April 22, 2020 - Tourism is on hold, but most of us have plenty of time. So let's look at the virtual resources available to explore Croatia virtually. We continue our new Virtual Croatia series with the tools to discover Sinj.
A few weeks ago I wrote that being a tourism blogger in the corona era was about as useful as being a cocktail barman in Saudi Arabia. I feel less useless now, a few weeks later, and I am encouraged by the number of Croatian tourism businesses who are contacting us wanting to start thinking of promoting post-corona tourism.
One of the challenges of writing about tourism at the moment is that there is nothing positive to write about. With people confined to their homes and tourism in Croatia currently not possible, many have decided to go into hibernation until it is all over.
I think that this is a mistake, and I have greatly enjoyed the TCN series by Zoran Pejovic of Paradox Hospitality on thinking ahead to tourism in a post-corona world. You can find Zoran's articles here.
Way back on March 14 - several lifetimes ago - I published an article called Tourism in the Corona Age: 10 Virtual Ways to Discover Zagreb. The way I saw things, now was an OUTSTANDING opportunity for tourism promotion. People have time, they yearn for their freedom and former lives, so give them the tools to thoroughly research and enjoy your destinations, and you will have then longing to be there. And when they do come, they will have a deeper understanding of the destination due to their research.
South Africa and Portugal were the first to do their post-corona tourism promotion videos several weeks ago (Post-Corona Tourism Planning: Lessons from South Africa and Portugal), a trick which has been followed by other tourism countries, the latest being Croatia with the national tourist board campaign, #CroatiaLongDistanceLove, going live yesterday.
But while these campaigns create longing and market presence, they don't really educate. People now have time to really get into destinations. And dreams of escape to somewhere more exotic are high on the list of priorities of many.
So TCN has decided to help with that education with a new series called Virtual Croatia, where we will be helping you discover many of Croatia's destinations with all the best virtual tools available on your self-isolating sofa at home.
We started last week with Tourism in the Corona Age: 10 Virtual Tools to Discover Hvar.
After this, we put our a press release (which you can read here in English and Croatian) offering a free article to any local tourist board in Croatia who would like the free promotion in our Virtual Croatia series.
And it was no surprise to me that the first response I received was from the Dalmatian town of Sinj, whose tourist board is a shining example of how to run a local tourist board, and it continues a tradition of proactive responses from the Sinj Tourist Board.
Back in 2013, I got the job as the official blogger for the Central Dalmatia Tourist Board. An email was sent out from the regional office to all the local tourist boards informing the local directors of this, and inviting them to contact me to discuss articles to write about the destination. Within an hour, then Sinj Tourist Board director Jelena Bilic had contacted me with an invitation to visit Sinj and discuss everything over a traditional Sinj arambasi lunch. It was a fascinating day, which I recorded on Canadian news portal Digital Journal, and it was part of Jelena's very successful campaign to put Sinj on the tourism map of Dalmatia. It was also the seed which started the launch of our Total Inland Dalmatia portal, which has helped to promote inland Dalmatia over the last few years.
Jelena went on to be promoted to the Croatian National Tourist Board's director in Prague, and her successor Monika Vrgoc has been equally proactive, which is why we find ourselves in a position to Discover Sinj.
Let's begin!
Sinj, My Town and Sinj, Alkar Pride by Ana Rucner
A lovely introduction from the Sinj Tourist Board website.
And a beautiful contribution from famed Croatian cellist, Ana Rucner.
And a charming overview of the town dating back to 2014.
UNESCO Heritage: the Sinj Alka Knights Tournament
It is the last knights' tournament in all Europe, and one which has been celebrated every year for 300 years since the Siege of Sinj by the Ottomans in 1715. If there is one thing which defines Sinj, it is this. Every year, Sinjska Alka attracts the Croatian President and other dignitaries and is broadcast live on national television.
You can learn more about the UNESCO intangible heritage above.
A journey back in time - Sinjska Alka in 1931.
Space is very limited for spectators for the Sinjska Alka itself, but in the days before the event in early August, you can enjoy the rehearsals.
And the Children's Alka event is a great event. Aren't those outfits cute!
Vela Gospa and Walking the Path of Our Lady of Sinj
Sinjska Alka might be the most famous event in this historic Dalmatian town in August, but it is not the most popular.
Up to 150,000 people take part in the annual pilgrimage from Split to Sinj on the Feast of the Assumption on August 15 each year.
