Could Rijeka and the Kvarner region successfully put itself on the map as a desirable destination for nautical tourism?
As Morski writes on the 11th of June, 2018, the sailing-oriented conference, which brought together important political and professional individuals, was held as part of the International Sailing Regatta ”Fiumanka”, which took place under the organisation of Novi List, and two panels talked about the touristic and political aspects of nautical tourism in a program which lasted a couple of hours.
Panelists from the first panel, which was made up of the director of the Kvarner Tourist Board, Irena Peršić Živadinov, the director of the Croatian Tourist Board, Kristjan Staničić, the organiser of Fiumanka, Davor Perović, and Andrija Čolak, all agreed that nautical tourism is an important branch of Croatia’s tourism especially during the pre-season and post-season period, and that making it a recognisable brand of Kvarner could see it become the base of the position of this region on the market.
Peršić Živadinov pointed out that tourism in this day and age is oriented towards the quality of complementary content and activities, and not towards mass and quantity. She said that the promotion of Kvarner as a destination for rich clientele was made through participation at world-wide nautical fairs, appearances in specialised journals and similar things, while Staničić stated that the construction of new marinas and the good traffic links of this region would enable the increase of nautical tourism and the growth of the desired regional image.
The long-time mayor of Rijeka, Vojko Obersnel, participated in the second panel, stating that the primary criteria for turning Porto Baroš into a nautical port had been met, and that the Government of the Republic of Croatia should confirm the promises made by Minister Oleg Butković on the matter.
”People who live by the sea know how best to manage their naval resources,” noted the Mayor of Rijeka, who also commented on the recent media suspicion regarding the moving of the ACI main building from Opatija to Rijeka, saying that it was only one of the proposals in that discussion.
