December 18, 2020 – The popular French travel show "Echappées Belles", or "Beautiful Escapades", dedicated one episode entirely to Croatian beauties.

The Croatian National Tourist Board reported that the show "Echappées Belles" dedicated to Croatia was broadcast in primetime on the French state television station France 5.

Danijela Mihalić Đurica, director of the Croatian National Tourist Board in France, said that the popular show "Echappées Belles" will significantly help maintain Croatia's visibility in the French market, given that more than 1.5 million viewers watch the show. Positive promotional effects are expected at the time of the resumption of sales and reservations.

"Namely, due to the epidemiological situation this year, many French people spent holidays at home, which is why it is expected that next tourist season they will travel mostly to close, accessible, and safe destinations. Therefore, we believe that Croatia will take one of the leading positions in the French market," said the director.

This travel episode about Croatia was created due to a collaboration between the French television station France 5 and the Croatian Tourist Board, with the support of the tourist board system. The show shows famous tourist destinations, revealing to viewers unknown facts about the local population's lives and customs.

This time, the show presented Istria and the islands of Pag and Cres as locations of incredible natural beauty and rich cultural heritage, emphasizing gastronomic potential and exceptional hospitality.

An article about Mljet, Hvar, and Korčula, published by one of the most influential French women magazines "Femme Actuelle" confirmed that Croatia is positioned on the French market as a fascinating and attractive tourist destination. The magazine, which has a circulation of half a million copies, is followed by more than three million readers. The author of the article is the renowned French journalist Thierry Lacour, who emphasized that he is fascinated by Mljet's natural beauties, the urbanism of Korčula, the scents of Hvar's lavender, and the impressive vineyards.

"In a country with more than a thousand islands, diversity is constant, and Mljet, Hvar, and Korčula are a concentration of the best that Croatia has to offer, preserved nature, as well as an abundance of historical heritage," said Lacour.

However, the French media have previously highlighted Croatia as a top destination. "Echappées Belles" presented Croatian tourist offer back in June 2017, as well as Istria last summer, when the popular French show "Cuisine Impossible" on French TV channel TF1 also promoted Slavonia and Croatian islands. Other French media also wrote about Croatia, including the prestigious French weekly magazine Le Figaro, which dedicated many pages to Sinj Alka.

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ZAGREB, Dec 14, 2020 - Croatia is an increasingly attractive destination for holidays in 2021 among Swedes, according to data collected by TUI Nordic tour operator, the Croatian National Tourism Board (HTZ) has recently reported.

Vedran Susic, director of the Croatian National Tourist Board Representation in Sweden, has been quoted as saying on 7 December that twice as many trips were booked in Sweden last week than in the week before that.

Croatia is among several Mediterranean destinations that are chosen most frequently by Swedes for holidays in 2021, the other destinations being Crete, Rhodes, Cyprus and Antalya.

According to HTZ data, from 1 January to 30 November this year, about 41,000 travellers from Sweden visited Croatia and made 228,000 overnight stays, which was equivalent to 15% of their arrivals in 2019.

ZAGREB, November 29, 2020 - The annual meeting of the European Travel Commission's (ETC) market intelligence and marketing group will be held in Croatia in April next year, the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) announced in a statement earlier this week following the 100th ETC general meeting.

HTZ director Kristjan Stancic attended the meeting, which was held online, in his capacity as ETC vice-president.

The HTZ highlighted the importance of next year's ETC meeting in Croatia for the promotion of the national tourist industry and for strengthening cooperation with European counterparts.

"We expect that the meeting in April will bring together about a hundred marketing and market research experts as well as the heads of the national travel organisations of the ETC member states," Stanicic said, adding that this was a great recognition for Croatia.

He said that the general meeting focused on the post-pandemic recovery of the tourist industry, the importance of implementing healthcare and hygiene protocols, and the promotion of tourism and tourism products through joint promotional campaigns.

"In the time ahead the ETC will promote sustainability, climate-neutral travel and travel aimed at  reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It also underlined the importance of establishing a common European travel protocol to facilitate travel and include tourism in national recovery plans," Stanicic said.

The ETC has four representative offices overseas - in China, Canada, the United States and Brazil - and is planning to open two more - in Japan and Australia.

Franka Gulin, the director of the HTZ office in China, has been appointed vice-president of the ETC office in China. She stressed the importance of China for Europe's tourist industry.

"The ETC has big plans on the Chinese market in the coming years, especially in the context of promoting Europe as a tourist destination. I am very glad that, as part of the leadership of the ETC office in China, I will have the opportunity to even more strongly represent the interests of our country on the large Chinese market, which will be the most potent in the post-pandemic period," Gulin said.

