Hvar Winter Training camp - a step towards the development of sports tourism in the destination

This December, our sunniest island will host triathletes and cyclists for winter preparations for the upcoming competition season. Hvar is one of the most famous summer vacation destinations, but it is no less beautiful and interesting even in the winter months.

Hvar Winter Training camp will be held from December 9 to 18 in the town of Hvar, and the planned program of the camp includes daily trainings and educational lectures, while the athletes can use their free time to see the rich cultural heritage, but also have fun with advent houses and special events in the town square.

The participants will be accommodated in the Heritage Hotel Park in the very center of the city. All training will take place in nature, and the schedule will include cycling on roads with little traffic, swimming in the crystal clear sea and running along forest paths, as well as clean air and relaxation that only an island can provide.

The camp is organized and led by our professional triathlete and fitness coach Jadran Domancic, who knows from personal experience that you can train in Hvar all year round and that the island is an ideal place for outdoor activities. 

"This is the first time we are organizing a camp like this, and we have sent an open invitation to everyone, which means that anyone can sign up; we are open to everyone, both recreational and serious athletes. We expect a group of 6 to 10 people, a maximum of 15, because a smaller group enables better quality work. I am the organizer and head coach, and there is also a cycling coach with me who will be in charge of that part of the training. The call for interested parties is open until November 25.11.", explained Domančić. "Our long-term goal is to do camps of this type in both summer and winter, but still focus a little more on winter tourism. Hvar has such a climate that it is suitable for outdoor activities even in the winter period, in which athletes usually train on trainers and indoors. In addition, Hvar is not far, for many it is quite close. We consider this a good step towards the development of sports tourism and training camps in the destination." 

The goal of the organizers and the Tourist Board of the town of Hvar is to enrich Hvar's sports offer in the winter months, when in most of Europe the climatic conditions are not suitable for outdoor activities. This camp is suitable for recreationists and competitors, because it is based on an individual approach, and it is also an opportunity to get to know Hvar outside the tourist season and to enjoy a stress-free active vacation in the pre-holidays.

TZG Hvar welcomed this initiative of Jadran Domančić, and supported and partly helped with promotion. "I hope that the camp will be well attended and that an atmosphere will be created where people will say: 'It's great, when should we come next year?'", says the director of TZG Hvar Iva Belaj. "The extension of the season for Hvar should be designed through camps and events that are structured, which are not reduced to extending the season through city ​​breaks. We are aware that Hvar is not a destination that someone from Croatia will come to for three days, because we are an island and because we are far away. To get from Slavonia to Hvar, you have to travel all day. As a rule, this means that Hvar will be rejected as an option at the start, and people will prefer to go to Istria or some place on the coast. That is exactly why I would be very happy if through April and May, and October and November we have some kind of events that are perhaps more specific, some kind of niche events that last longer"Belaj explained.

Not only Hvar, but also many other destinations - on the islands and on the mainland - suffer from the same problems, both in the peak season and the post-season: lack of manpower, traffic connections and increasingly extreme business costs. However, despite this, TZG Hvar is optimistic about the success of the camp, as well as the direction in which the destination's offer should go.

"We believe that the camp will be successful and that there will be interest in it, because it lasts 5 or 6 days in its entirety and it is a complete and rounded program. Hvar has its own predispositions and events like this camp, which is outdoor story, we can certainly position our destination well on the market. There should definitely be events like this. I think some things can be changed for the better. We are not a destination that has a comparative advantage like Tenerife and we cannot offer beaches and swimming in winter, but for many outdoor activities and sports tourism we have benefits that should be used", summarized Iva Belaj.   

As mentioned earlier, applications for the Hvar Winter Training camp are open until November 25, and applications can be made HERE.