The Rijeka Tourist Board supported events and projects for 2026: focus on year-round tourism, a higher number of arrivals, and stronger city visibility
Rijeka entered 2026 with a clear message that it does not want to build its tourism development only on the summer months, but on a programme that lasts throughout the entire year and simultaneously brings benefits to the local community, event organisers, and the economy. Within this framework, a ceremony for awarding contracts for non-refundable grants from the Rijeka Tourist Board for the co-financing of events and projects in 2026 was held at the Grand Hotel Bonavia, and these are supports intended for events that can increase the number of arrivals, contribute to higher visitor spending, and strengthen the recognisability of the city on the domestic and foreign markets. According to the messages from the award ceremony, the goal is not only to fill the year on the calendar, but through well-designed programmes to make Rijeka a city people come to because of its content, atmosphere, and specific urban identity. For visitors planning to come during the year,
accommodation in Rijeka will also be important, especially during the periods of major events when demand is higher.
Funds were awarded to a series of events covering sport, culture, music, literature, gastronomy, fair activities, and urban entertainment. Among the organisers who took over the contracts are the holders of events such as Fiumanka, KultuRI, Melodije Istre i Kvarnera, CRO Race, Rijeka Boat Show, JazzTime Rijeka, Dani Trsata – Povratak Frankopana, Pul Kaštela, the Croatian Festival of Burlesque and Cabaret, Malik fest, Riječke stepenice, Old Rock Festival, the Festival of Authors and Book Fair Vrisak, Rijeka Craft Beer Festival, Rijeka Run, and RiTech Expo. This confirmed the wide range of events that the Tourist Board and the city see as important levers of tourism and social dynamics. In practice, this means that Rijeka continues to build a model in which the tourism offer is not reduced to one type of guest or one market segment, but is developed through a combination of major public events, specialised festivals, and content that has the potential to attract different audience profiles.
A wide range of events as a response to changes in tourism demand
Such a distribution of support shows that in Rijeka diversity is increasingly being counted on as a key advantage. While some cities depend mostly on the sun and the bathing season, Rijeka has for years been building a different destination profile, relying on carnival tradition, music and literary programmes, sailing and sports events, urban festivals, and content that can fill the city outside the peak of summer as well. That is precisely why among the supported programmes we simultaneously find major events with a longer tradition and newer projects that are trying to open additional space for the development of new audiences and new reasons to visit. For those who want to follow several events during a weekend or a multi-day stay, a timely check of the
accommodation offer in Rijeka is also important, especially at the time of major sports and cultural dates.
The Tourist Board’s support also goes to events that have already been held this year, including WineRi, Wine Enogastro VIP Event, Women’s Weekend, and numerous carnival events, while the annual framework also includes the Advent and Summer at Gradina programmes. This confirms the continuity of investment that does not depend only on one-off calls, but on a broader annual content development plan. According to the presented data, the Rijeka Tourist Board allocates 550,000 euros annually for events and projects. This amount shows that events are not viewed as an incidental addition to the city’s tourism image, but as one of the main tools for shaping the identity of the destination and for a more even distribution of tourist traffic throughout the year.
The director of the Rijeka Tourist Board, Petar Škarpa, emphasised that through sponsorships they want to support projects that contribute to the recognisability of Rijeka, the extension of the tourist season, and the creation of additional value for citizens and visitors. Such wording describes today’s approach to urban tourism well: it is no longer enough to bring a guest to the city, but a reason must be offered for a longer stay, more experiences, and a clear connection with the local scene. It is precisely events, from regattas and sports races to book fairs and music festivals, that have the ability to connect tourism with local life and create the impression of a city that is not a backdrop, but a living organism. In this context, both larger and smaller programmes have value, because they offer different audiences different motives for coming.
Tourism growth at the beginning of 2026 gives additional weight to the support
The importance of such investments is also shown by the officially published tourism result for the first two months of 2026. According to data from the eVisitor system published by the Rijeka Tourist Board, from 1 January to 28 February 2026 the city recorded 20,887 arrivals and 51,664 overnight stays. Compared with the same period of the previous year, this represents a 23 percent increase in arrivals and a 10 percent increase in overnight stays. This is a figure that is particularly important in the local context because it shows that growth is not happening only in the traditionally strongest summer months. Additionally, Rijeka’s tourism result at the beginning of the year placed the city among the ten most successful destinations in Croatia according to total tourist traffic, which is a strong signal that content, transport accessibility, and city events can produce a serious result outside the peak season as well.
The profile of guests coming to Rijeka is also interesting. According to the published data of the Tourist Board, among overnight stays the younger age group from 19 to 30 stands out in particular, pointing to the increasingly pronounced city-break character of the destination. This is important for event organisers as well, because precisely shorter urban stays often depend on the quality of the programme, good transport connections, and the availability of content within a relatively small radius. Rijeka has the advantage here of being a city in which Korzo, the port, Trsat, cultural locations, and numerous event spaces are close to each other. For guests coming for festivals, fairs, or races,
accommodation near the event venue is also practical, especially when programmes take place over several days.
Škarpa also highlighted the broader financial framework for the development of tourism products. According to his words, through the budget of the Rijeka Tourist Board, 1,200,000 euros have been planned for the development of tourism products, that is, 50 percent of the total budget, which is equivalent to the total revenues from the tourist tax and tourist membership fee. This figure indicates that a large part of the available funds is returned into content, promotion, and offer development, and does not remain only at the administrative level. In practical terms, this means that Rijeka is trying to return the money earned from tourism into mechanisms that can create new demand and a better quality of stay.
