During the upcoming weekend, the Croatian National Tourist Board representative office in New York will present the offer of Croatian tourism industry at the Dallas Travel and Adventure Show, a general tourism fair held in Dallas, Texas. The fair is expected to be visited by about 15,000 visitors, including representatives of tourist companies and numerous specialised media outlets, reports Večernji List on March 29, 2019.

“So far this year, we have seen a growth of about 20 per cent in the number of arrivals and overnight stays from the market of the United States of America. The two-digit growth for Croatia is also anticipated by Virtuoso, a prestigious association of travel agencies specialised for luxury travel,” said director of the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) Kristjan Staničić, adding that positive trends will be further improved by the opening of the new office of the Croatian National Tourism Board in Los Angeles, which is expected soon. A total of 20 candidates applied for the position of the office head.

“In addition to the eastern and western coasts of the United States, Texas is the area with the highest average income in the country, that is, it is an area that is a major tourist demand generator. This is confirmed by the information about the visitors to this fair, among which there is a large number of people earning annually more than 150,000 US dollars," said Ina Rodin, the director of the HTZ representative office in New York, adding that Croatia was also presented to numerous US agents at Virtuoso workshops held in Los Angeles and New Orleans.

The positive projections are supported by the launch of new direct seasonal flights from the USA to Croatia, which will take place soon. Namely, American Airlines will fly between Philadelphia and Dubrovnik three times a week from 7 June to 27 September this year.

The Dallas Travel and Adventure Show offers the opportunity to meet tourist agents and media representatives, get the latest tourism industry news, and it also includes an educational and entertainment programme which takes place on three stages and is attended by many prominent lecturers.

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

Translated from Večernji List.

The Business Destinations magazine from Britain has selected Croatia as the best destination for business tourism in 2018. The Croatian National Tourist Board has won this award in the Europe category, which also awarded prizes for the best hotels, airports, airline companies, facilities and services that are part of the top-level offer of the business travel industry, reports Jutarnji List on March 21, 2019.

“This award is even more important for us because the nomination and selection of winners are carried out by the editorial board of the magazine together with their numerous readers and business service users from around the world. Namely, business tourism is an important tourist product since individual and group business guests represent a stable source of demand, which is, depending on trends, the most significant in the pre-season and post-season periods of the year. Also, surveys among hotel management show that business guests make up between 10 and 15 per cent of all hotel guests," said the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board Kristjan Staničić, adding that the congress department was created last year within the Croatian National Tourist Board in order to further strengthen and develop the MICE tourism segment

The Croatian National Tourist Board is carrying out a series of activities aimed at promoting business tourism, such as marketing campaigns and participation at the most important specialised congress exchanges, such as IMEX Frankfurt, IMEX America, IBTM Barcelona and CONVENTA Ljubljana.

Business Destinations is a travel magazine and an online portal for business travellers, as well as for all employees working in the business travel industry. Combining interesting content, attractive photos and powerful networking among business entities, the magazine has positioned itself as a critical source of information and inspiration for business travel by covering a wide range of topics, from exclusive hotels, resorts and conference destinations to luxurious products and services.

Translated from Jutarnji List.

More news about the Croatian National Tourist Board can be found in the Travel section.

The stand of the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) with its 24 exhibitors is the largest at this year's Munich Tourism Fair, with the tourism potential of both Zagreb and Slavonia having special emphasis placed on them. Gari Cappelli believes that continental tourism is the future for Croatia's tourism offer.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 21st of February, 2019, through the variety of Croatian snacks prepared by famous Croatian chefs, master chef Branko Ognjenović and the chef of the Croatian football team, Tomica Đukić, numerous visitors to the International Tourism Fair f.re.e 2019 - which, as we reported recently, is being held in Munich, Germany, from the 20th to the 24th of February this year, had the opportunity to get better acquainted with the gastronomic offer of Slavonia and the City of Zagreb yesterday at the stand of the Croatian Tourist Board.

The Slavonian gastro scene showcased Ilok cellars (Iločki podrumi), Kutjevo, Belje, Brzica and Feravino. The promotion of Croatian tourism also includes some of the legends of FC Bayern - Slavonia native Ivica Olić, Giovani Elber, and Andreas Jung.

The f.re.e. tourist fair is otherwise the largest and most visited tourist fair in Bavaria, stretching to over 88,000 square metres, and this year, boasting as many as 1,300 exhibitors from 70 countries across the world, it is bigger than ever before.

