Certificates presented to tourist entities from the area of ​​BBŽ as part of the IQM project

This week, the Bjelovar-Bilogora County Tourist Board, in cooperation with local tourist boards from the county and representatives of the IQM doo company, organized the official presentation of quality certificates to tourist entities from the BBŽ area as part of of the IQM project - integral quality management.  

It received certificates 67 tourist entities who joined the IQM project - integral quality management based on sustainable development and networking of local stakeholders in tourism.  

The certificate presentation was attended by all directors of local tourist boards and representatives of the company IQM doo After the presentation of the certificate, as one of the additional activities within this project, a short presentation was made to Mrs. Anamarije Cicarelli, the owner of the Iterligo agency, which deals with consulting private renters, and there was an open discussion on the topic of private renting and news from that area.

As part of the IQM project, a public invitation was prepared for all stakeholders in tourism from the area of ​​BBŽ, and a total of 67 of them joined the project. Experts from the IQM team, accompanied by the directors of local TZs, visited all the stakeholders who filled out the application forms and signed the agreements. After that, the initial state was measured and the sustainable development indicators that will be measured were prepared.

Residents' satisfaction with tourism in the destination was also measured for each TZ, after which standards were defined for each separate category of stakeholders.

In parallel, regular coordinations were held every Wednesday between the director of tourist boards and the head of the IQM expert team, Mrs. Đurđice Šimičić. A measurement has been made online reputation of 161 stakeholders, 2816 reviews were collected, and the quality is a high 91/100 for the entire area of ​​Bjelovar-Bilogora County.

"Such a high level of quality is proof that we are on the right path, and at the same time it is our obligation to continue systematically managing the development of tourism in our destination", commented on these excellent results at the county level Marcel Medak, director of TZ Bjelovar-Bilogora County.

The IQM Destination project (Integrated Quality Management) means the system of integral quality management of the destination. The goals of the project are to raise the quality of service in numerous segments of the tourist offer, education adapted to the needs of tourism workers and all entities that are networked in the destination's tourism, strengthening the overall brand of the destination, measuring quality and striving for progress in innovation, raising the quality of service in numerous segments in the tourist destination, and responsible and sustainable tourism.

The project consists of several phases of implementation: after providing information on responsible tourism and sustainable development, measurements of initial indicators follow, which include residents' satisfaction with tourism in the destination, guest satisfaction, measurement online reputation of the destination, measurement of stakeholder satisfaction with tourism in the destination, and measurement and plans of local self-government in projects important for tourism.

Stakeholders in the destination are included in the project, i.e. private renters, hotels, catering facilities, wellness centers, camps, travel agencies, shops and souvenir shops, taxi operators, the company that manages the parking lot and utility company, and attractions in the destination.

Furthermore, through the project, standards are set in the destination related to local products, tradition, quality, trends in tourism, and standardization according to world standards for sustainable development of the Biosphere is also possible, as well as certification of a certain stakeholder.

The destination is then proposed to measure the indicators of sustainable and responsible tourism, and marketing analysis of individual stakeholders in the destination is carried out, as well as an overall analysis in the destination, in order to detect challenges, which is followed by a phase of product development and education.

The final phase of the project involves the implementation of the Welcome card - IQM Pass and the creation of a study of integral management in the destination, as well as scientific proof of the effectiveness of the implementation in the destination.

As a rule, the project is implemented in a time interval of 3 to 5 years, and 25 destinations in Croatia participate in the implementation of integral quality management today.  

"The IQM project - integral quality management in Bjelovar-Bilogora County started at the end of 2021. With this official presentation of the certificate, we end the first year and continue with the project that will last 3 years here in Bjelovar-Bilogora County. We are extremely satisfied with the reactions of the stakeholders and we see that they are aware of the importance of the information and activities they receive through the project itself. Also, through an individual approach, each stakeholder is helped with concrete measures and suggestions, all with the aim of improving their business. We expect that in the next year, more stakeholders will be involved once they become aware of the benefits held by shareholders who are holders of the IQM certificate", said director Medak.

The goal of integral quality management is to continuously, systematically and coordinated activities, improve the quality of life of the local population in tourist destinations, and encourage quality, synergy and excellence by taking care of the destination's competitiveness, sustainable development, development processes, local products and traditions, environmental preservation and responsible management tourist destination.

Info, photo: TZ of Bjelovar-Bilogora County