The “Tourism for the Future” conference opened in Dugo Selo: sustainability is no longer an add-on to tourism, but a question of its direction
In the packed hall of the Cultural and Information Centre in Dugo Selo on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, the international conference “Tourism for the Future” was opened, a three-day gathering dedicated to destination regeneration and sustainable tourism. It is a conference that, according to the organisers’ announcement, is being held from March 18 to 20 in Dugo Selo and Sveti Ivan Zelina, bringing together tourism professionals, experts, and scientists from Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Mexico. Under the patronage of the Ministry of Tourism and Sport and with the support of the Croatian National Tourist Board, the gathering is organised by the Tourist Board of the City of Dugo Selo and the Tourist Board of the City of Sveti Ivan Zelina. The very beginning already showed that interest in the topics of sustainability, resilience, and different destination management is no longer limited to a narrow professional circle, but is becoming one of the key issues in the development of local communities that want to plan tourism in a long-term and responsible way.
The central tone of the opening was set by Anna Pollock, one of the best-known international speakers in the field of regenerative tourism, who for years has advocated the idea that tourism must not be reduced only to the number of overnight stays, turnover, and marketing messages, but must return value to the space, the people, and the local economy. In her presentation, she emphasised that change does not begin with grand declarations, but with the individual and the community, that is, with the willingness of the local environment to recognise its own resources and manage them so that the benefit does not remain only at the level of tourist traffic. Such an approach, which has become increasingly present in international professional discussions in recent years, starts from the idea that sustainability is not enough if it merely means mitigating damage, but that a destination must strengthen its natural, social, and cultural foundations.
From classical sustainability towards destination regeneration
It is precisely the concept of regeneration that is one of the key words of this conference. Unlike the classical model of tourism development, in which success is often measured by the growth of arrivals and spending, the regenerative approach places emphasis on whether the local community remains stronger, more resilient, and of better quality for living in the long term. In the Croatian context, this discussion is no longer being conducted only at a theoretical level. The new regulatory and planning framework, including destination management plans and sustainability indicators, is increasingly directing tourist boards and local self-government units towards a model in which tourism development must be aligned with the capacity of the space, the needs of the population, and the preservation of heritage. That is why it is symbolically important that such a gathering is not being held in a large tourist centre on the coast, but in a continental area that is trying to build a recognisable identity on authenticity, the local story, and the cooperation of multiple stakeholders.
The conference has also been set up as a “conference in motion”, which means that the programme is not closed within one hall or in one city. After the opening in Dugo Selo, the work continues on March 19, 2026, in Sveti Ivan Zelina, by which the organisers want to convey that sustainable tourism is not a matter of one point on the map, but of shared reflection on a wider destination. Such a concept also corresponds to the contemporary approach to managing tourism development, in which the boundaries between administrative units mean less and less if the visitor experiences the area as a connected whole of offer, landscape, gastronomy, and heritage.
Speakers who connect science, practice, and local experience
Alongside Anna Pollock, among the prominent participants of the first festival and conference segment was also Irena Ateljević, a scientist of international reputation, who has connected her academic work with concrete work in the field. Ateljević is the founder of the Terra Meera Centre for Regeneration in her native region near Bribir, a project that combines regenerative agriculture, the preservation of indigenous varieties, local food production, and community development. It is precisely such examples, in which theory is translated into everyday practice, that are important to the organisers because they show that destination regeneration is not discussed only through grand strategies, but also through the relationship to the land, food production, supply chains, and the place of local producers in the tourism economy.
On the conference’s official website, among the speakers, alongside Pollock and Ateljević, other domestic and international experts and examples of good practice from the region and Europe are also listed, including Daniele Kihlgren, Romana Lekić, Katarina Miličević, and Domagoj Jakopović Ribafish. This opens space for a broader discussion on how tourism can simultaneously be an economic opportunity and a mechanism for preserving identity, rather than pressure that in the long term depletes the resources that make an area attractive in the first place.
Tradition as living content, not a folkloric ornament
One of the most noticeable elements of the opening was the decision to present gastronomy, local products, and musical heritage with equal visibility alongside the professional presentations. Traditional gastronomy was discussed by Marko Horvat from the Baranja association “Tako je to nekad bilo”, known for nurturing old culinary practices and preparing dishes in a way that connects food with the local story and the identity of the area. He prepared beans cooked in clay pots over an open fire for the guests, a dish that was not merely an attraction for the invitees, but a demonstration of how heritage can be interpreted in a contemporary way, without losing its authenticity. In that detail, one of the important messages of the conference is also summarised: sustainable tourism does not arise from a generic offer, but from what the destination truly is.
A similar message was also sent by the Dugo Selo pastry chef Dominik Vršić, who turned traditional family, “grandmother’s” recipes into edible souvenirs of Dugo Selo. Such an approach shows how local gastronomy can gain market value without giving up authenticity. At a time when many destinations are struggling with a uniform offer and the loss of recognisability, it is precisely small products, local recipes, and the interpretation of heritage that are often a stronger promotional tool than a classic advertising campaign. The visitor remembers not only the place, but also the taste, the story, and the experience that cannot easily be replicated elsewhere.
The musical framework of the event was provided by Koledarice, members of the KUD Preporod, performing traditional songs. This segment, too, had more than protocol significance. When sustainable tourism is discussed seriously, cultural heritage is not treated as an additional piece of content for taking photographs, but as part of the living identity of the community. In that sense, the combination of professional lectures, gastronomic demonstrations, and traditional music created an introduction that showed that the tourism of the future, which is being discussed at the conference, must start from concrete people, knowledge, and customs.
