Ilinčica has once again become one of the favorite natural destinations of the local population, and it is also visited by tourists arriving in the city. The picnic area will soon become even more attractive with the creation of an adrenaline park, a zip line and an artificial rock for climbing.

Namely, "New locations for outdoor recreation in order to improve the quality of the tourist product - Open Air Everywhere" is the name of the project through which the Ilinčica excursion site in Tuzla will receive new attractive facilities.

The goal is to improve the tourist infrastructure in terms of equipping and upgrading the existing facilities intended for an active stay in nature. The project is co-financed through the EU IPA II Cross-Border Cooperation Program between Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Improvement of the tourist offer

As the Tourist Board of Tuzla told Klix.ba, the project will contribute to the improvement of tourist offers and services in the cross-border area, by increasing the tourism sector's ability to attract as many domestic tourists as possible.

"It is planned that the project will further improve the tourist infrastructure of the Ilinčica excursion site in terms of equipping and upgrading the existing facilities intended for an active stay in nature. This will include, among other things, the installation of a zip-line polygon, an artificial rock for climbing, an adrenaline park and the arrangement of a recreational park for the youngest visitors. Namely, since Ilinčica is visited by an increasing number of citizens, our intention was to provide attractive content for our local population, as well as other visitors, which is not available in the very center of the city, and in this way to make the excursion site even more attractive." , the director of the Tuzla Tourist Board, Amra Jaganjac, told us.

All adrenaline content will be placed near the Nature Center, with active video surveillance, in order to ensure the best possible care of this equipment and for the authorities to prevent the inappropriate behavior of vandals and other irresponsible persons, who unfortunately often damage public property and furniture.

"Thanks to this project, the offer of the Ilinčica picnic area will certainly be much richer. Namely, there are no adrenaline parks like this in the city center itself, and with this, our Tuzla women and men, as well as those who visit our city, will have more opportunities to enjoy themselves and there will be a more diverse offer content for active leisure time," adds Jaganjac.

The contract on the implementation of the project was signed last month by the leading partner, the Development Association NERDA from Tuzla, and the implementation includes activities that will be carried out from July 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024.

The previously well-known picnic area of Ilinčica has been revived in the past period, thanks to the involvement of the authorities and the project "Pannonian-Adriatic connection - PA.CON", which ended at the beginning of this year, and was co-financed from the funds of the EU IPA INTERREG cross-border cooperation program between Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. Above. Through this project, Ilinčica was revitalized with a very significant investment in infrastructure.

"Specifically, the Nature Center was renovated, which is now a facility for use by the entire local community and already organizes educations, presentations, gatherings and the like. In addition, road and tourist signage, new LED lighting on the access road, was arranged and equipped with 16 micro-picnic locations, three viewpoints and four kilometers of pedestrian and bicycle paths. Also, educational boards presenting the flora and fauna of the picnic area, which greatly help the educational visits of preschool and school-aged children, were purchased, 20 bicycles were purchased, which are available for rent in Ilinčica, and a functional public toilet has been arranged," points out Jaganjac.

Important location

The city of Tuzla recognized Ilinčica as an extremely important location, which above all has a certain emotional value for all local citizens. Namely, many have memories from their childhood and youth that they associate with this picnic spot.

For this reason, the decision of the City of Tuzla was to give priority to Ilinčica in terms of applying for European Union funds. Now the second project is being implemented, with a focus on Ilinčica, and a third one is being prepared.

"All this has encouraged a large number of citizens to return to Ilinčica and to spend their free time in this beautiful forest environment, which even in these hot days, when most of the people of Tuzla and our tourists are on the beaches of our salty Pannonian lakes, still attracts a certain number of visitors who they prefer a quieter natural environment, which is in the very center of the city and within easy reach of everyone," continues Jaganjac.

Ilinčica is an ideal location for picnics, walks, cycling, running or simply socializing and staying in a pleasant forest environment. This is precisely why the Tourist Board of Tuzla recommends to tourists who come to the city of salt primarily for swimming in the Pannonian lakes to spend part of their vacation in the somewhat different environment of Ilinčica.