January 6, 2023 - Croatia National Tourist Board Director Kristjan Stanicic gives a wide-ranging interview on the direction of Croatian tourism - with some ideas sounding rather familiar... 

My lawyer thinks I am a little strange, but I am really excited about next week. 

For, more than 2.5 years after I got the first lawsuit of my life for an article I did not write, on a portal I do not own, which quoted me (nobody else got sued, there was no request for retraction, and the article is still live in its original format - you can read it here) - and after quite the journey, which you can read about in my mini-blog series, Diary of a Croatian Lawsuit, the judge has announced that there will be a verdict next week in the case. 

On Friday the 13th, that luckiest of dates. 

What could possibly go wrong?

I actually don't even mind if I lose at this point. It has been a lot of fun so far, and even if I do lose in Croatia, where justice has a more arbitrary feel, I am 200% confident that the European Courts in Strasbourg will be able to smell a SLAPP lawsuit from some distance. That will probably occur in the year 2063, if any of us are still alive, and if the Croatian National Tourist Board wants to continue until then, then so be it. 

I will confess that I have been impressed by the amount of paperwork the case has produced, and what level of lengths the prosecution legal team has gone to, in order to press their case, including impressive screenshots of my Facebook page to prove to whomever it mattered how unpopular I was. One folder with my name on it had so much paper in it that I wondered how many trees in the Amazon had been sacrificed for it. 

But one thing was clear - they were taking a LOT of interest in my words, which some might find intimidating, but I am actually encouraged. For it seems that by reading some of my thoughts, they are actually starting to implement some of my ideas, while at the same time suing me. Quite special

And then I came across this quite extraordinary interview of self-congatulation by the Director of the national tourist board the other day, the man whose organisation is suing me, and a man I have never met (this despite us both giving evidence in a courtoom for over 2 hours with only 6 people in the room). Lots of new initiatives, some of them very familiar. 

It is also an interview with some quite astonishing assertions, which goes some way, perhaps, to show why the national tourist board is so disconnected from the realities of tourism today. Let's put in the word 'allegedly' and 'at least in my opinion', just in case someone wants to take exception to my sentence and send me another blue letter.  

Back in June 2019, less than a year after the 2018 World Cup, I wrote an editorial called Branding Croatia for the Future: 5 Gifts and Trends to Focus On, which provoked a lot of discussion. Looking at Croatia through my foreign non-tourist-expert eyes, it seemed that Croatia was missing a trick or five. The article began:

It is seven years since the late Anthony Bourdain told the world about Croatia and its 'world-class food, world-class wine, world-class cheese.' Seven years later, Dalmatia still has no wine road, and gourmet tourism - despite its huge potential - is bringing in peanuts compared to destinations with much less to offer. 

And it is almost a year since probably the greatest gift of all time, much more even than Game of Thrones, as the tiny country which dared to dream won tens of millions of hearts during the World Cup and its aftermath. It was left to a small country with no football pedigree whatsoever that has never even been to the World Cup, to take advantage. Visit Rwanda's innovative partnership with Premier League giants Arsenal will include, among other things, exposure on the Arsenal shirt more than 35 million times a day. 

The fact that tiny Rwanda, a country I used to live in and know well, managed to take advantage of the football opportunity at a time when Croatia's footballing status was at an all-time high after the heroics in Russia, was particularly galling. If ever there was an opportunity to build on sporting success, this was it. And yet, it was Rwanda who made the moves, as you can read about in Lessons from Rwanda: Promoting Tourism Through Football, African-Style. 

Looking at Google Trends for information about interest in Croatia, especially with the hindsight of data from the 2022 World Cup and, to a lesser extent, the 2021 Euro Championships, it does not take a genius to see where the main interest and promotion opportunity for Croatia came from, as I wrote in November, 2018 in Where is Croatia? Why Football and Tourism Should Be Branded Together.

Interest in Croatia was insane, with Mediatoolkit reporting at the time of more than 60 BILLION mentions of the tiny country that dared to dream. And, as you can see from the Google Trends chart above, then everything died until the footballers came back to play in another tournament, as I wrote in Remember the World Cup? Google Trends on How Croatia Took Advantage (Not) in July, 2019. 

