The Simply the Best 2025 awards

During this year’s edition of the PUT Tourism Exchange, which was under the organization of the Tourist Board of Medimurje county, have brought together more than 200 participants from seven countries. The annual awards of the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies and the PUT exchange were presented at a formal ceremony held on Wednesday, April 9th, 2025, in the Terme Sveti Martin.

Simply the Best is an annual award for innovation and creativity in tourism, which has been awarded since 2010. by the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies (UHPA) and the PUT Tourism Exchange. A total of 98 individuals and companies that are part of tourism industry and who contribute to the development and enhancement of the tourism offer in Croatia, have received the award.

Among the awardees are UHPA members:

• The agency Mare-Panonium Tours d.o.o. from Vinkovci was awarded in the category of Travel Agency
• The agency Travel Zone d.o.o. from Makarska was awarded in the category of Travel Agency
• The agency Wayoudu d.o.o. – Free Spirit Tours from Zagreb was the winner in the category of Travel Agency
• The Tourist Board of the City of Vukovar and their event “Vukovarskih 198” were the winners in the category of Events – Heritage, Culture and Tradition
• The Tourist Board of the City of Crikvenica was awarded in the category of Events – Entertainment for the event “Moja mala kala”
• The Tourist Board of the City of Novi Vinodolski was awarded in the category of Events – Entertainment for the event “Okolotorno”
• The Tourist Board of the City of Crikvenica was awarded in the category of New Project in Tourism for the project “Crikvenica Food & Wine Walk”
• The Tourist Board of the City of Sv. Ivan Zelina was awarded in the category of New Project in Tourism for the project “Magical Zelina Fairy Park"
• The Tourist Board of the City of Osijek was awarded in the category of New Project in Tourism for the project “Osijek Wine Story”
• The agency Eklata d.o.o. from Split was awarded in the category of New Project in Tourism for the project “Platforma Maturalac”
• In the category of Continental Destination, the award went to Zagreb County for its innovative and creative approach to the development and realization of new tourism products based on sustainable tourism principles, development of special forms of tourism, and the creation of numerous tourist experiences within local communities, which brings new quality and content excellence to the destination

At the end of the ceremony, a special recognition from the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies and the PUT travel exchange was awarded to Borislav Šimenc, the visionary and founder of the exchange, for 25 years of dedicated work on its development.

You can find the overview of award winners by category and group here.

Congratulations to all the winners.

Photos of all awarded recipients with their recognitions, as well as other photos from the ceremony, can be found here.

Source: DMK Vall 042

Photo autor: Mario Žilec, DMK Vall 042