As Morski writes on the 6th of August, 2019, Italy represents one of the most important markets for the Croatian tourism sector, from which Croatia achieved an impressive 579,000 arrivals and 2.3 million overnight stays so far, representing a 1.3 percent increase in arrivals and 2.4 percent increase in overnight stays when compared to the same period last year.
Positive results were also achieved back in July, during which Italian tourists accounted for 209,000 arrivals and 1.1 million overnight stays, which represents a growth of 1.5 percent in arrivals and 3 percent in overnight stays when compared to July last year.
Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) Director Kristjan Staničić points out that the above results are excellent indicators for Ferragosto, the period when the largest number of Italian tourists come to stay in various Croatian destinations.
''The majority of tourist traffic from the Italian market is yet to come, as was confirmed by the announcements for August and the first half of September by key partners, tour operators and agencies. This is the result of a continuous and proactive promotional strategy for Italy, which includes numerous marketing and PR campaigns, but also excellent cooperation with Italian partners,'' said Director Staničić, adding that the increasing traffic connections between Italy and Croatia is a driving factor for the further growth of tourist traffic from this particular, neighbouring market.
Italians usually travel by car, with almost 60 percent of them doing so, followed by airplane, with 20 percent of Italians doing so, followed by train, bus, and then boat travel. When it comes to booking their trips, about 56 percent of Italians book their trips directly, 37 percent don't book/make reservations at all, while about 7 percent book their trips through an agency. When it comes to accommodation in Croatia, they prefer household facilities and hotels, while as tourist offers, they tend to value gastronomy, natural beauty, nautics, and even health tourism after the main tourist season in the summer.
''We have conducted some key promotional activities on the Italian market, which is evident from the results achieved, but also from numerous positive announcements that certainly contribute to creating a positive image and recognition of Croatia on this important market. Traditionally, Italians travel the most in August, and their favourite foreign destinations are Greece, Spain and Croatia, where they most often travel to Istria, Kvarner and Dalmatia, but they're also increasingly discovering the continental part of our country, especially Zagreb,'' emphasised Viviana Vukelić, the director of HTZ's representative office over in Italy.
The popularity of Croatia among Italians is evidenced by numerous publications in the Italian media.
On the eve of the main tourist season, the most things written by the Italian about Croatia were about the islands and the coastline, summer festivals, locations where the popular series "Game of Thrones" was filmed, national parks, beautiful beaches, and detailed reports on trips that can be taken with motorcycles and motorhomes were published.
The specialised magazine "Caravan e Camper" dedicated its cover to the beautiful island of Korčula, referring to it quite righly as ''timeless'', while the cover of the popular Dove magazine features Vrbnik on the island of Krk, and the Hvar lavender fields and the Makarska riviera adorn the cover of Bell'Europa.
The June issue of the specialised sailing magazine "Il giornale della Vela" published a detailed report on sailing in Croatia, providing extensive information on where to sail in Croatia, in which bays to anchor, what destinations on the islands and the coast are worth visiting, all of which were illustrated by gorgeous, glossy photographs, with the Kornati islands on the front page.
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