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, September 15, 2019 - 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.

More than 1,000 participants, tourism professionals and other actors in Croatia's tourism and related sectors, as well as central and local government officials and foreign guests, will attend the event, organised by the Tourism Ministry, the Croatian Tourism Board (HTZ) and the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK).

Recalling that the incumbent government placed emphasis on the economic development of Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem, Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said that Croatian Tourism Days would be held in the country's easternmost regions in order to additionally accentuate the importance of regional tourism.

HTZ director Kristjan Staničić said that Slavonia and the continental part of the country had great potential for year-round tourism and that the HTZ's activities were geared towards promoting continental tourism.

"This year's two-digit increase in tourist turnover in inland Croatia proves that the continental part of the country has exceptional potential for further growth and development," he said.

Croatian Tourism Days will be held in all five Slavonian counties, which HGK head Luka Burilović said had a lot to offer to visitors - a rich cultural heritage, splendid scenery and an increasingly diverse cuisine, which is the main reason for visiting Croatia for around 30% of guests.

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

ZAGREB, August 19, 2019 - The Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) has launched a huge marketing campaign to promote Croatia's off-season tourism on 14 European markets.

The campaign, which will last until 31 October, will be run in Germany, Austria, Poland, Italy, Great Britain, Hungary, The Netherlands, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia and Spain.

In a press release on Monday, HTZ said that the marketing activities would be conducted via offline and online communication channels - television, print, display panels, YouTube and social networks such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

The campaign is particularly focused on activities in nautical tourism and promoting local cuisine and wines and Croatia's scenery and cultural heritage as the main motives for tourists to visit Croatia in that period.

HTZ Director Kristjan Staničić was quoted as saying that until the end of October a marked number of flight services will connect Croatia with Austria, Great Britain, USA and France and that tourists from these destinations prefer to travel in the post season.

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

ZAGREB, July 22, 2019 - In order for Croatia to keep its position on the tourist market and successfully fight the competition, it is necessary to increase funding for promotion on European markets as of next year already and expand activities overseas, National Tourist Board (HTZ) director Kristjan Staničić has told Hina.

This year, like in 2018, the focus is on China, where the HTZ opened an office in Shanghai last year and where it will attend the China International Import Expo in November. That same month there will be promotion in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, in Singapore in October, while in September the HTZ and the Slovenian Tourist Organisation will hold joint promotional events in Seoul and Tokyo.

Staničić says the US, South Korea, Canada, Japan and Australia are also important overseas markets this year, with increases recorded in all of them in the first half of the year, by almost 20% in arrivals and 10% in nights. Plans include promotion in India and South America as well.

In September and October, the HTZ will open offices in Los Angeles and Seoul, Staničić says, adding that focus on overseas markets will partly reduce the dependence of Croatian tourism on European markets and stimulate turnover in the off-seasons.

He says the HTZ plans to open an office in Madrid, with a decision expected by the end of the year.

As for European markets, he says this year's turnover is better or the same as last year, with a mild decrease in some of them, but notes that the peak July and August weeks are still ahead.

Staničić says the HTZ's promotional campaigns and cooperation with PR agencies in those markets contribute to results.

A recent survey conducted in the eight most important markets - Germany, Austria, the UK, Italy, Sweden, France, the Netherlands and Poland - shows that awareness of Croatia's tourism brand has risen from 57% in 2013 to 72% last year, he says, while understanding of the brand and what Croatia offers has risen from 25% to 31%.

Those percentages show that there are about 18 million potential visitors from those markets aware of Croatia's tourism brand now, he adds.

Staničić also credits the communication activities of local tourist boards, hotel companies and tour operators.

He says the HTZ is currently promoting Croatia in 18 European markets on TV, in key print media and on social media as well as in cooperation with world travel platforms and media such as Lonely Planet, TripAdvisor and the BBC.

A recent campaign with Expedia in the US has resulted in "more than 16 million impressions... the booking of 5,900 nights and the purchase of 7,900 airline tickets for Croatia totalling 2.8 million dollars," says Staničić.

He adds that by the end of the year the HTZ will promote the shoulder season in a number of European markets as well as health tourism, business tourism and Advent, while in cooperation with the Tourism Ministry it is preparing a special campaign to motivate domestic tourists to travel around the country in the post-summer season.

