Istria Gourmet Festival at Umag's ATP Vegeta Croatia Open, presented the project Gourmet Passport, which is an awards system and a guide through the sights of northwestern Istria. It is a continuation of the Gourmet guide of northwestern Istria and Istra Gourmet Festival and the projects initiator, Laguna Novigrad set it into motion in collaboration with partners and tourist association of the cluster containing Umag, Novigrad, Brtonigla and Buje. Gourmet Passport is intended for consumers seeking gastronomy and high quality tourist content, while the program is primarily intended for individual guests who visit Istria through the entire year.

According to the project author, Alan Bahorić, Gourmet Passport connects the acknowledged catering objects and manufacturers in collaboration with tourist agencies and hotels, thus gathering partners whose goal is to lengthen the season, provide new content to individual guests, and through branding of gastronomic localities, to increase the visibility of northwestern Istria as a one of Croatias highest quality gourmet destinations.
 
- We're very happy to have such high partner response but also the readiness of Laguna Novigrad that has recognized and financially accomplished a project that is of great importance to the local community. Laguna has provided a complete logistical support, ranging from partner communication to project finalization. Gourmet Passport includes everyone's interests into the program, because it offers the hotels additional content before and during the season, to the caterers it brings an especially appreciated group of individual guests while the tourist agencies experience a rising visibility within the cluster - concluded Bahorić.

The acknowledged vinter Moreno Coronica, stated that Gourmet Passport is a countinuation of the strategy involving the branding of the region and a collective undertaking of all who live off tourism.
-Up till recently we worried about attracting guests on an individual basis, but now when the consumers habbits have changed drastically, it is clear to us that the complete destination image is of  critical importance.-

Marketing director of Laguna Novigrad, Alen Greblo, stated that during the course of the first year roughly 30 parters answered the call, all of them being established catering objects, food manufacturers, wines and oils that were graded with over 85 points according to Istra Gourmet, are members of Vinistra or they incite excelent and inovation through their work in the tourist region.

-All of the interested partners can report their involvement at the Tourist association of Novigrad, and the commission will gather three times a year to decide on incorportaing new members - said Greblo.
Gourmet Passport is a findelity system through which the consumer can gather stickers from specific destinations thus achieving discounts for non residential services within a set time frame, within the cluster area. The goal is to heep the guest inside the region, encourage him to spend and motivate him to return through the fidelity system. The guests may ask for the passport after consuming 500 kuna worth of producs or services of participating partners. During every next visit and consumation of a minimum of 300 kuna, the guest attains the right to a sticker which brings additional discounts. For the most faithful of guests, a Diplomatic Gourmet passport has been prepared where they can achieve the best discounts and other benefits. 
Apart from the passports designed by the brand author of "In all the colours of Istria" Robert Radešić. Gourmet Passport is followed by a web page (www.gou-pass.com), Facebook group, markings on partner objects as well as promotional materials on tourist offices.

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Director of Laguna Novigrad, Zrinka Bokulić reminded that the first passports will become history in less than a year with Croatia's entrance into the European Union, which is why Gourmet Passport has the opportunity to become the ambassador of quality gourmet offer and specific lifestyle that makes Istria famous. After the initial phase, Laguna will hand the project over for operative leadership to the Tourist association of Novigrad as a contribution to the development of the tourist offer of Novigrad and northwester Istria. 
-Along with the orientation towards sports recreation and preaparation of professoinal athletes such as Istria Winter Cup, wellness and SPA tourism, the gourmet offer is completed with its own brand of award winning olive oil Vergal, which is the third segment on which Laguna Novigrad builds its market visibility- concluded Bokulić.