March the 9th, 2025 – The Zagreb County Tourist Board has secured a generous sum of funds to boost continental tourism. With so many focused on either the coast or the City of Zagreb itself, Zagreb County often gets overlooked. This move hopes to alter that.
When you think of Croatia, you think of the coast. In more recent years, and certainly since the European Best Destinations Portal crowned Advent in Zagreb the best Christmas market in Europe for three consecutive years, the City of Zagreb has been on the tourism radar. Zagreb County however rarely gets a look in. With funds secured to boost continental tourism and help to bring it out of the coastline’s shadow, the rural surroundings of the capital will hopefully be given the limelight they deserve.
As Kronike Velike Gorice/The Velika Gorica Chronicles writes, the Zagreb County Tourist Board has managed to secure the largest single amount of funding from the Fund for Underdeveloped Tourist Areas – 448,000 euros in total. This allocation of funds once again confirms a major role in the development of continental tourism and the creation of content to make this overlooked part of Croatia more attractive to foreign visitors.
The grant agreement was formally presented last week at the National and University Library in Zagreb, at an event that brought together numerous representatives of tourist boards, local and regional officials and various other stakeholders from the tourism sector. The contracts were handed over to the beneficiaries by Tourism Minister Tonči Glavina and the Director of the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) Kristjan Staničić. Staničić made sure to emphasise the importance of investing in the balanced development of tourism throughout Croatia, with a special focus on continental destinations, including Zagreb County.
The Director of the Zagreb County Tourist Board Ivana Alilović emphasised that these funds represent more than mere financial support. The allocation of this hefty sum is concrete confirmation of the exceptional potential of continental tourism in Croatia, and the increasing recognition of destinations in the interior of the country.
“The secured funds will enable us to further connect the local community in Zagreb County, improve its tourist infrastructure and develop innovative content that will valorise this region. Continental tourism isn’t only an opportunity to attract guests, but also a key factor for economic development and improving the quality of life of the local population,” stated Alilović.
With the largest single amount of funding within this competition, the Zagreb County Tourist Board will continue to go full steam ahead with the development of continental tourism. It aims to create more unique content that invites domestic and foreign guests alike to come and discover the authentic beauties of Croatia way from the coastline and islands.
