May the 23rd, 2023 - There has been a 23 percent increase in the number of French tourists in Croatia so far when compared to this time last year, and with flights from France to Croatia frequent until the end of October, it's likely that we'll come close to pre-pandemic 2019's results.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, over the first four months of this year, there have been 23 percent more tourist arrivals and 12 percent more overnight stays realised by French tourists compared to the same period last year, as reported bythe director of the Croatian Tourist Board's Representation in France, Daniela Mihalic Djurica.

"We believe that this year we will come close to the record results we saw back in 2019, when we achieved 640,000 arrivals of French tourists,'' said Mihalic Djurica at the end of the Morbihan Bay Week festival in the city of Vannes, located in the Brittany region.

This is the result of more favourable global health conditions, but above all promotional campaigns of Croatia as a desirable tourist destination here on the French market, she says.

"We're developing more and more through different products, and Croatian maritime heritage is only one of them, and that's why festivals like this one in Brittany are extremely important to us," she added, thanking the Cronaves association from Split for their help, which has been popularising and representing Croatian maritime heritage throughout Europe for a decade now.

Speaking about the campaigns and activities of the Croatian National Tourist Board's Representative Office over in France, she pointed out that in recent months the emphasis has been primarily on the representation of Croatian regions such as Zagreb, Kvarner, Istria and Slavonia, as well as on the wealth of the country's natural heritage and sustainable development.

"Campaigns with our strategic partners, as well as numerous PR and marketing activities, are ongoing. We used this week in Brittany to present the tourist offer of Kvarner with an emphasis placed on the island of Krk, Vodice and Split,'' she said, noting that there is no major part of France that is not connected to Croatia by at least one direct flight from April to the end of October. She estimates that France is a very potent market with 65 million people.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated news section.

March the 24th, 2023 - There has been a significant amount of interest shown by French tourists in visiting Croatia, and this was only further cemented by the recently held Salon Mondial du Tourisme, which took place in Paris.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, this year, the French tourist market has been showing great interest in the Republic of Croatia. This country's varied tourist offer has been included in the programmes of the largest and most important French tour operators and agencies, and there is growing interest in the introduction of new regular air routes, the Croatian Tourist Board (CNTB/HTZ) reported on Tuesday.

Good news for Croatian tourism comes from the recently held largest international tourist fair in France, "Salon Mondial du tourisme" in Paris, and from the accompanying business workshop organised by the HTZ representative office in Paris, which brought together more than 60 French travel organisers and travel agencies. Representatives of Croatia Airlines, Maistra, Falkenstainer, Hilton and other agencies discussed business opportunities and cooperation with them at the workshop.

"The Croatian offer for French tourists is well represented by the most important French travel organisers, and the further growth of specialised offers with an emphasis placed on wine and gastronomy, business, cultural and nautical tourism can certainly be an additional motive for the arrival of French tourists," said the director of the HTZ representative office in Paris, Danijela Mihalic Djurica.

This year, French tourists in Croatia have already spent 54 percent more registered overnight stays than they did back during the same period in the pre-pandemic, record year of 2019.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated news and travel sections.

August 17, 2021 - French tourists in Croatia have recorded 230,000 arrivals this year, which is almost 150% more than last year!

In one of the most widely-read daily French newspapers, the prestigious Le Figaro, a report was published from a recent study trip organized by the Representation of the Croatian Tourist Board in France, in cooperation with Transavia airline and with the support of the Zadar County Tourist Board, revealed the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board in France, Daniela Mihalić Đurica, as reported by HRTurizam. 

In the article "Zadar et ses îles, bijoux méconnus de la Croatie" or "Zadar and its islands - unknown gems of Croatia," the famous French tourism specialists and journalist Ludovic Bischoff conveys his impressions of Zadar and the region and emphasizes the city's vibrant history, cultural diversity, and heritage that offers tourists many opportunities.

The text lists the best destinations to visit, suggests to readers where to stay, and in which restaurants to taste the recognizable gastronomic offer of Zadar County. Special emphasis was placed on the island of Pag and the tradition of salt production, Pag lace, but also the cultural and historical heritage of Nin and the richness of the Paklenica National Park.

