The annual FIJET Marco Polo 2017 awards at the Croatian Society of Journalists took place in Zagreb on December 14, 2017.
The Travel Writing Awards “Marko Polo – famous travel writer” were held on Thursday, organised by FIJET Croatia (Fédération Internationale des Journalistes et Ecrivains du Tourisme) and co-organised by the Croatian Journalism Society’s Tourism Journalists Assembly at the Journalism Home in Zagreb.
This was the 7th edition of awards for travel writers – for domestic journalists for travel articles about Croatia, a special award for a reportage on Zagreb, and for an international journalist and FIJET member for the best reportage on Russia, host nation of the FIJET congress in 2016.
The intention is to award and entice domestic journalist to write travel articles, stories of Croatian regions, people, customs and traditions, to be used by tourism professionals as an incentive for new content, tourism offer or as motivation for tourists and media promotion of new tourism products and content.
The goal is to affirm this specific form of journalism, develop tourism through interesting stories, myths, legends of certain tourism destinations which will attract tourists.
There also exists a desire to entice journalists to focus more on discovering their own country, especially small, undiscovered and interesting destinations, affirming domestic values. Croatia is a small country with many particularities, and a rarity in the world with so much diversity in such a small area.
By commending travel stories and reportage, the organisers wish to embolden local media to give them more space and grow the promotion to a movement developing domestic tourism. The award also has a humane dimension – the enticement and positive sensation for the values and people of Croatia.
The organisers are certain this award, named after the world’s first travel writer Marco Polo, besides making this specific journalism form more popular, will contribute for the new generations of tourism journalists to use their journalistic work as a contribution to the founding idea of this award – confirming what Croatia can offer the world in terms of tourism.
International guests and journalists present at the awards were FIJET President Tijani Haddad from Tunis, Deputy President of the Mediterranean Tourism Foundation, media advisor to the UNWTO chief secretary, members of FIJET executive board from Russia, Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria and France, as well as representatives of national FIJET associations from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia.
The award for international journalists who published reportages on Russia went to Spanish journalist Maria Del Mar Aguilo Brera for her reportage published in the digital magazine for tourism and gastronomy Cloralia, named “Moscow – Symphony of Colours.”
The first prize Marko Polo for domestic travel articles was shared by Ivo Pervan and Miro Branković. Ivo Pervan was awarded for his photographic travel reportage “Beauty of Biokovo through the Eye of a Camera,” published numerous times, while Miro Branković was awarded for the travel television series “In Search of Marco Polo.”
The second prize went to Davor Rostuhar for exceptional contribution to the affirmation of travel writing and tourism journalism. The third prize was equally shared by Tomislav Šikić, Slobodan Bukvić and Andrea Pisac Freškura for contributions to the affirmation of travel writing and tourism journalism.
The special recognition of FIJET went to Anita Žuvela Hitrec, for exceptional usage of media communication technologies in promotion Croatian tourism.
The best reportage on Zagreb award went to Paul Bradbury and Total Croatia News for his reportage on the Advent 2016 in Zagreb. Bradbury was also the 2014 Marco Polo winner.
Special recognitions were awarded to: the television show “Lijepom Našom” by the Croatian Radio Television, one of the most watched television shows promoting the tradition and heritage of Croatia; the Večernji List tourism patrol, for many years of contributing to the popularisation and affirmation of tourism journalism and promotion of Croatian tourism; Branko Uvodić, long-time editor of the “Lijepom Našom” show, for the promotion of tradition and heritage of Croatia; Dagmar Meneghello, for contributing to the affirmation of cultural tourism in Croatia; Eduard Kišić of the Croatian Radio Television, for exceptional contribution to the media promotion of FIJET in the moment of his retirement; Tijani Haddad, for the exceptional contribution to the development and promotion of activities and media projects of FIJET Croatia; Frano Erceg, posthumously, for the great contribution to the affirmation of tourism journalism and activities of FIJET.
