A diagnosis of the current status, and the vision and mission of tourism development for the area Daruvar – Papuk
The town Daruvar has initiated several processes and projects for the development of tourism, such as founding the Tourist board Daruvar – Papuk, enhancement of business activities of the Thermal water park Aquae Balissae, and preparation and promotion of locations for the development of three new hotels (The Castle Janković, Aquae Balissae and The Roman Forrest). Considering the need for systematic preparation of tourism development and marketing of the entire destination area which consists of the town and four neighbouring municipalities (Dežanovac, Đulovac, Končanica and Sirač), it is in the Town Daruvar’s interest to build destination plans which will serve as a comprehensive platform for all future development and marketing activities within tourism of the area for the period from 2011. until 2020.
The project consists of the next areas:
• A diagnosis of the current status of the area Daruvar – Papuk (general information and data, the economy, tourism, plans and programs);
• Competitive and benchmark areas of tourism (eleven destination areas, five of which are located in Croatia, four in Slovenia and two in Austria);
• SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the development of tourism) and an evaluation of competitiveness of the area Daruvar - Papuk;
• Vision and mission for the development of tourism for the area Daruvar – Papuk. A final draft of the Diagnosis of the current status, and the vision and mission of tourism development for the area Daruvar – Papuk was finished on 15
th June 2011.
Touristic positioning, and a plan of products and projects for the area Daruvar - Papuk
The process of planning the development of tourism for the area Daruvar – Papuk, which began last year when a detailed analysis was made and all of the key participants form this area were consulted, has just been finished because the final draft of the project, which contains plans for touristic positioning and a plan of products and projects, has been made. The entire process was implemented in two stages which were managed by experts from consulting companies MarCon from Split and DDS from Barcelona, and by the Institute for tourism from Zagreb.
The area of Daruvar is positioned as a multicultural oasis of health and hedonism in the heart of paponian Croatia, offering guests from Croatia and the region various experiences in a preserved natural environment with sources of healing thermal water, a rich historical heritage and high levels of biological, cultural and eno-gastoromical diversity. The project contains suggestions for the development of eighteen tourist products, among which health programs, sport preparations and short vacations are of primary importance, while other products are either of secondary (e.g. events and incentive programs) or tertiary importance (e.g. cycling and hiking).
The project suggests twenty strategic projects the goal of which is to advance existing and to develop new accommodation, catering, recreation and other tourism and tourism related offers. The total value of the investment projects surpasses 100 million euro, and about two-thirds of that amount involves the project of restoring Daruvar spa, the development of the tourist zone “Toplica”, building two new hotels (next to the park-forest called the Roman forest and the Thermal water park Aquae Balissae), the conversion of the castle Janković into a hotel and further development of family hotels and similar facilities. Projects for the development of tourist content in other settlements of the area such as Sirač and Končanica, advancement of the catering and trade offer, development of new attractions (museums, galleries and interpretation centres), designing themed routes (cultural and eno-gastro), and further development of select events are also among the strategic projects.
Under the assumption of achieving the development of all of the recommended products and projects, the Daruvar area should have at its disposal a high quality tourist offer with more than two thousand beds, it should hire almost 700 workers and achieve an annual tourist turnover of around 400 thousand overnight stays, at least 40% of which should be form abroad. The Daruvar area could in around ten years have the lead position in panonic Croatia, but it should still be at a level of 50% of the offer and demand that average areas of Austria or Slovenia have.