Grand opening of the 6th International Congress on Rural Tourism

Podstrana, April 10, 2024 – The 6th International Congress on Rural Tourism was officially opened in the festive atmosphere and beautiful backdrop of the “Grand Dalmatia hall“ in the Le Meridien Lav hotel. The opening ceremony was graced by numerous Croatian and international guests from the world of rural tourism. More than 300 guests from 28 countries arrived in the Split-Dalmatia County, i.e. in Podstrana, to attend this unique event. Among the esteemed guests were: Marija Vučković (Minister of Agriculture in the Government of the Republic of Croatia and representative of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Andrej Plenković), Danica Baričević (parliamentary representative and representative of the President of the Croatian Parliament Gordan Jandroković), Dubravka Šuica (Vice President of the European Commission), Sunčana Glavak representative in the European to the Parliament, Blaženko Boban (Mayor of Split - Dalmatia County), Igor Fazekaš (Member of the Board of Hrvatske šuma d.o.o. - Gold Sponsor of the Congress), Tonči Glavina (State Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism and Sports), Frano Matušić (State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs), distinguished delegates and delegates of Croatian Counties, Organizers, Patrons and Partners of the Congress.

On behalf of the Organizers, Dijana Katica, president of the Organizing Committee of the Congress, addressed the audience: "With a warm welcome that I wish to everyone who is part of this Congress in any way, it is an honor and a pleasure that we have gathered again on the occasion of another Congress. We tried to organize numerous attractive contents in order to once again push the already high limits of rural tourism. Croatia is a tourist country with impressive numbers, and with rural areas that are developing on an upward trajectory, we are no longer talking about tourist months, but about the tourist year. In accordance with the slogan of this year's Congress, we want rural tourism to be sustainable, digital and inclusive. I want everyone to take with them wonderful memories that they will lock in their treasury of memories".

The evening was crowned by the awarding the best young farmers in 2024, an election organized by a Croatian member of the European Parliament and ambassador of this project for Croatia from the European People's Party (EPP), Sunčana Glavak and Jutarnji list. The victory was won by OPG Dario Pocedulić from Gornji Kućan near Varaždin: "It is an extremely great honor for us to have participated in this contest and we hope to represent Croatia in a worthy way at this year's European contest. We started with six hectares on the property, last year we registered 95, and this year we intend to register about 120 hectares, 80 percent of which we sow and process buckwheat. We are exclusively engaged in agriculture", pointed out Tamara Pocedulić, wife of the winner Dario Pocedulić.

The rich program of the Congress continues on Thursday and Friday, when renowned international experts will hold lively lectures and panels, as well as interactive workshops. Numerous Tourist Boards and other organizations will also have an exhibition space for authentic and innovative products.