Time passed, as it does in Croatia. The footballing heroics were once again repeated, with Croatia once again coming home with a World Cup medal, this time from Qatar. More than 4 years after this - and after missing the golden opportunity of 2018 and Moscow, this week's interview in Novi List went like this:

How much did this World Cup do for tourism?

We will see the first results when we complete some more analyses. However, the fact is that this World Cup contributed a lot to increasing the visibility of Croatia again. I will remind you that when we won silver in Russia in 2018, Croatia jumped from 32nd to 27th place within a month or two.

We stopped measuring the showing of our famous video with Luka Modrić and other athletes, there were over 80 million views. Football is the most watched, the most important secondary thing in the world, it has a huge impact on recognition, visibility, strengthening the strength of the tourist country's brand.

So, to be clear - Croatia jumped from 32 to 27 based on the success of the football team. If the team had gone out in the first round, then presumably that would not have happened. Would that success have happened without the tourist board, who had nothing to do with it? Absolutely. 

Secondly, it is interesting to note that the tourist board is waiting to complete analysis on this year's World Cup. Did they do any analysis in 2018? If yes, were there any conclusions, and then any concrete actions?

The promotional video mentioned I know very well (I am the author of The Tiny Country that Dared to Dream text) and I interviewed the agency who made it in The Story Behind Croatia's Award-Winning World Cup Promo Video by BBDO. 

Although the video has only had 1.1 million views on YouTube, it has been watched, according to the director, more than 80 million times - you can see it below. Interestingly, as with almost all national tourist board videos, comments are turned off so there is no opportunity for would-be tourists to engage. And with no link to any website, nowhere for viewers to go if they want to know more. Basic stuff. 

But it is great to see the esteemed director talking about strengthening the brand through sport. Is there something concrete to this, or does it just mean applauding the sports stars who do the tourist board's work pro bono?

One of the other five gifts I mentioned in that 2019 editorial was medical tourism, where Croatia competes on the global stage in several areas, including St Catherine's Specialty Hospital, one of the Leading Hospitals of the World, and the first in Europe to offer pharmacogenetic testing, in partnership with Mayo Clinic. On the subject of health tourism:

As far as health tourism is concerned, Opatija is number 1 in that tradition and in everything that has been done. The Kvarner Health Tourism Cluster is doing a very good job and when we connect all these destinations we can seriously talk about year-round tourism.

It is great that the esteemed director recognises the work of the Kvarner Health Tourism Cluster, he is not alone. 

At the 2019 International Medical Travel Journal Awads conference in Berlin, where Ognjen Bagatin was named owner of the best international cosmetic surgery clinic in the world, a conference that was attended by the national tourist boards of most attending countries. Croatia was represented by just 5 people, two from Bagatin, two from the Kvarner Health Tourism Cluster, and one fat blogger with two lawsuits hanging over him. That Kvarner has a bigger brand than Croatia for medical tourism in the industry is beyond question. Here is what branding expert Iland Geva said in a TCN interview at the recent Crikvenica International Health Tourism conference - organised by Kvarner Health Tourism Cluster.

You are a global branding expert. Tell us about the branding of Croatia as a medical tourism destination. It almost seems that the organizers of CIHT, the Kvarner Health Tourism Cluster, has a bigger brand in the industry than Croatia itself.

Shall I be politically correct, or truthful? Yes, the Kvarner cluster is doing a better job than the rest of the country. Enough said.

So while it is great to cheer Modric and Kvarner, as well as finally recognise the opportunity, are there any concrete steps apart from cheering? 

Digital Nomads is a topic I have been writing on since May 2019, and one which made my life of 5 in that Branding Croatia editorial. My last ever meeting with the national tourist board, in March 2020, including a proposal to turn Trogir into Croatia's first nomad-friendly town. While they liked the idea, the national tourist board declined, stating that there was a tax issue with nomads which meant that they could not support the proposal. 

