The investigation from 2025 shows widespread international recognition and growing interest in active and educational stays on the upper course of the Krka River
The investigation from 2025 shows widespread international recognition and growing interest in active and educational stays on the upper course of the Krka River.
That the Krka National Park is further developing towards a high quality and sustainable destination is confirmed by the results of investigation into the Structure and Attitudes of Visitors – Summer 2025, the fourth in the research cycle that the Krka National Park has been continuously conducting in cooperation with the Polytechnic of Šibenik since 2019. The research has been conducted with the aim of monitoring the structure, attitudes, and characteristics of the visitors' stays, as well as the level of their satisfaction, their loyalty, and the suggestions they make for improving the park offerings.
The research is based on a survey conducted from April to October 2025, ensuring a representative sample to gain insight into the behavior and preferences of domestic and international guests. The largest proportion consists of domestic visitors (14%) and guests from Germany and France (13% each), followed by visitors from Poland, the USA, the UK, and other European countries.
Nature and authentic experiences remain at the center of the visitors' interests: as many as 80% of them highlighted spending time in and enjoying nature as the key motive for coming, and a significant portion sought new experiences and adventures (73%), and active vacations (64%). More than half of the visitors were motivated by learning about nature, flora, and fauna, and had an interest in protected areas, which confirms that the educational and interpretive content in the Park is very important.
Visitors recognize the Krka National Park as an area of preserved nature and high quality management. The degree of ecological preservation, the expertise and friendliness of the staff, and the high quality infrastructure are the elements of the Park's offerings that received the highest rating.
“The research results confirm that the Krka National Park is successfully developing a sustainable visitor management model, in which nature conservation and the quality of the experience are equally important. We are particularly encouraged by the fact that visitors highly rate the ecological preservation of the Park, as well as specific sustainable solutions, such as the introduction of electric boats, which are recognized as an environmentally friendly form of transportation. It is precisely such strides that show that sustainability is not just a principled strategic commitment for us, but a very visible element of our daily work”, emphasized the director of the Krka Natioonal Park, Nella Slavica, who added: “Our long-term goal is to preserve the natural features while providing a high quality, authentic, and responsible experience for all visitors.”
An analysis of visitor activities shows that they experience the Park actively and meaningfully: the most common activities are hiking (80%) and photography (73%), while almost half of visitors explore the flora and fauna. In addition, a significant proportion of visitors participate in boat trips, educational activities, and other forms of spending time in nature, confirming that the diversity of the offerings is as important as the interpretation of the natural and cultural heritage.
From the consumer aspect, the largest part of expenditures were for food and drinks (63%), followed by souvenirs (26%), and additional excursions (17%), which indicates the potential for further development of authentic local offers.
The development of content outside the most visited zones is particularly important. The highest levels of satisfaction were recorded at locations such as the Krka Eco Campus in Puljane, which confirms the justification for the strategic focus on the dispersion of visits and the development of sustainable, educational, and interpretive content on the upper reaches of the Krka River.
The high level of satisfaction is also confirmed by the willingness of visitors to recommend it: as many as 83% of them would recommend a visit to the Krka National Park, which means that it ranks highly on the international tourism market.