New Campaign: Digital Nomads in Pazin Desired to Extend Season

Villas with swimming pools or holiday homes in central Istria have been a hit for years now. However, Croatia’s largest peninsula wants to bring their popular accommodations closer to digital nomads, reports Jutarnji List.

Following the example of larger Croatian cities, the Central Istria Tourist Board recently launched the campaign “Live and work in Central Istria,” which wants to attract digital nomads to Pazin and its surroundings this year. According to the Tourist Board director, Sanja Kantaruti, about 30 renters have already shown interest in hosting digital nomads who would extend their season. But why should digital nomads come to Pazin and its surroundings outside of summer?

“Facilities in central Istria operate throughout the year – from restaurants to museums and other facilities. We are constantly looking for ways to extend the season and become a year-round destination. Very often people who come on holiday to Istria also work. On the other hand, central Istria is different from the already established destinations of digital nomads, such as Zagreb, Split, and Dubrovnik,” Kantaruti believes.

He adds that they could be attractive because they are not larger and busier environments. That is why they recently held a conference for all tourism workers and especially explained to renters what digital nomads are looking for – above all, a comfortable place to work.

“Every day, new landlords contact us who would like to join the project. The only problem so far is that the prices of our villas and holiday homes are quite high even out of season, and yet this is a long-term lease. We are also cooperating with our development agency Srce Istre in Pazin. They equipped the co-working space and organized gatherings. And that attracts digital nomads.”

Therefore, Kantaruti expects significant interest, as was the good interest of visitors to several gastronomic events out of season. 

Namely, in the winter months, from November 1 to March 1, the number of overnight stays in central Istria increased! In 2016 and 2017, there were 4502 overnight stays and 6180 in 2019. However, they believe that various events can achieve more than that.

“This winter, we had the ‘We love winter while there is a hood’ event, now in February, the Days of Honey delicacies begin. On the weekends, restaurants and taverns are full, and even the caterers told me that they had to turn people away because there is simply no space,” says the Tourist Board director.

The Central Istria Tourist Board was the first to function on the principle of an association. These associations of smaller and unprofitable tourist boards have been discussed in Croatia for years to be efficient and reduce costs. But now, most of them are deciding on a project association, which would be the first step towards the formal tourist board. The Central Istria Tourist Board includes Pazin and eight surrounding municipalities – Cerovlje, Gračišće, Karojba, Lupoglav, Pićan, Tinjan, Sveti Petar u Šumi, and Sveti Lovreč. Although it seemed complicated at first due to different political options in other municipalities, it proved to be successful. 

Thus, last year, they expanded their cooperation and teamed up with nearby Buzet, Barban, Žminj, Kanfanar, and Svetvinčenat. They worked together to promote enogastronomy and came out with a new promotional video, “Authentic Istria – Good mood / Good food,” directed and produced by the Labin company Level 52. It will first be promoted on the domestic market, the second most important after Germany.

“We were founded in 2007, and in 2020 we joined the project. There are 14 municipalities and cities in it. We are the coordinator of all activities, and we have invited other tourist boards, those from the surrounding area, to join us because we have the same product. Tourists are not interested in the boundaries of the municipality. So this is the question for mayors and mayors. Some have already shown interest, but that remains to be seen. This year, all of us in the tourist boards are expecting changes,” Kantaruti points out.

However, central Istria will inevitably see good results this year. The first significant wave of tourists is expected for Easter.

For more news and features about digital nomads in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section.  

 

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