Marcel Medak: in addition to health tourism, the Bjelovar-Bilogora County can offer a lot to Slovenian tourists

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics in 2023 tourists from Slovenia accounted for more than 9% of the total overnight stays of foreign tourists. In numbers, Slovenian tourists achieved almost 7,7 million overnight stays and more than 1,5 million arrivals, an average of more than five overnight stays per arrival.

Slovenians are thus at the very top in the structure of total overnight stays, while traditionally only German tourists are ahead of them. It should be added that in 2023 there was an increase in arrivals and overnight stays of Slovenian tourists compared to 2022.

Data from last year are just another confirmation of the importance of the neighboring Slovenian market for Croatian tourism.

Therefore, presenting the Croatian tourist offer to Slovenian tourism workers is of great importance for even better results. One of the ways of promotion is B2B cooperation and exchange of experiences between Croatian tourist boards and Slovenian tourist agencies. Just such a gathering at the end of March was organized by the representatives of the Croatian Tourist Board in Slovenia and director Bruno Bonifačić.

The workshop at the Four points by Sheraton hotel in Ljubljana brought together representatives of the Zagreb, Međimurje, Karlovac, Bjelovar-Bilogora counties, the Gorski kotar cluster, Central Istria TZ, Šibenik-Knin County TZ and the city of Zadar.

The tourist offer of each region was presented separately through a short presentation, which was followed by B2B talks with representatives of travel agencies from Slovenia.

The Bjelovar-Bilogora County Tourist Board was represented by the director Marcel Medak who promoted the offer of this part of Croatia in Slovenia for the second year in a row.

///Bjelovar-Bilogorska County maintained the high quality of its tourist offer

"Last year, a similar event was also organized in Ljubljana, to which, in addition to travel agencies, tourism journalists from Slovenia were also invited, but then, along with the presentation, a gastronomic presentation of traditional dishes from the destinations that were presented was also organized. Then we had a joint presentation of the Cluster of Central Croatia (seven continental counties), and the presentation was made on behalf of the Cluster by the director of the Zagreb County Tourist Board, Ivana Alilović. In my opinion, this way of presentation is much more efficient and better than traditional performances at fairs.", explains Medak.

What the Bjelovar-Bilogora County can offer Slovenian tourists, apart from the indispensable high-quality gastronomy, is outdoor offer. Beautiful nature with numerous facilities and events in the open air are the trump cards that can attract even more guests to this area.

But currently, the Bjelovar-Bilogor County attracts Slovenian tourists mostly with its own offering health tourism.

"The Slovenian market is very important for the Tourist Board of Bjelovar-Bilogora County, mostly from the aspect of outdoor activities, which are our key tourist product. Slovenians are currently not among the five leading emission markets in our destination, and for now the most guests in our destination are Daruvarske toplice with with its offer of health packages as part of health tourism. Last year, in 2023, we had 1084 arrivals and 2436 overnight stays of Slovenian guests, and considering the proximity of the Slovenian market (two hours by car), there is certainly a lot of room for improvement.", points out Medak and adds that the emphasis in the presentation is on outdoor activities, i.e. hiking, cycling tourism - gravel races and tracks and on equestrian tourism, then to the offer of health tourism Daruvar Spa and private aesthetic and dental polyclinics, as well as the gastronomic offer of 12 restaurants that nurture traditional dishes and are included in the project Tastes of Croatian Tradition from the area of ​​Bjelovar-Bilogora County. 

Certainly the greatest importance of the workshop held in Ljubljana, apart from the presentations, was the direct contact with the representatives of Slovenian travel agencies, and after the meetings, additional materials were sent and specific inquiries and agreements are expected soon.

"Until now, we, as a tourist board, have not had direct cooperation with any of the agencies, but only Daruvarske toplice directly, primarily with agencies that sell health package services for retirees and the elderly population. Now, in direct conversations, we have seen that we have space for other categories of guests, from families with children and individuals, to discover our destination, which is relatively unknown to them, and yet so close, especially for weekend packages. In addition to the mentioned outdoor activities, we would present them with our leading attractions (Projects from Nature 2000 in Čazma and Garešnica, Salaj Family Estate, Roma House, Janković Castle in Daruvar) and the most important manifestations from our area Vinodar, Tereziana, Two days rockabilly plays and others., Marcel Medak, director of the Bjelovar-Bilogora County Tourist Board, said at the end.

Photo source: Tourist Board of Bjelovar-Bilogora County