Open Day of Family Farms “Welcome Taste & Buy” on 11 April opens the Zadar story of taste, origin and shopping on the doorstep
The Zadar County Tourist Board will continue to develop the “Welcome Taste & Buy” project in 2026 as well, an initiative through which local food producers and small family farmers are more strongly connected with the market, visitors and the region’s tourist offer. Within this framework, on Saturday, 11 April 2026, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Open Day of Family Farms “Welcome Taste & Buy” will be held, a promotional and educational event during which members of the club of the same name will receive visitors at their farms, tasting rooms and production locations throughout the Zadar hinterland and islands. It is a model that does not stop at the mere presentation of products, but rather seeks to combine three important needs of the contemporary market: the desire of buyers to know where food comes from, the need of producers to reach the direct buyer, and the interest of the destination in turning its gastronomy into a recognisable experience, and not merely an addition to the summer season.
The “Welcome Taste & Buy” project is presented in the public communication of the Zadar County Tourist Board as a platform for branding food producers who, in the area of the Zadar hinterland and the islands of the Zadar archipelago, have their own tasting room or an organised form of receiving guests. In this way, local agriculture is not viewed exclusively as a production sector, but also as an important part of the destination experience. In practice, this means that the visitor does not come only to buy a bottle of oil, a jar of processed goods, honey or a homemade product, but can get to know the space in which the goods are produced, the people behind them and the specific features of the area they come from. It is precisely this immediacy that is one of the reasons why similar projects are increasingly coming into the focus of sustainable and experiential tourism, especially in regions that want to relieve the classic seasonal model relying almost exclusively on sun and sea.
From product promotion to broader destination development
The Open Day of Family Farms therefore has several levels of meaning. At the first, most visible level, it is an invitation to citizens, excursionists and guests to come to the estates and tasting rooms, taste what is produced there and buy some of the products directly from the producers. At the second level, the event is educational because it brings visitors closer to the way food is produced, seasonality, the difference between industrial and small-batch approaches, and the importance of preserving traditional recipes and local varieties. At the third level, which is particularly important for the development of the region, it is an attempt to intertwine Zadar gastronomy more strongly with tourism, rural space and island identity. Such an approach is becoming increasingly important at a time when Croatian tourist regions are competing ever more distinctly not only through natural beauty, but also through the authenticity of their offer.
That is precisely why the “Welcome Taste & Buy” project does not gather producers at random. According to the official presentation of the project and the promotional materials of the Zadar County Tourist Board, the emphasis is on hosts who can offer the guest an experience of tasting, conversation and purchase on site. In other words, the visit is not reduced to a commercial transaction, but is built as an encounter with a local story. This is an important difference compared with classic sales on shelves or fair stands, because the buyer directly sees the production environment, can ask questions about raw materials, the processing procedure and the origin of ingredients, and more easily understands why certain products are exactly as they are. At a time when interest is growing in short supply chains, food transparency and sustainable consumption models, such events also gain additional social value.
Who is opening their doors to visitors
According to the event announcement, several farms and producers distributed across the Zadar hinterland and islands will open their doors on Saturday, 11 April. In Šopot, visitors will be welcomed by OPG Ćusa – Lolina vatrenica, in Polača by OPG Zagorac, in Gornje Ceranje by OPG Gašpar, in Jasenice by OPG Barichevich 1853, in Poljica by OPG Šinjorina smokva, and in Gračac by OPG Lički Sokol. On the island of Pašman, the programme includes OPG Matulić from Pašman, OPG Rozalinda Banić from Kraj and OPG Katica Mušćet from Tkon. On the island of Ugljan, R.O. Moćun from Kali is participating, while on Dugi Otok visitors will be received by OPG Žampera from Žman. This schedule alone already shows what the organisers want to highlight: the event is not concentrated at one point, but is conceived as a dispersed network of local hosts that follows the geographical and production diversity of Zadar County.
Such a map of participants also carries an additional message. In tourism terms, Zadar County is often perceived through the city of Zadar, the coast and several best-known island points, yet the gastronomic and agricultural value of the region largely relies precisely on smaller communities, the Ravni Kotari area, the sub-Velebit area and the islands with a pronounced tradition of olive growing, beekeeping, fishing, fig processing, oil production and other autochthonous products. In this way, the Open Day of Family Farms also becomes a kind of invitation to a different reading of space: not only as a tourist backdrop, but as a living production landscape in which a large part of local identity is still preserved. For the visitor, this means the possibility of experiencing in one day the difference between the hinterland, the islands and smaller places, but also of directly noticing how much tastes are connected with climate, soil, tradition and the everyday work of the families who live there.
What visitors can expect on site
The organisers state that each of the participating family farms, in addition to its regular offer, will prepare promotional tasting menus or offer selected products at discounted prices. This means that visitors do not come only because of shopping, but also because of the experience of tasting and comparison, which is especially important when it comes to products that bear a strong local stamp. In the official promotional descriptions of the “Welcome Taste & Buy” project, among the farms one can find hosts whose offer is tied to olive oil, honey and beekeeping products, figs and fig products, traditional dishes, fish products, cured meat delicacies and other forms of small, authentic production. For the buyer, such a concentration of offer is valuable because at one event they can compare several styles, production stories and gastronomic identities, while for the producer it means an opportunity to present themselves outside the usual sales channels.
A special value of such events is that they restore trust in the origin of food. In conversation with the producer, the buyer can learn much more than from a label: what the harvest or the season looked like, why a certain year gives a different taste to oil or fruit, which techniques are used in processing and how much work stands behind the final product. Such an experience cannot be conveyed by an ordinary shelf, and that is precisely why events like this are becoming increasingly important in forming customer loyalty. When someone gets to know a producer once, there is a greater likelihood that they will return to them, recommend them to others or plan a new visit. For small producers, this is not a secondary matter, but one of the key ways of building a more stable customer base.
