In the Bjelovar-Bilogora County, they are cleverly encouraging the opening of holiday homes

To the eternal question of which comes first: the chicken or the egg?, or how to start tourism development in a region where there is not yet a large number of tourists, and therefore no investments, in Bjelovar-Bilogor County they are targeting and strategically co-financing and encouraging tourism development. Which is an excellent example of how to start the development of tourism. This is also the role of the County, which does not have an imperative to make money, but encourages development, in this case tourism, through targeted and strategic co-financing. 

The county and the Bjelovar-Bilogora County Tourist Board handed over contracts worth HRK 500 for the improvement of the offer in holiday homes. These grants were awarded to 25 owners of registered vacation homes, based on an earlier public call for raising the quality of accommodation service providers in the county in 2022.

The funds were provided jointly by the Croatian Tourist Board, TZ Bjelovar-Bilogorska County and Bjelovar-Bilogorska County, and were financed up to the maximum 50 percent of the investment amount.

"This was the first public call of its kind, but our plan is to implement such measures continuously, so similar public calls are planned for the next few years, and the amount of grants should be even higher in the future. The goal of this measure is to improve the quality of existing accommodation, by equipping them with wellness facilities, but also by improving their energy efficiency by installing solar panels and power plants", he commented Marcel Medak, director of TZ Bjelovar-Bilogora County.  

The ceremony of handing over the contract was held in Villa Klara in Stara Ploščica, which was registered at the beginning of the year by the young Šonjić family, and in June they received their first guests, mostly foreigners. By the end of August, this accommodation facility had 170 overnight stays, for which they were congratulated by Prefect Marko Marušić.

"I am glad that the users recognized this activity as good. I also see this as a demographic measure, because if there is an interest in investing, there is a high probability that the whole family will be involved in tourism, that they will tie into the story the offer of local OPGs. In addition, the arrival of the expressway to Bjelovar and its continuation towards Virovitica will make this area more accessible to the large Zagreb market, but also to foreign visitors who enjoyed our area in peace and beautiful nature this summer." pointed out Prefect Marušić.

It is currently in the area of ​​Bjelovar-Bilogora County about thirty holiday houses in categories from 3 to 5 stars, and in private accommodation there are about 600 beds.

500 owners of registered vacation homes received grants of a total value of HRK 000 for the purpose of improving the quality of accommodation.

Tourist data for the first 8 months for the Bjelovar-Bilogor county are very good. According to the director of the BBŽ Tourist Board Marcel Medak, 16.872 arrivals were achieved, which is 39 percent more than in the same period last year, as well as 60.936 overnight stays, i.e. 13 percent more than in the first eight months of 2021.

"There was a lot of interest in this Public Call and we think that the measure has been well-hit. It is certain that with these and similar measures we will achieve a cumulative effect, for the benefit of everyone, and continue to raise the quality of the tourist offer of Bjelovar-Bilogora County to an ever higher level.", concluded Medak.  

Without such targeted incentives, there would probably never have been such an expansion of vacation homes, and in a few years, fifty vacation homes are already a great resource. Especially in a region where there is not much hotel accommodation. 

Cover photo: TZ of Bjelovar-Bilogora County