Croatian National Tourist Board established the Golden Pen media award in 2004. in order to show tourism journalist and their editors how much we appreciate the value of professional writing about Croatia. In the days, the award was given in two categories: the best printed material and the best radio/TV show.
The most important award of the Golden Pen is the Grand Prix, which is now awarded in six categories: for the best radio reportage, the best online media reportage, the best print media reportage, the best travel blog, the best post on social networks, and the best television reportage.
The award-giving ceremony is a part of a 3-day press trip, organized in a different region in Croatia each year. The trip is an excellent opportunity to show off a new destination in Croatia and to thank journalists, editors, bloggers and influencers for presenting Croatian beauties and tourist specialties to readers, viewers and listeners in the media where they work.
This year, on May 10, 2024., the 20th annual "Golden Pen" award ceremony was held in the beautiful cultural monument Lazareti in Dubrovnik. It is a well-received award ceremony recognizing foreign editors, journalists, travel bloggers, and influencers who, with their positive and affirmative reporting, significantly contributed to the promotion of Croatian tourism worldwide last year.
At the award ceremony participated 33 media representatives from 15 countries and 14 VIP media representatives who have successfully promoted Croatia as a desirable tourist destination on a global level in the last twenty years gave a special stamp to this event.
Our partners, Dubrovnik-Neretva County Tourist Board and Dubrovnik Tourist Board have prepared a multi-day program of touring destinations, sights and attractions for this year’s best foreign journalists, editors, TV crews, bloggers and influencers.
Did you know?
The reason why we named the award Golden Pen (in Croatian – Zlatna Penkala) is quite simple. Croatia is the home of the fountain pen!
According to the Croatian encyclopedic dictionary, pen is the colloquial name for the fountain pen, ball point pen and mechanical graphite pencil. Where did this name come from? From their “father”, one-time inhabitant of Zagreb, engineer Slavoljub Eduard Penkala (1871-1922), one of the most famous inventors in the 20th century.
The first mechanical pencil in the world was patented by engineer Penkala on the 24th of January 1906 and the first fountain pen in the world with solid-ink, on the 31st of May 1907. The invention was patented in more than 35 countries in the world and manufacturing of the fountain pen and ball point pen in the Zagreb based factory grew.
Penkala’s pencils and fountain pens were exported to over 70 countries in the world and in the time period between 1912 and 1926 it was one of the biggest factories of writing equipment in the world.
