March the 7th, 2025 – More stable investment seems likely to finally improve and strengthen Lika tourism, allowing visitors from far and wide to enjoy this truly stunning, often overlooked part of Croatia.

Lika is Croatia’s green heart. It is home to the birthplace of inventor Nikola Tesla, it is dominated by dense forests, rolling hills, towering mountains and more nature than you can shake a stick at. A bear sanctuary, countless beautiful lakes and a sense of peace few other places Croatia can provide (especially during the summer season!) make Lika a breath of fresh air. Despite all of this region’s natural wealth, Lika tourism never really took off. That may soon alter.

As Novi List writes, continuous investment in tourism and the implementation of new ideas and content brought flattering recognition to a Croatian promotional tourism film called Discover Otočac, Brinje and Vrhovine at the world’s leading tourism fair ITB in Berlin. The film deservedly won the prestigious The Golden City Gate award, taking second place in the “regional international film” category.

The award ceremony was held in the Astor Film Lounge, where the films were screened and awarded. The award was received by Viktorija Rogić, director of the Tourist Board of the City of Otočac, and the director and cinematographer Filip Bašić from DOKU FILMS.

In terms of tourism, the biggest step forward in terms of tourism in recent years has been made by the small Lika municipality of Vrhovine. As its mayor claims, this is certainly not going to stop there, and Lika tourism will finally more firmly get its place under the sun after decades of living in Dalmatia and Istria’s long shadow.

“We’re engaged in several projects for Lika tourism that we can realistically expect a lot from. It’s also worth giving a mention to the upgrade of our ZIP-line cable car for children. The earthworks have already begun and we expect the small cable car to be operational in about one month. This award from Berlin has definitely put the wind back in our sails because our municipality has been slowly but surely recording increasingly better tourism results for years now,” said the mayor of the Municipality of Vrhovine, Milorad Delić.

The film depicts the natural beauty and cultural landmarks of the Otočac, Brinje and Vrhovine areas. It was filmed back in June last year, and premiered in October at the ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the Tourist Board of the City of Otočac.

Over 40 extras participated in the four days of filming, and in just over two minutes, viewers can see Sokolac Castle, Fortica Fortress, the Gacka River, Lake Brodić, Jurjeve Stijene, Majerovo Vrilo, stone bridges and many other attractions of these locations. This Lika tourism promotion film also places a strong emphasis on the gastronomic offer of these stunning but often entirely bypassed parts of the country.

Tourists from Germany and Austria are traditionally very fond of Lika and have occupied a very prominent place in the national average of the Tourist Board of the Lika-Senj County for years. The ITB fair in Berlin is one of the most important events in the entire global tourism industry, bringing together representatives from more than 180 countries and attracting more than 150,000 visitors annually. The fact that Lika tourism was given such visibility will surely lend itself to seeing visitors from elsewhere descend on this gorgeous mountainous region of Croatia in search of cooler climes, beautiful fresh water lakes to swim in, and less crowds to endure during the scorching summer months.

This award is another recognition for the promotion of this entire wider Lika region and everything it can offer in the sense of tourism on a global scale.
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