October 12, 2020 – A decade of tourism promotion in Croatia. As Croatian Hot Spots magazine celebrates 10 years, owner Maja Zlokic on promoting tourism in Croatia. 

This interview first appeared in Croatian on Dalmatinski Portal.

The new coronavirus pandemic has undoubtedly changed the world to its foundations, and tourism, as one of the most susceptible industries to the virus, has suffered a huge blow in all segments. However, the leading people of domestic tourism and experts who know this profession to the core, agreed on one thing – in slang, we should get back on our feet and adapt to the new normal.

We talked to Maja Zlokic, a marketing expert, editor of Croatia Hot Spots magazine, and the hotspots.net.hr portal, about the basic requirements of a new tourist – high safety and hygiene standards, but also fast and reliable information.

You are the editor of Croatia Hot Spots magazine and one of the most read tourist portals in the Republic of Croatia, hotspots.net.hr. How did this story start and in what direction is it developing?

We started with Croatia Hot Spots magazine 10 years ago. We have 20 editions behind us, and over 5,000 published topics and articles that promote Croatian destinations and projects in tourism. We were among the first to start writing tourist blogs and promotional texts about Croatian destinations, which thematically revive the rich tourist heritage. In a very short period, the digital version of Croatia Hot Spots became the leader among portals on this topic, which was recognized by more than 70 local and 10 county tourist boards, mainly of the most popular Croatian destinations, which joined the project. In addition to our media, we have become distinctive for media leasing and planning in foreign markets. We started with a series of new projects and cooperation with the best Croatian communication and marketing experts.

Who are your readers and what topics interest them most?

As many as 75 percent of our readers are from Croatia and the countries of the region, and we can be proud of the 25 percent of foreign readers who follow the English version. They are most interested in affirmative articles that carry lived experiences and creative tourist products. Readers are looking for a story through which they will experience the destination and wish to travel to it quickly.

What does advertising look like in the post-COVID period?

The Covid-19 crisis hurt all industries, both tourism, and advertising. The best ones in the COVID and post-COVID period recognized the opportunity for themselves. It’s time to be creative and brave. The company's business needs to communicate and maintain contact with its customers and follow communication trends within the industry. Any such form of communication can bring fresh ideas and positive experiences on how to plan business in the next period.

Since you're specialized in destination promotion, what is the key to advertising them in this uncertain period?

The global coronavirus pandemic has indeed had a strong impact on international tourism trends. Croatia has sun and coast and historical heritage, very rich gastronomy, and rural destinations. It is extremely important to create a lively dialogue between our coastal and rural destinations and to convey everything that our rural and urban destinations have to offer. Offering year-round tourism can certainly be part of the answer to COVID challenges. On the topic of tourism in the corona time and the role of creativity in creating new promotional activities, in cooperation with the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board and Professor Domagoj Bebić, Head of New Media and Head of the Department of Strategic Communication at the Faculty of Political Science in Zagreb, once a year we organize a conference called „Tourism and new technologies“, at which tourism entities can be adequately informed about all effective marketing tools in this uncertain time.

Can you give us some positive examples from practice?

Communicating destinations is always a kind of a challenge because a lot has already been seen, but I would like to highlight three promo campaigns.

The one I liked the most was the campaign of the Tourist Board of Bol in cooperation with the communication advisor Hana Klain called „Our Bol Stories“. This was the first time that a destination decided to involve locals in the promotion of their place. Somehow they are always forgotten, and they are the soul of a place. They are people who communicate intensively with guests. We were also involved in campaign promotion and the feedback on the campaign was very good.

The second campaign we were also involved in was the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board named „A dream waiting for you“ with great messages and great staff.

As another positive example, we would like to point out the promotional campaign of the Tourist Board of Jelsa, which at the time of the pandemic relied on its tried and tested model from the 70's – great boarding house accommodation and personalized, individual approach to the guest. Even in corona time, it brought occupancy of accommodation capacities of as much as 70 percent!