The pilgrimage takes place each year to honour the Miraculous Madonna of Sinj, who helped repel the Ottoman Turks during the 1715 Siege of Sinj.
The Siege of Sinj - a Spectacle Not to Be Missed.
The 1715 Siege of Sinj is part of the genetic makeup of the people of Sinj, and it is remembered in different ways. One of the most spectacular is the reenactment of the siege, which takes place several times during the season. Check with the tourist office for details.
Discover Sinj traditions: Didi from Kamesnice.
The annual carnival pageants in the villages at the foot of the Kamešnica mountain, from the area of towns of Sinj and Trilj and the Municipality of Otok, have traditionally been held for a long time, handing down and preserving local carnival customs. In the villages of Gljev, Han, Bajagić and Gala carnival pageants have served as a unique and authentic way of presenting the age-old customs, interwoven with the sound of carnival pageant bells and other accompanying rituals.
Traditional hand-wheel pottery-making in Potravlje
Traditional hand-wheel pottery-making in Potravlje has been only preserved in this village near Sinj, in the Municipality of Hrvace, whereas in the last few centuries many other villages in the Cetinska Krajina Region were known for cultivating this ancient skill. Up to the Second World War, there were around fifty families involved in pottery-making in the Cetinska Krajina Region, out of which around twenty of them in Potravlje. The potters from Potravlje, or, as they are usually called in this region, bakrari (derived from a local name for a traditional earthen pot, bakra), used to supply the whole Cetinska Krajina Region and greater Dalmatia with their products. Up to the present day, they have sold their products at fairs in Sinj, Trilj, Zadvarje, Vrlika, Metković, Benkovac, Split and elsewhere. Apart from traditional pots, new types of pots are made nowadays, for instance, amphoras (for tourist purposes), flowerpots or pitari, and various miniature traditional pots sold as souvenirs. In ethnologic terms, a pottery-making tradition in Potravlje is categorised as hand-wheel pottery, where the hand wheel concerns a special kind of a small, low potters's wheel which the potter turns with one hand, unlike the foot wheel consisting of two wheels joined by a metal axle, where the potter turns the lower wheel with his foot. It is generally considered that hand-wheel pottery dates from prehistoric times, and in our region from the 4th century B. C. In most of Europe, this type of pottery disappeared a long time ago, having been replaced by foot-wheel pottery. Up to this day, the craft of pottery-making has been only preserved in two families in the village of Potravlje – the family of Jure Knezović (1933-2012), where his sons Ivan (b. 1962) and Pile (b. 1965) have carried on the tradition, and the family of Jure's brother Dušan Knezović. Source: Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia
A vibrant music festival scene - from SARS to Gljevstock
Sinj has a VERY vibrant music scene, with not one but two main festivals each year - SARS...
... and Gljevstock, which I was fortunate enough to be I think the first foreigner ever to attend, and certainly the first to write about it for a Canadian news portal back in 2014.
And for a very good overview of the Sinj music scene, complete with English subtitles, check out this documentary.
And there are plenty of other types of music to enjoy, including more classical, in the tranquil surroundings of Kamicak Fortress and its summer music programme.
Sinj Aerodrom, the original Split Airport and fantastic sporting resource
Sinj has its own airfield. Indeed, it was the original airport for Split decades ago. And what a lovely flight from Brac, for example.
It even has its own air show.
And parachute tournament.
And if you would like to organise a flight over Sinj, it could look like this.
Sinj's gourmet treasure - arambasi
There is one dish you simply have to try when you visit Sinj, the delicious stuffed cabbage rolls called aramasi, which are a local speciality.
Did you know Sinj was the birthplace of football?
And they celebrate it every year with a tradition game between the Delmates and the Romans.
An adventure tourism paradise.
An introduction to the treasures of adventure tourism in Sinj
Cetina Adventure, one of its most successful events.
The annual bike race To the Source of the Cetina River.
And it is perhaps no surprise to learn that a town with such a proud Alka equine tradition has its very own - and very active - hippodrome.
A webcam to discover Sinj
Official Sinj Tourist Board, Virtual Tour, and downloadable guide.
Sinj Tourist Board website - in English, French, German, Italian and Croatian.
Take a virtual tour of the town.
And download the official guide for further reading.
THIS. IS. SINJ. When can we expect your visit?
To discover more of virtual Croatia, you can follow this series in our dedicated section, Virtual Croatia.
If you are a local tourist board in Croatia and would like your destination featured in this series for free, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Subject Virtual Croatia (and destination name)
