ZAGREB, November 7, 2019 - The Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) and Croatian National Tourism Board (HTZ) on Thursday, presented Croatia's economy and tourism at the China international import expo, which is being held in Shanghai from November 5 to 10.

This is the 2nd edition of the China International Import Expo (CIIE) with more than 150,000 Chinese and foreign buyers and exhibitors from more than 100 countries and Croatia is participating in the expo with its "Croatia Day" exhibition which has enabled numerous contacts between Croatian companies and Chinese partners, HGK and HTZ informed on Thursday.

HGK president, Luka Burilović, said that the Chinese market is no longer reserved for only the most courageous and that the door to the Chinese market is open for the entire world.

"This is an opportunity that we must not miss and this fair is proof that China is turning to imports and reducing its trade surplus. It is important for us to be permanently present here. Our exports to China increased by 25% last year alone which is proof that we can compete on such a large market. On the wings of good indicators and good political relations it is time for even more concrete results," Burilović said.

He added that last year's expo was beyond expectations and business deals valued at 50.8 billion dollars were concluded and that he hopes that Croatian companies will manage to get a piece of that cake, too.

HTZ director Kristjan Staničić underscored that Croatia's exhibition was awarded this year and that this is the 2nd time this year for Croatia to presented its tourism on such an important market.

Staničić explained that so far this year the number of Chinese tourists to Croatia has increased by 24% in arrivals and bed nights year on year, with China being in second place in terms of the number of tourists from distant tourist markets.

According to China's national tourist board, 200 million Chinese residents are expected to travel abroad in 2020 and HTZ expects the number of tourists coming to Europe and Croatia to increase too.

He added that this year 483 Chinese tourist agents completed internet courses on Croatia's culture, nature, gastronomy and adventure tourism.

During the expo Staničić met with one of the most important Chinese partners, Shendi Group and Ctrip for talks on future cooperation.

Ctrip is the largest online tourist agency in China and the second largest in the world and the largest advertiser of hotels and accommodation in China with more than 300 million users in more than 220 countries.

More news about Croatian tourism can be found in the Travel section.

ZAGREB, November 5, 2019 - Regardless of the outcome of Brexit, the current announcements from British market partners show that the number of British tourists visiting Croatia in 2020 could be the same as this year and anything more would be a step forward, Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said on Monday, the first day of the World Travel Market in London.

The 40th WTM is taking place on November 4-6 and the first day focused on Brexit, its uncertain outcome and its possible consequences for tourism in the UK and the many countries Britons visit.

"Croatia is an already recognisable destination which Britons like to visit, more and more of them every year, and although we can't yet be sure what 2020 will be like on that market, we are confident the results will be the same as this year when, by early November, close to 900,000 of their tourists arrived, generating 4.5 million nights. Those are growths of 4% and 3% in relation to 2018," Cappelli said.

He said the tourism ministers of Greece, Albania, Cyprus and Portugal, with whom he talked at the WTM, as well as UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of Tourism Helen Whately, shared those thoughts.

After visiting the Croatian stand and talking with Cappelli and National Tourist Board director Kristjan Staničić, she said cooperation in everything remained very important.

Brexit makes tourist deals and travel a little uncertain, but we are not that concerned because we see that partners from the world want to continue to work with us. Also, regardless of the outcome, we want to continue the close long-term cooperation also with partners in the EU, in which Croatia is certainly important, Whately said.

Cappelli and Staničić said new five-year contracts were signed at the WTM with British airline EasyJet to increase the number of flights to Croatia as of next year, including a contract with Pula Airport.

Pula Airport director Svemir Radmilo and EasyJet's UK manager Nail Slaven said the contract was excellent for both sides and that they expected the number of passengers to increase from the current 150,000 to 250,000.

That will benefit not only the City of Pula and Istria County but other destinations in Croatia as well, said Radmilo.

He said market research showed that Britons were satisfied with the price-quality ratio in Croatian tourism, but added that it was necessary to continue to innovate and raise product quality, notably in segments important to Britons such as boating, gastronomy and culture.