To what extent have the habits of the guests changed? How do they choose a destination?

Tourism today with COVID-19 requires a different attitude towards health and hygiene safety. It requires distance tourism, individual vacation, and high-quality service that can ensure satisfactory hygiene standards – all that Croatian tourism has space and potential for, in wide indented beaches, motives for arrival that do not depend on summer, and in small, authentic, yet undiscovered destinations. Therefore, it is important to carefully create campaigns that respond to the needs of today's tourists. The changes in demand, habits, and expectations of guests that have occurred will remain, in part or in full. The guest is looking for fast and accurate information.

What about private accommodation? How much does a small renter have to work on marketing to attract a guest?

We suspect that in addition to the presentation of the facility, hygienic safety, the position of the facility, picturesque surroundings, proximity to top beaches, it's important to have a personalized, friendly approach to the guest full of trust. A good price-quality ratio of accommodation, a friendly family atmosphere, and a friendly host is a model that has been nurtured for many years and is now even more important. Also, it is important to communicate it all well. That’s why we regularly provide our readers with tips on how to communicate with guests in corona time. Our column is led by Barbara Marković, a family accommodation expert.

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

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

October 7, 2020 - Global Green Destinations has named Lika and Mali Losinj among the TOP 100 sustainable destinations in the world!

HRTurizam reports that Global Green Destinations is an international foundation that brings together the world's sustainable tourist destinations. This week, Global Green Destinations Days released the Global TOP 100 Sustainable Destinations for 2020, which included two Croatian destinations: Lika and Mali Losinj.

The competition for 100 sustainable destinations is organized to show stories of sustainable tourism and good practices, as inspiring examples to other destinations, tour operators, and travelers. According to the evaluation of the TOP 100 Green Destination team, this year, the selection was more than ever determined by the quality, efficiency, and portability of good practice stories submitted by destinations when applying.

Since its founding, the Lika Destination cluster has been guided by the philosophy of sustainable development (Smart Sustainable Destination), and the main activity of the cluster is the tourist promotion of Lika destinations on the domestic and foreign markets based on natural, cultural, historical, gastronomic and health features.

Quality cooperation with 8 protected natural areas, including as many as 3 out of 8 national parks in Croatia, forming a joint ticket to Lika, implementing multi-day programs to stay longer, networking and connecting local producers under a common brand - Lika Quality, opening new markets and encouraging the increase of local production and numerous projects in the field of destination, cultural and sustainable tourism are just part of what the Lika Destination Cluster has been working on since day one, to create conditions for the development of sustainable year-round tourism in Lika.

"Destination Lika in recent years is becoming increasingly recognizable in the tourism market, and this certificate is just further proof of how the Lika Destination Cluster works well on the promotion of the destination and development on the principle of sustainable development," points out the Lika Destination Cluster and emphasizes that this prestigious award is proof of destination development in the right direction and aligned with the latest world trends.

Mali Losinj is again in the group of the best this year, and in 2020, it competed in the categories of Culture and Community and Nature and Ecotourism.

"Sustainable development management, which is a strategic issue and a great responsibility, is carried out at all levels of the destination, as evidenced by the fact that we are included in the Top 100 sustainable destinations in the world," said the director of the Mali Losinj Tourist Board, Dalibor Cvitkovic. The Mali Losinj Tourist Board is among the leaders in sustainable development in Croatia.

“We were among the first to get involved in the European Commission project: ETIS - European Tourism Indicator System for Sustainable Destinations, we participate in the CROSTO project - Croatian Observatory for Sustainable Tourism Development and many others. This year, as an example of good practice, we presented the Integrated Quality Management in Destination (IQM) project, which involves more than 130 stakeholders in the destination to raise quality in all segments, creating quality standards, stakeholder connectivity, and recognizability of Losinj as a destination of excellence. We are glad that, along with Losinj and Lika, the destination was chosen in the Top 100 sustainable destinations in the world because it is proof that our strategy of sustainability and balance of tourism and environmental development is sailing in the right direction," concluded Cvitkovic.

