Mali Lošinj is again included in the TOP 100 sustainable destinations in the world as an example of good practice

About a hundred leading experts in the sustainability segment, from various countries around the world, gathered from October 8 to 10, 2023 in Tallinn (Estonia) on the occasion of the ninth edition of the international conference Global Green destinations days! 

In the competition from 165 entries this year, Lošinj was once again recognized by "Sustainable story", ie Sustainable - Good Practice Story and this year it was also on the list of sustainable destinations!

It is about the story of sustainable and responsible tourism, that is, about the project "The tree is first", dedicated to the reactivation of the local population in the traditional story of the island of Lošinj through the revitalization of wood in small shipbuilding. Local people, as key factors who supported the project and joined the revitalization of old, authentic barges, set aside their time to restore the antique in a traditional way.

In this way, not only old shipbuilding was preserved, but also old crafts such as caulking, mending sails, making oars and others. Through cooperation with other stakeholders in the destination, this segment of Lošinj's history became better known, and people became more aware of the importance of preserving the traditional maritime heritage of the island of Lošinj.

By the way, Lošinj has been participating in the "100 best sustainable destinations" competition since 2016.

It is the largest global program that recognizes and promotes the sustainability of destinations and the largest award program of ITB Berlin, the world's leading travel fair. The program seeks to encourage destinations to promote responsible destination management in order to encourage the entire tourism sector to adopt and apply best practices in the field of environmental protection.

On this occasion, at the Global Green destinations days conference, the recognition was received by the mayor of Mali Lošinj Ana Kučić and director of the Tourist Board of the Town of Mali Lošinj Dalibor Cvitkovic.

"We witnessed new positive examples of good practice. It is extremely motivating to see all these examples, as well as to hear the perspective of other sustainable destinations and experts. We see that there are no insurmountable obstacles if decision-makers come together at the local, regional, as well as national level. These recognitions are certainly a motivation for further actions", believes the mayor of Mali Lošinj, Ana Kučić.

"The Silver Award recognition that Lošinj received recognizes the destination's efforts that are invested with the aim of attractiveness and sustainability for future generations as well. We are extremely glad that Lošinj is on the list of sustainable destinations, and that our sustainable story "The tree is first" is recognized as an example of good practices. It is not unknown that Lošinj has been measuring and comparing results for years and thus detecting strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, all with the aim of creating and maintaining a destination sustainability strategy. Certainly, all of this would not be possible without coexistence and cooperation with the residents and our guests. It is precisely together that we come up with a solution on how to develop, but at the same time preserve the quality of the destination," said Dalibor Cvitković, director of the Tourist Board of the City of Mali Lošinj, and congratulated the Plitvice Lakes National Park on the Silver Award certificate.

Let's recall that this leading global conference dedicated to the sustainable management of destinations was also held in Mali Lošinj in 2019, when, in addition to 30 presentations and panel discussions with more than 60 leading world experts on the topic of "Green solutions for tourist destinations", the Top 100 sustainable destinations in the world were presented for the year 2019.

At the "sustainable" conference, in which a series of workshops, excursions, sessions and panel discussions were organized, the best in terms of sustainability gathered, and the conference participants got to know the island of Lošinj and enjoyed their free time trying out the numerous activities that the island of vitality offers.