March the 11th, 2022 - German Croatian holiday booking was exceeding 2019's pre-pandemic levels and experiencing a real ''boom'' just before Vladimir Putin's shock invasion of neighbouring Ukraine a couple of weeks ago.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, up until the beginning of the unjustified Russian invasion of Ukraine last month, German Croatian holiday booking levels were truly excellent, even better than in pre-pandemic 2019, but what the rest of the tourist season will look like this year is uncertain because the entire European market is currently in a state of shock.

This is how Romeo Draghicchio, director of the Croatian National Tourist Board (CNTB) in Germany, describes the current situation, on the occasion of the ITB Berlin fair, which is being held in a virtual form this week for the third year in a row due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"In Germany, there are concerns about the war in Ukraine, but so far we aren't really seeing a significant impact on consumer habits. However, since the beginning of the war, programmes for Russia and Ukraine have been cancelled, while cruises aimed at St. Petersburg are being diverted to other ports. It will take more time to assess the real consequences for the summer season because there is currently a shock in the market. When we talk about Croatia, until the outbreak of the conflict, booking was at a higher level for the country, even when compared to the 2019 tourist season, which was a great sign,'' he said.

''What the further course of the season will unfold like remains to be seen, but the good position of this country on the German market has been confirmed by the recently published research "Reiseanalyse" of the FUR Institute for 2021, according to which Croatia climbed to the ranks of the top four German destinations. In addition to that, as pointed out by the FUR, in 2021, Croatia was the only destination that increased its market share when compared to 2019,'' added Draghicchio when describing the German Croatian holiday booking trends so far.

It's worth noting that this year's ITB is being held in two parts, one part was held from March the 8th to the 10th, the ITB Convention, which focuses on digital and sustainable solutions with the transfer of all sessions on the official ITB platform. The programme also includes lectures by a number of international top speakers and tourism experts. The second part of the ITB refers to the Digital Business Day, which will be held on March the 17th.

It is a concept conceived as a platform for the networking of exhibitors and buyers, and each participant creates their own personal business profile and communicates with potential partners or clients through audio/video tools. Within this part of the ITB, CNTB representatives will also create their profiles and hold a series of meetings with partners and the interested business community.

CNTB Director Kristjan Stanicic pointed out that if the situation in Ukraine lasts any longer, we can expect greater disruptions in the wider tourism market, especially in countries in the immediate vicinity of Ukraine, such as Poland, Slovakia and Hungary.

For more, check out our travel section.

July the 7th, 2021 - ITB Berlin, which has been on a two year break owing to the outbreak of the global pandemic, is set to return, and partially as normal (in live) next spring. The move is a boost to the Croatian tourist industry for which this fair is of significance.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, ITB Berlin is partially returning in live in the spring of 2022, so a combination of a live fair, hybrid stands and online meetings will take place, ITB reported yesterday. The Berlin Fair is one of the most important for the overall Croatian tourist industry, because it is also the largest event from the German emitting market, from which the most foreign guests come.

''With this year's online edition of "ITB Berlin Now", we were able to offer the industry a sophisticated alternative fair format. However, it also became clear to all of us that nothing could compare to a face-to-face meeting. We're therefore pleased to welcome the global tourism industry in Berlin live and physically in 2022. In addition, our extended virtual formats that include livestreaming and Digital Business Days will take the fair to a new level, combining the best elements of the physical and virtual worlds,'' said David Ruetz, Head of ITB Berlin.

The fair will be held from the 9th to the 13th of March 2022 and will take place in three stages, before the fair there will be live meetings, after the fair there will be a virtual event called "Business Days" with virtual meetings and live broadcasts, and the fair will have both physical and hybrid stands. As early as February 2022, access will be available to a virtual fair platform where exhibitors, visitors and the media can make contact in advance and find relevant content.

In particular, on Wednesday, March the 9th, the exhibition space in the German capital of Berlin will finally open its doors to exhibitors, visitors and the media, respecting the latest hygiene rules and safety concept that ITB Berlin will harmonise with local authorities and test people beforehand. On Saturday, March the 12th and Sunday, March the 13th, everyone from the Berlin/Brandenburg region eager to travel will also be invited to the exhibition halls, where they can get some ideas and inspiration for their next holiday, the ITB said in a statement.

Anyone who wants to attend ITB, but due to travel restrictions cannot be in Berlin, can join the fair live by booking one of the new remote hybrid stands.

For more on the Croatian tourist industry, make sure to follow our travel section.

ZAGREB, 14 March 2021 - The tourist board of Bol, a town on the island of Brač, has won an award at the ITB Berlin International Tourism Fair for the "Windsurfing" video, the board said on Sunday, adding that its "Our Stories from Bol" campaign won third place.

The video was awarded in the "Cities" category as part of the Golden City Gate 2021 Tourism Film Print Multimedia Competition, in which 23 countries participated.