By publishing this annual list and sharing awards of good practice and success stories in destination management, the initiators recognize the steps taken to make tourist destinations more sustainable, responsible, and attractive to visitors.

This leading global conference dedicated to sustainable destination management and competition is held under the auspices of the Top 100 Partnership, with special contributions from Green Destinations, QualityCoast, TravelMole, Vision on Sustainable Tourism, Travelife, ITB Berlin, Asian Ecotourism Network, Ecotourism Australia, and GLP Films.

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

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

October 6, 2020 – The first tourist conference during the coronavirus pandemic entitled "Croatian Tourism 365? – Post-COVID tourism and new opportunities" was held today in Tuheljske Toplice. Top domestic and EU tourism experts analyzed this year’s tourism results and discussed post-COVID challenges and opportunities.

Great emphasis was placed on the year-round Croatian tourist offer.

At the introductory presentation "Tourism 2020 - What after Covid-19?", the global director of tourism consulting from the company Horwath HTL, Siniša Topolović, explained that everyone in tourism has suffered significant blows due to coronavirus. However, Croatia still achieved over 40 percent of last year's tourism compared to Europe, where that percentage is around 30 percent.

Also, Croatia reached 60 percent of last year's traffic in July and August, and by the end of the year, we can expect about 50 percent of last year's traffic.

Topolović also pointed out that Zadar County achieved the highest index of tourist traffic compared to 2019 – 60 percent, while Istria County traditionally has the highest number of overnight stays. Zagreb is the most successful continental destination, and Dubrovnik County has experienced the biggest decline this year.

"This year it is worth 'the further south, the sadder', but this year should be used to emphasize the quality of tourism," said Topolović, adding that this year's winners are quality providers of private and hotel accommodation and quality caterers.

Year-round tourism and linking the offer

The organizer of the conference, Ivana Kolar, pointed out that year-round tourism can be one of the answers to the existing COVID-19 challenges, with which the vice president of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce for Agriculture and Tourism, Dragan Kovačević, agreed.

In his opinion, we should think about Croatian tourism from the perspective of a modern tourist.

"Modern tourists use modern technologies, book accommodation at the last minute, quickly change locations, look for an alternative to mass tourism, are looking for an authentic experience to get to know the local population, customs, traditions, and culture of the people. Because of its cultural and natural features, Croatia has a lot to offer," explains Kovačević.

Zadar County achieved the highest index of tourist traffic compared to 2019 – 60 percent / Copyright Romulić and Stojčić

Željko Kolar, a prefect of Krapina-Zagorje County, believes that "it is important that we are evaluated by regions, and not by the whole country so that we have a better chance of being on the market." He also points out that all types of tourism (wellness tourism, health tourism, religious tourism) must be brought together in the offer.

'More comprehensive destinations'

Minister of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Croatia Nikolina Brnjac emphasized during the Ministerial Forum that the goal of Croatian tourism is to move away from seasonality.

"We cannot rely on seasonality, but we must have good products for that," said the Minister, confirming the opinions of Topolović and Kolar that quality products (4 and 5-star hotels, family farms, holiday homes, marinas) did good business this year. The fact that over 300 megayachts visited the Croatian coast this year is not negligible.

Istria County traditionally has the highest number of overnight stays / Copyright Romulić and Stojčić

The Ministerial Forum was also attended by Zdravko Počivalšek, Minister of Economy and Technology Development of the Republic of Slovenia, Fernando Valdés Verelst, State Secretary for Tourism, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism of the Kingdom of Spain (online), and Elisabeth Köstinger, Minister of Agriculture, Region and tourism of the Republic of Austria (online). They discussed the future of tourism in their countries.

Fernando Valdés Verelst stated that Spain sees coronavirus as a possibility and that they "really need to start offering more comprehensive destinations."

