On Thursday July 10, 2014, the Regional Development Agency of Međimujre – REDEA, organised the third workshop as part of the process of designing the Strategic Marketing Plan of Tourism Development for the Međimurje County. Around 40 entrepreneurs active in tourism from Međimurje were present, along with representatives of tourist boards, institutions, and representatives of associations, local and regional self-government and all those in any way involved in creating the tourist offer of Međimurje and are part of the decision-making processes that are key to the development of tourism on the County level.

In February 2014 REDEA, the Tourist Board and the Tourism Institute initiated the first activities in the design of this document that is so significant for tourism in Međimurje. In order to provide Međimurje with a quality strategic document, a participative working method has been applied which will enable more information to be acquired in addition to touring the premises. This implies including key parties from tourism into workshops and focus groups. Three workshops have been held up to this point, as well as 11 focus groups with around 150 participants most of which were present at all events and provided valuable input through their suggestions, ideas and individual perspective of the situation.

The peak of the entire process was the last ”Brand” workshop, where the key concept ”Harmony” was created that will define and represent the essence of Međimurje tourism offer. The participants saw eye to eye with Mrs Neda Telišman-Košuta from the Tourism Institute, and agreed with her idea that all previous workshops had led precisely to the notion of ”harmony” that is so conspicuous in Međimurje. This primarily connotes the harmonious and peaceful life of the people, a striving toward natural balance of the interior through the exterior in the environment and human activity, the overall tidiness and maintenance, as well as product quality – stemming from everything that people in Međimurje stand for in their surroundings on this flower island girdled by two rivers.

The elaborated brand idea and defined tourism products will once again be presented during the publication of the project draft that will be presented to the public on the fourth workshop in September 2014.
Therefore, Međimurje approaches a definition of its uniqueness and distinctiveness which differentiates it from neighbouring tourist destinations. The tendency is to build a brand based on the synergy of the entire tourist offer with an objective of making Međimurje a recognizable tourist destination.