Opatija projects and products awarded Simply the Best recognitions
Tourism Exchange PUT, one of the longest-running professional gatherings in Croatian tourism, once again this year confirmed how important innovation, authenticity, and clear market recognizability are for destination development. At the 26th edition of the exchange, held from April 14 to 16, 2026 in Cres, the annual Simply the Best 2026 awards were presented, and among the winners Opatija stood out in particular with its projects, events, and souvenirs. The focus of the awards was on those products and programs that do not remain at a superficial impression, but succeed in turning a local story into a real experience for guests, and that is precisely the common thread of this year’s Opatija recognitions.
According to the organizers’ data, the Tourism Exchange PUT again this year brought together more than 200 participants from Croatia and abroad, including travel agencies, representatives of tourist boards, hoteliers, caterers, and other stakeholders. In that environment the Simply the Best awards were presented—recognitions that the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies and the PUT Exchange continuously grant for innovation, creativity, quality, and improvement of the tourism offer. This year’s ceremony showed that in Croatian tourism there is an increasing appreciation of projects that have a clear identity, function, and the ability to deepen the guest’s relationship with the destination, and not only to attract attention briefly.
Opatija Children’s Weekend as an example of a program that extends the season
One of the most noticeable recognitions from the Opatija area went to the City of Opatija for the event
Opatija Children’s Weekend 2025., awarded for creativity, innovation, and the development and improvement of the tourism offer. It is a program that in the shoulder season created content strongly oriented toward children and families, but without a simple formula of entertainment for entertainment’s sake. Quite the opposite: the concept of the event relied on a blend of play, education, community participation, and public space, by which the Summer Stage and Angiolina Park were turned into places of staying, learning, and socializing.
According to published data and reports after the event was held, Opatija Children’s Weekend attracted several thousand visitors from Croatia and abroad. The program included STEM content, workshops, performances, concerts, sports and recreational activities, as well as the segment “When I grow up, I will be…”, in which nearly 600 children through interactive encounters learned about various professions, from cooks and waiters to scientists and firefighters. In this way the event went beyond the framework of a classic children’s happening and showed how a tourism program can be at the same time educational, inclusive, and commercially relevant for a destination.
The special value of the project is seen in the fact that it is not tied only to one stage or one program format. Opatija Children’s Weekend was conceived as an event that activates multiple city points and includes numerous local and institutional partners. In official announcements by the City of Opatija it is stated that Festival Opatija, the Society “Our Children” Opatija, the “Opatija” Kindergarten, the “Rikard Katalinić Jeretov” Primary School, the Gorovo Sports Recreation Club, and the Omnes agency were involved in the organization, with the support of other partners. Such a model confirms that tourism value is not created only through marketing, but also through cooperation of the local community, educational institutions, cultural organizations, and the private sector.
For Opatija this is important also from a broader perspective. The city has for years been building the image of a destination that does not depend exclusively on the peak of the summer season, but develops a year-round calendar of events. Precisely in that context, children’s and family programs have a double role: they create an immediate motive to come outside the main summer months, but also in the long term expand the perception of Opatija as a place that offers content for multiple generations. At a time when many destinations are looking for ways to extend the season and a more even distribution of tourist traffic, the award for Opatija Children’s Weekend has a weight that goes beyond the ceremony itself.
Souvenirs that carry the story of a place, not just the name of the destination
Along with the event segment, a strong mark among this year’s laureates was also left by Opatija and Veprinac souvenirs. In the category of a utilitarian souvenir,
Art Lab MG from Veprinac was awarded for the ceramic breakfast set “Perun”. The very fact that the recognition goes to a product from Veprinac is additionally important because it reminds that the tourism offer of the Opatija area is not limited only to the city center, but also relies on the wider riviera and hinterland. Veprinac, a historic little town above Opatija, carries strong identity potential, and every contemporary product that translates that heritage into an attractive and usable object simultaneously strengthens local visibility and market diversity.
In modern tourism, a souvenir has long since been more than just an object for remembrance. A quality souvenir must have a story, design credibility, functionality, and a connection with local identity. That is precisely why awards like Simply the Best have added value, because they do not evaluate only the aesthetic impression, but also the product’s ability to become an extended hand of the destination brand. The ceramic set “Perun” fits into such an understanding of souvenirs: it is an object of practical value that at the same time communicates an author’s signature and local inspiration.
An even more notable success was achieved by
Croatian Choco Concept – Lungomare Opatija, whose author is Marina Prijatelj. That project won three recognitions: for the promotional souvenir
Lungomare lollipop, for the utilitarian souvenir
Project Lungomare – Lungomare souvenir, and for the consumable souvenir
Rovinj Gianduja. Additional weight to this success is given by the fact that the awarded products are connected with one of Opatija’s most recognizable motifs, the Lungomare promenade, but also with a strong Opatija chocolate story that has been systematically developed for years through the Chocolate Festival, specialized programs, and the offer of local producers.
According to local announcements about the winners, the Lungomare lollipop is at the same time the official souvenir of the Opatija Chocolate Festival. That is not an unimportant detail because it shows how one product can be tied to a specific event and at the same time function as a promotional item of the wider destination. The Chocolate Festival, according to official information from the Tourist Board of the City of Opatija, has for years been the largest and oldest Croatian event dedicated to chocolate. In such a context, a souvenir that combines visual identity, taste, and a recognizable symbol of the place does not act like a casual add-on, but as a logical continuation of the entire destination story.