More news about Croatian tourism can be found in the Travel section.

ZAGREB, November 3, 2019 - The year 2020 will be a watershed for Croatian tourism because of a reform of the system, Croatia's Council of the EU presidency and participation in Expo Dubai, the state secretary at the Tourism Ministry, Tonči Glavina, said at a Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) meeting.

The meeting decided on a 2020 public call for the "Sporting Croatia" project as well as on cooperation in the filming of a show for the Chinese market. It also endorsed a draft agreement on the promotion of Croatian tourism during the EU presidency in the first half of 2020.

Glavina said that and participation in Expo Dubai in the second half of the year were excellent opportunities for Croatia to present its business and cultural products. "That's why next year we wish to put special emphasis on all the best that Croatia offers, linking different business and cultural segments in order to present them in the best way possible."

HTZ director Kristjan Staničić said the meeting also discussed promotional guidelines and activities in 2020.

The 2020 "Sporting Croatia" project envisages special forms of marketing and PR cooperation as part of sporting projects and events which position Croatia as an attractive year-round tourist destination and which strengthen the national tourist brand.

More tourism news can be found in the Travel section.

ZAGREB, October 25, 2019 - The Croatian National Tourism Board (HTZ) on Friday informed that Croatia has already generated a tourist turnover so far this year which is equal to the figures for the entire year last year.

Thus 19.7 million arrivals and 106.2 million bed nights have been recorded year to date.

According to data kept by the eVisitor, the number of arrivals is up 5% and there are 106.2 million bed nights or 2% more than for the entire year last year.

Last year there were 19.7 million arrivals all up and 106.1 million bed nights.

The most bed nights were spent by tourists from Germany, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Poland, Italy, Czech Republic and Great Britain.

Dubrovnik, Rovinj, Poreč, Split, Medulin, Umag, Vir, Mali Lošinj are the most desirable destinations.

The results broken down by type of accommodation indicate that the most bed nights were generated in household accommodation (38.8 mn), hotels (24.4 mn) and campsites (18.8 mn).

In other tourism news, in 2018, 1.7 million Croatian citizens or 46.5% of the population aged 15 and over went on at least one private trip with overnight stays spending a total of 8.7 billion kuna, 3.8 billion of which was spent in Croatia and 4.8 billion abroad the latest data released by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS) indicate.

The DZS conducted a telephone survey on a sample of 22,000 citizens regarding their tourist activities.

About 1.9 million or 53.5% of Croatian citizens did not go on a private trip with overnight stays in 2018 with the most common reason being lack of finances (51%), health reasons (28.4%), and lack of free time (17.7%).

A total of 4.3 million private trips with overnight stays were realised, of which 2.8 million (64.0%) were realised in Croatia and 1.6 million (36.0%) were realised abroad. The most common international destinations were Bosnia and Herzegovina (21.7%), Germany (13.3%), Slovenia (9.6%), Italy (9.2%) and Austria (7.9%).

The most common reasons for going on a private trip with overnight stays were seaside vacation (1.4 million trips or 31.2%) and visiting relatives and friends (1.3 million trips or 30.6%).

"Average travel expenditure per private trip with overnight stays in Croatia amounted to 1,395 kuna, while for trips abroad, it amounted to 3 076 kuna," the DZS says.

More tourism news can be found in the Travel section.

ZAGREB, October 22, 2019 - The Croatian Camping Union (KUH) is organising a convention in the northern spa town of Sveti Martin na Muri on October 22 and 23 to discuss current results and industry trends.

The event will bring together all relevant sectoral and institutional stakeholders, and will also feature an exhibition of equipment, mobile homes and glamping tents.

The convention kicks off on Tuesday with lectures and workshops on visitor response from several markets and technological possibilities for campsites to increase their revenues, including the use of artificial intelligence.

The opening ceremony will be held on Wednesday and will be followed by a discussion on this year's results, the impact of climate on the camping and tourism industry and other topics. The convention will close with the presentation of awards to the best campsites.

