has brought 164 million kuna in profit to the Croatian economy over the past three years, according to a survey by the consulting firm Hotelis, specialized in tourism and hospitality, made for the needs of the Umag Tourist Board.

HRTurizam writes that in the same period, the total value of the promotion of the festival, organized by the multi-award-winning EXIT team, amounts to almost 100 million kuna, mainly focused on the branding of Umag, Istria and the Croatian coast.

Although the analysis states that in addition to direct, indirect spending from the Sea Star could be around an additional 65 million kuna, this amount is still not counted, as more research is needed to calculate it accurately.

The comprehensive analysis, in addition to the Sea Star Festival, also includes music and sports games in Fažana, a multi-day event that, in collaboration with English partners, the EXIT team has generated around 30,000 overnight stays by British tourists over the past two years in the early preseason in March and April, as well as 23.8 million kuna in spending for the local economy.

The analysis also noted that, despite Croatia becoming a destination with a large number of festivals, Sea Star in May is still the only major music festival in the preseason, more precisely beyond peak dates when the coast is already full of tourists. Thus, this festival, as well as the Exit project in Fažana in March and April, are one of the few positive examples that support Croatian tourism plans for enriching the offer beyond the peak season.

The survey also finds that visitors to the Sea Star Festival spend about 35% more than the average tourist in the same destination, averaging 2,200 kuna, while foreign visitors spend, on average, up to 3,000 kuna during this festival weekend.

Considering that they mostly choose apartments for their accommodation, their extra-board consumption is two times higher than the average, which further increases the effect on the local economy. Based on the financial statement data, Exit's Croatian company EMC generated taxes of 8.2 million kuna in three years, while the festival also employs a large number of employees from different professions, and the total number of people hired before and during the festival was estimated at over 400.

Over the past three years, the Sea Star Festival has seen more than 120,000 visitors, of which, according to research, about 90% came to Umag solely for the festival.

Of these, as many as 96% of respondents have improved or left with the same opinion about Umag, from which the research concludes that the festival has a very positive effect on destination branding and will, according to the report.

UNWTO forecasts say that the main driver of global tourism growth will be young people, and that nearly 370 million young travelers will account for more than $400 billion in spending over the next decade.

Sea Star festival-goers are young; according to the survey, and on average, the typical visitor is 25.5 years old, while the share of those older than 35 is about 7%. On average, 58% of visitors are employed, while the percentage of university students is as high as 68%.

The motivation for arrivals is mostly the social aspect of the festival, followed by the music program as a cultural aspect, and eventually, those using it as an opportunity to stay at sea. Many cite loyalty to the EXIT brand as a reason, and confidence in the organization and quality of the event, which is officially part of its large, international festival family.

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

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