With another busy season in Croatia drawing to a close, one of the country's natural treasures - the Plitvice Lakes - achieved an important milestone on September 27, 2011, by welcoming its millionth visitor, appropriately enough on World Tourism Day.
UNESCO World Heritage Site
The lakes, which were established as Croatia's first National Park in 1949, joined the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979, in recognition of their "outstanding natural beauty and undisturbed production of travertine (tufa) through chemical and biological action".
The National Park encompasses 296.85 km2 of breathtaking natural beauty, with its collection of lakes, waterfalls, diversity of flora and fauna and lush forests. Open all year, and offering a different experience with every season, the lakes are renowned for their distinctive colours, which range from blue and grey to azure and green. Tourists can enjoy the Park's natural beauty courtesy of eight kilometres of pathways and wooden walking trails around the lakes.
Increased International Visitors to Plitvice
"We are very pleased that so many tourists from all around the world come to Plitvice, until recently we had had guests from France, Germany, Italy, Austria as regulars but this year we had lots of Russian, Japanese and Chinese groups," said Vlatka Ruzic, the Plitvice Lakes National Park's spokesperson, in an interview with Vjesnik.hr.
Ruzic attributed the numbers to the excellent weather in Croatia this year, with the long hot summer proving a major factor in the increased activity to the lakes. The milestone is a boost to Croatia's inland tourism, which lives somewhat in the shadows of the more popular and exclusive tourism on the Adriatic coast, with hotspots such as Dubrovnik, Istria and the island of Hvar better known to Croatia's millions of tourism visitors.
Trip to Yellowstone for the Millionth Visitor
According to the paper, a special prize was allocated to the millionth visitor; namely an all-inclusive trip for two to the oldest park of them all, Yellowstone, as well as a lifetime pass to visit Plitvice. The paper reported that the lucky winner was Stana Ježina, who lives in France.
According to Ruzic, the winner has Croatian roots, having been born in Split and her husband is from Murter. This was her third visit to Croatia.
The milestone comes on the back of impressive official statistics throughout the country which show a marked increase in tourist arrivals across the board. In addition to excellent weather, Croatia's profile has been enhanced by some notable celebrity actions this summer, most notably Prince Harry jumping fully clothed into a pool at Veneranda in Hvar Town, while Beyonce chose the Hula Hula Beach Club in the same town to display her baby bump.
Paul Bradbury - Author of Hvar: An Insider's Guide to Croatia's Premier Island, and Lebanese Nuns Don't Ski
Join the Conversation