The Croatian Tourist Board's stand, with its 24 exhibitors, was the biggest at the fair. Unlike in previous years when Croatia promoted its popular destinations on the coast mostly, this year the often overlooked Croatian continent, more specifically the capital of Zagreb and the Eastern region of Slavonia, which both have a lot to offer to tourists, are taking the limelight. The promotion of Slavonia as a desirable tourist destination is an excellent move for the Days of Croatian Tourism, which is set to be held on 4th to 9th October in the Slavonian region of Osijek.

Croatian Minister of Tourism Gari Cappelli, and Director of the Croatian Tourist Board Kristijan Stančić participated in the presentation of the Croatian tourist offer along with the director of the Zagreb Tourist Board, Martina Bienefeld, Osijek-Baranja County Prefect Ivan Anušić and the domestic manager of the tour operator for Croatia, Selimir Ognjenović.

''Of the three million tourists coming to Croatia from Germany, 1.2 million of them come from Bavaria. So I can say that the Munich Fair is always some sort of indication for us to know what's going to happen this year in regard to tourism. The Germans are the type who appreciate the quality of Croatian tourism, because when those three million tourists return home to Germany, there's a lot to talk about.

Interestingly, we're not presenting the coast but the continent, because I think that's the future through health tourism, special forms of tourism, hunting, fishing, cyclotourism...'' Gari Capelli told Poslovni Dnevnik.

Nera Miličić, head of HTZ in Germany, says that there is a sense of pride in announcing the expansion of the Croatian tourist offer with "The most beautiful Croatian tourist secret" - Slavonia, and the triple winner of the most beautiful European advent - the Croatian capital city of Zagreb.

''We're especially delighted to have organised the largest presentation of the Croatian continent in Bavaria with our partners so far,'' noted Miličić.

''Given that for Croatian tourism, Germany is the emitive market from which we have the largest tourist turnover, we've created a rich and original event program at the Croatian stand that is attracting the attention of numerous visitors.

This is also the confirmation of a well-founded cooperation with FC Bayern Munich which gives us additional promotional value on the Bavarian market, where every other German tourist comes to us from,'' commented HTZ director Kristjan Staničić.

As a tourist destination, Croatia is a serious competitor on the German market. During these times of major changes, an increase in the amount of airline passengers from Germany to Croatia has been recorded, which has positioned Croatia among the most competitive destinations, alongside Spain, Turkey, Greece, Portugal, Egypt and Tunisia, countries which many tourists seeking package deals are usually attracted to.

Although Croatia was otherwise perceived as a destination to drive to from Germany, through the country's camping and private accommodation offer, it has also entered into the package holiday segment (hotel, transfer, flight) which is sold through a tour operator network. All in all, the interest of German tourists for Croatia remains very high indeed.

Numerous tour operators are continuing to expand their programs, smaller operators have begun ''selling'' Croatia, and some airlines are continuing to announce new lines.

The Germans are still in the leading position when it comes to the number of overnight stays realised by foreign tourists in the Republic of Croatia. In addition, the largest number of tourists from Germany come from the regions of Nordrhein-Westfalen, Bavaria, and Baden-Württemberg. However, the Germans typically enjoy more family oriented holidays, often bypassing potentially more ''specialised'' types of tourism on offer.

Therefore, the presence of Croatia's more specialised tourist offers at such fairs is crucial to boost the awareness of German tourists to the country's more numerous tourist offers, and in particular to awaken tour operators to Croatia's more luxurious package of arrangements,'' stated Dragan Kovačević, Vice President of Agriculture and Tourism at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK), who is also representing Croatia's tourist offer in Munich.

Make sure to stay up to date with more on continental tourism, the Croatian Tourist Board and Croatia's various tourist offers by following our dedicated travel and lifestyle pages.

Three new flights to Croatia are on the cards as Croatia's rich tourist offer impresses the Dutch in Utrecht.

As Morski writes on the 10th of January, 2019, the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) has been presenting the Croatian tourist offer at the Vakantiebeurs fair, which takes place in the Dutch town of Utrecht from January 9th to the 13th, 2019. The fair is intended for both a business and a wider audience, and on the first day of the fair alone, the Dutch have shown huge interest for various Croatian destinations, especially for the Croatia's camping segment. Owing to the level of interest from the Netherlands, three new flights to Croatia from Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Einhoven are ready to take off in 2019.