40,000 tourists still in Croatia

Kristjan Staničić, director of the Croatian Tourist Board, said that the year was extremely demanding for the main season, although the tourist year is still going on, and today we have another 40,000 tourists in Croatia, mostly foreign.

"A lot of energy and funds are focused on key emitting markets, but also on the domestic market where we are implementing two important projects – a 'Week worth of vacation' and a 'Croatian tourist card'. These are projects that will be upgraded in the future and will provide an answer to the question of this conference – Croatian tourism 365? The answer is that it can, but with the synergy of all of us," concluded Staničić.

Zagreb is the most successful continental destination / Copyright Romulić and Stojčić

He also stated that this year's experience is a good basis for preparing what awaits us in 2021, but we need an even bigger and more intensive campaign, more informing the general public that we are a safe and close destination with good value for money.

Look into the future

At the beginning of the conference, Topolović pointed out that "people still want to travel, everyone has to go on vacation," and that the sun and the sea have their future even in the biggest crisis.

However, Minister Brnjac says that "it is dangerous to rely on one product only – the sun and the coast." Therefore, the guidelines for the development of a new tourism strategy relate to the quality of tourism infrastructure, accommodation facilities, and the emphasis is placed on additional product offerings.

The problem in Croatian tourism is currently underdeveloped off-season products such as the ski season, wellness tourism, and spas.

"'Pre- and post-season have a future only if we have quality products and services," is the main argument of Topalović.

Dubrovnik County has experienced the biggest decline this year / Copyright Romulić and Stojčić

A chance for further development

As the world recovers from the corona crisis, different segments of tourist travel will recover. Regional car travel will recover faster, train and domestic air travel slower, and international air traffic will need the most recovery time.

"Tourism is a reactive activity – as it blows, so the situation will develop," describes Topolović. Therefore, tourism must be well planned to be sustainable in the long run.

All the interlocutors of this conference agree on one thing: this crisis has shown us the weakest points of tourism, but it also opened our eyes to its improvement in the future. Therefore, this crisis is a chance for further development.

The most important thing, everyone says, is to stay positive in this situation.

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

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

October 1, 2020 - Data from Booking.com revealed that Croatian travelers discovered domestic destinations this summer as the coronavirus pandemic hindered usual travel plans. 

HRTurizam reports that travel plans changed drastically in 2020, which allowed travelers to explore destinations closer to home, discovering or rediscovering hidden destinations that are practically on their doorstep.

Studying the realized trips this summer, Booking.com revealed that the average distance traveled by passengers from Croatia traveling June - August decreased by 56% compared to the same period last year, which is slightly less than the global average of 63%.

Looking at the data obtained in the summer of 2019, passengers from Croatia traveled an average of 726 kilometers per booking. This summer, that distance was reduced to only 322 kilometers per reservation, which is slightly more than the distance Zagreb-Sibenik.

As much as 68% of the distance traveled by passengers from Croatia between June 1 and August 31, 2020, was within Croatia, compared to only 17% in the same period in 2019.

Many of them took the opportunity and traveled to visit family and friends they could not meet during travel restrictions and physical distance measures. Although Croatia is at the top of the list of most popular destinations booked by travelers from Croatia this summer, followed by Germany, Italy, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, and Austria, the data shows that some travelers from Croatia traveled abroad to enjoy their travels but still stayed within the continent. 

Many travelers from Croatia have rediscovered domestic destinations led by islands for which there has been increased interest this season. This summer, domestic destinations that were in great demand are Starigrad-Paklenica and the island towns of Stari Grad, Hvar, Malinska, and Korcula.

Although some rural destinations are becoming increasingly popular, long-term proven urban favorites are still at the top of most desirable destinations. This summer, those destinations for travelers from Croatia are Zagreb, Zadar, Split, and Dubrovnik.

As far as accommodation choice is concerned, this year, travelers from Croatia most often chose to stay in camps, then in villas and holiday homes.

