New plans for Kornati islands will improve the visitor experience

Last year was a great challenge for everyone, including Kornati National Park, which is primarily involved in nature protection. According to the director of the Park, Šime Ježina, the good thing was, of course, fewer people which allowed some restoration processes to develop naturally.

Last year was also an opportunity to set priorities, but also to work out detailed plans for the modern age and the years to come. The Kornati islands are thus making a big technological and ecological step forward. Concrete blocks and anchors will be replaced by modern drilled ecological anchors and buoys, and new vessels will be procured. Perhaps most importantly, the signal coverage will be resolved, one of the biggest problems of the area. Therefore, in two years the Kornati islands will be completely covered by a wireless internet signal.

Šime Ježina explains that when the season lasts a month and a half, then it is difficult for all sectors. Tourism is not the only answer, but it is important. That is why it is especially difficult in institutions like this one because this industry puts a lot of pressure on nature protection. 

He adds that, despite everything, Croatia is in an ideal position because it is a car destination, and our tourist competition is, with all the problems that exist, physically away from us.

Ježina finally says the Kornati is located in the most indented part and in the middle of the Adriatic. Therefore, it has always been a lure for boaters and before the classic birth of nautical in the 80s, people sailed here for centuries.

It is the beginning of November and visitors still arrive

The only natural sandy beach Lojena still meets a lot of guests, as Ježina reports. He further mentions Levrnaka island is one of the most interesting visitor points in the Kornati because it is relatively narrow. From the waterfront, where the boats disembark, there is a little more than 200 meters to the beach. Logically, most visitors or excursion boats like to stop there for a while.

However, visitors to the Kornati always depend on the weather conditions. No one will visit this archipelago if bura, jugo or rain is announced, explains Ježina.

Anchoring in the Kornati National Park will not be possible in the next decade

As Ježina explains, when the 224 buoys are set up, boaters will be very limited with anchoring, as they will only be allowed to anchor where there are no buoys. The old spatial plan foresaw 19 anchorage bays, but now they are revising and working on a new Park Management Plan for the next 10 years, and in parallel, they are going with a new spatial plan that will define whether there will be opportunities for more buoys. But certainly, anchoring will be limited in the park after that. Ježina concludes they are moving towards no anchoring in the Kornati National Park in the next decade.

Kornati will be covered by the internet

The institution has been working for a long time on the problem of poor signal coverage for mobile phones, Ježina says.  He also reveals their wish is to start with the digitalization project through which the internet signal and the network that would be important for the supervision and safety of guests in the park could be solved. 

Ježina explains in short, the plan is for this project to come to life in the next two years. Secondly, all visitors would have a Wi-Fi signal, so in addition to monitoring their number, they would also know where they are – at anchor, mooring, in the marina or at the caterer, and how many of them are sailing. 

Ježina reminds it must not be forgotten that the Kornati islands are also an international waterway and they cannot set up a ramp and ban the passage. Sailors stop the moment they drop anchor or tie up somewhere and then it is possible to approach them and check if they have a ticket.

To conclude, Kornati National Park recorded a 40% increase in total traffic in the previous year, surpassing 2019, which is considered a record. But, given that the season does not give up in autumn, it is to be expected that the Kornati National Park will go uphill.

Source: Morski.hr