One hour and a half drive from Zagreb and Zadar, at the entrance to the Plitvice Lakes National Park, there is Grabovac, a picturesque place Plitvice Holiday Resort with the motto “More than a vacation, more than nature.” Visitors can choose among camping accommodation and glamping – a holiday that blends glamour and camping, staying in Indian tents, lakeside homes, or up in the trees.
Glamping is a common way to vacation abroad, so it is not surprising that last year there were even 95% of foreign guests in Plitvice Holiday Resort. But the situation changed this year, so in the first four months, the share of domestic guests arrivals was over 45%.
“Our goal was to enrich the offer with capacities and content that is different from the existing ones. On one side we have the trend of glamping, but also the fact that we are only 8 kilometres away from the Plitvice Lakes, we want to offer a glamorous campsite without compromising the sense of connection with nature – the greenery and the water that surrounds us. When I say different from the existing one, I do not think only about surroundings, but also that it is different from any other accommodation in which guests have stayed in Croatia and beyond,” says Dubravko Maričić, director of the company.
Their succeeded confirm the fact that today it is a four-star resort that has been declared the best campsite for the region of central Croatia for the past two years. At the last days of tourism, organized by the Croatian Chamber of Economy, they also recognized the camp with the most innovative offer of accommodation and one of only eight camps in Croatia bearing the label – Ecocamping.
Domestic tourists recognize their quality, just as Croatian Agency for Small Business, Innovation and Investment (HAMAG-BICRO) recognized a project. In cooperation with the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Craft through the Small Business Development and medium-sized entrepreneurs in tourism HAMAG – BICRO co-financed it with almost 6 million kunas of grants.
The camp, which received its first guests in 1968 today, in its renovated resort form on a total of 50,000 square meters, offers 22 comfortable rooms, one luxury apartment, ten mobile homes, six indoors (tent types), nine houses near the lake and five a cottage in the rocks. By its very nature, the campsite accommodation is heavily dependent on weather conditions and has a remarkable seasonality of the business, so new accommodation has enabled the extension of the tourist season. Even wooden houses, which are entirely a Croatian product, have central heating and high-quality insulation and are available to guests throughout the year.