The increase in the reservation of accommodation in camps shows a change in travel trends, points out Booking.com, and adds that if we compare the data from the end of 2019 before it was known that a global pandemic would hamper our travel plans in 2020, only 13% passengers from Croatia intended to stay in camps while as many as 64% planned to spend their holidays in hotels.

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

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

September 25, 2020 - The Virovitica Tourist Board has found a creative way to help struggling renters during the corona crisis by redirecting funds meant for canceled events to a Support Plan for renters in the area. 

HRTurizam reports that the coronavirus pandemic has caused numerous cancellations in Croatia and around the world. This has resulted in a reduced number of visits, i.e., tourist arrivals and overnight stays in several Croatian destinations, especially in the continental area. One example is Virovitica, whose tourist board has decided to redirect the funds provided for events that have been canceled by the Headquarters so far, to the implementation of a support plan for Virovitica renters.

With the amendments to the Work Program and the rebalance of the Virovitica Tourist Board financial plan, adopted at the Assembly's first session, the plan includes several segments.

Guest safety

The first is guest safety, which means the safety of tourists, which is especially important for choosing to visit a destination. The year marked by the corona crisis is precisely the most important segment. The Virovitica Tourist Board financed the purchase of cotton masks with the sign of the Pejacevic Castle and the inscription "Greetings from Virovitica." The masks are intended for employees of accommodation facilities and guests who will not only use them during their stay, but they also serve as a souvenir to take home and thus further promote Virovitica. Also, disinfectants and medical masks were distributed to all Virovitica renters.

Visibility

This year has shown the importance of visibility, especially on the Internet. It has also shown how a large number of renters have neglected this particular segment of their business. Namely, some accommodation facilities do not have their own websites, nor are they present on internet platforms. To help Virovitica renters increase their visibility to potential guests, the Virovitica Tourist Board will finance the development of websites of all accommodation facilities in the City. These websites will also be available in English. In addition to the website, Facebook and Instagram profiles of each accommodation facility will be activated. The Virovitica Tourist Board will finance the purchase of photographs and the lease of copyrights and provide the texts needed for the new website's content.

Tourist maps of the city of Virovitica with marked sights, service information, catering and accommodation facilities were also printed and distributed. Considering the numerous new contents in the city of Virovitica, the plan is to make a new study of signalization, install all missing signs, and replace the old and worn-out signs. As part of this project, preference will be given to renters, i.e., to adequately mark all accommodation facilities in Virovitica.

Free tickets for Pejacevic Castle and Virovitica City Museum

COVID-19 has left a mark on the number of arrivals and overnight stays. Therefore, the Virovitica Tourist Board has prepared a promotion by which visitors, for each night in a registered commercial accommodation in Virovitica, until October 15, 2020, will receive a free ticket to Pejacevic Castle and Virovitica City Museum. For this action, the Tourist Board is also financing a promotional campaign called "Experience the city of Pejacevic" on social networks, portals, and press.

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

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

September 24, 2020 - Plitvice Lakes National Park lowers prices next month! By joining the 'Vacation-Worthy Week' action, from October 16 to 25, 2020, prices will be 50 kuna for adults and 20 kuna for children.

24 Sata reports that 'Vacation-Worthy Week' is an action of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Croatian National Tourist Board, set to take place from October 16 to 25, 2020. The action aims to encourage domestic travel and raise the level of tourist activity in the period outside the summer months.

This action will enable the citizens of Croatia and all those interested to visit and get to know different parts of Croatia at 50 percent lower prices on numerous tourist services, from accommodation, transport, and sights to catering services and various experiences.

Plitvice Lakes National Park joined the action and during that period will lower ticket prices to 50 kuna for adults and 20 kuna for children, while the regular price during October for a visit to Plitvice is 180 kuna for adults and 50 kuna for children.