"So far this year, Croatia has recorded more than 230,000 arrivals from the French market, which is almost 150% more than last year, i.e., we are talking about 52% of arrivals recorded compared to 2019. At the moment, there are about 27,000 French people in Croatia who especially prefer the Split-Dalmatia and Dubrovnik-Neretva counties and are increasingly discovering Istria. Their favorite destinations are Split and Dubrovnik, but also the island of Hvar, which currently exceeds the results from 2019 in terms of French tourist traffic by 30%. During this year's summer season, Croatia and France are connected by numerous airlines directed to the airports of Zagreb, Pula, Zadar, Split, and Dubrovnik. In addition, the French can fly to Croatia from Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice, Strasbourg, and Toulouse, offering more than 30 different scheduled, low-cost, and charter flights from Transavia, Volotea, Ryanair, Easyjet, Croatia Airlines, and Air France," said the director of the Croatian Tourist Board Kristjan Staničić.

In the previous part of August, we recorded about 100,000 arrivals and 380,000 overnight stays of French tourists, which is 103% more arrivals than during the comparable period of 2020, i.e., 74% of arrivals recorded in the same period in 2019.

"In the opinion of popular French Vogue, Croatia is one of the favorite summer destinations of many world stars, while one of the most popular French tourist guides Petit Fute puts special emphasis on Istria, which French guests are increasingly discovering," added Mihalić Đurica.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

August 13, 2020 - In a primetime slot on French TV channel TF1, the popular show 'Cuisine Impossible' aired, in which the gastronomic charms of Slavonia were presented. But that's only part of the French promotion of Croatia.

The TV series shows destinations through the discovery of local products and producers, and a special feature about Croatia was organized by the Croatian National Tourist Board, the CNTB Representation in France and the Vukovar-Srijem County Tourist Board.

"The exceptionally viewed show, which is watched by over a million viewers, presented the Croatian region that French travel enthusiasts are just discovering. This show contributed not only to the promotion of the tourist offer of Slavonia but also to the diversity of the entire Croatian tourist offer. In addition, I believe that the broadcast will encourage a larger number of reservations for next year, when many French tourists will take their trips planned for this year," said the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board Kristjan Stanicic, emphasizing that there is currently an average of around 14,000 French guests in Croatia daily.

In the show dedicated to Slavonia, French culinary chef Julien Duboue accepted the challenge according to which, after tasting fish stew hosted by local family farm Zoltan Jovic, he had to prepare an identical dish in less than 48 hours, i.e., identify the ingredients of this authentic Slavonian dish, catch fish in the Danube and procure the remaining groceries. After successfully fulfilling the challenge, he emphasized the exceptional hospitality of Slavonians. The show features Ilok landscapes and cellars, vineyards, quality wine, and Slavonia is presented as a region with a rich tourist offer.

"We are satisfied with the successful realization of this project, through which Croatia once again placed itself on the list of favorite European destinations of the French, who from year to year discover new Croatian regions. We are sure that in the coming period, the richness of Slavonia's tourist offer will attract more and more French people," said the director of the CNTB France, Daniela Mihalic Djurica, adding that many other French media have been reporting on Croatia as a hit destination.

For example, in the most-watched term of the French national television M6, the show 'Zone interdite' was broadcast, entirely dedicated to Croatian tourism and Croatia, which was presented as an Adriatic gem and a hit destination for French guests in recent years. The show called "The French have found their place under the Croatian sun" has been watched by several million people so far, and shows destinations such as Split, Pakostane, Pag, Krka National Park, Brac, Hvar and Pag, with a number of useful tips for creating the ideal vacation in Croatia. Days after the broadcast, numerous French media broadcast a summary of the show that reveals why tourists from all over the world adore Croatia.

Also, the prestigious French weekly Le Figaro ranked the Croatian island of Lopud in first among three Mediterranean paradise islands, along with the Greek Santorini and Corsican Brando, while the French edition of lifestyle magazine Grazia, in its article entitled, "The most beautiful European island: A selection of the most beautiful which we dream of visiting", published a list that also includes Croatia, more precisely the island of Hvar, which is in the high fifth place of the most beautiful European islands.

Moteaur Boat, both the leader among the French motor-nautical media and its monthly with a 25-year tradition, has presented Croatia as a nautical paradise in its issue since August, with special emphasis on Vis, which delighted the journalist and camera crew with its beauty and indigenous experience.

The popular 90-minute travel show 'Echappées Belles' is currently being filmed in Istria and on the islands of Cres and Pag. The show is watched by almost two million viewers, and the episode about Croatia will be shown in May 2021 in primetime on the national TV channel France 5.

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