''The presentation at the Utrecht fair starts with the presentation of the Croatian tourist offer at the most important fairs with key emission markets. The Croatian National Tourist Board will organise the presentation of the Croatian tourist offer at a total of 22 fairs in 2019, of which there are 17 general ones, and five specialised ones, including three nautical fairs and two camping fairs,'' said the Croatian National Tourist Board's director Kristjan Staničić, adding that during 2018, almost 500,000 arrivals and about 3.2 million overnight stays were realised by Dutch tourists, representing fairly significant growth of nine percent in terms of arrivals and of five percent in terms of overnight stays made by the Dutch back in 2017.

Within the scope of the current Utrecht fair, numerous meetings with representatives of various tour operators, travel agents and airline companies such as TUI, Thomas Cook, Transavia, D-Reizen, Rotterdam-Den Haag Airport, Travel Counselors Association and others are also taking place.

Such meetings are aimed at discussing activities and better cooperation in the upcoming period. The first information which can be concluded from Dutch tour operators is that the interest level of the Dutch for Croatia is currently at last year's level, but the real period of intensification lies not too far ahead.

''We're extremely pleased with the increasing interest of air carriers for Croatia, as evidenced by the announcement of the introduction of three new air lines from the Netherlands to Croatia, more precisely to Zadar in 2019. The Transavie line will connect Zadar with Rotterdam, Ryanair will link Zadar with Eindhoven, and Easyjet will link Zadar to Amsterdam,'' said Ivan Novak, director of the Croatian National Tourist Board's representation for the Benelux countries.

Make sure to atay up to date with flights to Croatia and other travel trends by following our dedicated travel page.

ZAGREB, January 1, 2019 - Croatia recorded 19.7 million tourist arrivals and over 106 million overnights throughout 2018, which was respectively by 6.5% and 4% more than in 2017. These statistics were presented by the director of the Croatian National Tourism Board (HTZ), Kristjan Staničić, in the resort of Opatija on the first day of 2019.

He said that activities promoting Croatia's tourist trade were being intensively conducted on the markets from which large numbers of tourists usually come to Croatia.

Staničić commented that investments in the tourism sector in 2018 amounted to a billion euro and that the same level of investments could be expected in 2019.

More news on the Croatian tourism industry can be found in our Travel section.

In line with the fact that the Croatian National Tourist Board's budget is facing an increase, the plan is to allocate a hefty amount to strategic promotional campaigns, as well as to joint advertising.

As Marija Crnjak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 21st of December, 2018, the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) has announced a tender for the selection of PR agencies and media agencies on as many as sixteen different broadcasting markets.

The aforementioned tender launched by the Croatian National Tourist Board for the selection of PR and media agencies will last from December to March.

The total lease budget for all broadcasting markets included in the 2019 tender amounts to more than a massive 42 million kuna, as was decided by the Croatian National Tourist Board's Tourism Council during a recently held session.

As is already well known, there are concrete plans to increase the Croatian National Tourist Board's budget during the coming year, the increase is expected to be one of around 14 percent and will amount to an enormous 331 million kuna, which is a result of the increase of the tourist tax revenue in accordance with the government decree.

Approximately 41 million kuna will be allocated for the implementation of the Croatian National Tourist Board's strategic promotional campaigns across various broadcasting markets, i.e, for strategic cooperation with numerous air carriers and tour operators who have organised programs for Croatia in their packages and offers.

When it comes to joint advertising, as much as 24.6 million kuna will be allocated. After the session of the Tourism Council, the ninth Croatian National Tourist Board parliament session was held, where the aforementioned budget for 2019 was adopted.

Make sure to stay up to date with more information like this by following our dedicated news and lifestyle pages.

Click here for the original article by Marija Crnjak for Poslovni Dnevnik

The City of Zadar has always been a popular destination in Dalmatia, boasting the stunning sea organ, and, as Alfred Hitchcock himself once said, the most beautiful sunsets in the entire world. Now Gari Cappelli, the Minister of Tourism, has congratulated this ancient city on its success, stating that the very people of Zadar are the ones who give it its life.

As tourists flock to Zadar from all corners of the world, with numerous airline companies having taken it upon themselves to either increase their flights to this Dalmatian gem or to introduce new lines connecting major European cities to its thriving airport, the city goes from strength to strength across the spectrum, from its entrepreneur success stories to its tourism figures. It seems that Zadar's success hasn't gone unnoticed, at least not by Gari Cappelli, who expressed his warm feelings for both the city and for the ''happy people'' who live there and make it what it is.

As eZadar/Radio Zadar writes on the 23rd of November, 2018, upon welcoming the participants of the session of the Zadar City Council on the occasion of Zadar's city day, Gari Cappelli, the long standing Croatian Minister of Tourism, stated at the beginning of his address, among other things, that Zadar is a city full of of happy people who give it life.

