Croatian tourism is not just the sea and the sun, but also the people, tradition, culture, gastronomy... The visitor should feel a connection with the local population and the destination they are visiting, and gastro story It is very important in strengthening the identity of the region from which a food product comes.

In tourism, quality indigenous food products are imperative. When we come to a region, we want to experience what is characteristic of it, what defines those people and a particular place. For example, if we come to Gorski Kotar, what will we look for in it?
From food products, very likely Goran honey.
This is one of the best examples of the connection between a food product and its identity with the region it comes from – precisely because it is from Gorski Kotar and because it is Medun, and it also has protection of the mark of origin at the European level.

This is a special type of honey that is not always available in all locations. It is therefore not surprising that it commands a high price on the market.
Honeydew
Goranski medun is produced by indigenous bees from honeydew, a sweet sap produced by insects, most often aphids.

They pierce plant tissue with their beaks and penetrate to vegetable juices from which they use substances, and then expel the honeydew from the body. Bees add their own specific substances to the collected honeydew.
Of course, this honey is only one of the elements that reflect the characteristics of that region, because Gorski kotar offers numerous other products, and above all, beautiful nature and clean air.

Goranski medun has been known for a long time – it has become brand – which is also supported by its price.
However, beekeeping should not be viewed and valued only through the production of honey, because there are other bee products besides honey, as well as very important beekeeping services. Pollination is one of the most important.
World Bee Day
Today, 20. May, we celebrate World Bee Day, small and valuable creatures that play a crucial role in maintaining ecosystems.

Bees are the most numerous pollinators on Earth and it is estimated that a third of human food depends on the pollination they perform.
It is the only insect that produces food that humans consume, and honey has been produced in the same way for at least 150 million years. Bees visit around 1000 flowers a day to collect nectar and pollen.

The proclamation of this very date was initiated by Slovenija because Anton Janša, a famous Slovenian beekeeper and pioneer of modern beekeeping, was born on May 20, 1734. In addition, May is a month in which bees and nature undergo a turbulent development.
Anton Jansa He was known as one of the greatest bee experts of the time he lived and worked in. He confirmed his knowledge of beekeeping and the Carniolan bee already during the time of Imperial Austria.

Namely, his "Discussion about the birth of bees” from 1771 is considered a pioneering work in the field of beekeeping worldwide.
Biodiversity and eco-products
Pollinators preserve biodiversity, a term most often associated with plants, and the survival of life on the planet is tied to them. Plants, in turn, cannot exist without pollinators: butterflies, bumblebees, bees, flies, birds, bats, and some other small mammals.

Without pollinators, our landscape, our diet, and life as we know it would be greatly threatened.
Given their crucial role in pollination, bees are extremely important in agriculture, and consequently in tourism. Let's also mention that one of the best ways to market your own products is agritourism, and if it's also about organic products, the story couldn't be more beautiful.

Cover photo: Blanka Kufner