The Istria Tourist Board is a public non-profit organisation founded on the basis of the Law on Tourist Boards and the Promotion of Croatian Tourism. The regional Istria Tourist Board is founded for the territory of the Region of Istria, whose members are the Tourist Boards of municipalities and cities which, as local communities, were founded for the area of one or more local self-government units in the territory of the Region of Istria.

The Istria Tourist Board (hereinafter: ITB) is an organisation that operates on the principle of destination management, and was founded to promote and develop tourism in the Republic of Croatia and the economic interests of legal and natural persons providing catering and tourism services or performing other activities directly related to tourism by managing destinations on the level of the Region of Istria.

The Istria Tourist Board is registered in the Register of Tourist Boards kept by the Ministry in charge of tourism affairs (hereinafter: the Ministry), under registration number 12.

Name: Istria Tourist Board
Abbreviated name: Istria TB
Headquarters: Poreč  

The ITB is managed by its members in such a way that each tourist board is represented by at least one representative. A larger number of representatives of an individual tourist board depends on the tourist significance of the area for which it was established, and is determined in proportion to the amount of the tourist board's share in the revenues of the Istria Tourist Board.

The ITB has an expert service for performing professional and administrative jobs related to the tasks of the ITB (hereinafter: the Tourist Office).

With the aim of:
a) development and marketing of the Region of Istria through the coordination of key activities of tourism development (planning, development of tourism products, financing, decision-making and implementation) in accordance with documents defining the national tourism development strategy, b) ensuring a more complete presence of specific destination interests by strengthening the regional initiative and connecting stakeholders in the Region of Istria in order to create internationally competitive tourism products and
c) improving the conditions for tourists staying in the Region of Istria and developing awareness of the importance and economic, social and other effects of tourism, as well as the need and importance of preserving and improving all elements of the tourist resource base of the Region of Istria, especially the protection of the environment as well as of its natural and cultural heritage in accordance with the principles of sustainable development in the area of the Region of Istria,  

The ITB, as a regional destination management organisation, performs the following tasks and duties:

1. Strategic planning and development by:
1.1. participating in the creation of strategic documents and other planning bases for tourism development
1.2. adopting a strategic marketing plan for the Region of Istria, in accordance with the strategic marketing plan of Croatian tourism
1.3. participating in the implementation of strategic marketing projects defined by the Croatian National Tourist Board
1.4. participating in the processes of legislation, spatial planning and other instruments of regulation and management at a Region of Istria level in order to ensure a competitive, long-term sustainable development of tourism
1.5. coordinating and communicating with private and public sector stakeholders in the Region of Istria
1.6. cooperating with key partners and other counties/regions and tourist boards of all levels in order to develop the offer of key regional and inter-regional tourism products
1.7. monitoring and supporting the candidacy of public tourism projects for national sources of co-financing and sources of co-financing from the European Union in cooperation with other county/regional stakeholders and local tourist boards
1.8. starting up and managing initiatives for the development and improvement of key tourist products of the Region of Istria;

2. Tourism system management by:
2.1. quality management - determining the norms, criteria and quality labels of tourist products at the level of the Region of Istria
2.2. managing public tourism infrastructure
2.3. carrying out public tenders for the award of grants for events of local significance, offering support to tourist boards in underdeveloped tourist areas and giving support for projects of tourist initiatives and products in underdeveloped tourist areas in the Region of Istria
2.4. carrying out training and raising the competencies of employees in the system as well as stakeholders of the tourism sector in the Region of Istria
2.5. supervising and coordinating local tourist boards;

3. Information and research by:
3.1. establishing detailed tourist statistics of the Region of Istria which contain data on supply and demand
3.2. participating in the development and management of the eVisitor system and other tourist information systems in accordance with the instructions of the Croatian National Tourist Board such as: a unique tourist information portal and records of all forms of tourist offer/attractions in the Region of Istria
3.3. carrying out visitor satisfaction surveys and other market research
3.4. establishing business intelligence systems based on information technologies (databases, B2B portal, systematisation of research, infographics) at the level of the Region of Istria;

4. Marketing by:
4.1. managing public relations
4.2. creating, maintaining and regularly providing content on the website and social media profiles
4.3. defining guidelines and standards for the design of tourist promotional materials of local tourist boards
4.4. establishing marketing infrastructures based on information technologies
4.5. carrying out strategic and operational marketing activities (branding regions, online and offline activities, websites and social media profiles, fairs, study tours, presentations, partnerships, sponsorships, etc.)
4.6. coordinating and carryings out joint advertising at Region of Istria level
4.7. performing other tasks prescribed by the Law or other regulations.

The ITB is obliged to ensure that the tasks it carries out are in line with the strategic marketing guidelines and instructions of the Croatian National Tourist Board.

The ITB cooperates with regional tourism organisations from other countries and can also be a member of international tourism organisations and related associations.

The ITB’s bodies are: the Assembly, the Tourist Council and the President. Prefect Boris Miletić is the president. The director of the Office is Denis Ivošević.

The Istria Tourist Board operates on a basis of an Annual Work Program adopted by the Assembly, and generates revenues from the following sources: tourist taxes, tourist membership fees, budget, EU projects and other sources. The Istria Tourist Board’s professional service is the Office based in Poreč, Pionirska 1a, which performs both professional and administrative jobs related to the tasks of the tourist board.

Istria Tourist Board
Pionirska 1a, HR-52440 Poreč-Parenzo, Hrvatska
OIB: 10163106072 | VAT ID: HR10163106072 
Contact: www.istra.hr/en/about-us
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www.istra.com | www.istra.hr  

[November 2024]