The number of visitors will be limited due to epidemiological measures. If you want to visit Croatia's oldest and largest national park, hurry up and get your tickets because many tickets for this period have already been sold.

In addition to tickets, Plitvice Lakes National Park has prepared a promo offer for other services, which you can find by visiting the official website of the park.

TCN reported last week that owners of hotels, motels, transfers, restaurant owners, and anyone in tourism who offers services, now is the right time for you to get involved in the "Vacation Worthy Week" campaign. These businesses will display their offers on the website created specifically for this action - tjedanodmoravrijedan.hr, which will soon be activated for service users. All business and private entities from the tourism sector such as hotels, private renters, travel agencies, restaurants, bars, health and spa tourism, national parks and nature parks, museums, galleries, carriers, rent-a-car, boat renters, and more can apply to participate in the action. 

"This project is an initiative by which we want to present to our citizens all the beauties and richness of offers that Croatia has throughout the year. In this corona tourist year, domestic tourists have made a great contribution to tourist traffic. Our wish is that domestic tourists in the rest of this year and the years ahead make an increasingly significant part of demand and explore numerous offers across our continent and coast. During the week in October, numerous promotional offers will be featured in one place, and we intend to continue this action and hold it regularly for most of the year," said Minister of Tourism and Sports Nikolina Brnjac about the campaign. 

The director of the Croatian National Tourist Board, Kristjan Stanicic, says that this project aims to encourage domestic tourist traffic in the pre- and post-season periods and in which tourism service providers participate who will create very attractive and more affordable offers for all Croatian citizens.

"It was the domestic market that made a strong contribution to the results achieved in this challenging year, with a high share of 20 percent in total overnight stays. I believe that the project will be very well received in the coming years and that it will have a positive impact on increasing tourism spending within the country," the director concluded.

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

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

September 16, 2020 - A "Thank You" campaign launched by the Croatian Tourist Board will target 13 foreign markets. 

The Croatian Tourist Board has launched a new promotional campaign titled "Thank You" on social networks Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, thanking foreign tourists for choosing Croatia and Croatian destinations for their travels this year. The campaign is being implemented in 13 foreign markets, including Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy, Hungary, Belgium, France, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

"With this campaign, we would like to thank all foreign guests who, despite the prescribed epidemiological measures and travel protocols, have shown their confidence in Croatia in this challenging and unpredictable tourist year. Our goal is to keep Croatia's visibility in selected markets and to tell everyone that they are welcome in our country next year as well," said Croatian Tourist Board Director Kristjan Stanicic, adding that more than seven million tourists have visited Croatia so far this year, of which nearly six million are foreign.

The focus of the "Thank you" campaign is primarily Germany, Slovenia, Poland and the Czech Republic, or the markets that, along with domestic guests, achieved the largest tourist turnover in Croatia this year. For each market, the visuals of the three favorite destinations that the guests from the mentioned market visited the most and the tourist products they enjoyed the most were targeted. For example, Medulin, Porec and Rovinj were chosen for the German market, Dubrovnik, Hvar and Split for the UK market, Crikvenica, Rovinj and Vir for the Hungarian market, while Omis, Makarska and Baska Voda were chosen for the Polish market.

Let us add that in these countries, in addition to the visuals, prize games will be organized on social networks, and the winners will be able to win a gift package of Croatian souvenirs.

After the "Thank you" campaign, the Croatian Tourist Board will start implementing promotional activities for the post-season, during which the focus will be on nautical, the continental offer, eno-gastronomy and Croatian national parks and nature parks.

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

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

During the first part of the summer season, Croatia managed to open its doors for tourism more quickly than other countries which also rely heavily on it did, and positioned itself better on its emitting markets. But what year would be the most comparable to the 2020 Croatian tourist season?

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes on the 8th of September, 2020, in a year in which tourism will lose at least a trillion dollars in revenue globally, setting the sector back 20 years, Croatia has so far come out with a slightly better result, especially when compared to competitors from the Mediterranean.