After I then introduced the concept to Jan de Jong and worked with him to make the nomad visa a reality, and after co-organising the first digital nomad in conference in Croatia in October, 2020, Dubrovnik for Digital Nomads, followed by the Dubrovnik Digital Nomads in Residence Program and Zagreb Digital Nomad Week, it was great (and I mean that sincerely) to see the Croatian National Tourist Board announce a partnership with the fabulous Digital Nomad Association Croatia. The lawsuits were the elephant in the room, particularly at the last nomad conference I was involved in organising  - Work. Place. Culture. in Dubrovnik. There was a wonderful situation where CNTB sponsored the opening evening, which resulted in the Head of CNTB Global PR greeting me and others as the evening's host, before flying back to Zagreb the next morrning to testify against me in court.

I wish both parties a successful partnership in this exciting opportunity for Croatia - the latest gift. 

But this is the Kingdom of Accidental Tourism (applauding the likes of Modric and co is a case in point), and two parts of this epic interview really made me smile. 

In fact, this had me falling out of my chair:

One of those contents that we may already be a little bored with, but it is certainly golf. In no way to break the deadlock, we are aware that, for example, the south of Portugal and Spain are working on golf during the winter season. Climatically, we are very similar.

We are similar, but with the difference that there are very mild winters, which means that you can play golf all year round. We can use it in some southern destinations, islands, even Istria. But nothing happens overnight. There is a lot of talk about golf, it has been worked on for many years.

There is a lot of talk about golf, it has been worked on for many years!?! Long-time followers of TCN may be familiar with the quite exceptional efforts from our tourism gurus in promoting golf. Who else remembers the legendary Jack Nicklaus and the 200 million euro signature course in Istria in 2006, complete with personal welcome from the then Prime Minister, Ivo Sanader (Whatever Happened to Jack Nicklaus' Croatian Golf Course, Approved by PM Sanader?)? Hopefully the first permit will be coming soon.

There is a lot of talk about golf, it has been worked on for many years. If memory serves me well, golf became a cornerstone of the strategic tourist direction as far back as 1998. What I do know is that in the 7-year strategic plan from 2013-2020 for Croatian tourism, the plan was to build no less than THIRTY golf courses in Croatia. Number of golf courses started in that time (or since) - zero. Indeed, the only developments in the golf scene during the last decade that I can see are a lawsuit of half a billion dollars against the Republic of Croatia from an Israeli investor over a golf course which will not be above Dubrovnik, and the Croatian National Tourist Board somehow promoting an 18-hole golf course located in central Zagreb, until I politely pointed it out in Tourism Quiz of the Summer: How Many Golf Courses Will Croatia Have Next Week? 

(Screenshot from www.croatia.hr promotion of the Dolina Kardinala gold course... in Central Zagreb!)

The golf course in question is actually a short drive out of the capital. 

Or was... 

No longer in function, it seems to me to be something of a symbol of the Croatian golf initiative which 'has been worked on for many years.' Take a look at the ghost town of one of the few (four) golf courses in the country, despite a quarter of a century of official efforts to bring all these wondrous golf courses to Croatia.

And while we are on the subject of the 2013-2020 strategic plan for Croatian tourism which delivered only a fraction of what was promised, has anyone seen the plan for 2021-2027?

Not yet, as it is not yet finalised. And so the Kingdom of Accidental Tourism has been floating without a strategy for three years now. 

Has anyone noticed?

My other favourite part of the interview was the self-congatulations on the success of a tourism initiative which has been panned by many in the industry, who refuse to take part in it - Croatian Tourism Month. According to the esteemed Director:

Are there any packages being prepared that would facilitate the arrival of our tourists to the Adriatic?

We expanded the Croatian Tourism Week to the Croatian Tourism Month and I must say that we have had excellent results in the past two years. We are already thinking about changing the dates, of course we will do an analysis and survey in the tourism sector itself. We see that our summer season is moving more and more into autumn and that our capacities are well filled in October as well. I don't want to prejudge some new terms, we will of course communicate that in time, but this action showed good potential and the result we achieved.

