The more we know about our cities, the more we get to share with our guests
As part of the project titled 'Get to know your country', the Association of Tourist Guides of Croatia (ZDTVH) will organise free guided tours all over the country on the Day of International Recognition of Croatia - January 14, 2018. The tours will take place on Sunday at noon in all the cities where there are active local associations of tourist guides, reported HrTurizam.
Local tourist guides will give free guided tours to all interested residents who wish to get better acquainted with their cities and become ambassadors of Croatian tourism. Naturally, all other visitors and tourists are also invited to join.
Thirty cities have joined the initiative thus far. "In this way, we wish to present citizens all over Croatia with a special gift, congratulate the Day of International Recognition of Croatia, and draw attention to the importance of workers in tourism where international reputation [of the country] is considered, as well as the significance of protected sites and monuments. In the light of the new Law on Providing Services in Tourism that implemented certain EU regulations, protected sites are the sole type of location where our history, cultural heritage and national identity can only be properly represented by the tourist guides educated in Croatia", said Kristina Niuć Prka, the president of ZDTVH. She added she is hoping the initiative will be joined by more cities, spanning from Slavonia and the wider Zagreb area to the regions of Lika, Kvarner, Istria and Dalmatia. "Tourist guides interpret cultural heritage, and it's that very heritage that makes us stand out in [the age of] globalisation", she concluded.
This praiseworthy initiative makes for a great story on the tourism front, but also provides a valuable opportunity for the local population to become ambassadors of Croatian tourism. It's the locals who make a destination special, and visitors always tend to show an interest in our local culture, customs and snippets of everyday life - this is what makes the essence of tourism. One doesn't have to be a tourist guide to share a couple of stories with their guests, be it something about local tradition, history, or culture.
With that in mind, the upcoming free guided tours present a great opportunity to learn more about our cities and our country in general. The more we know, the more we get to share.
More details to follow!