Location potential
The Project was initiated by the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, based on the Strategy of Tourism Development until 2020, which recognizes the Istria County, the most developed tourism region in Croatia, as an area with great potential for future tourism growth. Aside from excellent international transport connections (the Istrian “Y” motorway connects Istria with motorways in Slovenia, Italy and Austria while the International Airport in Pula, with direct flights, connects the County with the main capital cities in Europe) in the past decade, intensive investments into the construction of new and the reconstruction of existing primarily high-class hotel facilities have been made, resulting in a significant increase of five-star (a total of 5) and four-star hotels (a total of 43). Prompted by new investments aimed to transform the county into a year-round destination along with constant growth of the tourism sector (in 2019 the County achieved over 25.4 million overnight stays or almost 29% of all overnight stays in Republic of Croatia) the implementation of the Saccorgiana Project is expected to additionally meet increasing demand for high-quality accommodation capacities. The proximity of a wide range of tourist attractions, with an emphasis on sports tourism (2 golf courses, the International ATP Tournament in Umag, hunting, fishing and scuba diving), cultural tourism (including performances of world renowned artists in the outstanding Roman amphitheatre Vespazijana - Arena Pula) and eno-gastro tourism contribute to the attractiveness of the project area. This quiet tourist area, only 3 km away from the city centre is considered one of the most prestigious parts of the City of Pula.
Project description
According to spatial documentation, Saccorgiana is a greenfield project, planned for the development of a new tourist complex, hotels and caravan park with a total capacity of up to 1.544 beds, category 4/5*, along with catering, entertainment and additional hospitality and tourist facilities, estimated at 80 million EUR.
The total area for the construction of tourist and catering facilities is 12,7 hectares and is owned by the Republic of Croatia and the City of Pula. The maritime domain next to the project area has been determined and entered in the land registry. The northern part of the site has been identified as an archaeological site.
Project realization model
For the development of this project, the Republic of Croatia will announce a public tender for selection of most favourable bidder. Under the conditions stipulated by the Act on Investment Promotion (OG 63/22) this project may qualify for investment incentives.
Estimated value of the investment project
80 million EUR