In the first quarter of the year, Zagreb saw 405,300 overnight stays, more than any other destination in Croatia, and one per cent more than in the same period last year. The tourist growth has continued in April, and the positive trends are expected to continue until the end of the year, according to the Zagreb City Tourist Board (TZGZ), reports Večernji List on April 17, 2019.
“The year started well for Zagreb, and we are particularly pleased that it had the best results among all the destinations in the first three months. In March, we had an 8 per cent increase in the number of overnight stays. Importantly, the average number of days spent in Zagreb by individual tourists has grown to two. After the first 15 days of April, the total number of overnights increased to nearly 500,000 this year, or 2 per cent more,” said Martina Bienenfeld, the TZGZ director.
Confirming that more and more tourists are coming to Zagreb due to its improving reputation as a “city break” destination, the TZGZ announced that this year it would launch online and offline campaigns that will promote Zagreb as a city break destination, highlighting the most important events in the city and specific types of tourism.
“We are currently implementing a campaign for the InMusic festival in the Austrian market, because the organisers consider this market to be a market of interest, taking into account the attractiveness of the performers, the closeness of the festival and the prices. We are also working on a health tourism campaign, given superior service and affordable prices. We will focus this campaign mostly on the German market, as well as the Croatian diaspora,” said Bienenfeld.
The Zagreb Summer Tour campaign is also being prepared, which will promote capital as a city of culture, accessible and fun, which lives in the open during the summer. It will focus on Germany, Austria, Ireland, the United Kingdom, France, Portugal, Spain and Scandinavia.
“We plan to cooperate with Dubrovnik, with the Dubrovnik in Zagreb programme which will include the autumn performances of the best Croatian and European artists from this year's 70th Dubrovnik Summer Festival. We will continue to cooperate with the Ministry of Interior through a successful project launched in 2018, which involves training policemen in using English and getting to know the local landmarks,” announced Bienenfeld, adding that later this year the Advent in Zagreb marketing campaign would be launched in the 15 targeted markets.
The TZGZ will take part in 34 tourism fairs this year, and the budget for all these activities is 80 million kuna, or 5 per cent more than last year. “In the last five years, Zagreb has seen great results, positive shifts are visible at every step, and we look forward to the opening of new hotels and ongoing infrastructure projects. We are also approaching the EU 2020 presidency, which will position Zagreb even better on the EU map," Bienenfeld said.
The results of the extensive Visitor Survey, conducted in 2017 and 2018, show the above-average positive opinion of the city's tourists. They gave the highest marks to the staff in the accommodation facilities, the feeling of security, the overall experience and the value for money received in the accommodation. They described Zagreb as a spotless and beautiful city with accessible information for tourists.
According to this survey, visitors mostly stay in four-star hotels, have between 26 and 45 years, and most often travel with their partners. Among tourists visiting Zagreb in December, 93 per cent visited Zagreb Advent and stated the festival had prompted them to visit the city again. Almost 90 per cent of tourists would recommend to friends and acquaintances to visit Zagreb.
Translated from Večernji List.
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