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

The Croatian National Tourist Board, or HTZ, organized a presentation of the Croatian tourist offer in Australia for the first time in history, reports HRTurizam on July 4, 2019. 

After a successful week-long presentation in Melbourne, there was an even bigger interest in Croatia in Sydney, said HTZ, where the Croatian tourist offer was presented to leading Australian tour operators and 82 Australian tourist agents. This workshop was organized in cooperation with the Slovenian Tourist Board under the slogan "Experience Croatia, Feel Slovenia".

"I must admit that the interest in Croatia and Croatia's tourist offer in Australia exceeded our expectations. We presented to the leading Australian tour operators who already offer Croatia their programs, but what is especially delightful for many tourist agents is that they want to cooperate with Croatian tourist companies because of the great interest of Australians traveling to our country,” said the HTZ director Kristjan Staničić, adding that this year, Croatia is focusing on increasing the country’s promotion in faraway markets such as China, the United States, Canada, Singapore, South Korea and especially Australia.

As highlighted by the HTZ, the presentation in Sydney was attended by tour operator Experience Croatia & More, a company with more than 40 years of experience in the tourism industry that first introduced Croatia as a tourist destination on the Australian market; Greece and Mediterranean Travel Center, an Australian agency specializing in the sale of Greece, Egypt, Italy, Spain, Malta and Croatia; Excite Holidays, the leading Australian, but also global, travel platform for travel, accommodation, transportation and Sun Island Tours, specializing in the sale of Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey.

"The interest of Australians traveling to Croatia year after year is growing, they are travelers who do not like, but love adrenaline, sports, good fun and great food, and your country is abundant in that. Croatian Australians want to see and explore,” said Paul Polyviou, CEO of Sun Island Tours, praising the release of a special brochure devoted exclusively to cruise journeys on the Croatian coast this year.

The city of Zagreb looks forward to being a ‘city break’ destination.

"The Australian market is extremely important to our city because Australian guests stay longer in the destination, and for them, Zagreb is a great value for money and is the starting or ending point of a long journey to Croatia and the neighboring countries. Zagreb is presented as a year-round destination with countless events all year long, and this is exactly what is important as we recognize it as a ‘city break’ destination in Australia. Another focus is also on health tourism which is of particular interest to tourists from Australia, and the rich cultural offer the city of Zagreb makes it one of the most important cultural and tourist destinations,” said Zagreb Tourist Board Director Martina Bienenfeld.

Since 2015, Zagreb has recorded a steady rise in visitors from Australia. In 2018, there were 30,636 arrivals and 64,288 overnights, which is an increase of 81 percent in arrivals and 91 percent in overnight stays compared to the year before. 

Luka Olivari, a representative of Rijeka - European Capital of Culture 2020, noted that Rijeka was highly acclaimed by Australian travel agents. "Australian tourist workers are particularly interested in art, education and pop culture, which Rijeka has been at the forefront of for years. Rijeka has so far been a lesser known destination for Australian travelers and these workshops have contributed to increasing the tourist attractiveness of the whole region and strengthens the identity of the city,” concluded Olivari.

In order to fully complete the promotion of the Croatian tourist offer in Australia, the Croatian tourist delegation will host a presentation on Friday, July 5th, in front of twenty leading Australian travel and lifestyle media like Travmedia, Get Lost Magazine, Marie Claire, Gourmet Traveler, Travel Weekly Australia on July 5th in Sydney , SBS, Harper's Bazaar, Travel Tolk, KarryOn, Escape, Luxury Travel Magazine, MiNDFOOD, The Australian Women's Weekly, and more. 

The presentation and workshops were attended by 11 Croatian tourist entities, namely TZ Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Rijeka - European Capital of Culture 2020, Croatia Airlines, TZ Zagreb, TZ Dubrovnik, Katarina Line Cruises & Tours, Atlas Plus, Navigare Yachting, Bagatin Clinic, Aronda Adriana Travel and Olivari while Slovenia's tourist offer was represented by four Slovenian partners such as KNM Travel, Ljubljana tourism & Ljubljana Castle, Palma travel DMC and Happy tours.