ZAGREB, November 28, 2020 - The Tourism Council of the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) on Friday adopted the programme and financial plan for 2021, and the revenues for next year are projected in the amount of 285 million kuna, the HTZ said in a press release after its online meeting.

The HTZ is set to ramp up marketing and PR activities next year to offset a decline in the intensity of marketing activities at the level of local HTZ branches.

The press release says that according to data collected by the e-Visitor system, over 54 million tourist nights have been registered year-to-date, which is half as in the corresponding period in 2019.

The HTZ is a national tourist organization founded with the aim of creating and promoting the identity and reputation of Croatian tourism domestically and internationally. 

Its activities "include both planning and implementing the promotional strategy, as well as proposing and implementing promotional activities that are of common interest to all entities in tourism, and raising the level of quality of the entire Croatian tourist offer," the HTZ says on its website.

As Novac/Bernard Ivezic writes on the 17th of September, 2020, the tourist champion of the Mediterranean has a new ace up its sleeve to attract tourists, but also to promote its very own culture. As of today, Croatian Intangible Heritage is available on Google on the pages "Croatia: Hearts & Crafts" in both Croatian and English.

Croatia is one of the countries with the largest number of intangible cultural heritage sites in the whole world. Croatian intangible heritage is under the protection of UNESCO, and is now available on the Internet through the cooperation of Google Arts & Culture and the Croatian National Tourist Board (CNTB/HTZ).

The Museum of Arts and Crafts and the Museum of the Sinj Alka participated in the project, thus becoming just some of more than 2,000 cultural institutions from 80 countries participating in the Google Arts & Culture project.

Kristjan Stanicic, the director of the CNTB, says that this is the first large and comprehensive project of the Croatian National Tourist Board and Google which promotes Croatian intangible heritage in an innovative way.

"As part of this project, we've revealed 25 Croatian intangible traditions to the world that will, I'm sure, contribute to further positioning our country as a tourist destination with a rich and diverse offer with emphasis placed on our cultural and historical heritage, which we're all very proud of,'' said Stanicic.

Intangible cultural heritage that refers to traditions or living expressions that are passed from one generation to another are being presented through this joint project in four sections, ie through the knowledge of crafts, folk songs and dances, and then festivities and food.

Amit Sood, director of Google Arts and Culture, says 2020 has been a challenging year for travellers around the world. He is convinced that this project to showcase Croatian intangible heritage through cooperation with Google will bring even more people closer the rich traditions and history of Croatia, which is already known for its natural beauty and picturesque cities.

"Using technology and innovative storytelling techniques, this project in cooperation and under the auspices of the Croatian National Tourist Board is aimed at preserving and promoting selected aspects of Croatian intangible heritage to a global audience. This is also the first global presentation of Croatian intangible heritage on Google Arts & Culture,'' stated Sood.

Some of the examples included in the project are the making of Agave lace, which according to tradition originates from the Canary Islands, and which today in Croatia is made only by nuns from the Benedictine monastery in Hvar Town on the island of the same name. The incredible Sinjska Alka, held every year in August on the anniversary of victory over Turkish invaders in 1715, when 700 Croatian soldiers from Sinj managed to repel the onslaught of 60,000 Turkish soldiers, as well as the traditional Tribunj donkey race, which is held every year on the first day of August.

The project also includes Nijemo kolo from the Dalmatian hinterland, which is unique in that it is performed in a circle or in pairs almost exclusively without any musical accompaniment, klapa singing, traditional polyphonic homophonic singing without the accompaniment of instruments dedicated to love or to the community in which the singers live, the art of preparing strukli, from Zagorje a salty or sweet dish made of dough stuffed with cheese, the most famous specialty of Hrvatsko Zagorje, and the folk singng, becarac, is also described, and much more.

It's also worth mentioning that by using the Google Street View feature, people around the world can virtually navigate through many places, and with just one click they can find out additional information about Croatian treasures or immerse themselves in high-resolution photos. They can visit the glittering coastline and dive into the crystal clear Adriatic sea, explore Korcula, the home of the Moreska sword dance, or travel to Omis, where the Festival of Dalmatian Klapa takes place. They're free to stop by the island of Lastovo, known for its natural beauty, Venetian architecture from the 16th century and a traditional events, and much more.

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ZAGREB, September 8, 2020 - Director of the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) Kristjan Stanicic has been appointed vice president of the European Travel Commission (ETC), which is the first time Croatia has a representative in the ETC presidency since becoming a full member in 1997, HTZ said on Tuesday.

The ETC is the most important and oldest international tourism association in Europe, comprising 33 national tourist organisations and associate members such as agencies, service providers in tourism and transport providers.

Stanicic was appointed at the 99th ETC general assembly held online, with Luis Araujo from Portugal appointed as ETC president.

