By IBIP students Madilyn and Allison

Croatia is a place “full of life.” This is the principle message given to us starting our second day in Croatia through a presentation from the Director of the Croatian National Tourism Board.

During the meeting, we learned the significance of diversification in tourism and recreation along with the foremost importance of tourism for Croatia’s economy. Skillfully, this board strives to complete the main goal of increasing tourism in the most optimal way by reaching different audiences. They work especially hard pushing the many possibilities in the rural areas pre and post season. The most interesting thing we elarned was how the utilize a software called “etourism” where they collect the demographics of tourists to understand the category of people traveling to Croatia. The information gathered allows for future improvements.

Croatia is “full of life.” This is so easily seen in just the first couple of minutes on the bus ride out to lunch and to Lovran. The people spend their time chatting with friends having a coffee or snack from a bakery or enjoying the many green spaces with their dogs. So far we have been treated with nothing but wonderful hospitality.

We stopped at Riverside golf course for a beautiful and delicious lunch on the way to Lovran. We were served assorted grilled meats potatoes, cheeses and more. We left completely stuffed.

Additionally, we had the opportunity to meet students in the evening from Lovran, and we got the chance to learn what they were like along with their schooling system.

All in all- an astounding second day from Allison and Madilyn’s perspective.