Another thing we tried to do through our promotional activities is to relativize rural areas. For two years, we had the campaign "Experience locals, discover rural Croatia" and I must say that even today we have calls in HTZ of thanks from small renters, OPGs, people whom our tourists and visitors have discovered in the past two years and who now and return.

I am not sure if he really meant relativise rural areas, or revitalise, but the thing that made me snort with this answer - and I have seen it a lot - is how a project is deemed successful just because the esteemed Director declares it so. 

Croatian Tourism Week and Croatian Tourism Month were great ideas, so poorly executed and at completely the wrong time of year for continental tourism that very few tourism businesses signed up. 

This is the same project, remember, where the only food to buy in several counties was popcorn at a 35% discount last year -  Gourmet Croatia: 35% Off Popcorn the Only Offer in Kingdom of Accidental Tourism.

They must have sold a lot of popcorn, as this 'successful' project was back in 2022, but with even less on offer - Ajme Meni! Shocking Truth of Amazing Official 'Croatian Tourism Month' Project.

And don't get me started on the promo video which included a Norwegian train... 

So yes, quite a success and lots to look forward to. Let's hope the sportsmen continue to overachieve, the Kvarner Health Tourism Cluster to fly the medical tourism flag, and for SLAPP lawsuits to silence curious writers who have the audacity to question the official narrative.

At least the digital nomad initiative seems to be moving in the right direction finally.

Friday the 13th, The Verdict, a new chapter in my Croatian journey. Vindication of free speech or the start of the long journey to Strasbourg. Whichever it is to be, you will hear about it on TCN first. 

If you want to get up to speed with the cases of the only blogger/journalist to be sued by the Croatian National Tourism Board in 2020, scroll down to the bottom for Diary of a Croatian Lawsuit, now in its fourth calendar year.  

You can read the full interview with the Croatian National Tourist Board Director in Novi List here.

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ZAGREB, 26 July 2022 - Pelješac Bridge is already becoming a tourist attraction and is expected to further boost the demand for holiday destinations in Croatia's south, Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) Director Kristjan Staničić told Hina ahead of the bridge's opening on Tuesday.

"The bridge will certainly be a new tourist attraction, both for boaters, for whom sailing under the bridge will be a special experience, and for travellers and tourists who will be able to enjoy the magnificent view of the bridge from surrounding vantage points and roads," Staničić said, adding that the HTZ would use the bridge in its promotional campaigns.

He said it was still early to speak about the direct impact of the bridge on tourist trends and destinations in Croatia's far south, but added that the bridge would certainly reduce the dependence of the local tourist industry on air traffic.

"Although the United Kingdom and the United States are among the most important markets for Dubrovnik-Neretva County, also important are the markets of Germany, Poland, France and Slovenia, as well as the domestic market, so it is expected that Pelješac Bridge will increase the demand from these markets and contribute to the image of Croatia of a well-positioned car  destination," Staničić said.

He said that a Euronews crew had visited the bridge last week for a travel story. He noted that this leading European news channel was available to about 70 per cent of households or about 145 million people in Europe.

For more news about Croatia, click here.

ZAGREB, 12 July 2022 - The Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) has launched an advertising campaign in the United States this month to promote the tourism products, attractions and destinations in which American tourists are showing the greatest interest, the HTZ said on Tuesday.

The campaign is being conducted until mid-October in cooperation with Expedia, a leading global travel platform that covers over 200 websites in over 70 countries across the globe and which is a very popular tool used by Americans in searching for travel destinations.

The HTZ said that 230,000 Americans had visited Croatia so far this year, an increase of 220 per cent compared with the same period last year. They generated over 710,000 bed nights, which is 152 per cent more than in 2021 and 15 per cent less than in the record-breaking pre-pandemic 2019. Their favourite destinations were Dubrovnik, Split, Zagreb, Hvar, Opatija and Rovinj.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

December 28, 2021 - Croatia has won the prestigious 2021 Stars Awards in the category of the most attractive destination, awarded by the specialized Chinese travel and lifestyle magazine Traveling Scope.

