At the beginning of September Poreč achieved its three millionth tourist overnight stay, and on that occasion the Tourist Board of the City of Poreč expressed their satisfaction with this year's tourism results, which are more optimistic than the work plan and program for 2022.
Director of the TZ of the City of Poreč Nenad Velenik in the conversation he revealed to us what has been done so far, but also what is planned for the future development of Poreč as one of the most desirable destinations on the Croatian coast.
Poreč records a very successful season in 2022, and in some segments the results of the record year 2019 were exceeded. In what way and with which tools did you achieve them?
This will definitely not be a record-breaking tourist season, but it is certainly one of the more successful after two corona years. Poreč will realize around 3,3 million tourist overnight stays, which is 98% compared to 2019, and we have to be more than satisfied with that. In our projections, we predicted up to 10% less revenue than in 2019.
There are many reasons for such results, I would like to mention a few of the most important ones: the synergy of the private and public sectors, which is the key to the success of destination tourism. There is almost no significant tourism project in the destination that was not realized through this kind of cooperation. There is also an investment in improving the conditions of guests' stay in the destination. Poreč is a top tourist destination not only because of investment in hotels, but also because of investment in everything that makes guests come to us and enjoy staying in our destination: beach, promenade, bike paths, excellent children's playgrounds, pump track polygon. We have invested considerable resources in the entertainment of guests in the destination, so throughout the season we have organized programs as part of the Poreč summer, which were well attended.
We pay great attention to the health and safety of our guests, and we are an extended hand to our craftsmen. Namely, this year we are also financially supporting the second emergency medical aid team, financing the stay of a doctor at the tourist clinic, co-financing the stay of 16 additional police officers in the destination, and financing the stay of 2 additional employees to issue work permits.