Lošinj’s story is a story about sustainable and responsible tourism, i.e. about a project called Drvo je prvo (Wood is First) aimed at reengaging the local community in the traditional story of the Lošinj Island through revitalisation of the art of building small wooden boats. The locals who supported the project and joined the efforts to revitalise old, authentic boats, who were instrumental to the success of the project, set aside their time to restore old boats in the traditional manner, thus helping preserve not only the art of building boats in the traditional manner, but also the associated old crafts and trades, such as caulking, repairing sails, making oars, and other. Finally, cooperation with other stakeholders in the destination has brought this segment of the history of Lošinj to light, and made people more aware of the importance of preserving the traditional maritime heritage of the island of Lošinj.
Lošinj started participating in the Top 100 Sustainable Destinations competition in 2016. This competition is the largest global programme that recognises and promotes sustainability of destinations, and it is also the largest award programme of ITB Berlin, the world’s leading travel trade show. The programme seeks to encourage destinations to promote responsible destination management and, in doing so, encourage the entire tourism sector to adopt and apply the best environmental practices.
The recognition awarded to Lošinj at this year’s Green Destinations Conference was accepted by Ana Kučić, Mayor of Mali Lošinj, and Dalibor Cvitković, Director of the Tourist Board of Mali Lošinj.
We have seen new, positive examples of good practice. Seeing all these good examples and hearing the perspectives of other sustainable destinations and experts is very motivating. We see that there are no insurmountable obstacles if decision-makers come together at the local, regional, as well as national level. We will definitely take this recognition as our motivation to continue our efforts, said Ana Kučić, Mayor of Mali Lošinj.
The Silver designation, which has been awarded to Lošinj, is generally awarded in recognition of the efforts made by a destination to ensure attractiveness and sustainability for future generations as well. We are extremely happy that Lošinj has been included on the list of sustainable destinations, and that our sustainable story, Wood Comes First, has been recognised as an example of good practice. It is no secret that Lošinj has been measuring and comparing results for years already and that, in doing so, we strive to determine our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats with the aim of creating and maintaining a successful sustainability strategy for our destination. It goes without saying that none of this would be possible without the interaction and cooperation with the locals and our guests. Together, we find the solutions to further develop our destination, while preserving its quality, said Dalibor Cvitkovic, Director of the Tourist Board of Mali Lošinj, and expressed his congratulations to the Plitvice Lakes National Park, yet another recipient of the Silver designation.
In 2019, this leading global conference dedicated to sustainable destination management was held in Mali Lošinj. During the Lošinj conference, in addition to 30 presentations and panel discussions on the topic of Green Solutions for Tourist Destinations, which gathered more than 60 leading experts from all across the globe, the World’s Top 100 Sustainable Destinations in 2019 were presented as well. This sustainable conference, which featured a number of workshops, tours, meetings and panel discussions, gathered the best and finest in the field of sustainability. The conference participants had the opportunity to experience the island of Lošinj and spend their free time enjoying the numerous activities the Island of Vitality has to offer.