As reported by Turističke Priče, Croatia has been recognized by the Traveling Scope magazine as the most attractive destination in China, raising its status in that market and promoting the arrival of Chinese tourists in the coming seasons. The award was presented by Sunny Zhang, general manager of the magazine, and Lily Liang, producer and deputy editor-in-chief of this popular magazine, which is published in a monthly circulation of 700,000 copies.

Franka Gulin, director of the Croatian Tourism Board office in China, received the award. Photo: Croatia National Tourist Board

Winning the Stars Awards could provide Croatia with additional visibility in the large Chinese market, expects Franka Gulin, director of the Croatia National Tourist Board office in China, and so it was in 2019 when the same magazine awarded our country the award for the destination with the best cultural and historical heritage.

China is a large and demanding market, especially in the circumstances of the pandemic that has significantly slowed tourist flows between China and Europe in general, but according to the expectations of the director of the Croatian Tourist Board Kristjan Stanicic, in the future, our country is expected to be one of the Chinese travel destinations. Optimism is given by the feedback from partners and numerous awards and recognitions that Croatia has won in China.

The award was given by Traveling Scope magazine. Photo: Croatia National Tourist Board

Let's add that Traveling Scope magazine has been published since 1980, and it is the first Chinese magazine dedicated exclusively to tourism and travel. In addition to print editions, the magazine is also available on digital channels where they achieve multimillion-dollar coverage.

For more, check out our dedicated travel section.

ZAGREB, 29 Nov 2021 - The Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) has launched a new campaign, called Croatia - Winter Wonderland," to promote the winter beauties of Croatian destinations and tourism-oriented products such as local cuisines and wines, culture and wellness, the HTZ announced on Monday.

The campaign will run until 10 January 2022 and will cover 14 foreign markets, namely Germany, Slovenia, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Great Britain, Belgium, Sweden, and Norway. It will be conducted via social networks, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Pinterest, using the tags #CroatiaWinterWonderland and #MagicalCroatia.

Croatia Full of Life on Facebook (Photo: Zoran Filipović)

"The promotional campaigns we conducted this year have positioned our country as a high-quality, safe, and well-prepared destination. That we were very successful in this was confirmed by the European Travel Commission, which highlighted that the Croatian National Tourist Board was the most active European tourist organization on the portal and social networks Visit Europe during its autumn campaign, and as such, a great example to tourist organizations in other countries," HTZ director Kristjan Staničić said.

The winter campaign will also focus on the Christmas markets in Croatia and will include traditional recipes and customs, and the best locations for taking winter photos.

If epidemiological conditions in the country and in the key markets allow, the HTZ will organize a trip for international influencers to Rab island, Plitvice Lakes National Park, Zagreb, and Dubrovnik to experience the winter magic in these places for themselves.

For more travel news, click here.

January 16, 2021 - Which unique COVID protocols are planned for the 2021 tourist season in Croatia? Croatian Tourist Board Director Kristjan Staničić gives us a closer look. 

After the Croatian National Tourist Board launched the communication platform "Croatia Full of Magic" on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at the end of last year, which will be active for a few more days, a new online campaign, "Croatia Full of New Beginnings," marked #CroatiaWishList2021, will begin in target markets, reports Slobodna Dalmacija.

The beginning of the year is usually a period of travel planning. Still, as the coronavirus pandemic has turned all established patterns of life upside down, it has dealt one of the strongest blows to tourism. Its recovery will largely depend on the development of the pandemic, and in the Mediterranean, workers in the tourism industry agree, a battle will be fought for every guest. The keyword “safety” will play a significant role when choosing a holiday destination.

For example, Turkey, whose huge advertising budget Croatia cannot compete with, is conducting a fierce campaign on digital platforms under the slogan "Safe in Turkey," and on the website "Safe Tourism Go Turkey," it is possible to find everything a tourist needs to stay in that country - from potential accommodation and catering facilities to travel agencies, and transportation, with the indispensable label of safety.