The evaluation criteria included clarity of the message that is being communicated, creativity, innovation, message authenticity and if the video encourages viewers to visit the destination.

In "Windsurfing", the oldest and youngest surfers in Bol, Tomaž Garbajs and Ian Anić respectively, acquaint viewers with one of the world's most beautiful beaches, Zlatni Rat, and the art of surfing, inviting them to feel the pleasure of chasing waves.

The "Our Stories from Bol" campaign recently won the Golden Interstas Award at the ITF 'CRO' 2020 International Tourfilm Festival.

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

March 13, 2021 – Good news comes from the world's leading tourism fair ITB Berlin, as Croatia wins medical tourism award!

Together with 18 Croatian co-exhibitors, the Croatian National Tourist Board (CNBT) presented the Croatian tourist offer at the virtual edition of the world's leading tourist fair ITB in Berlin. For the first time after 50 years, the fair was held via the online platform ITB Berlin NOW.

As part of the fair, Croatia also won the special ITB Medical Tourism Destination Award, awarded for the first time by ITB with the HTI Conference's (Health Tourism Industry) support.

The organizers recognized Croatia as an innovative and sustainable destination that provides a high level of medical tourism experience and services. Over 250 thousand guests visit Croatia annually for medical tourism, which confirms this recognition. Romeo Draghicchio, Director of the CNTB Representation in Germany, accepted the award. The award will, among other things, be an additional motivation in further medical tourism development in Croatia.

"By participating in the ITB Berlin fair, we maintain Croatia's presence and visibility in our traditionally most important German market. We also maintain business contacts and relationships with key partners, agents, tour operators, airlines. Despite the current situation, we believe that the easing of restrictions will normalize the tourist traffic, and many Germans will place their trust in Croatia this year as well. This is supported by the recent inclusion of four Croatian counties on the list of safe regions by the German Robert Koch Institute, making Istria the only safe sea region in the Mediterranean. Also, the largest German airline Lufthansa announced to increase the number of flights to Croatia in the coming period," said CNTB director Kristjan Staničić.

The fair was held from March 9 to 12, 2021. The Croatian delegation held a series of online meetings with representatives of major agencies, tour operators, and other partners such as DER Touristik, Schauinsland, Eurowings, BBC, Amadeus (one of the world's strongest companies for new technologies in tourism), Holliday Pirates (large booking travel platform), and others.

During the meetings, the partners stressed that they expect a better tourist season than last year.

"Although the period of intensive booking is just ahead of us, partners in the German market have been noticing an increase in interest in travel since mid-February compared to previous periods. They are especially interested in the arrangements for the Easter holidays and spring, with an emphasis on Istria, for which restrictions and quarantine measures have been lifted when passengers return to Germany," said Draghicchio.

Along with the Croatian National Tourist Board as the leading exhibitor, the Croatian stand also presented co-exhibitors, including the tourist boards of Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Dubrovnik, and Zagreb, as well as Croatia Airlines, Jadrolinija, Plitvice Lakes National Park, Valamar, Maistra, Uniline, Laguna Novigrad (Aminess Hotels & Campsites), Liburnia Riviera Hotels, ID Riva, Abacus, Ban Tours, Perfecta Travel, Sunturist, Unlimited Croatia DMC, and Via Mea Travel.

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March 9, 2020 – The promotional film “Rijeka - I Miss You” took second place at the 20th anniversary festival of The Golden City Gate in Berlin, the Rijeka Tourist Board reported on Monday.

Normally, awards are handed out at this festival as part of the ITB World Tourism Exchange in Berlin, but as ITB was cancelled this year due to the coronavirus outbreak, so was the award ceremony, according to Novi List.

Second Prize in ‘City International’ Category

The promotional film received second prize in the "City International" category among promotional films at the Golden City Gate competitions. A large number of well-known destinations worldwide were submitted for the awards, and were reviewed and evaluated by a jury of 45 members, including specialists in their respective professions and representatives of travel agencies, professors, students, directors and administrations, ministries and artists.

The film was produced by Balduči Film and the Rijeka Tourist Board. The producer/screenwriter is Spomenka Saraga and the director is Herve Tirmarche.

This promotional film was shot at numerous attractive locations which represent the metropolis as a year-round tourist and city break destination. The film takes viewers through the highlights, from the Trsat castle and museums to the top restaurants and one of the most beautiful fish markets in Europe, according to the Rijeka Tourist Board.

Rijeka: Top Ten Croatia 2020 Destination

In January, Rijeka was among the top 10 destinations of Croatia for tourist traffic. With outstanding tourism numbers, the city began 2020 by ranking second highest in the Kvarner area. In January, Rijeka reported 17,830 overnight stays, an increase of 11 percent over 2019.

In addition, the European organization European Best Destinations has put the Croatian port in the list of the top 10 European cities to be visited in 2020.