So far this year the Croatian camping sector has recorded a 0.4% drop in the number of overnight stays compared to last year.

Speaking to Hina ahead of the convention, KUH director Adriano Palman said he was satisfied with this year's results given that initial projections indicated a decline of as much as 5%.

"Considering the achievements this year, when the camping sector in most Mediterranean countries was in a worse situation than Croatia's, and the excellent results of the Croatian tourism industry in recent years, we cannot be dissatisfied with this year," Palman said.

Palman said that the quality of the camping services in Croatia had been improved considerably in recent years, noting that the German automobile association ADAC, which publishes a travel guide to Europe's campsites, ranked Croatia second, after the Netherlands. He said that the Croatian camping industry had the potential to become the most competitive in the Mediterranean.

More news about camping in Croatia can be found in the Travel section.

ZAGREB, October 10, 2019 - A total of 18.8 million tourists visited Croatia in the first nine months of 2019, up 4.5% year on year, and they generated almost 103 million overnight stays, an increase of 2% y-o-y, the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) said on Wednesday.

The data collected by the eVisitor system was published on the HTZ website, indicating that in the period from January to September, almost 17 million foreign tourists visited Croatia, an increase of 4% compared to the same period last year, generating 90.4 million bed nights, up 1.3%.

Domestic tourists accounted for 2 million arrivals, which is an increase of 9.3% y-o-y and they generated an increase of 7% in bed nights or a total of almost 12.5 million.

Domestic tourists accounted for the second-most numerous group, after Germans.

According to HTZ figures, 44% of all bed nights were generated in family accommodation, 26% in hotels or in absolute numbers 38.2 million bed nights were in family accommodation or 2.6% more y-o-y while bed nights in hotels increased by 1.6% or almost 23 million.

"So far in October 350,000 more tourists have been recorded, which is an increase of 6% compared to the same period in 2018 and an even greater increase of 10% has been recorded in bed nights, or 1.3 million," HTZ concluded.

More news about Croatian tourism can be found in the Travel section.

October 8, 2019 - Conde Nast Traveler is one of the most widely read and recognized travel magazines in the world. A mere mention of a country or destination contributes to its popularity and helps to brand it as one of the top travel hotspots around the globe. Fans of Croatia can confirm this.

HRTurizam writes that each year, as part of the Readers' Choice Awards, Conde Nast readers vote through an online survey for their favorites in categories ranging from best countries and cities to islands, hotels, airlines and cruise companies. More than 600,000 readers took part in this year's survey, which was held from April 1 to July 30.

While we’re not surprised, readers of the renowned New York travel bible ranked Croatia as the 20th most popular country in the world.

You can see the top 20 countries below

1. Indonesia 92.78

2. Thailand 92.37

3. Portugal 91.94

4. Sri Lanka 91.79

5. South Africa 91.59

6. Peru 91.28

7. Greece 91.18

8. Philippines 90.63

9. Italy 90.62

10. Vietnam 90.46

11. Turkey 90.15

12. Japan 89.74

13. Mexico 89.7

14. Tanzania 89.62

15. Israel 89.54

16. Colombia 89.41

17. New Zealand 89.11

18. Ireland 89.08

19. Cambodia 89.03

20. Croatia 88.83

You might recall that just last month, the same magazine named Croatia one of the 40 most beautiful countries in the world. 

“Poised between the Balkans and central Europe, Croatia is a land of limestone caves, undulating fields, and white pebble beaches. The country's most famous waters are found inland at the Plitvice Lakes National Park, a system of waterfalls, caves, and 16 terraced lakes that cover the entire blue-green color spectrum. The Adriatic Sea coast is truly unrivaled, speckled with more than 1,000 islands surrounded by impossibly clear water. The Dinaric Alps provide even more sublime views and help contribute to Croatia's overall landscape—the craggy peaks and caverns near the coast transition to rolling farmland in the northeast Hrvatsko Zagorje region,” Conde Nast wrote on September 11, 2019. 