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

On the first big Saturday for Croatian tourism this summer where thousands of tourists will intensify the borders crossings in the country, the Croatian National Tourist Board, or HTZ, has decided to help travelers cool off upon their arrival with a welcome water bottle, announced their official website on June 14, 2019. 

Namely, the action will take place on Saturday, June 15, at the border crossings of Bregana, Macelj, Plovanija, and Rupa and the Lučko toll station. The water bottles will be distributed with the message "Croatia's crystal clear waters are yours to discover! Welcome to Croatia and Discover more at Croatia.hr” along with a special tag that promotes the Croatian islands. The Croatian Tourist Board will distribute a total of 50,000 water bottles on Saturday morning at the specified border crossings. 

"The goal of this action is to further promote Croatia as a country of friendly and good hosts and express gratitude to numerous tourists who have chosen Croatian destinations for their holiday. The crowds and the heat are heightened this weekend, and with this gesture to our guests, we want to make the wait as easy and pleasant as possible,” said Director of the Croatian Tourist Board Kristjan Staničić.

While this action is admirable and awfully generous, we do wish that the Croatian Tourist Board considered the environmental impact of a single water bottle. Namely, it can take up to 1,000 years for one plastic water bottle to degrade! So, if you're one of the thousands receiving a water bottle from HTZ on Saturday, please dispose of it properly. 

But that doesn't mean that other Croatian companies aren't joining the anti-plastic movement. Recall, Croatia Airlines recently announced that they’re trading plastic cups for paper on board all of their flights.

“In line with current trends and legal requirements in the area of environmental protection, Croatia Airlines is discontinuing the use of plastic cups on all flights as of today. The use of paper cups will additionally raise the quality of our services, as well as promote a positive relationship towards the environment,” the airline announced on their Facebook page. 

Thus, by switching to paper cups, Croatia Airlines will remove around 26 tons of plastic waste annually. 

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

ZAGREB, May 22, 2019 - Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) and Lonely Planet, one of the world's leading travel platforms, have launched a page dedicated to Croatia, "Discover Croatia", with four new videos of Croatian destinations, the HTZ said on Wednesday.

Two videos, made in cooperation with the HTZ, show the eastern region of Slavonia as "Croatia's best kept secret", with emphasis on its wines, cuisine and the cultural and historical heritage, and the central coastal town of Zadar as a destination for outdoor adventures such as hiking in Paklenica National Park or sailing in the Kornati National Park.

The two other videos were made by a Lonely Planet team in the Zagorje and Međimurje regions in the north of the country, with emphasis on their castles, and in Istria, focusing on truffle hunting.

The material will be shown in Great Britain, Germany, Poland, Sweden, Italy and Austria.

HTZ director Kristjan Staničić said effective tourism promotion nowadays was unimaginable without cooperation with the world's leading media platforms such as Lonely Planet, which he said logs 13 million visits a month.

Lonely Planet creative director Matt Parish said he was proud the platform could contribute to Croatia's promotion in the world, describing it as a destination, rich in diversity that was made for discovery.

Croatia's northern Adriatic peninsula of Istria has received Lonely Planet's prestigious Best in Europe 2019 award.

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

ZAGREB, May 19, 2019 - Croatian tourism won two prestigious awards at the ITB China travel exhibition which took place in Shanghai on May 15-17, for the "Game of Thrones" film tour in Dubrovnik and for the cooperation with the Slovenian Tourism Organisation, the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) has said.

Croatia's products were presented as part of the European Travel Commission stand together with 22 other European subjects, including the Rijeka 2020 European Capital of Culture and the Zagreb Tourist Board.

Croatia won the award for the "Game of Thrones" film tour in Dubrovnik as part of the "It's My World Travel Awards 2019" in the "Amazing Travel Experiences of the Year" category. The awards are presented by ITB China and Qyer, a portal aimed at Chinese tourists which is used by over 100 million people around the world, the HTZ said.

The HTZ won the "CTW Chinese Welcome Award" together with the Slovenian Tourism Organisation for the "Experience Croatia, Feel Slovenia" project in the "Internet & Media“ category. The award is presented by the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute.

The two awards were accepted by HTZ director Kristjan Staničić, who said they held special importance in 2019, which was declared the Croatian-Chinese Year of Culture and Tourism.

