Amy Lamé at TouRisk 2026: How destinations can develop a safe, sustainable and profitable night-time economy
In Croatia, tourism is still most often viewed through the lens of revenue, growth and occupancy, while safety and risk management are often pushed into the background – treated as a technical add-on or a necessary cost that creates no direct value. This is precisely the perspective that TouRisk aims to change – as the first conference dedicated to safety and risk management in tourism not only in Croatia, but more broadly – starting from a simple but often overlooked fact: at its core, tourism means peace of mind, and safety is the precondition for that feeling.
As part of the TouRisk 2026 conference, applications have opened for the TouRisk Awards 2026, a unique set of awards in Croatia that turns safety in tourism into a data-driven, multi-layered index. Unlike traditional recognitions that often rely on impression, the TouRisk Awards introduce a transparent and measurable evaluation process designed to assess the real level of safety and risk management objectively.
Safety as part of the tourism product, not a hidden cost
As conference organiser Goran Košćak points out, TouRisk does not view safety as an isolated segment, but through the lens of the tourism system as a whole. „We are not talking about one narrow topic. This is an approach that covers the entire tourism industry and all of its key stakeholders. We are talking about safety and risk management across the tourism industry: from hotels, campsites and private accommodation to transport providers, ports, marinas, supply chains and the event industry“, Košćak explains, adding that each segment has its own specific risks, as well as its own specific solutions.
An especially important part of TouRisk concerns the safety management of destinations, so the programme is aimed not only at the private sector, but also at cities, municipalities, counties and tourist boards. „The way a destination is managed directly affects the perception of safety. And the perception of safety is part of the quality of the overall tourism product“, Košćak notes.
A data-driven model delivering concrete insight and an industry benchmark
The TouRisk Awards are designed as a benchmark moment for everyone managing a hotel, campsite, destination, event, marina, or nature park/national park. The key value of the model is that participation makes sense regardless of the final ranking: the process provides a structured insight into the risks within one’s own system and a comparison against TouRisk standards. Candidates that exceed the benchmark become eligible for a TouRisk plaque/certificate for safety and risk management, while those below the benchmark receive concrete recommendations and a clear direction for improvement in the next cycle.
From an organisational perspective, the TouRisk Awards also send a broader message to international markets: Croatia is not only “naturally” safe, but also has an organised, expert and professional approach to risk management in tourism – supported by specialists, suppliers and solutions capable of delivering a high level of service to tourism businesses. Košćak also reminds us that safety in Croatia is often taken for granted, even though it is neither accidental nor achieved “by design” without effort. It is built on systems, people and institutions – from the police and emergency services to the mountain rescue service HGSS – and, in business terms, safety is increasingly becoming part of product value rather than an invisible cost.
A new competitive edge in the AI era of booking and destination rankings
The TouRisk Awards also open up a new dimension of competitiveness: a marginal, but decisive, advantage in the AI era of travel booking. As the market changes, an increasing share of bookings and destination choices will be made by AI systems. In a time of geopolitical uncertainty and comparisons increasingly carried out through models and agents with their own built-in biases, the question of “who is safer” is becoming a criterion that is searched, compared and ranked. TouRisk therefore becomes a kind of national SEO factor for the AI era, making Croatia stand out – this time through an analytical and organisational approach to the safety of every guest. Award-winning properties and destinations gain a form of verification they can use in AI indexes and comparison systems, helping secure better rankings in safety-based comparisons, while every participant receives a roadmap towards safety excellence. The best among them become national ambassadors of safe, resilient and sustainable tourism in the global AI race for every guest – while all applicants retain their place in that race through measurable progress.
The TouRisk Awards 2026 are presented across six key categories in Croatian tourism: Safest Hotel, Safest Campsite, Safest Destination, Safest Event, Safest Marina, and Safest Nature Park/National Park. The same clearly defined and measurable evaluation process is applied in each category, with the main award presented only to the top-ranked entry in that category during the conference’s official ceremony.
The TouRisk Conference 2026 takes place from 13 to 15 April 2026 at Hotel Pinija in Petrčane, near Zadar, and full programme details are available at www.tourisk.hr.
The deadline for applications to the TouRisk Awards 2026 is 20 March 2026.
