What is it about? About the brand called "In search of the fifth element" which under its slogan "We unlocked history" and various communication elements, written and visual, as well as an application for finding and booking experiences, bring tourists closer to the beauties and charm of Zadar hinterland.
The very idea for the brand is the result of cooperation with the local community and tourism stakeholders in the county and is certainly not a random product, but has its basis in a participatory approach, says Sanja Jerak, project manager from ZADRA NOVA:
The whole idea of the territorial brand was developed through intensive cooperation with representatives of stakeholders from the public and private sectors. The very idea of the project recognized the need for such a participatory approach that ensures the most important thing, and that is that the project results be developed in accordance with the needs of the local community. Namely, the brand "Search for the fifth element" is actually a product that reflects all the recommendations of our stakeholders who are strong actors in the field of tourism in Zadar County - tourist boards, travel agencies, renters and family farms, agritourism, cultural institutions and institutions for the protection of natural heritage. Together with them, and through workshops and meetings, ideas were collected that enabled the creation of the "Search for the fifth element" as a comprehensive tourist product.
The brand identifies the specifics of Zadar County through gastronomy, cultural heritage, staying in nature, traditional products, tourist routes and other elements of the offer, and wants to encourage tourists to discover Zadar hinterland and get to know all the facilities they really have at disposal.
When we talk about these specifics, we must certainly not omit the following: Pag cheese and Pag baškotin, Dalmatian prosciutto, olive oil, prisnac cake, peka, grilled fish, wine with its indigenous varieties; all this as products that are deeply woven into gastronomy but also the entire life of the people of our area. Then, there is Vrana Lake, stone and karst hinterland as natural resources; turbulent times, Liburnian, Croatian and Illyrian heritage reflected in sights such as Ostrovica Fortress, Asseria in Podgrađe, Kličevica Fortress, Stojan Janković Tower, Nadin Ancient Town, Jusuf Mašković Han in Vrana and many others.
In this context, the fifth element has the meaning of discovering the love for the wealth and beauty of our hinterland. Because all the resources that the hinterland is rich in can be reduced to basic earthly or vital elements, four of them - earth, water, air and fire. And each of them symbolizes things without which there is no life, and which we also find in the hinterland of Zadar county. So the earth means agriculture, traditional gastronomy, stone building. Water represents spirituality, religious riches and life. Air, on the other hand, encompasses phenomena such as wind, communication, and diversity. And fire is a symbol of creation, energy, and even the preparation of traditional food that we find in rural areas.
All the offer of the hinterland, from sights to already formed tours is placed through the mentioned central application on www.sffe.eu, so tourists can choose one of the elements or select all of them, and receive personalized information based on their interests!
The area that has the potential to expand the development of the territorial brand includes four macro units: Zadar - Nin, Benkovac - Biograd, Pag - Starigrad, Obrovac - Gračac, while the pilot area for the implementation of the project Search for the fifth element includes a specific area Benkovac - Biograd.
In addition to the previously mentioned dishes and products with indigenous originality and various cultural attractions, the offer and trips designed by it include various wineries and agritourism, and the people behind these valuable subjects.
The director of the Zadar County Development Agency ZADRA NOVA, Marina Dujmović Vuković, says that they are satisfied with the cooperation with those subjects, and that this cooperation opens some new horizons for all involved.
We are extremely pleased with the overall cooperation and support that the service providers have shown to this entire project. We would like to thank them once again for recognizing in the "Search for the Fifth Element" the potential it carries for the promotion of the Zadar hinterland. Great efforts have been made by the entire project team and all those involved in this process, and we believe that the success of further cooperation will not be missed. The reactions of service providers are truly positive, especially because in their independent work they have recognized the importance of digital advertising and marketing in general through web channels such as web stores, websites, social networks and the like. All of them recognize the fact that in the modern world the possibility offered by such a form of promotion is especially important, and they recognized this tourist product as an opportunity to reach the widest and most diverse audience to which they can present their work, offer, services and knowledge.
This activity and the brand are realized within the project "MADE IN-LAND - Management and Development of INLANDs" with a total value of 2,218,069.25 EUR. ZADRA NOVA has the role of a partner in the project, in which 8 other partners are participating. It is co-financed from the European Regional Development Fund, and is implemented within the cross-border cooperation program Interreg Italy - Croatia 2014-2020.
The aim of the project is to harmonize the development of hinterland potential with the needs and quality of life of the local community, to promote and improve the accessibility of cultural and natural heritage of terrestrial areas to tourist visitors on the coast and to develop innovative models for managing sensitive hinterland landscapes.
Let the search for the fifth element begin!
