Most places on the Croatian coast would think that a day which includes almost a thousand visitors in a single day is basically a slow one. That does not apply for Bakar, a currently sleepy town between Rijeka and Crikvenica, burdened by the industrial past that has recently been waking up and trying to find their tourist niche and attract as many guests as possible in the pre and post- season.
So, for this past May 1st holiday their Tourist Board, their partners from Via Mea agency from Crikvenica and Papageno from Austria organized a visit by over 200 guests from Austria, who came to experience the “Tuna Fest” in The Bay.
The program of the Tuna Fest is filled with experiences for the guests, who have arrived at Bakar by boat from Kraljevica, which gave them the chance to experience Bakar from the most exciting point of view: from the sea. Then they’re introduced to what life was like in the past here, they get to walk around in the Old Town and Frankopan’s castle and then proceed to the pier, where they’re offered numerous products by the local producers, such as honey, lavender and similar souvenirs. Then a demonstration of the techniques for the tuna fishing is presented – and Bakar Bay used to be the location where the most tuna fish were caught in the Adriatic before the industry took over the bay.
Recently, the tuna have been making their comeback to the Bakar bay, proving that the town and the bay have almost completely recovered from the damage the industry has done there in the past. In front of them, the specialities made with tuna are prepared for their lunch. This week, the group of senior Austrian tourists enjoyed the wonderful weather to improve their experience even further. More than 50 people in Bakar are participating in the organization of these events, and they’re hoping that it will increase the number of visitors to their town. Currently, there are over 500 beds for rent in the town, so it can’t rely solely on the results during the high tourist season, so bringing groups similar to this one from Austria and Germany, which are quite close to Bakar is an important step in the story of reviving Bakar as a tourist destination.