Messages from the organisers and local self-government
The organisers interpret the large turnout of participants as confirmation that the professional scene is seeking space for a serious exchange of experiences. The director of the Tourist Board of the City of Sveti Ivan Zelina, Marinka Zubčić Mubrin, pointed out that the number of gathered colleagues and experts shows that the conference topics are genuinely interesting and important. The director of the Tourist Board of the City of Dugo Selo, Karmela Vukov-Colić, emphasised that the three-day work should bring participants new ideas, new knowledge, and new collaborations, adding that the special value of the gathering lies in the fact that the Croatian audience can for the first time hear some of the recognised international speakers live.
At the opening, those gathered were also addressed by the mayor of Dugo Selo, Nenad Panian, who emphasised the importance of local and international exchange of experiences and highlighted that change, as both Pollock and Ateljević conveyed, must happen precisely at the local level. His message fits into the broader framework that has been gaining weight in the Croatian tourism system in recent years: without the active role of cities, municipalities, local communities, producers, and cultural actors, there is no real sustainability, regardless of the number of strategies and declarations. In other words, the future of tourism is determined not only at the national level, but above all in how each destination manages its own space, traffic, facilities, and relationship with residents.
Why this conference is important right now
The timing of the conference is not accidental. In recent years, Croatian tourism has been entering ever more strongly into a period in which more is required from destinations than promotion and attracting guests. Through the guidelines for destination management plans, the Ministry of Tourism and Sport emphasises the need for tourism development to be based on real data, sustainability indicators, and stakeholder cooperation, while in the professional and institutional space there is increasingly frequent talk about carrying capacities, residents’ quality of life, and the preservation of resources. At the beginning of March, Dugo Selo also published news about the adoption of the Destination Management Plan for the period 2025–2029, which opens an important local framework for discussion on how the city sees its own tourism development in the coming years.
In such a context, the “Tourism for the Future” conference comes as a kind of continuation of that process, but also as a test of how ready local communities are to raise the conversation about tourism above promotional slogans. Because the question is no longer only how to attract a visitor, but what kind of visitor we want, which contents to develop, who benefits from it, and how to protect the area from short-term decisions that can bring immediate income but long-term damage. That is precisely why the discussion about destination regeneration is not an abstract theory, but a very concrete topic for cities and places that want to remain desirable for living, and not only for a short visit.
Continental destinations are seeking their opportunity
The additional importance of such a gathering can also be seen in the fact that it is being held inland, in an area that does not count on a mass seasonal wave, but must build its offer in a more thoughtful and differentiated way. In that sense, Dugo Selo and Sveti Ivan Zelina have several development advantages: proximity to Zagreb, local gastronomy, wine and excursion tradition, heritage, landscape, and the possibility of connecting various small producers and contents into a recognisable experience. In such a model, sustainability is not an obstacle to development, but its prerequisite. A continental destination can hardly compete in quantity, but it can compete in the quality of experience, authenticity, and the ability to offer the guest content that is rooted in the area.
That is why the conference in Dugo Selo is important not only as a local event, but also as an indicator of a broader shift in Croatian tourism. If tourism that “gives back more than it takes”, as it is often formulated in professional discussions about the regenerative approach, is to be seriously developed, then it is precisely small and medium-sized destinations that can become the places where new models will be tested most clearly. They have an advantage because they can still plan without the pressure of excessive touristification, but only if they recognise that identity, space, and the quality of life of the population are their most valuable resources.
The conference programme continues on March 19 and 20, and according to the organisers’ announcements, the focus remains on the exchange of examples of good practice, connecting the profession and local communities, and seeking concrete solutions for the development of more resilient destinations. The very first conference morning in Dugo Selo showed that the topic is no longer marginal or academic: the future of tourism, at least according to the messages sent from there, will not be decided only on the market, but also in the question of how ready communities are to defend their own measure of development and turn heritage, knowledge, and local production into the foundation of long-term value.
Sources:- Tourist Board of the City of Dugo Selo – official conference website with dates, locations, organisers, speakers, and a description of the concept of the gathering (link)- Tourist Board of the City of Dugo Selo – official conference announcement published on March 4, 2026, with basic information about the event and participants (link)- City of Dugo Selo – events calendar and official announcement about the conference from March 18 to 20, 2026, at the Cultural and Information Centre Dugo Selo (link)- Conscious.Travel – profile of Anna Pollock and a description of her work in the field of regenerative tourism (link)- Terra Meera – official pages of Irena Ateljević’s project on regeneration, local food production, and landscape restoration (link)- Official website of Irena Ateljević – biographical data and an overview of projects related to regenerative development and local communities (link)- Ministry of Tourism and Sport – guidelines and instructions for drafting a destination management plan, as a framework for the sustainable management of tourism development (link)- Narodne novine – Regulation on the methodology for drafting a destination management plan, as the regulatory framework for managing the sustainability of tourism areas in Croatia (link)- Tourist Board of the City of Dugo Selo – announcement on the adoption of the Destination Management Plan of the City of Dugo Selo for the period 2025–2029 (link)- Visit Slavonia Baranja – presentation of Marko Horvat and the tradition of cooking beans in a clay pot as an example of the interpretation of gastronomic heritage (link)
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