The northern Adriatic city of Rijeka was presented as the 2020 European Capital of Culture as cultural tourism is one of the most in-demand products on the Chinese market, Staničić said, adding that the Chinese turnover on the Croatian market this year so far was 60% higher than at the same time in 2018.

Staničić also met with representatives of the Chinese tourism sector.

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

As Morski writes on the 2nd of May, 2019, the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) has established a successful cooperation with the BBC, one of the largest and most respected media outlets in the world.

This cooperation includes the full production of three sixty second videos that will showcase the Republic of Croatia as an attractive year-round destination, the production of three articles with accompanying video footage for the BBC platform, as well as advertising and activity on all online BBC platforms from May to September on twelve key broadcasting markets.

''Cooperation between the Croatian Tourist Board and the BBC is one of the great examples of cooperation and working together with foreign entities on the promotion of Croatian tourism. We're exceptionally proud that such a large media group, achieving the reach of 454 million households around the world, has recognised the significance and potential of Croatia as a tourist destination. I'm sure that all the material shot, as well as all of the other activities, will significantly contribute to the visibility of Croatia, and thus to achieve even better tourist results this year,'' said HTZ's director Kristjan Staničić.

The BBC recording crew visited Osijek, Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik, Klis, NP Paklenica and other destinations where they recorded eno-gastronomic themes, cultural and historical heritage, active tourism offers and other interesting tourist attractions focusing on the locations of the world famous "Game of Thrones" hit series.

Other activities within this cooperation include content placement via BBC Story Works social network channels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and the creation of websites on BBC.com where there will be video and written material about Croatia. The markets covered by this cooperation, and on which the materials will be presented, are Germany, USA, Austria, Russia, Italy, France, Poland, Czech Republic, Sweden, Norway, Belgium and Switzerland.

It's worth mentioning that the BBC network reaches as many as 308 million individuals on a monthly basis, while on social networks, there are more than sixteen million followers. In addition, the BBC has over 472 million views on its YouTube channel. A large percentage of their users are lovers of travel, and as many as 72 percent usually travel abroad.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle and travel pages for much more on Croatian tourism.

The Tourist Council of the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) decided to award grants to top tourism events this year and has selected the British PR agency "Hills Balfour" for co-operation in 13 markets. Darija Reić was appointed as a new director of HTZ's office in London, reports Poslovni.hr on April 10, 2019.

Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said that the newly-appointed head of the HTZ office in London would have “a challenging job of further positioning Croatia on the British market, which has recorded a 35 per cent increase in the number of tourists in the last two years.” HTZ Director Kristjan Staničić said that he believes that Reić would justify the confidence of the UK market, which is becoming more important for the overall results of Croatian tourism.

Darija Reić lives and works in London, and she has gained her professional experience by working for the Hong Kong Tourist Board and TUI. Her three-year term in London will start on 1 May, when she will take over from the current head Ivona Grgan.

The Tourism Council has also decided to engage the British PR and marketing agency "Hills Balfour", with the explanation that "its proposals and guidelines separated it from other candidates." This agency will be responsible for the development and implementation of the PR strategy until the end of this year. It will also conduct international PR activities in the area of media relations, social media and online communication, as well as organise events and public relations projects for HTZ on the 13 markets.

The HTZ Tourism Council has also adopted a proposal to increase available funds for grants for the development of the tourism sector. It will co-finance events and programmes of destination management companies with the amount of 6.4 million kuna. The budget for the so-called top events has been increased by 1.9 million kuna. As a result, 32 projects will be co-financed with 4.4 million kuna in total, including Špancirfest, Sinj Alka, Pula Film Festival, Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Picokijada, InMusic Festival and others.

Sports events such as "DOBRO World Cup Osijek 2019", ATP tournament "Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag", "Pannonian Challenge", "Tour of Croatia" and others will be co-financed this year as part of "Sports Croatia" initiative.

Cappelli believes that such a project will contribute to strengthening of the national brand and positioning the country as a year-long destination, while Staničić announced that through this initiative the HTZ would support 10 top Croatian athletes and sports teams that have been proven to be one of the best promoters of Croatia in the world, as well as 15 major international sports events that are a reason for the arrival of many tourists to various Croatian destinations.

Translated from Poslovni.hr.

More tourism news can be found in the Travel section.