Many rural destinations covered by the Croatian Tourist Board's (HTZ) "Experience local. Explore rural Croatia!" campaign have recorded more visitors this year, for example Papuk Nature Park, 48% more than in the record tourist year 2019, the HTZ has said.

“Beautiful nature and constant projects briefly describe Papuk, which we wish to position as a genuine Slavonian brand with more than 50,000 visitors a year,” the nature park’s director Alen Jurenac says.

The Krapina Neanderthal Museum has registered 12% more visitors than in 2019.

Travel agencies in the Karlovac region are also registering a higher demand for trips to explore the natural and cultural heritage.

The HTZ launched the “Experience local. Explore rural Croatia!” campaign early in May to stimulate domestic tourist turnover in rural destinations.

In two months, the campaign has generated almost 33 million impressions via online channels, social networks and digital outdoor advertising, while seven theme videos as part of the campaign, including for Papuk Nature Park, have garnered almost four million views, HTZ says.

Its director Kristjan Staničić says this confirms that Croatia has an interesting and varied rural product and that interest in this kind of tourism definitely exists on the domestic market.

He says demand for vacationing in rural destinations, for tourism products and capacities that guarantee quality and safety, has been constantly rising during the pandemic.

Staničić says domestic tourists have generated 3.7 million overnights this year to date, 17% more than at the same time last year.