"I thank my European colleagues for their trust, which is also proof of the quality work of the Croatian Tourist Board on the European markets, but also distant markets. This is also credit to Croatian tourism and Croatia, which has confirmed its status as the safest tourist destination in the Mediterranean even in this demanding year," Stanicic said in a press release.

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As Dora Koretic/Novac writes on the 4th of September, 2020, it seems that the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) will have to write off a debt of 14,864 kuna, which it owed the recently bankrupt company Kompas, due to the fact that this organisation failed to file a claim for bankruptcy in time in accordance with the appropriate regulations. The Kompas bankruptcy officially occurred early last year.

Namely, the company Kompas formally and legally went bankrupt on January the 3rd, 2019, and the deadline for filing creditors' claims was prescribed by March the 4th at the latest.

The Kompas bankruptcy debt left to the Croatian National Tourist Board by the collapsed company Kompas referred to the organisation of the tourist fair in Madrid, Spain, and the Croatian National Tourist Board sent the claim by mail on the last day of the prescribed deadline. However, it was established that the application was actually sent to the wrong address - instead of the bankruptcy trustee. as formally and legally prescribed, the application was sent by mistake to the address of the bankruptcy debtor.

''Immediately after learning that the application was sent to the bankruptcy debtor's address, the Croatian National Tourist Board informed the bankruptcy trustee in writing by sending them a letter stating that the application was sent to the bankruptcy debtor's address instead of the bankruptcy trustee. The said letter was sent on the 5th of March 2019, the day after the bankruptcy claim was sent, and was received by the Bankruptcy Trustee on the 7th of March 2019. Therefore, the bankruptcy trustee was informed without delay that the consignment in question had been sent by mistake to wrong address,'' they explained from the Croatian National Tourist Board.

A new mail with the filing of the Kompas bankruptcy claim was then sent to the address of the bankruptcy trustee on March the 12th, but the bankruptcy court still issued a Decision rejecting the filing due to the aforementioned missed deadline.

After that, the Croatian National Tourist Board appealed the decision, but a cold shower arrived from the High Commercial Court: this body, namely, assessed that sending the application to the address of the bankruptcy debtor, and not the bankruptcy trustee is to the detriment of the tourist board, and the claims of this organisation are far from further helped by the fact that the bankruptcy trustee was informed that they could pick up the application at the address of the bankruptcy debtor.

"Unfortunately, given the fact that the Bankruptcy Law no longer recognises the subsequent filing of bankruptcy claims and that the court didn't take into account the fact that the Croatian National Tourist Board tried to act in good faith, although it informed the bankruptcy trustee representing the Kompas bankruptcy debtor, a decision was made to reject the appeal. Considering that this is a decision of the High Commercial Court, it is no longer possible to file a regular appeal against it,'' they explained from the Croatian National Tourist Board.

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August 31, 2020 - There are currently about 310,000 tourists in Croatia, of which 240,000 are foreigners, and 106,000 came during the last weekend of August, the Croatian National Tourist Board revealed on Monday, whose director Kristjan Stanicic assessed the results in August as extremely good given the circumstances.

"August is behind us, in which we have achieved extremely good results given the circumstances. Our further strategic and marketing activities will primarily depend on the epidemiological picture of Croatia and the surrounding countries, and uncertainty in this regard requires flexibility and readiness for rapid and continuous adaptation. We are witnessing that some countries in the region have started to close, which we also consider when defining activities in the off-season," Stanicic said for HTZ at the end of August.

Stanicic presented eVistor data according to which slightly more than a million overnight stays were realized on the weekend of August 28 to 30, of which 319,000 were realized by German tourists, followed by Poles (109,000), and Slovenes (83,000).

Over the weekend, the highest number of overnight stays was again in Vir (52,000), followed by Rovinj and Crikvenica. Vir and Rovinj, according to eVisitor data, are the top two destinations in the total number of overnight stays for the whole of August - Vir with 756,000, and Rovinj with 651,000.

Medulin, Porec, and Crikvenica are among the top five destinations per night in August.

A total of 2.6 million tourists came to Croatia in August, more precisely until August 30, with 20.7 million overnight stays, which is 64 percent of last year's result in the same period.

The German market maintained its leading position with 5.2 million overnight stays, followed by domestic tourists with almost four million overnight stays. Slovenia is third with 2.7 million overnight stays in August, while Poland and the Czech Republic are fourth and fifth with 2.2 and 1.3 million overnight stays, respectively.

By counties, most overnight stays in August were realized in Istria County - slightly more than five million, while in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, there were 4.1 million overnight stays, in Split-Dalmatia County 3.9 million, in Zadar County 3.7 million, and Sibenik-Knin County 1.6 million overnight stays.

