March 13, 2021 – On the other side of the world, Croatia's capital is well-known as the "city of museums," which is precisely how the author Si Ma Yan presented Zagreb in Chinese Lonely Planet's article.

The Chinese edition of Lonely Planet, one of the most influential world tourist guides, published a guide about Zagreb in its March edition. As reported by Franka Gulin, Croatian National Tourist Board director in China, the guide nicely and vividly brings all the information about Zagreb and is primarily intended for culture, art, and local food lovers.

"Although the realization of tourist trips from distant countries is significantly difficult in these circumstances, publishing a guide about Zagreb maintains visibility and promotion of our capital in China, but also Croatia as a whole," said Croatian National Tourist Board director Kristjan Staničić.

Namely, travelers from China immensely appreciate recognizable Croatia's tourist products, such as culture, nature, and eno-gastronomy.

As Zagreb is known in China as a "city of museums," the guide's author Si Ma Yan emphasizes museums, galleries, murals, facades, and other street art forms on Zagreb's streets. The author also recommends visiting interesting antique shops and buying antique jewelry in numerous retro vintage shops and charming jewelry workshops. When it comes to accommodation, options are proposed for different categories of travelers, from the luxury segment to travelers on a smaller budget. The guide especially emphasizes that Zagreb is ideal for walks in beautiful parks, and Croatia is also famous as a filming destination.

Zagreb in Chinese Lonely Planet / Source: Croatian National Tourist Board

"After Lonely Planet declared Zagreb the Best in Europe in 2017, this is the second major recognition for our city by this world-renowned tourist guide. We are honored that Zagreb was presented to the Chinese market through a mini urban guide. We hope that, despite the demanding times, it will contribute to the additional positioning of our capital in the Chinese market. Guests from China have always been important for Zagreb, and publishing such an urban guide confirms how important the Croatian capital is in China," said the Zagreb Tourist Board director Martina Bienenfeld.

Besides, Franka Gulin, together with the Croatian Ambassador to China Dari Mihelin, paid an official visit to the Chinese province of Chongqing, where they met with representatives of departments and business entities for culture and tourism. Chongqing Municipality is one of China's fastest-growing regions in economy, culture, and tourism, with a population of about 40 million. Their airport in pre-COVID times was well connected to all the leading airports around the world, and the area was in constant growth in outbound travel.

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Both Total Croatia News and other Croatian media have written about the eight Chinese police officers, who have arrived in Croatia for the tourist season, to help with the increasing number of Chinese tourists on the Croatian coast and in other tourist destinations.

Today, there's a second part to that news, one that Chinese tourists should know about, so we're helping spread the word about it, as the Croatian Interior Ministry website mup.hr reports.

The eight Chinese police officers were given four mobile phones and dedicated lines, where they will answer in Chinese and help with any questions and make sure Chinese tourists are safe in Croatia. The phone lines are localised, and if you call +385 99 386 0465 a Chinese-speaking officer located in Zagreb will answer you; if you're in or around Dubrovnik call +385 99 386 0466;  in Zadar +385 99 386 0467 and the final number is located at the Plitvice Lakes, a favourite destination for Chinese tourists: +385 99 386 0468.

So, if you need some help from a Chinese-speaking police officer, dial one of those numbers closest to you, and from the other side you might hear:

晕，谁在打电话？

(Halo, who's calling?)

There are other international police forces in Croatia during the height of the tourist season, as we've reported both this year and in previous years, as well as the control centre in Zadar, dedicated fully to the safety of the tourists in Croatia during the season. 

The Croatian National Tourist Board, in cooperation with the Slovenian Tourist Organization and with the financial support of the European Tourist Board, organizes two business workshops titled "Experience Croatia, Feel Slovenia" in China, reports HRTurizam on March 26, 2019. 

The workshops are intended for representatives of Chinese tour operators and agencies. The first workshop was held on Tuesday in Beijing, while the other will be held on Thursday, March 28 in Shanghai.

"We are pleased to have Ctrip, the largest Chinese online agency at this year's workshops, and one of the largest in the world. There is also the presence of Qunar, the leading Chinese travel search engine as well as the Mafengwo and Qyer platform, the largest Chinese online platform through which young Chinese share their impressions of travel through photos, video clips and notes, which certainly contributes to strengthening awareness of the destination's image,” said Franka Gulin, the director of the HTZ Representative Office in China, who added that Croatia’s excellent position was also confirmed by the great interest of the Chinese media that followed the workshop, including China Media Group, China Daily, CCTV, Lonely Planet China, Sina Travel, Sina Fashion and others.

In addition to the workshop, there is also a rich supplementary program, which includes a special light show and the delineation of six Croatian tourist destinations and locations including Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Opatija, Pula, Kornati, and NP Plitvice Lakes. For the Chinese participants, they prepared a prize game with two wagers per workshop, including a return ticket and overnight stays in Zagreb, Dubrovnik, and Šibenik, as well as tickets for NP Plitvice Lakes.

Twelve Croatian entities participated in Beijing, while 11 of them will be present at the Shanghai workshop, including the Dubrovnik-Neretva, Lika-Senj, and Šibenik-Knin County tourist boards, as well as Northern Sunshine Farms d.o.o., Amathus Travel, Greatline, G2 Travel Croatia, Limea Travel Zagreb, Dnevnik putovanja, Ilirija d.d. and A.T.I. d.o.o.

In 2018, Chinese tourists made up 234,118 arrivals and 345,293 overnight stays in Croatia, representing a growth of 46 percent in 2018, while 2019 projections show more than 300,000 arrivals and more than 430,000 overnight stays from the Chinese market.

"The good news of Chinese partners from the Beijing workshop shows that our activities directed at the Chinese market are producing results and that we are expecting a very successful tourist year from this market, during which we will keep high growth rates of tourist traffic. Also, we are extremely pleased to see that the representatives of luxury travel agency agencies attended the workshop, which confirms the breadth and attractiveness of our offer,” said Croatian Tourist Board Director Kristjan Staničić.

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