The initial goal of the now on-going "Destination Management Company Development" project was to create an environment in which private local business entities work together so that an entire group of candidates can specialize for operating within the destination management company business model. The project was initiated by the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) in cooperation with the Croatian Ministry of Tourism and supported by the VERN Polytechnic, the Institute for Tourism and the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies.

Developing destination management companies is one of HTZ’s key activities for the coming period, as is outlined in the Strategic Marketing Plan for Croatian Tourism document. Launched in 2013, the project’s many outcomes include the production of the "Destination Management Companies - a Manual for Business and Marketing Success in Special Interest Tourism" manual (several abbreviated versions are available too). The project traces the development and application of the DMC business model, helps businesses manage pilot DMC projects and provides technical support for the application of the DMC business model. On the project, UHPA participated in the process of selecting and following up with potential DMC’s, of whom many are members, as well as in providing the necessary advisory and operational support, including the organisation of six annual DMC Forums, national tourism events with over 500 participants from the Croatian tourism industry and the media.

During 2016, UHPA and HTZ put into effect a training program for the public and private sectors with the aim of creating a cluster of destination management companies for eight tourist regions/clusters. Tourism product development activities were carried out in Istria, Kvarner, City of Zagreb, Central Croatia, Slavonia, Lika and Karlovac, Dalmatia - Šibenik, Dalmatia – Dubrovnik. Several cycles of workshops which raised awareness about the development potential of special interest tourism were organised, educating travel agency representatives on current trends and bringing public DMO’s and the private sector closer together.

Read more about UHPA’s DMC activities (Upoznaj Hrvatsku – Discover Croatia) and flip through our DMC manual, by browsing the menu to your left.