Adventure tourism in Lika destination
The adventure-hiking center Rizvan City is located in Lika, in the heart of Croatia, not far from Gospić, in a small typical village of Rizvanuša, located in the Velebit Nature Park. The leader and owner of the tourist agency Adria Velebitica as well as the adventure-hiking center Mr. Goran Šuper is also one of the founders of the Lika Destination Cluster. Mr. Šuper is one of the leading entrepreneurs in Croatia in his work and is an ideal example of how good ideas, dedication to business and tracking trends lead to success. Since 2001 when only paintball was offered today in the Rizvan City Adventure Travel Center, you can find a zip line, rock climbing, giant swing, quad safari, archery, shooting, human table football, jeep safari, kayak safari, abseiling and climbing, adrenaline park, rafting and more. In their offer, numerous programs for schoolchildren, individuals and smaller groups have also been prepared, multi-day programs or team building programs. As part of the program, accommodation and meals are also included. As it all began, from where the idea and why this adventure hiking center is especially valuable we asked Mr. Goran Šuper himself, and what has revealed to us all read below: How did you come up with the idea of opening an adrenaline park? The idea came about after the death of a grandfather. Namely, the estate, my grandfather, became deserted and something had to be done with it so that it would not end as much as most rural farms in Lika after the death of its owners. I spent as a child of the summer helping grandpa and grandmother in rural affairs, and my heart did not give me peace while I did something. At that time Internet became available to everyone and I was looking for ideas. So I saw that in the world a popular paintball and idea was born. We started in 2001 with landscaping, supply of equipment and at that time we were one of the first in Croatia. For the first couple of years it has been slow but trends from the West have come to our company and team building and paintball as the most popular team building activity has become very sought after. We first built a forest adrenaline park in Croatia in 2006 and it was a full hit that made us quick progress. How did local people accept your idea? The local population was somewhat skeptical on the first, and watched and commented on the side. As paintball is a kind of war simulation, and the war was enough to everyone, they said we did not need it. But very soon, when they saw that groups, tourists came to us, they accepted it, and even engaged in the development of tourism. I believe we have encouraged many of us to arrange the country houses in the vicinity and to convert them into tourist purposes and proved that in Lika, and not just at sea, tourism can develop and be very successful. What problems have you encountered at the beginning of the idea's realization? There were no major problems, only to be persistent and to persevere because nothing came overnight. How many employees do you have? We currently have 4 full-time employees, and in the season there are several honoraries. What are you special about and what do you consider to be your main advantage? We are special in being located in beautiful scenery, which has a lot of activities in one place, accommodation but the strongest advantage are the extraordinary people who work with us and who really try to make every guest not only pleased but enthusiastic about us. However, our center is trying to copy everything from Istria, Međimurje, Dalmatia and even Bosnia and Herzegovina but we strive to always be a step ahead of the competition so that every year we launch some innovation in the offer. Our location, the center of Croatia, is also very important, we are very soon available to most people from Croatia, the coast is near etc. Are there more individuals or groups coming to you? Our guests are mostly companies on team building programs, then school groups, and then individuals (domestic and guests from the sea). I would emphasize that it is an integral part of our center and our camp which we are intensively developing and spreading in this segment. Most campers are, of course, the strangers we are trying to keep on a multi-day holiday at the campsite so we made this year a swimming pool (one of the few in this part of Lika) to have the greatest comfort and the reason for staying longer. Which of your programs are most sought after? For companies is the most sought-after program that includes most of our activities that we combine in our programs (paintball, adrenaline park, zip line, rock climbing, giant swing, quad safari, human table football ...), while schools are looking for some simpler programs. This year is a real activity and our new activity, which is the Escape Room "Secret of Nikola Tesla" which is an excellent addition after visiting the Memorial Center Nikola Tesla in Smiljan. Since it's about adrenaline sports, how much is it really dangerous for visitors? We sell an experience spiced up with a bit of adrenaline, tailored to the average man, because this is a target group. All our activities are performed with trained instructors, with proven equipment and the danger is in fact not, it is only essential to listen to our instructions. Our visitors are children aged 10 to older, even for 70 years. What are the visitor comments, what do they like, and what are they, what are they most delighted about? The comments are great, visitors see that we really try and do our best, and that's how it feels. Experience something new in a beautiful green environment, with friendly instructors and guides, and a positive comment can not be missed. We try to grow with each guest as friends and this is the key to success in tourism. Do you have an anecdote or an occasion during a business that you will especially remember? Anegdota has a pretense, it is difficult to distinguish one, but, for example, It was a situation when a snake appeared on the ceiling above the door and the room was full of people. It was about seconds to get real bliss, but we got well, saw the snake was not a poison and it was harmless and it seemed to us that this was our favorite and that we should not be afraid, so it was slowly removed (even though we were in great fear). What are your plans for the future? Can we expect any novelties in the offer? Plans we have, sometimes and too much. Our wish is that our center remains the leader in Croatia in this business, and with that we will add something new to our offer each year. Another segment of our business is camp, so we're likely to soon expand our accommodation capacity.
