Attendees included Mayor Denis Ivanovi\u0107,<\/strong> marina owner Captain Josip Berket<\/strong>, Managing Director Ivona Smolji\u0107<\/strong>, Ka\u0161tela Tourist Board Director Nada Mar\u0161i\u0107<\/strong>, and numerous partners and representatives of local organisations who have contributed to the marina\u2019s development.<\/p>\n\n Mayor Denis Ivanovi\u0107<\/strong> congratulated the marina\u2019s management on their exceptional achievement, noting that Marina Ka\u0161tela is now one of the City\u2019s most important development projects. He emphasised that, while the City of Ka\u0161tela does not offer the hotel capacity of some other destinations, it has a marina that is \u201cnot only a sailboat harbour, but also a hub for sport, social life and community activities\u201d. He also highlighted the fact that the marina provides around 400 berths<\/strong> and a wide range of sports and social facilities, including a swimming pool used by residents and local sports clubs. <\/p>\n\n Captain Josip Berket<\/strong>, owner of Marina Ka\u0161tela, drew particular attention with an emotional address, emphasising the importance of the award for the entire team and for him personally, given the project\u2019s long development journey.<\/p>\n\n \u201eThis award means a great deal to us,\u201d Captain Berket said, recalling the very beginning of the project. \u201cThe marina grew out of a sporting vision. More than 25 years ago, the late \u010cedo Mihaljevi\u0107 came to me and said: \u2018Captain, we should build a marina and a small sports port here.\u2019 That simple thought was the spark that grew into today\u2019s Marina Ka\u0161tela.\u201c <\/p>\n\n Captain Berket noted that the marina has become an important hub for sport, social life and community activities<\/strong>. It is a home to sailing, rowing, swimming and volleyball clubs, as well as a children and youth sailing school. He added that, in cooperation with the City, plans are in place to refurbish the Rowing Club<\/strong>, further strengthening Ka\u0161tela\u2019s sports infrastructure. <\/p>\n\n Nada Mar\u0161i\u0107<\/strong>, Director of the Ka\u0161tela Tourist Board, highlighted Marina Ka\u0161tela\u2019s exceptional importance in shaping the destination\u2019s identity. She noted that the marina\u2019s work and numerous projects enhance the overall tourism offering, attract visitors from around the world, and position Ka\u0161tela as an increasingly desirable nautical destination.<\/p>\n\n Marina Director Ivona Smolji\u0107<\/strong>, who has addressed this recognition in her earlier statements, emphasised that it is a clear endorsement of the Marina Ka\u0161tela\u2019s operating standards in quality, safety, sustainability and social responsibility \u2013 which are at the core of the marina\u2019s daily operations.<\/p>\n\n Further development plans were also presented during the reception. A major \u20ac9 million infrastructure project is currently underway, including the construction of two new outer docks<\/strong> designed to accommodate yachts over 35 metres in length. Completion is expected before the start of the next boating season, strengthening the marina\u2019s capacity and enhancing services for larger vessels. The Best Large Marina in 2025 <\/strong> title marks the culmination of many years of work and provides strong momentum for further investment, development and continued improvement of standards in nautical tourism. Marina Ka\u0161tela is proud to continue its journey as one of the Adriatic\u2019s key nautical centres, committed to innovation, quality and the local community it serves. <\/p>\n\n A formal reception was held at the Ka\u0161tela City Hall to celebrate Marina Ka\u0161tela receiving the prestigious Croatian Tourism Days title of Best Large Marina in Croatia in 2025. This…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30238,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[268],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marina-kastela.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marina-kastela.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marina-kastela.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marina-kastela.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marina-kastela.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30328"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/marina-kastela.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30328\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30360,"href":"https:\/\/marina-kastela.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30328\/revisions\/30360"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marina-kastela.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marina-kastela.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marina-kastela.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marina-kastela.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/marina-kastela.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/svecani-prijem-01-1024x579.jpg\")
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