Greece is also at a low start, where the introduction of COVID passports is mentioned. Tourism Minister Haris Theoharis announced that there would be two categories of tourists by the end of the pandemic, those who have not been vaccinated and those who have. For them, he explained, the condition for entering Greece would be neither quarantine nor a negative COVID test, but only a vaccination certificate and the option of mutually recognizing certificates between countries of departure and destination is being considered.

For those tourists who are not vaccinated, Greece plans to expand border control measures, which could affect the flow of guests and ultimately contribute to fewer holidays in the country. Minister Theoharis believes that the vaccination will affect tourist reservations from the countries they are interested in, namely Germany, Great Britain, Italy, and France.

Will Croatia implement special COVID protocols for tourists in 2021? And will Croatia introduce COVID passports? Slobodna Dalmacija asked Kristjan Staničić, director of the Croatian National Tourist Board (CNTB).

"Croatia is a very active member of the European Travel Commission (ETC) at whose last session the emphasis was placed on the importance of the post-pandemic recovery of tourism, i.e., the importance of implementing uniform health and hygiene protocols and promoting tourism and tourism products through joint promotional campaigns. In this context, a large global ETC campaign has been announced this year, and co-branding and transnational campaigns are planned, which will be partly co-financed by the European Union," says Kristjan Staničić, emphasizing that the level of security in Croatia will be further raised through active vaccination of tourism workers, who themselves are aware of how important the safety segment is in these market circumstances.

"The Ministry of Tourism and Sports is also preparing a special safety label that will be available to all tourism service providers if they meet all prescribed epidemiological safety measures and protocols. Namely, an important message to everyone is that the precondition for a successful season will be a high degree of vaccination of the population," adds the Croatian National Tourist Board director.

Thus, he reveals, the CNTB will launch a unique campaign in February that will highlight all the advantages of Croatia as a safe tourist destination through seven specially prepared "safety" videos, which will show all potential guests that Croatia is a well-prepared destination that guarantees a quality and safe stay.

"The campaign will be conducted on our subpage, which is updated daily with all relevant information related to travel in these new circumstances caused by the coronavirus pandemic. We will start implementing the main promotional and invitation campaigns in March, i.e., in the spring when the first major realization of tourist traffic in Croatian destinations is expected," says the Croatian National Tourist Board director.

He believes that this year, especially its first quarter, will be marked by the intensity of epidemiological measures being taken in significant markets to slow down and curb the coronavirus pandemic. Therefore, he explains, we cannot hope to establish more substantial tourist flows. Still, the arrival of spring and periods of nice weather will undoubtedly positively affect the epidemiological situation and travel.

"We expect a distinct last-minute demand, as well as that for safe, and at the same time quickly and easily accessible destinations. There will be greater demand for accommodation that provides additional security, such as holiday homes, accommodation on boats, in camps, and staying outdoors in nature. A positive effect is also expected from the vaccination of the population, which is confirmed, for example, by the data of the tour operator TUI Nordic, which recorded an increase in reservations as soon as the news of the vaccination process was published. In general, this year we expect, measured by overnight stays, achieving about 60 percent of the results from the record 2019, as well as maintaining the position of our country as one of the leading destinations in the Mediterranean," Kristjan Staničić concluded optimistically.

The online campaign "Croatia Full of New Beginnings" will be active until mid-February, focusing on 18 markets.
"The campaign aims to draw attention to Croatia through new beginnings and new beautiful and positive wishes in 2021. Visuals of lesser-known Croatian places will be used, with short and interesting stories as suggestions on what to visit, taste, and how to spend a holiday in Croatia. The focus will be on products such as eno-gastronomy, natural beauty, hiking trails, and nautical tourism. From the end of January, we will start implementing a special promotional campaign to position Croatia as an attractive destination for digital nomads, especially in the US, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, and Sweden," said the Croatian National Tourist Board.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

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September 21, 2020 - Croatia features on Safe Harbor, a show on the Nautical Channel, as a safe and desirable nautical destination. 