With about 46 million overnight stays realised from the beginning of the year to the end of August, the 2020 Croatian tourist season is currently at about 51 percent of the number of overnight stays realised when compared to last year, and the total annual result could reach the level of 2005 when the country had 51 million overnight stays, with 6 billion euros having been earned. Revenue this year will depend on the structure of spending, about which there are no estimates so far, and last year it stood at 12 billion euros.

The Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) published a comparison of the results of the 2020 Croatian tourist season for the usually hit month of July on Monday, and the official figures are currently also in in Spain, Turkey, Cyprus and Portugal. In July, Spain accounted for only 25 percent of last year's turnover, Portugal accounted 17 percent, Cyprus 12 percent and Turkey 14 percent.

Although the figures for August aren't yet official, all these countries with tourist traffic started later this year than Croatia did, and saw some significant traffic in the eighth month of 2020, but this was abruptly stopped by the closing of various borders and introducing quarantine in the last week of August. For comparison, Croatia realised about 2.5 million foreign arrivals in July (50 percent of what was realised back in July 2019), as well as almost 15.7 million foreign overnight stays (60 percent). In the first seven months of 2020, the country realised about 26.3 million foreign overnight stays, 42 percent of last year's traffic. August was even better for the 2020 Croatian tourist season according to the latest official data, as Croatia had about 2.3 million arrivals and 17.6 million overnight stays by August the 23rd, which is 67 percent of last year's result. By the end of August, it was estimated that a total of 20 million overnight stays had been acheived.

The Greek tourism sector estimates that it will end this year with tourism revenues of about 3 billion euros, which is 6 times less than it realised last year. Italy expects a loss of 36.7 billion euros in tourism, with a drop in consumption from foreign tourists of 82 percent when compared to last year, equal to an astounding 100 million euros a day, according to the World Tourism Council (WTTC). The CNTB pointed out that in the first part of the summer season, Croatia managed to open up to tourists much faster than what was the case with other countries. At the same time, it positioned itself better on emitting markets than all the countries covered by the analysis.

"The CNTB responded in a timely manner, directing its promotional activities and information campaigns to the most important emitting markets. That such a decision was correct is also confirmed by the results achieved by Croatian tourism in July and August, where we've recorded the most arrivals and overnight stays from the markets of Germany, Slovenia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary,'' the CNTB pointed out.

They also believe that very close and continuous communication with representatives of Croatian tourism associations, the Croatian Government and government institutions, as well as diplomacy was crucial.

''Considering the circumstances and the available budgets, we believe that we have all done an excellent job together,'' the CNTB concluded when looking back at the 2020 Croatian tourist season.

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

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

September 8, 2020 - The Istria County Tourist Board director Denis Ivosevic said that there are mostly German tourists in Istria, and revealed what needs to happen to save the season. 

Glas Istre reports that sixty-seven thousand guests stayed in Istria during the first weekend of September, most of them Germans - 40 thousand of them - which, according to the director of the Istrian Tourist Board, Denis Ivosevic, is quite expected considering that Germany is the only country in the region that did not put Istria on the red list of epidemiologically uncertain areas.

The Istrian police said that from Friday to Sunday at 12 pm, 33,536 passengers entered, and 35,678 passengers exited Croatia through the three largest road border crossings in Istria - Kaštela, Plovanija, and Požana. Foreign citizens account for 80 percent, and among them, Ivosevic confirms, most are Germans.

There are guests from other countries, which, under normal circumstances, represent a larger part of tourist traffic, such as Austria and Slovenia, but much less, says Ivosevic. Altogether, last weekend, he reveals, there were one hundred thousand fewer guests than at the same time last year. As before, due to epidemiological recommendations, tourists mostly opted for overnight stays in camps and private accommodation.

"The main part of the season is over. Now we are left with the hope that Slovenia could regionally select us as a safe area. That way, we would save the coming weekends," says Ivosevic about saving September and what's left of the tourist season.