“Choosing Croatia as one of the top tourist destinations in the world is the latest in a series of confirmations that our country enjoys the status of a top-rated and fast-growing destination in the large and crucial American market. This, in addition to numerous awards and recognitions, is confirmed by the tourist turnover achieved so far this year, in which American tourists achieved almost 600,000 arrivals and more than 1.6 million overnights, which represents a growth of 12 percent compared to the same period last year, " Croatian Tourist Board director Kristjan Stanicic said, emphasizing that when it comes to distant markets, the largest turnover in Croatia comes from the US.

In addition to publishing the results on the web, they will also be published in the print version of the magazine in the US and UK.

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

ZAGREB, October 3, 2019 - Croatia's five Slavonian counties want to develop tourism, they invest in tourism and other infrastructure and in specific types of services, and they have been recording increases in visits, it was said at an event marking the start of Croatian Tourism Days in the eastern town of Vukovar on Wednesday.

The heads and deputy heads of the five Slavonian counties attending the event expressed confidence that tourism could be a lever of development of the entire region, notably its economy.

Croatian Tourism Days will be taking place in the five counties on October 2-4, with Vukovar, Vinkovci and Osijek as the host towns. Attending the opening ceremony at Vukovar's Eltz Manor were several hundred guests, mostly tourism workers from around Croatia, local officials and politicians.

The heads of the five Slavonian counties underlined the need for tourism to help revitalise the region, notably its villages and agricultural production.

Speakers at the event agreed that with the restoration of cultural and historical heritage, notably castles and monuments, and with the promotion of cycling infrastructure, wine and food production, and conditions for hunting and other forms of tourism, the five counties could only prosper.

Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said that the government would soon present a strategic marketing plan for tourism in Slavonia, which was made in cooperation with the five counties and which would define guidelines for tourism development in that region. The people of Slavonia want to and know how to develop tourism, and some have already done a great deal of work and I thank them for that, he said.

Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) head Luka Burilović said that Slavonia faced several major challenges in the development of tourism, including primarily the development of agricultural and food production, for which it had always been known.

"It is necessary to increase the number of hotels as there are not enough hotels, as well as deal with the issue of labour force and wages and work as many months a year as possible to reduce seasonality. But tourism in not a magic wand that can solve all the problems of Slavonia, a lot of work is needed and it can encourage changes in other sectors as well," he said.

Before the opening event, Minister Cappelli visited Ilok where he signed contracts with 60 recipients of the Tourism Ministry's funds for development of tourism infrastructure.

During Croatian Tourism Days, tourist workers and local officials will visit Kutjevo, Slavonski Brod, Požega, Osijek, Vukovar and Vinkovci.

This is the first time the annual conference of tourism professionals is being held in the country's interior.

More news about Croatian tourism can be found in the Travel section.

ZAGREB, October 1, 2019 - The Croatian National Bank (HNB) on Monday presented a revision of statistics on relations with foreign countries, which reveals an increase in gross foreign debt in the period from 2000 to 2018, most of which happened at the end of 2018, in the amount of close to €3.9 billion, and a decrease in the current account balance of payments in all the years since 2002, ranging from €21 million to 974 million.

In line with the revision practice of euro area member-states, in 2019 a major revision of statistics of relations with foreign countries was undertaken, which primarily refers to data on the balance of payments, the state of international investments, as well as data on foreign debt, HNB vice-governor Roman Šubić said.

Major statistical revisions are done every five years, and the most important improvements refer to data on tourism revenues and their impact on the balance of payments, to the inclusion of informal worker remittances, imports of vehicles from the EU by natural persons, as well as trade credits with the maturity period of up to six months, i.e. deferred payment.

In line with the new methodology, historical data were revised as well, in some segments back to the year 2000, HNB officials said.

The revision of data on gross foreign debt reveals an increase in debt in all the years since 2000, in the range of about €1.3 billion to 3.9 billion.