Why “Welcome Taste & Buy” is important for family farms
In Croatian rural areas, small producers often face the same set of challenges: limited distribution channels, lower visibility, high placement costs and the need to build their own marketing identity in parallel with production. In such circumstances, a project that brings producers together under a common brand and at the same time connects them with the tourist market can have a much broader effect than a single promotional day. It opens up the possibility for guests to perceive them as part of an organised, recognisable and credible network, and not as individual and hard-to-reach addresses. This is especially important for products that are not bought impulsively, but on the basis of impression, recommendation and trust.
In addition to the sales effect, there is also a reputational dimension. When a tourist board systematically presents a group of producers through brochures, websites, study trips and thematic promotional activities, those producers step out of the narrow local circle and become part of the broader picture of the destination. In this way, the Zadar region tells the guest that its identity is not only the sea, the historic core and summer events, but also concrete people who produce food and open the doors of their farms. This is also a response to the increasingly pronounced travel trend in which guests seek credible local stories, smaller groups, direct contact and experiences that do not feel serial or generic.
The island and hinterland mosaic as an advantage of the region
One of the special features of this year’s Open Day is the fact that participants come both from the hinterland and from the islands. In that combination lies a great development opportunity for Zadar County. The Ravni Kotari area, the sub-Velebit area, Pašman, Ugljan and Dugi Otok bring different production conditions, different traditions and different types of gastronomic experience. While in some communities the emphasis is on olive oil and agricultural processed products, in others beekeeping products, island cuisine, fishing tradition or specialities connected with figs, wild-growing herbs and small batches of local delicacies come to the fore. It is precisely this diversity that allows “Welcome Taste & Buy” not to be reduced to a single stereotype about homemade food, but to show how layered the Zadar area is and how different its micro-identities are.
This is particularly important for tourism because today’s guest increasingly rarely seeks only a general impression of a destination, and more and more often a specific story. Someone will be attracted by a traditional tavern in the hinterland, another by a tasting room on an island, a third by Mediterranean fruit and processed goods, and a fourth by olive oil and its production story. When these contents are connected into a common network, the destination gains the possibility of shaping several itineraries, several types of excursions and several reasons for arrival outside the peak of the summer season. In that sense, the Open Day is not just a one-day event, but also a demonstration of potential that, with good organisation, could spread throughout the whole year.
Direct purchase as an increasingly important consumer choice
The growing interest in buying directly from producers is no coincidence. After years in which the logic of large retail systems prevailed, part of consumers today increasingly values transparency, local character and the possibility of knowing to whom the money goes. Within this framework, a family farm is no longer merely a designation of a form of business, but also a symbol of a certain relationship towards food, work and the origin of products. Of course, such a model is not in itself a sufficient guarantee of quality, but direct contact with the producer gives the buyer more information and more possibilities for assessment. Events like this build precisely that relationship of trust, while at the same time additionally enlivening local places that, without similar initiatives, would often remain outside the focus of tourists.
On the other hand, for the producers themselves, direct purchase means better control over placement and a greater possibility to explain the value of what they offer. At a time when the price of food is often viewed separately from the work, knowledge and costs of small-scale production, a direct encounter with the buyer can help that value to be better understood. A visitor who sees the farm, gets to know the family story and tastes the product in the environment in which it is created will more easily accept the difference between a local artisanal product and standardised mass-consumption goods. It is precisely at that point that promotion, education and sales meet, the three pillars on which the Open Day of Family Farms “Welcome Taste & Buy” was conceived.
An invitation to citizens, excursionists and guests ahead of the season
The timing of the event, in mid-April, is additionally interesting because it comes in a period when the tourist pre-season in Dalmatia is only just gaining momentum, while the local population and domestic excursionists can still visit farms relatively peacefully, talk with hosts and taste products without the summer crowds. This gives the event a special atmosphere and makes it suitable for family visits, smaller group excursions or individual gastro tours. Visitors can choose whether they will stay at one location and get to know the host in more detail or devise their own small route through several places, from the hinterland to the islands. In both cases, it is a format that better corresponds to the contemporary search for slower, richer and more authentic experiences.
With this event, the Zadar County Tourist Board therefore promotes not only individual products, but also a different rhythm of getting to know the region. Instead of fast consumption of the destination, the emphasis is on arriving at the doorstep, talking, tasting and understanding the place. Such an approach also has broader social value because it reminds us that domestic production is not only an economic category, but also part of the cultural landscape, local memory and community resilience. At a time when rural and island areas often face demographic and market pressures, every initiative that succeeds in bringing their products, people and stories before an audience carries weight greater than a one-off promotion. The Open Day of Family Farms “Welcome Taste & Buy” is therefore an invitation to buy, an invitation to taste, but also an invitation to get to know the Zadar region where its identity is created – on farms, in tasting rooms and in the everyday work of hosts who turn local flavour into an experience that is remembered.
Sources:- Zadar County Tourist Board – official page of the project and the region’s gastronomic offer, with a presentation of the “Welcome Taste & Buy” concept and the introduction of local hosts link- Zadar Region Tourist Board – official overview of members and contents within the Food & Wine category, including multiple “Welcome Taste & Buy” hosts link- Zadar County Tourist Board – promotional brochure “Welcome Taste & Buy” with a description of the philosophy of the project and a note on direct contact with hosts link- Zadar County – report on the presentation of the tourist product “Welcome Taste & Buy” at the Wine and Gastronomy Day, with an emphasis on connecting local producers and the tourist offer link- 057info – report on the study trip of domestic travel agencies through the “Welcome Taste & Buy” project, as confirmation of the continued development of the project and its placement on the market link
Find accommodation nearby
Creation time: 2 hours ago