Lungomare as a symbol that turns into a product
Lungomare is for Opatija much more than a promenade. It is one of its most recognizable spaces and visual signs, a coastal promenade that connects Volosko, Opatija, Ičići, Ika, and Lovran and has for decades participated in shaping the identity of the riviera. Official promotional materials of the Tourist Board highlight Lungomare as an indispensable part of the experience of staying in Opatija, a space where architecture, landscape, tourism history, and the city’s daily rhythm meet. When that symbol is successfully transferred into a souvenir, then the product becomes more than decoration: it becomes a concise message about the place it comes from.
It is precisely in that that the broader success of the Croatian Choco Concept – Lungomare Opatija project can be read. The awarded products do not rely only on the name of Opatija as a market-sounding destination, but through design and concept attempt to materialize the experience of walking, taste, atmosphere, and urban memory. Such an approach is especially important at a time when the market of tourist souvenirs is flooded with generic items that differ from one destination to another only by the inscription. The awarded Opatija examples show the opposite direction: authenticity is built through a local motif, an author’s concept, and a clear connection with an event or a space.
It is also worth noting that in recent years Opatija has systematically developed recognizable thematic niches. One of them is certainly the chocolate offer, which the Tourist Board and local entrepreneurs build through events, workshops, specialized products, and experiential content. Another is a strong event culture, from music and gastronomic programs to family and seasonal events. When a souvenir arises from such an environment, it is not created in isolation, but as part of a wider identity system. That is the reason why the awards won in Cres go beyond individual authors and companies: they speak of a destination that has learned how to turn its motifs into market-sustainable products.
Why such recognitions are important for local tourism
Tourism awards in themselves do not guarantee a better season, higher revenue, or lasting recognizability. Nevertheless, their importance is that they confirm the direction of development and give additional visibility to those projects that can stand out beyond the local environment. For Opatija, this year’s series of recognitions is interesting precisely because it comes from different segments of the tourism offer: from a public event for children and families to designer and gastronomic souvenirs. Such breadth shows that creativity in the destination is not exhausted only in one successful event or one good season, but that there is a branched base of actors who develop new content.
At the same time, such recognitions further strengthen Opatija in the position of a destination that cultivates quality and authenticity, and not only traditional reputation. Opatija already has an established historical name in Croatian and regional tourism, but the contemporary market requires constant renewal of content and ways of interpreting the place. That is precisely why it is important when awards are also received by new projects and small author products, and not only large institutions. This shows that the city’s tourism identity is not closed, but open to creative interventions by entrepreneurs, designers, artisans, and event organizers.
It also confirms the importance of local networking. Opatija Children’s Weekend succeeded because it brought together multiple partners and offered content that activates the community. The awarded souvenirs succeeded because they build on already recognized symbols and events of the destination, such as Lungomare and the Chocolate Festival. In other words, behind these recognitions there is not accidental success, but a development logic in which heritage, design, events, and tourism marketing are not viewed separately, but as connected elements of the same story.
Opatija between tradition and new tourism formats
This year’s results from the PUT Exchange show something broader than the list of awardees itself. They show that the Opatija area successfully moves between tradition and contemporary tourism formats. On the one hand, there are strong and long-recognized symbols such as Lungomare, Angiolina Park, the historic urban image, and event continuity. On the other hand, new author products, interactive programs for families, educational content, and concepts appear that make the destination alive and adaptable to new guest expectations.
This is especially important at a moment when tourism competition is no longer conducted only at the level of accommodation capacity or natural beauty. Guests increasingly seek an experience that is at the same time authentic, functional, and easily memorable. An event that offers quality content to children and parents, as well as a souvenir that truly carries the character of the place, today have real market value. In that sense, the Simply the Best 2026 recognitions do not act only as a symbolic award, but also as an indicator that Opatija tourism products manage to meet criteria that are becoming increasingly important in modern tourism.
Therefore, this year’s Opatija success can be read as confirmation of continuity, but also as a signal of the future direction. From a children’s event that activates the city in the shoulder season to souvenirs that turn local motifs into a quality product, the awarded projects show that Opatija and its surroundings do not build recognizability only on inherited reputation, but also on the ability to constantly translate it into new, convincing, and market-relevant forms of the tourism offer.
Sources:- UHPA – official announcement of the 26th edition of the Tourism Exchange PUT with dates, venue, and hosts (link)
- HrTurizam – overview of the Simply the Best 2026 awards with the information on more than 200 participants and 93 awarded projects, companies, and individuals (link)
- City of Opatija – announcement of Opatija Children’s Weekend with a description of the educational and partnership concept of the event (link)
- City of Opatija – report after Opatija Children’s Weekend was held with details about the program, inclusivity, and organizers (link)
- HRT Radio Rijeka – overview of this year’s winners from the Opatija area and a description of the awarded projects and souvenirs (link)
- PodUčkun – text about the awarded projects of Croatian Choco Concept – Lungomare Opatija by author Marina Prijatelj (link)
- Tourist Board of the City of Opatija – official description of the Chocolate Festival as the largest and oldest Croatian event dedicated to chocolate (link)
- Tourist Board of the City of Opatija – official description of Lungomare as one of the key symbols of the Opatija Riviera (link)
- Tourist Board of the City of Opatija – official description of Veprinac as a historic place in the hinterland of the Opatija Riviera (link)
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