Seven Questions Before You Apply for a Digital Project Grant

This is not a guide to getting funded. That's decided by the committee, not by an article on the internet. This is a list of things the call for proposals actually says, which are easy to miss while rushing to apply in January.

Important: everything below is based on the HTZ call for proposals from the Fund for Associated Tourist Boards for 2026. The terms for 2027 may differ. The only thing that governs is the version of the call currently in force, and for anything unclear, HTZ responds in writing to the address listed in the call.

1. Does the project meet the minimum value?

In the 2026 call for associated tourist boards, the minimum value of an individual project was €30,000.

The call states that the committee may partially or fully exclude certain line items from the budget. It's worth checking how far above the minimum your project actually sits.

2. Do you have your own share of the funds?

For associated tourist boards, the approved funding could amount to up to 80% of eligible costs. The rest is covered by the tourist board.

Payment came in two parts: 70% upon signing the contract, backed by a blank promissory note, and 30% after the implementation report.

"Part of the cost has to be bridged until the project is done — it doesn't all arrive at once."

3. What area does the project cover?

Among the criteria for associated tourist boards was coverage: a project spanning three or more local government units scored higher than one covering just one. In the application, it helps to clearly state which municipalities and towns are involved.

4. Which purpose category does the project fall under?

The call distinguished between several purpose categories (tourism product development, communication and advertising, destination management, EU-funded projects), each with its own criteria.

Two notes in the text matter especially for digital projects:

• Production of multimedia and digital promotional and informational content is listed under communication and advertising.
• Associated tourist boards could only apply for communication and advertising projects in coordination with the regional tourist board, with its consent included in the documentation.

If you're not sure which purpose category your project falls under, the safest route is to ask HTZ in writing, within the deadline the call sets for inquiries.

5. Is the same activity funded from another HTZ source?

The call explicitly states that activities for which funding is approved cannot be financed from other HTZ sources in the same year. If part of the project is already being applied for elsewhere, it needs to be separated out before you apply.

6. What will you have to submit at the end?

To release the remaining funds, the call required, among other things:

• An implementation report covering funds spent, with invoices and proof of payment.
• Photos or other documentation proving the project was carried out.
• For projects involving a website build: proof of public launch and proof that content on croatia.hr matches the new or updated site.
• For multimedia content: proof of publication and proof that content on croatia.hr was updated with it.
• A project write-up in Croatian and English, up to 800 characters, plus three original photographs.

It's worth reading this list before the project even starts, since some of this evidence is far easier to collect along the way than after the fact.

7. How will you handle procurement?

By signing the contract, the tourist board commits to running procurement in line with its own internal rules and the principle of transparency. As an example, the call cites collecting at least three quotes . A statement to that effect is signed both at application and in the final report.

In practice, for a digital project, that means having a clear enough description of what's being commissioned so the quotes can actually be compared.

Two recommendations from experience

These aren't conditions of the call — just what's proven useful across digital projects.

• Agree on ownership upfront. The domain, the editing system, the content and access to analytics should stay with the tourist board even after the project ends, regardless of who built it.
• Set up measurement from day one. Traffic data can't be reconstructed after the fact. If you want to use it in reports to the council or in your next application, measurement needs to be running from the moment the site goes live.

"Traffic data can't be reconstructed after the fact — measurement either runs from day one, or that data simply doesn't exist."

For tourist boards thinking about applying, DataLytics is always up for a "digital coffee" to see how the tools and services built through a project like this could be set up to keep working beyond the project itself, all year round, tailored to them specifically.