Asked if the Istria County Tourism Commission, an expert and advisory body established in April to help coordinate activities to save the tourist season, has a plan and program for the postseason, Ivosevic said that the Commission acted when the repertoire was a different topic. Now, he says, the situation is a completely new story.

The main part of the season, the peak in August, is over. Ivosevic confirmed that they recorded more than good results.

"I look at the results of August from two different aspects. The first is the positive one, and that is that despite all the predictions about the weak season, we still managed to achieve more than a good result. Tourism peaked in the first half of August, and that’s great. Unfortunately, this is followed by the second, negative aspect. It refers to the fact that we managed to score an own goal and miss the opportunity to become true champions of this year's tourism by the end of August and September," says Ivosevic and continues:

"Instead, we ended up on the red list in many countries, which is very bad for the reputation and the end of the year, and can be a serious handicap in promoting the destination for next season," said the director of the regional tourist board after August.

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

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

As Novac/Barbara Ban writes on the 2nd of September, 2020, while a considerable amount of Croatia's tourism workers remain hooked on what the tourist season was like, fear what might happen in autumn and wonder how they will survive until next Easter, the crisis seems to have bypassed all those involved in renting holiday homes and Croatian luxury villas with swimming pools.

Exactly as expected, this type of accommodation was extremely highly sought after and booked by foreign tourists. A significant number of Croatian luxury villas and other such houses, especially those located in Istria, are still full, despite the fact that some Europeans, including Austrians, Slovenes and Britons aren't bothering coming to Istria because of Croatia's placement on the red lists of these countries. These European guests, along with Germans, make up the majority of guests in the post-season months.

However, only the German market will be able to fill these capacities to some extent, so the renters of Croatian luxury villas and other types of similar accommodation will eventually be able to be satisfied to some degree, as will the agencies that mediate in renting out this type of accommodation.

Ivan Milotic, co-owner and marketing strategist of the My Istria travel agency, which is known for renting the most luxurious houses in Istria, admitted as much. He explained that they have never had such a good level of booking in June as they did this year, which was actually to be expected given the fact that the borders re-opened to the countries from which the largest number of tourists come to Istria. After months of quarantine, everyone could hardly wait for a holiday and their arrival in the then 'coronavirus-free' zone.

''Due to the situation around the closing of the borders with Croatia, in September, we've been at about 60 percent of the occupancy of our houses. The decline started when the Austrians and Slovenes put us on their red lists. In those last 10 days of August, we lost 20 percent of our traffic because those guests packed up and returned home,'' Milotic said. But that doesn’t mean he’s unhappy with a season few expected much of.

''We started receiving our first guests back at the beginning of May, so from June the 15th, after the borders opened, the occupancy of the houses would be 99.9 percent. There are perhaps a few buildings left that have gone too far with their prices, and we have a thousand facilities in our offer. That trend lasted until August the 18th when Austria put us on the red list. From Friday to Saturday that day, we lost 18 percent of our bookings,'' Milotic said. But still, not everyone cancelled. He pointed out that there are guests who turned a deaf ear to these measures and came anyway.

''After that, we've been having an interesting situation because something gets cancelled, but then something also gets booked again. This is a really interesting season,'' Milotic admitted.

''We've adjusted our prices somewhere, depending on the demand. We had a good amount of reservations which took place before the outbreak, but also a lot of reservations after that. In some cases, the prices were reduced by up to 20 percent, but in principle they didn't change that much,'' Milotic pointed out. He explained that after tourism started, it was to be expected that this form of accommodation would be high on people's lists due to the level of isolation, as well as the level of quality.

''We noticed that some guests opted for houses and Croatian luxury villas instead of hotels. Some have even greater comfort than the hotels themselves, but they don't, of course, have the same services. But in this situation the guests were looking for a place to stay where they'd feel safe. The houses and Croatian luxury villas proved to be a complete success,'' he added.

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

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.