February 12, 2022 - At a press conference at Botel Marina, a new Rijeka Tourist Board project called "Rijeka Gastronomic Ports" was launched in cooperation with Abisal (Gastronaut). 

The tourist significance of the project and its significance for the destination were presented by Petar Škarpa, director of the Rijeka Tourist Board, while the project and the idea were presented by Karin Mimica, representative of Abisal (Gastronaut Club), reports the Rijeka Tourist Board.

The mission of "Rijeka Gastronomic Ports" project is to connect catering facilities and develop a new gastronomic brand with the ultimate goal of supporting the stakeholders in the destination and raising the overall quality and visibility.

Škarpa pointed out that “Rijeka can boast of a rich catering offer that has become especially colorful in the last few years. Citizens and visitors can enjoy different types of cuisine, local dishes, exotic restaurants, specialized restaurants, street food, or fine dining. Everyone can find a place "to their liking."

With the accelerated development of the offer, there was a need to find new marketing solutions to present Rijeka's gastronomy. To this end, to our great satisfaction, we joined forces with a partner, Abisal, which is behind several important gastronomic brands, and from which the idea for this project came.

Rijeka Gastronomic Ports will make it easier for citizens and guests to choose restaurants that will satisfy their tastes and different occasions, while restaurants, with the help of a designed communication model, will be able to present their offer structured according to specific target groups."

Within the original marketing concept, meeting specific set criteria, it will profile itself following its specifics and thus emphasize its quality in various areas of gastronomy and hospitality.

The port concept as a combination of cultures, goods, stories, and experiences can be perfectly applied to gastronomy, and this project will strengthen the tourist potential of Rijeka's gastro scene and enable a harmonious offer in domestic and foreign markets.

Guests will easily find information about Rijeka's facilities that will meet their expectations, both in terms of food and beverages, given the society they come from and the additional facilities they provide. So whether they’re looking for the perfect place for a Sunday lunch with family, a place where they can have a business meeting while enjoying a good brunch, where they can enjoy local fish or exotic specialties - the goal is to shorten their journey from a craving to a tasty snack.

"I hope that caterers will recognize the importance of interconnection and joint promotion and that as many as possible join in this strategic project which could achieve a big step in creating a recognizable Rijeka gastronomic brand with the ultimate goal of positioning Rijeka among attractive destinations for food lovers.

The registered catering facilities that meet the prescribed conditions will proudly bear the title of the selected Rijeka gastronomic port as a guarantee of the quality of the offer and service and will become the main trump cards of Rijeka gastronomy," added Petar Škarpa.

The author of the project, Karin Mimica, invited caterers who have not yet applied to support this initiative:

"So far, about 20 applications have been received for various gastronomic ports by seven restaurants (each restaurant can apply in up to 3 categories), and there are about ten more in the phase of thinking how to describe their offer through the port name. We are at everyone's disposal to help them choose or design the name of the gastronomic port that best outlines what each restaurant offers.

In the first division of Rijeka's gastronomic offer into ports, we proposed: romantic gastronomic ports; family gastronomic ports; business gastronomic ports; fishing ports; vegan ports; ports for wine connoisseurs; gastronomic beer ports, ports of local food, and ports of specialty, which include restaurants specializing in cuisines of other destinations and countries. In the meantime, we are receiving new proposals from both caterers and citizens - day ports - snack bars with daily menu change, workers' port, tasting port, barbeque port, and tapas port. We are open to all proposals that sound good in marketing and outline a restaurant's specific offer (image). The main goal of the project is to help citizens cope better with the diverse offer, and caterers to profile themselves through the common marketing platform of Rijeka's gastronomic offer." 

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

The new video of the Rijeka Tourist Board, Croatian Tourist Board, and the commercial company Rijeka 2020 d.o.o., on the theme of the European Capital of Culture (EPK 2020), was created by renowned Croatian director Dalibor Matanić and production company Filmerija d.o.o. The video was promoted at the Art Cinema earlier this week, reports Fiuman.hr on March 25, 2019. 

The Rijeka Tourist Board emphasizes that the video is filmed at many attractive locations in Rijeka and reflects the symbolism of the Port’s diversity, which Rijeka represents as the holder of the European Capital of Culture 2020 title. Director Matanić said that the video should send a message of optimism that drives us and hopes they have succeeded in that.

The director of Rijeka 2020, Emina Višnić, is also pleased and congratulated the production and creative team on the excellent film, saying that "it exactly hit what the European Capital of Culture is and the diversity of the Port.” She added that the film was brave, unusual and that it was obvious that it was done not only for the locals but for the European and international scene.

The new promotional video was filmed from a public invitation which sought creative agency services and video production, which was announced by the City of Rijeka, with the co-financing of the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ). The Director of HTZ, Kristjan Staničić, was thankful for the brilliant handiwork and believes that the promotional video has a high artistic value, and that it also exacerbates emotions, which is essential for marketing. Staničić added that HTZ, this year and next year, will allocate funds to promote the Rijeka project EPK 2020.

The Mayor of Rijeka, Vojko Obersnel, believes the film is exceptionally good and is typically Rijeka. He added that the film features everything that makes Rijeka what it is, from rain to the Rijeka rock scene, theatre, industrial heritage, various generations, and industrial plants.

The international premiere of the promotional video was held at the world's largest travel fair, ITB Berlin, which lasted from March 6 to 10.

The video allegedly cost about 550,000 kuna.

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

After the excellent tourist results achieved in 2016, the Tourist Board of Rijeka and Opatija, in preparation for the upcoming year, have devised and issued a joint tourist card - Rijeka & Opatija Tourist Card.