Gari Cappelli recalled the very welcome fact that the highly respected Lonely Planet, one of the most popular and trusted travel guides in the entire world, included Zadar in its announcement of the prestigious ''Best in Travel 2019'' guide, in its recommendations on destinations which should be visited by tourists next year.

Make sure to stay up to date with news from Zadar and far beyond by keeping up with our dedicated lifestyle and travel pages.

Click here for the original article by eZadar/Radio Zadar

On Monday, the Ministry of Tourism held the 42nd session of the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) Tourist Council, whereby members of the Council presented the proposal for the annual work program of the Croatian National Tourist Board for 2019. At the session, a call for expressions of interest for the implementation of the ‘Sportska Hrvatska’ (Sports Croatia) project in 2019 and a proposal for a decision to form the Commission for Sports Croatia was issued.

ZAGREB, November 13, 2018 - Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said on Tuesday that the three Croatian tourism-related bills which the government forwarded to the parliament in late October were prerequisites for creating a new competitive identity of Croatian tourism, and that it was the government's duty to develop a strategy for managing Croatia's positive perception.

"Croatia must create a new image and move towards this topic with full responsibility, professionalism and maturity. It is the duty of our government on behalf of all citizens, institutions and companies, to develop a strategy of managing a positive perception of Croatian tourism," Cappelli said at a conference organised by the Jutarnji List daily in Zagreb on Tuesday on the system of tourist boards in the 21st century.

He is sure that the set of three bills will facilitate efforts to create easily recognisable national, regional and local identities and emphasise their importance and uniqueness considering that "they represent an additional value of the people and the nation on the global market."

Cappelli said that the proposed legislation is meant to establish a system of tourism boards following the model of the Destination Management Organisation (DMO).

Cappelli recalled that the Croatian National Tourism Board (HTZ) had recently opened an office in China and would soon set up another office in Seoul in South Korea for the purpose of better promoting the national tourist trade.

When it comes to the country's sojourn tax, the government will no longer determine the amount of that tourist tax and the decision-making on that will be at the local and county level, with the aim of decentralising the system.

For more articles on the activities of the Tourism Ministry, click here.

After finding its place in the country's capital, Hilton is looking for further potential locations and opportunities along the Croatian coast for its Canopy hotels as Cappelli cites an investment in tourism for 2019.

As we reported yesterday, in a huge investment in tourism, Canopy by Hilton has found its way to the Croatian capital of Zagreb, but the search for possible hotel locations isn't over for the highly respected hotel company yet. 

As Marija Crnjak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 12th of November, 2018, the brand nurtures local culture, and this is Canopy by Hilton's very first hotel in continental Europe. After the opening in Zagreb, such hotels in desirable European capitals are set to open, including London, Madrid, and Paris.

Hotel Canopy by Hilton, a massive eight million euros worth of investment by Hrvoje Pezić's Zagreb City Hotels company, was opened on Monday in Zagreb's Branimir Centre.

The lifestyle brand is, as stated, set to take numerous other European cities. It nurtures local culture, and domestic designers, including Studio Franić and Šekoranja, as well as Croatian furniture manufacturers, who are engaged in decorating the Zagreb hotel, as pointed out from Hilton.

In the hotel itself, you can find various pieces of Zagreb's long history, from folklore to its rich scientific and industrial heritage, as well as some of the capital city's typical traditional dishes presented in a new, modern way at the ReUnion restaurant.

The hotel boasts 151 rooms, a restaurant and bar, a fitness room, a retreat room, a transfer room and two meeting rooms.

''After DoubleTree, we're opening Canopy, and we're expecting the opening of Garden Inn next year. We're exceptionally proud of this hotel and we're happy to have had such good cooperation. Croatia is an extremely important market for Hilton. It has a wonderful coastline and we're already looking to expand there and develop our hotels there, but the City of Zagreb is also of utmost importance because it's growing, and we also want to participate in that,'' stated Alan Mantin, Managing Director of Hilton for the development in southern Europe.

Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli emphasised that this investment with the world-renowned brand will contribute to the even better positioning of Zagreb as well as Croatia as a destination which boasts a high quality offer.

Want to keep up with more news on hotel openings, investments in tourism, or just news in Zagreb? Make sure to follow our travel, lifestyle, and Total Zagreb pages for much more.

Click here for the original article by Marija Crnjak for Poslovni Dnevnik