HRTurizam reports that the Croatian Tourist Board promoted nautical tourism on the TV show "Safe Harbor", which airs on the Nautical Channel and is watched by more than 200 million viewers in over 100 countries around the world.

A total of 20 five-minute shows will be broadcast from various Croatian nautical destinations to present Croatia as a safe and desirable nautical destination, attracting as many sailors as possible to our country.

Destinations that will be promoted through 20 shows on the Nautical Channel are Vis, Dubrovnik, Cres, Korcula, Rovinj, Split, Mali Losinj, Primosten, Rab, Brac, Skradin, Makarska, Pag, Murter, Omis, Vodice, Ugljan, Ston, Sibenik and Dugi Otok.

As pointed out by the Croatian National Tourist Board, in addition to the tourist offer of the destinations themselves, the shows will present various attractions for boaters, safe ports and bays, marinas, and a rich Croatian eno-gastronomic offer. Special emphasis was placed on Croatia's excellent traffic position and proximity to important markets, and staying on nautical vessels was highlighted as one of the safest forms of accommodation.

The Nautical Channel was created in 2011, by merging the Sailing Channel and the Yacht & Sail channel, and is broadcast via hundreds of well-known international platforms. The content of this program is focused on sailing and nautical sports, surfing, kite-boarding, nautical news, travel, and interviews with famous athletes.

As we know, nautical tourism is the first to open and close the tourist season in Croatia, with a fleet of over 4,300 vessels, more than 140 nautical ports with over 17,000 berths and over a million cruise passengers, Croatia is certainly a nautical superpower and one of the most important nautical destinations not only in the Mediterranean but also globally.

The average consumption of nautical tourists is 126 euro per day, and in the charter, 183 euro per day. More than 30 percent of that money is spent on other forms of tourism, from the cultural to wine and gastronomic offer, according to the research TOMAS NAUTIKA YACHTING 2017.

In the summer, nautical charter achieved 70 percent of last year's result, and only in the previous part of September, almost 200 nights in the nautical charter were realized.

This year, we also finally experienced an upgrade of Croatian nautical tourism.

Namely, the e-Citizens system, which currently has over 800,000 users, has been enhanced by three more e-services since the beginning of this year. One of the novelties, at least as far as tourism is concerned, is a new service via "e-Nautika".

Thus, from now on, through the "e-Nautika" service of the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, online registration of the arrival of a foreign vessel or Croatian boat in Croatian territorial waters is possible, for the purpose of payment and taking over the electronic confirmation of payment of the navigation safety fee. It also finally allows boaters to pay tourist tax online.

Thus, this year, a multilingual portal nautika.evisitor.hr was opened, which guides boaters in a simple and clear way through the process of registration and payment of tourist tax. 

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

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December 17, 2019 - Croatia should see a 4 percent increase in tourist traffic over the upcoming holidays compared to last year. 

According to a survey conducted by the Croatian National Tourist Board in conjunction with the system of tourist boards, during the Christmas and New Year holidays, that is, from December 20, 2019, to January 6, 2020, around 227,000 arrivals and 594,000 are expected across the whole of Croatia, which represents an estimated 4 percent increase in tourist traffic compared to the same period last year, the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) said.

“Croatian and foreign tourists are increasingly recognizing and praising the quality offer of Croatian destinations in the winter, both on the continent and on the coast, but also on the islands. This is precisely the right direction in trying to position Croatia as a destination with an attractive and diverse offer throughout the year, i.e., an evener distribution of tourist traffic throughout the year,” said the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board, Kristjan Staničić.

Looking at the announcements of tourist traffic in the counties along the Adriatic, the coast during the Christmas and New Year holidays expects about 126,000 arrivals and 383,000 overnights, which is an increase in traffic of about 2 percent, while the continent expects around 100,000 arrivals and 211,000 overnights, which represents tourist growth of about 6 percent.

The most significant tourist traffic on the coast is expected in Istria, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Split-Dalmatia and Dubrovnik-Neretva counties, while in continental Croatia, the highest tourist traffic is expected in the city of Zagreb, and Krapina-Zagorje, Međimurje and Karlovac counties, according to the Croatian National Tourist Board. 

