Did you know that only 2% of visitors to Krka National Park actually visit the entire park?
Director of Krka National Park, Krešimir Šakić, presented the project “Unknown Krka: The Hidden Treasures of the Upper and Middle Krka River” on Monday, emphasizing that the park aims to develop new visitor programs that will contribute to the recognizability of the entire Krka river, ultimately reducing the pressure on the most famous part – Skradinski buk, reports Vecernji List on October 16, 2017.
The untapped tourism and economic potential of the northern part of Krka National Park will be activated by new infrastructure and educational products and services, says Šakić, adding that the offer will also stimulate the economic possibilities for the local population.
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The head of the Tourism and Reception Department of the park, Ivona Cvitan, said that the project also has a scientific, cultural, educational and recreational purpose.
Cvitan stressed that the number of visitors to Krka National Park had grown every year. For example, in 2014, a visitor increase of 2.8% was recorded from the year before, and that number rose considerably in 2015 when an 18% increase was recorded. In 2016, the number of visitors increased by 13%, and this was also the first time the park achieved one million visitors. An incredible 98% of visitors took advantage of seeing Skradinski buk, but only two percent of visitors enjoyed the park in its entirety. Most of the visitors flocked to the park in July and August.
The project envisages a series of infrastructure interventions within the park, including the design and introduction of new facilities. This includes the construction, decoration and furnishing of the visitor center “Eco Campus Krka” in Puljane, an interpretation-education and volunteer center, and equipping the Center for Nature “Krka – The Source of Life” in Kistanje with a visual and multimedia exhibition. The plan also includes the construction of pedestrian paths, electrification of ship traffic, and improving the overall content for visitors, within which many educational activities will be created to increase the visitor’s safety. The project also aims to raise awareness of the natural resources of the Krka river and its processes for the visitors and stakeholders in the education, tourism and media sector.
A partner of the project is the Šibenik-Knin County Tourist Board, who is particularly interested in the number of guest arrivals and the statistics of the national park.
“Our basic task is to count the number of visitors, but we are aware that tourism is something that is determined by the space and its environment. The destination benefits from these natural attractions as an interesting tourist product, and the permanent interest is the preservation of these attractions. Through this project, we are interested in preserving the environment as a fundamental component, and sustainability is key,” said the director of the Tourist Board of Šibenik-Knin County, Željana Šikić.
The total value of the project is slightly over 80 million HRK, of which 66.2 million HRK is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund in the form of grants under the Competitiveness and Cohesion Operational Program.
Translated from Vecernji List
