This post is also available in: Croatian
Its wines are exported as far as California; one of its rivers is in Lonely Planet’s top 40 amazing experiences in Europe; it is home to Croatia’s best cultural event for 2012; its UNESCO heritage stretches from ancient buildings to indigenous cuisine; it is home to one of the country’s most exclusive sailing destinations; and the recent construction of an Olympic-standard rowing facility is testament to its growing adventure tourism credentials.
Foto: Tz grada Sinja
Located just half an hour from the stunning Dalmatian coast and the busiest airport in Croatia during the season, it would seem that this region has everything to offer tourists, and yet it is missing only one key ingredient – tourists.
With Croatian tourism booming, the stereotypical holiday is flight into Dalmatia’s airports before heading for the beaches on the coast of popular islands such as Hvar, Brac and Korcula. A sensible enough plan in a country which has rebuilt its tourism on the slogan of The Mediterranean as it Once Was. And yet, just a short distance to the north is one of Europe’s most diverse, exciting and undiscovered regions, where much fewer tourists tread – Inland Dalmatia.
With its lack of beaches and sea, the Dalmatian hinterland has been largely overlooked by modern tourism, and there has been little attempt so far to consolidate the region’s considerable tourism riches into one place.
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Foto: Arhiva turističkih zajednica
This is the home of Alen Bibich, one of the country’s leading wine producers, whose home is close to the wondrous Krka waterfalls and the exclusive inland sailing heaven that is Skradin. The mighty Cetina river, with its magnificent 11 fortress churches, runs through its heart, offering breathtaking views, fabulous adventure tourism and Lonely Planet patronage.
The region’s proud heritage and traditions are too numerous to investigate here, but are perhaps best exemplified by the last remaining Knights tournament in Europe, the 300 year-old Sinjska Alka, which annually attracts dignitaries from the president down, while the successful EU-funded Lake2Lake project on Lake Peruca is just one facet of a region with a wealth of potential for adventure tourism.
Foto: Tz grada Imotskog
Unlike other destinations with potential, access is not a problem, with three major airports nearby, while the new motorway drives through the region. All that is missing is better education and effective promotion of a region so close to the beach, and yet with so much more potential to help Dalmatia become the year-round destination that it should be.
Learn more on www.total-inland-dalmatia.com
Paul Bradbury
This post is also available in: Croatian