Recall, Zagreb Advent will run until January 7, 2020, while those on the coast, like Advent in Split, will only run until January 2, 2020. 

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.

Croatia Airlines has announced that it will join the Croatia National Tourist Board in a new campaign next April named “Full of Taste”.

“The Croatia Airlines Full of Taste project will be a gastronomic and enological presentation of Croatia on our aircraft. We will work together with renowned Croatian chefs, restaurants, wineries, wholesalers, and other local producers of autochthonous Croatian products,” said Jasmin Bajić, CEO of Croatia Airlines, for Ex Yu Aviation on June 20, 2019.

"Every six months, in summer and winter, we will completely change our onboard menus and their visual presentation in accordance with the various concepts of the Croatian gastronomic map, in order to further elevate the passenger experience,” Bajić concluded.

Recall, this news comes after the airline introduced a new menu for business class travelers, which will further promote Croatia's tourist and gastronomic offer. The new gastronomic offer on flights was created by the celebrated Croatian chef Dino Galvagno and Leopold Botteria of Uje Oil Bar, partners with whom Croatia Airlines launched the project ‘Inspired Croatia’ at the end of 2016, in which business class passengers are offered meals prepared using native recipes and ingredients of the coastal and continental Croatia.

The new business class menu, which was introduced on board on June 19, is primarily motivated by the dishes of Zagreb cuisine such as ham, turkey with mlinci, kale with minced meat, štrukli, and other dishes made from local ingredients which have been used in these areas for centuries and are found in all Croatian kitchens. 

As a national carrier and a company that continuously improves service, Croatia Airlines wants to offer added value to passengers within these projects and bring them closer to the gastronomic wealth of Croatia through taste, smell and color,  concluded the airline in their announcement.

Croatia Airlines was also named among Eastern Europe's best airlines at the World Airline Awards as part of the Paris Air Show on Tuesday. Namely, Croatia Airlines came in 8th place in the top 10 carriers of Eastern Europe. Air Serbia cam in 4th, while Adria Airways came in 9th. 

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

ZAGREB, January 26, 2019 - The Croatian Tourism Board (HTZ) won an award for best promotional video in competition with 58 videos presented by 11 countries at the Fitur international travel show in Madrid on Friday, the HTZ said.

The video "Croatia, Full of Life" was promoted on the Spanish market under the title Los Embajadores del Turismo Croata, or Ambassadors of Croatian Tourism. It features footballers Luka Modrić, Ivan Rakitić, Mario Mandžukić, Dejan Lovren and Mateo Kovačić, tennis player Marin Ćilić, basketball player Dario Šarić, painist Maksim Mrvica and the duo 2Cellos.

The Grand Prix Fitur Award was accepted by Viviana Vukelić, head of the HTZ office in Italy, which covers Spain. The award was presented for the first time.

Awards were given in other categories as well, and the videos "We Love Zagreb" and "Dubrovnik Riviera" were shortlisted.

The Fitur fair is one of the largest travel shows in Europe. It opened on Wednesday and closes on Sunday evening. Eight Croatian tourism companies and travel agencies are present at this year's exhibition.

The number of Spanish tourists visiting Croatia increased by 14% in 2018 from the previous year, and their number is expected to continue to grow thanks to new flight services between the two countries and the popularity of Croatia after its national football team reached the World Cup finals in Russia last year.

Croatian destinations are becoming increasingly attractive to Spaniards, and all year round, the HTZ said. Last year, 290,000 Spanish tourists visited Croatia, up 14% over 2017, generating 641,000 bed-nights, which is an increase of 13%.

One of the reasons for the growth are flight services, as five airlines fly between the two countries - Croatia Airlines, Iberia, Iberia Express, Vueling and Norwegian Air.

"We expect a further increase in the number of tourists from the Spanish market, and not just Spaniards, but also visitors from Portugal and Latin America," said Jelena Babić of the Zagreb-based travel agency Abacus Tours.

More news on the Croatian Tourism board can be found in the Travel section.