Destination management plan as a framework for more sustainable development
Along with financial support, one of the more important elements highlighted in the context of further development is the adopted Destination Management Plan. The Rijeka Tourist Board announced that it is a planning document prepared in accordance with the valid regulations on the methodology of drawing up a destination management plan, monitoring tourism sustainability, and calculating carrying capacity. According to the official description, the plan should ensure the development of tourism in the direction of sustainability, in accordance with spatial plans, valid regulations, and the city’s long-term development goals. In other words, events are no longer viewed only through the number of visitors, but also through the question of how they affect urban space, traffic, municipal infrastructure, the quality of life of residents, and the long-term identity of the destination.
That is precisely why the announcement of forming a working body focused on coordinating and improving the organisation of events carries more weight than mere administrative news. In a city that has a large number of public events every year, the coordination of dates, spaces, logistics, and promotion becomes crucial in order to avoid overlaps, audience fragmentation, and unnecessary organisational costs. If such a system is set up well, it can bring benefits to both organisers and the audience: to organisers through better support and visibility, and to visitors through a clearer and more transparent calendar of events. Ultimately, this also affects the decision of guests to stay longer, which means a greater need for restaurants, transport, and
accommodation for visitors in Rijeka.
The city sees events as a real competitive advantage
The Mayor of Rijeka, Iva Rinčić, said that she is especially pleased by the diversity of events, from sports and fashion to artistic projects, assessing that the city can be proud of its offer. Her assessment that Rijeka may not have the same tourism attractiveness as Dubrovnik, Split, or Opatija, but can offer quality events, directly hits the core of Rijeka’s tourism model. Rijeka can hardly and need not copy the profiles of destinations that rely on a different type of demand, climatic advantages, or a long-standing international perception. What it can do is develop an authentic city rhythm, a contemporary cultural scene, strong events, and public spaces in which tourism meets local life.
In that sense, her remark about venues for holding events is particularly important. Rinčić emphasised that the City of Rijeka wants to be a partner to organisers, but also that it is necessary to create quality spaces for events, and she singled out the renovation of Exportdrvo. This space has already been confirmed as a significant city location for cultural, fair, and commercial content. According to the data of the City of Rijeka, after renovation the Exportdrvo hall became the city’s new cultural centre, and the previous experience of use has shown great possibilities for organising diverse events. Translated, this is infrastructure without which it is difficult to seriously plan the growth of larger events, especially those that require a flexible indoor or semi-indoor space of greater capacity.
This issue of space is not only organisational, but also developmental. A city that wants to strengthen fair, cultural, and congress content must have locations that can carry it out, while also being close enough to the city centre, hotels, and transport routes. That is why the discussion on events in Rijeka cannot be separated from the discussion on urban development, space renovation, and the way in which certain locations are put into the function of public life. It is precisely here that space opens up for events not to be only seasonal happenings, but also an instrument for the revitalisation of certain city points.
From sailing regattas to books and urban gastronomy
The list of events that received support also shows how programmatically branched the Rijeka calendar is. Fiumanka and CRO Race carry the sports and internationally visible segment, Rijeka Boat Show and RiTech Expo connect the city with the business, technological, and fair profile, while JazzTime Rijeka, Vrisak, the Croatian Festival of Burlesque and Cabaret, and Malik fest reinforce the city’s cultural and festival dimension. Dani Trsata – Povratak Frankopana and Pul Kaštela additionally base the story on the historical and heritage layer, while Rijeka Craft Beer Festival, WineRi, and related eno-gastronomic events create an offer that increasingly matches the contemporary habits of urban guests. In such a blend of tradition, culture, sport, and gastronomy, Rijeka is trying to build the identity of a city that is visited several times a year, and not just once.
For the local community, this also has a broader effect. Events do not mean only tourist traffic, but also the engagement of associations, artists, technical teams, caterers, carriers, and small entrepreneurs. That is precisely why organisers regularly emphasise how much long-term cooperation with the Tourist Board means to them for the continuity of programmes. Continuity is the key word here: an audience is not created overnight, and an event brand is built over years. When an event survives over a longer period, it gradually outgrows the local framework and begins to function as an independent motive for coming to the city.
Rijeka thereby additionally confirms its position as a city of events in Kvarner, in a year when the region is also presenting itself strongly through the gastronomic theme. For visitors who combine cultural content, the sea, a city walk, and gastronomy, precisely such a combination can be the reason for a shorter or longer stay. And for the city itself, this is an opportunity to base tourism growth on content that is not in conflict with the identity of the place, but arises directly from it. From the perspective of city policy and the Tourist Board, the support for 2026 is therefore not only financial aid to organisers, but an investment in the development model by which Rijeka wants to be recognised: as a city of authentic events, strong local energy, and content that makes people come and return.
Sources:- Rijeka Tourist Board – officially published overview of plans, including the Annual Work Programme for 2026 and the Destination Management Plan (link)- Rijeka Tourist Board – publication on tourism results for the period from 1 January to 28 February 2026, with data on 20,887 arrivals and 51,664 overnight stays and growth of 23 percent and 10 percent (link)- Rijeka Tourist Board – official text on January tourism results and visitor structure, including data on the 19–30 age group and Rijeka’s position among the most visited destinations (link)- Rijeka Tourist Board – explanation of the Destination Management Plan and the calculation of carrying capacity as a strategic framework for sustainable tourism development (link)- City of Rijeka – official page of Mayor Iva Rinčić, with confirmation that she has held office since 2025 (link)- City of Rijeka – official description of the Exportdrvo venue and its purpose for cultural, fair, and commercial events (link)
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