World Championship in Olive Picking receives its award for Best Creative Experience at FITUR 2020

On January 22, the award ceremony for the Best Creative Experience, organized by the Creative Tourism Network®, was held at FITUR (Madrid). This world-wide award was attributed to the Municipality of Postira (Croatia) for its World Championship in Olive Picking.

It was delivered by Mrs. Caroline Couret, director of the Creative Tourism Network®, to Mrs. Ivana Jelinčič, director of the Postira Tourism Board, in the presence of the Croatian Minister of Tourism, M. Gari Capelli and the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board, M. Kristjan Staničić.

Caroline Couret stressed that Postira’s candidacy was selected by the international jury of the Creative Tourism Awards® among 160 proposals registered. The experts who formed the panel chose the World Championship in Olive Picking both for the creativity and authenticity with which the ancestral traditions and the intangible heritage of the island are promoted, as well as for the coexistence between travelers and locals, thus reflecting the Principles of Good Practices of Creative Tourism defined by the Creative Tourism Network®.

Ms. Ivana Jelinčič explained that the event, which was created just three years ago to spread this tradition, was immediately successful internationally by welcoming participants from Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, England, France, Germany, Slovakia, Poland, United States and South Africa.

Couret insisted on the fact that the World Olive Picking Championship is a model for the development of creative tourism in Croatia, for turning local culture into a quality experience and a new tourist attraction and more particularly in low season. She also reminded that Croatia owns a huge potential for this type of tourism, given its authenticity, the wealth of intangible heritage, its pleasant climate all year round and of course, the welcoming character of its inhabitants.

The event closed with a tasting of Postira’s natural olive oil as well as other Croatian delicacies such as cheese, prosciutto and wine.

The Creative Tourism Network®, on behalf of the International Jury of the Creative Tourism Awards, reiterates its congratulations to all the people and institutions that have achieved such recognition.