The traditional 12th Marco Polo Award Ceremony 2022 for the best travel reportage was held in Zagreb, Croatia organized by Fijet Croatia.
The Marco Polo Event was held in the great Advent atmosphere and football fans’ atmosphere. We were happy to host our international guests and Fijet members: Tijani Haddad, the Fijet President, Alexander Stemp, Fijet Hungaria; Maja Zagoricnik and Iztok Skofic, Fijet Slovenia, Delal Atamdede, Sema Kutlu, and Huseyin Kurtogullari, Fijet Turkey.
The Award Ceremony made us together- guests of honor, guests, sponsors, partners, awarded journalists, Fijet international tourism journalists, and many Fijet Croatian journalists and members.
The role of awards and public recognition is important. Awards do not only acknowledge success, they recognize many other qualities.
A media award helps a winner stand out for excellence in the media industry, given the contributions and impact awards have on journalists, especially regional, and local tourism.
The Fijet Journalists Award Committee, composed of Ante Gavranovic, Hrvoje Zovko, Jadranka Rilovic, and Marija Baric has recognized excellent achievements in travel journalism in Croatia, selecting and awarding the best colleagues and making a great job.
The first prize for Lifetime Achievement in media is given to Ante Gavranovic, doayen of Croatian travel journalism and one of the founders of Fijet Member.
The first prize Marko Polo Grand Prix for domestic travel articles is given to the journalist Daria Marjanovic for the TV reportages from Croatia published in National TV „Alpe, Dunav Jadran“ ( Alps, Danube, Adriatic) that inspire international and Croatian TV viewers to discover Croatia destinations from all aspects.
Five medals for „Marco Polo“ went to domestic journalists for excellence, to journalists who published travel articles, stories of Croatian regions, people, customs and traditions, and undiscovered and interesting destinations, to be used by tourism professionals as an incentive for new content, tourism offer or as motivation for tourists and media promotion of new tourism products and content, especially in the new trends and conditions of tourism future.
Awarded journalists are Zrinka Turalija, Editor in chief of daily reportage from all aspects of Croatian Culture which is published on National TV, Jurica Galic Juka for reportages from Middle Dalmatia published on the portal „Dalmatia portal“ and Youtube, Lara Cernicki for reportages from Kvarner and Istria who are the Journalists of Magazine Meridijani; Hrvoje Gunjaca, Croatian TV journalist and author of TV reportage about Knin in Dalmatian hinterland; Goran Safarek for reportages from the continental region Medjimurje published in Croatia Airlines Inflight Magazine
Five special recognitions were given to journalists who extraordinarily contributed to Croatian travel journalism and Croatia’s culture, nature and heritage:
Dragica Lemesic, ex. Croatian Radio Journalist; Mirjana Zugec Pavicic, Croatian Radio, Oleg Mastruko, writer; Jutarnji list- Editorial Staff for Croatian Marinas tourism patrol; Matej Mestrovic for extraordinary contribution to Croatian Music.
A special medal „Marco Polo“ was given to Alexander Stemp, Journalist, and Fijet Member from Hungaria for the reportage about Zagreb „ From Zagreb with love“.
In 2020 Fijet Croatia launched the award for Tolerance, to those who champion and live tolerance within their communities and across the globe as a means of fostering intercultural communication, underscoring the importance of tolerance and open dialogue to achieve world peace based on universal human values.
Fijet Tolerance Award was given to Jurica Galic Juka, a journalist for Meridijani Magazine.
