'ROADS OF THE PAST' A county project that has produced valuable tourist attractions has been completed
The project started in January 2017 and gathered 11 other partners who worked on it, in addition to the holder Dubrovnik-Neretva County. The course of the project and its results were presented by the director of the regional agency DUNEA.
The project 'Rural educational, cultural and ethnographic tourist attraction' was successfully completed, which produced valuable educational tourist attractions that covered most of Dubrovnik-Neretva County and enriched the content of more distant and less rich places that became more recognizable and attractive.
The project started in January 2017 and gathered 11 other partners who worked on it, in addition to the holder Dubrovnik-Neretva County. The course of the project and its results were presented by the director of the regional agency DUNEA.
- As part of the project, significant renovations and revitalization of cultural heritage monuments have been achieved. The project aimed to restore cultural heritage and create an integrated tourist destination that connects remote areas in our county, and thus are connected into a unique tourist product called 'Paths of the Past'. We successfully prepared the project and for the first time included the public sector and the real sector and reported it as such. It was well evaluated and approved, and when signing the grant agreement, we were told that it would be a success to carry out such a complex project and bring it to an end. We succeeded and we finished it. The project will remain a source of pride for fellow citizens and visitors - said the director Melanija Milić and added that everything was done as part of the project.
Namely, the Ismaeli-Gabriellis Palace in the City of Korčula, which houses the City Museum, was reconstructed, the Parish House was renovated in the Dubrovnik littoral, where the Dubrovnik Littoral Native House was established, and the Museum of Gold and Silver was built in Smokvica. As part of the project, hiking and mountaineering trails have been arranged on Mljet, which makes it an additional tourist attraction.
The Dubrovnik-Neretva County Tourist Board promoted and presented the project at fairs. The director of the county tourist board, Vladimir Bakić, pointed out that the project was demanding.
- We were in charge of communication and visibility of the project as well as the design of a visual identity that was renamed due to marketing needs in the name 'Paths of the Past'. The project is very informative , it aims to direct tourists from stronger tourist centers to those with fewer attractions. This will certainly contribute to the improvement of the tourist offer in each of these places - Bakić explained.
The Tourist Board created a marketing plan, publications that were presented at fairs, and the company Prospekt from Rijeka created a visual identity and a logo for attractions.
- I believe that in the coming years, when tourism is slowly returns to us, these locations will be interesting to visitors and attract new tourists - said Vladimir Bakic.
Mayor Nikola Dobroslavić praised all project participants.
- It is not easy to put together so many partners and arrange everything that was needed, but it was necessary because it was the only way to get funds. I am glad that we are at the end of this project. It is a project that contributes to the extraordinary result of the county, which has attracted 7 billion kuna from EU funds. This is the best, and often the only way to finance projects - concluded the prefect Nikola Dobroslavić.
The project was implemented through the Operational Program 'Competitiveness and Cohesion' 2014-2020. The value of the project is slightly less than HRK 34 million, of which the grant from the European Regional Development Fund amounts to less than HRK 28 million.