That growth was mostly due to the inclusion into foreign debt of trade credits, i.e. credits which companies or suppliers grant to Croatian buyers borrowing abroad, for the purchase of their goods and services, with a maturity period of six months.

An HNB analysis shows that the situation in the period from 2016 to 2018 was undervalued by 17-21% on the expenditure side, that is, when a buyer from the country buys a product or a service abroad with a maturity period of six months.

The central bank's revised data show that gross foreign debt at the end of 2018 totalled €42.7 billion, €3.9 billion more than according to the old methodology (€38.8 billion).

Data for 2019 show a further increase in foreign debt, which at the end of the second quarter amounted to €44.6 billion.

The revision found that the amount of tourism revenues in the balance of payments was overestimated, primarily due to the estimated number of foreign tourists visiting Croatia. The new calculation of tourism revenues uses methods based on a combination of physical indicators and indicators of average spending by foreign tourists.

The revision of data from 2003 revealed a decrease in revenues from foreign tourists by between €500 million and 1.1 billion, which has had a negative impact on the current account balance. The new data for 2018 show that revenues from foreign tourists were €600 million lower, reaching €9.5 billion, while according to previous, unrevised data they amounted to €10.1 billion.

Šubić says that there has been a change to the data collection methodology, adding that data from the State Bureau of Statistics were used before, while now far more detailed data from the Ministry of the Interior are used.

"These data track the number of foreign tourist arrivals. The possibility of monitoring the number of vehicles entering the country makes is possible to estimate the number of passengers per vehicle and ensure better statistics," he said.

Explaining the method now used to calculate tourism revenues, he said that the estimated number of foreign visitors is multiplied by their average spending.

Also included in the balance of payments are informal worker remittances because it was noticed that Croatian workers returning home from abroad used informal channels for money transfers. As a result of their inclusion, the current account balance increased by between €174 million and 326 million.

The revision also covered changes in used car imports from the EU by natural persons. Previously, official statistics covered only car imports conducted by legal entities, which had a negative impact on the current account balance ranging from €41 million in 2013 to €317 million in 2018.

Šubić said that it was in everyone's interest to have as accurate and comprehensive statistics as possible that could be comparable on an international level.

More economic news can be found in the Business section.

ZAGREB, September 24, 2019 - Croatia is developing all-year-round tourism, as evidenced by this year's results when financial and physical output data for the shoulder season, that is for the pre-season, showed the biggest rise, and increases like that are expected for the post-season too, Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said at a conference on this topic on Tuesday.

The third edition of the annual conference "Can the Croatian Tourism 365?" was organised by the Julius Rose company and brought together a number of domestic and foreign experts who are "ready to share their knowledge and positive experiences and participate in well-conducted panel discussions", the organiser says on the website of the conference.

Commenting on efforts to develop year-round tourism, Minister Cappelli said that headway had been made in many segments of this sector by high-quality approaches and models to extend the tourist season.

He said that the ongoing extension of the season was not happening by chance and that it was the result of endeavours by all stakeholders in the tourist trade.

The minister says that these efforts have been supported, among other things, by the government's decision to allocate over 70 million kuna in the last two years for an increase in air traffic, "as a result of which the flight season has been extended by more than 30 days in both years, bringing more and more tourists to hotels, travel agencies, airports and elsewhere."

Cappelli reassured the conference that the authorities would continue implementing these measures in 2020, too.

He mentioned the organisation of the Croatian Tourism Days in Slavonia soon.

The Tourism Ministry has recently made public the programme of this year's Croatian Tourism Days, to be held in a number of towns in the region of Slavonia on October 2-4, which is the first time the traditional meeting of tourism workers will be organised in inland Croatia.

Dragan Kovačević of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) told the conference that digital technologies also played an important role in plans to develop year-round tourism. He informed the conference of forecasts that this year's tourism revenues might markedly exceed last year's result of 12 billion euro.

More news about Croatian tourism can be found in the Travel section.