Noting that complete statistics of arrivals and overnight stays for August and the first eight months of this year can be expected in the first part of September, the Croatian National Tourist Board adds that given the pandemic, they have prepared several different communication concepts to apply depending on the market and circumstances.

"If the situation allows, in the autumn we plan to launch a campaign 'A week's vacation is worth it' for domestic tourists and encourage their consumption in the off-season by using tourist services in the country at lower prices," announced Stanicic.

In conclusion, he emphasized that "domestic tourists have a share of 20 percent in the total result of the current part of the tourist year, which is an important share, and that their contribution is expected in the off-season with shorter and weekend trips."

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August 27, 2020 - A coordination meeting of the Croatian Tourist Board was held with the tourist boards of Lika-Senj and Karlovac counties at the Jezero Hotel in Plitvice Lakes.

Along with the director of the CNTB Kristjan Stanicic, the coordination meeting was attended by the director of the Lika-Senj County Tourist Board Ivan Radosevic and the director of the Karlovac County Tourist Board Dina Begic and 17 representatives of tourist boards of cities and municipalities from these two counties. The meeting was also attended by Tomislav Kovacevic, director of the Plitvice Lakes National Park, announced HTZ.hr.

The meeting was opened by Ivan Radosevic, who emphasized that the situation in Lika-Senj County is very good, especially if the initial projections from the beginning of the year are taken into account.

"In August, we achieved an excellent 67 percent of last year's result in the same period, and in terms of the cumulative period, i.e., from the beginning of the year until today, we are at about 54 percent of last year's result in the same period," said Radosevic. At the moment, there are guests, mostly from the markets of Germany, Croatia, and Poland. Dina Begic pointed out that at the moment, they are achieving 30 percent of last year's tourist results and that this year they are recording an increase in domestic guests who have a share of 30 percent in the total tourist traffic of Karlovac County.

CNTB Director Kristjan Stanicic said that the tourist results achieved so far, with a favorable epidemiological picture on the basis of which Croatia opened its borders to tourists in May, are a consequence of focused marketing and information campaigns conducted in key European markets, which ultimately generated the largest tourist traffic.

"Given the circumstances, we are extremely satisfied with the summer part of the tourist year, where only in August we recorded 67 percent of tourist traffic compared to last August. We have prepared campaigns for the post-season where we have put continental tourism, nautical, but also eno-gastronomy in the foreground, and we will focus on the markets in our immediate surroundings. In the domestic market, in October, we plan to implement the project 'A Week's Vacation is Worth It'. At the same time, we are preparing a plan for the next tourist year, which we know will be extremely demanding and in which we will rely on enhanced marketing and PR activities in selected markets and especially on advertising on digital communication channels," said director of the Croatian National Tourist Board Kristjan Stanicic, adding that in this tourist year, we will surely have two more months of tourist traffic if we adhere to the prescribed measures and recommendations and if the epidemiological picture in the country is stable.

Stanicic also presented future activities that will, among other things, refer to the adoption of new bylaws and regulations that will further improve and regulate tourism processes. The Ordinance on Underdeveloped Areas and the Ordinance on Associated Tourist Boards were discussed, as well as the future of the country's tourist board system, given the new circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and reduced revenues, but also the new law on tourist boards and the promotion of Croatian tourism, which came into force in early 2020. Topics included the further development of the tourist board system with an emphasis on the tasks and roles of tourist boards at the local and regional levels.

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ZAGREB, Aug 26, 2020- There are now some 500,000 tourists in Croatia and if the epidemiological situation remains stable and everyone complies with recommendations, we can certainly expect another two months of tourism turnover this year, the National Tourist Board (HTZ) director, Kristjan Stanicic, said on Wednesday.

Stanicic met with representatives of Lika-Senj and Karlovac county tourist board representatives at Plitvice Lakes.

Lika-Senj county tourism board director Ivan Radosevic assesses that tourist trade in that county is very good compared to initial forecasts, saying that "August has brought an excellent 67% of last August's results, and year to date we have stood at 54% of last year's levels."

Currently, there are visitors in that county from Germany, Croatia, and Poland and the situation is similar in Karlovac County with the local tourist board's director Dina Begic saying that currently, the county is generating about 30% of last year's turnover.

They both underscored that this year the number of local guests has increased and account for 30% of tourism turnover.

Stanicic recalled measures from May until now which enabled tourism turnover, including a focus on marketing and information campaigns conducted on key European markets where the majority of holidaymakers come from.

Considering everything, Stanicic is exceptionally satisfied with the summer part of the tourism year and with that in August alone when 67% of last year's August turnover was achieved.

He announced a campaign for the shoulder season with emphasis on continental tourism, nautical and gastronomic tourism focusing on the closest markets.

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