A record year for one of Croatia’s most popular national parks.
This year, the Krka National Park has broken all the previous records by the number of visitors. To date, it has been visited by more than 702,000 visitors, which is an increase of 18 percent compared to the same period last year. “In the previous years, we have recorded a constant growth in the number of visits by an average of six or seven percent per year. This year, the number of visitors is truly exceptional. Since January, the number has increased by as much as 18 percent”, says Katja Župan, head of the Department of Public Relations for the Krka National Park, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on August 31, 2015.
It is interesting that the record numbers of daily visitors have been recorded just in the past few days. The crowds are truly exceptional at Skradinski Buk, which is the main attraction in the park. Is it possible that, because of the great number of visitors, in the future the arrivals will have to be pre-announced? The National Park is still not considering such an idea.
“To our knowledge, the Krka National Park is the first national park which has, in collaboration with the Ruđer Bošković Institute, prepared a study on ‘The Environmental Capacity Regarding the Number of Visitors to the Krka National Park’, which has established the maximum number of visitors which are allowed to come to particular locations in the park. That is precisely the reason why in the last few years the National Park has focused its activities on efforts to relieve the Skradinski Buk area, which is the most famous and most visited waterfall in the park.
“As the result of these activities, new hiking trails have been opened, as well as viewing areas and other facilities (archaeological exhibition in the Oziđana Cave, Stinice, various exhibitions, offices in Drniš), with many additional facilities being planned as well”, says Katja Župan.
“Because of the new features, numerous visitors are getting to know the upstream locations on the Krka river. For example, Visovac has been visited by 30 percent more visitors, Roški waterfall by 43 percent more visitors, and the Krka monastery by 45 percent visitors more than in the same period in 2014”, say representatives of the Krka National Park.
