Tourism in Novigrad, a charming little town of ancient history, situated on a small peninsula on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula, started to develop in the 1970s.

The tradition of this small fishing village and its rich cultural and historical heritage have become the foundations of today's attractive tourist destination: a clean sea and well-equipped beaches, a top gourmet offer, sports infrastructure, and a variety of events that attract visitors throughout the year, are just part of the rich offer of Novigrad’s tourism followed by a continuous investment in the accommodation sector raising quality in hotels, campsites and private households.

Novigrad also has five small and family run hotels, which is a rarity for such a small environment. The development of the tourism industry in this direction enjoys the full support of the Tourist Board and the City of Novigrad-Cittanova as in recent years, small and family run hotels are becoming one of the most popular tourist products on the Croatian market.

The capacity of 224 beds in private, small and family run hotels, some of which boasting four stars and open almost throughout the year, should be increased in the forthcoming period thanks to investments in this offer segment.


Family run hotel Cittar: 25 years of tradition
Stimulated by the continuous increase in the tourist demand and the need to increase market competitiveness in the existing hotels located in Novigrad’s old town centre, the Cittar family run hotel decided to launch a new entrepreneurial venture.

After extensive preparations, the project of expansion of accommodation capacities by building a 3* category hotel annex was submitted to the  "Support the development of SMEs in tourism by increasing the quality and additional hotel offers" competition through which the sum of 2.28 million kuna was granted in 2017, whilst the total value of the project amounted to 6,554,152.67 kuna.

The project consists of a total of five project activities, of which the main part includes the construction and equipping of the Cittar hotel annex, and the expected project implementation time is 24 months. The following activities are planned:
- increasing the accommodation capacity from the current 16 to 24 accommodation units  
- increasing the number of main beds from 34 to 54 beds
- increasing the number of occupancy of the Cittar hotel from 164,11 days to 178,12 days per year
- creation of additional facilities (wellness area, saunas, jacuzzi)
- facility categorisation of the hotel annex at a 3*level
- the extension of the tourist season to a period outside the main tourist season
- retaining the existing 6 employees and employing 4 new employees
- installation of renewable energy sources (heat pump)

The project is co-funded by the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund, whilst the opening of the Cittar hotel annex is envisaged in the spring of 2019.

» Hotel Cittar, Novigrad-Cittanova


Villa Rainis
Innovations in the area of high-category accommodation capacities are also being prepared by the Fattori family. Preparations for building a new facility in the Novigrad area began following the opening of the Rivalmare boutique hotel in 2016. Vila Rainis has been imagined as an exclusive 4* category accommodation, the preliminary design is in the process phase, and the opening is planned for 2019.

We would like to remind you that the Rivalmare Hotel, with 12 double rooms and one suite and additional amenities, was built on renewable energy technologies and co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund

The entrepreneurial efforts of the Cittar and Fattori families contribute to the development of Novigrad as a tourist destination, the extension of the tourist season and the increase of the competitiveness of the tourism sector together with the sustainable development of tourism in the town of Novigrad and the Istria Region as a whole.


More about the destination:
» www.istra.com/novigrad