Most overnights were spent by guests from the surrounding region. On average they stayed three days, which is evidence that Rijeka is becoming a city break destination and more attractive to a growing number of foreign and domestic tourists.

Greatest Growth: 19 to 30 Tourist Age Group

In January, tourists from the 19 to 30 age group spent the greatest number of overnights and accounted for 29.6 percent of total overnight stays.

Rijeka also entered the list of the top 10 destinations in Croatia in terms of tourist traffic in private accommodation and ranked fourth behind Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik.

Follow our Travel page and this page for Total Croatia News articles about Rijeka European Capital of Culture. The website for the Rijeka Tourist Board can be accessed here, Croatian National Tourist Board here and Kvarner County Tourism Office here.

This year, the Croatian National Tourist Board is presenting the Croatian tourist offer at the world's leading travel fair ITB, which is held in Berlin from March 6 to 10. The Minister of Tourism, Gari Cappelli and the Director of the Croatian Tourist Board Kristjan Staničić are also participating in the fair, where they will meet with representatives of key partners in the German market such as TUI, FTI, British Airlines, Eurowings, Jet2, Condor, and others. Split-Dalmatia County perfect Blaženko Boban and the director of the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board, Joško Stella, are also in Berlin, reports Dalmacija Danas on March 6, 2019. 

This year, Split-Dalmatia County is represented for the first time with an independent stand, which will be presented to numerous partners who will be able to taste local cheeses, prosciutto, and wine under the theme "Heart of the Adriatic”. 

In his speech, the Prefect welcomed Minister Gari Cappelli, Director of the Croatian National Tourist Board Kristijan Staničić, Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to Germany Gordan Grlić Radman, the State Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism Tonči Glavina and the Director of the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board Josko Stella.

“In Berlin, at the biggest tourism fair in the world, we bring a taste of the clearest sea, the air of the warmest sun and the soul of the noblest man, our Dalmatia.”

The Mayor of Sinj Kristina Križanac, Mayor of Hvar, Rikard Novak, Mayor of Stari Grad Antonio Škarpa, Mayor of Jelsa Nikša Peronja, Mayor of Bol Tihomir Marinković, Director of the Makarska Tourist Board Hloverka Novak-Srzić, Director of the Split Tourist Board Alijana Vukšić, Director of the Sinj Tourist Board Monika Vrgoč, Director of the Hvar Tourist Board Petar Razović, Director of the Marina Tourist Board Iva Dvornik, Director of the Agency for Coastal and Inland Transport, Paula Vidović, and the President of HGK Split Jozo Tomaš, as well as other valuable tourist workers from the private and public sector, were all in attendance. Split-Dalmatia County was also represented by distinguished bartender Jure Vojković and owner of Villa Dvor Petar Ćurlin who presented their eco-friendly products. The stand was visited by Mayor of Rijeka Vojko Obersnel, Mayor of Korčula Andro Fabris and the Prefect of Dubrovnik-Neretva County Nikola Dobroslavić with his associates.

“Croatia is still very interesting in the German market, and we expect tourism traffic at the level of last year. Germany and Croatia are friendly countries, and I particularly emphasize investments in the Republic of Croatia amounting to EUR 3.2 billion in the last ten years. Our goal is to strengthen our relationships further, and next year, Croatia will be the partner of the largest agricultural fair Green Week, which will be held in Berlin in early 2020. It will be an opportunity to present, together with the Ministry of Agriculture and HGK, what Croatian villages produce for Croatian tourism - that is what we want to strengthen,” said Minister Cappelli.

“Considering the importance of the ITB fair, which has positioned itself as one of the most important tourist exchanges in the world, and considering the importance of Germany as the strongest market for Croatian tourism, the appearance, and presentation of our offer at this fair is of great importance. According to the information of the partners with which we have so far held meetings, Croatia's position on the German market is stable, sales are intensified, but the peak is still ahead of us. Our goal is to repeat the results from last year when almost three million German tourists visited us, who achieved more than 21 million overnight stays,” said the director Staničić.

ITB Berlin is the world's leading tourism industry fair that holds its 53rd edition this year. The fair welcomes more than 180 countries worldwide and is visited by more than 150,000 guests annually. It is estimated that contracts worth over 7 billion euro will be agreed during the fair.

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

Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli and the director of the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) Kristjan Staničić, ahead of this week's ITB Berlin, pointed out that they expect a similar number of German tourists as last year, or about 3 million, and that despite somewhat slowed early bookings, they believe in a good overall annual result in Croatian tourism, reports Poslovni.hr on March 4, 2019. 

The largest international travel trade show ITB Berlin, which will be held from March 6 to 10, will gather more than 10,000 exhibitors from around 190 countries, including Croatia, whose tourist offer will be presented to a business audience from the German and other markets by the HTZ and more than 30 tourist companies and communities.

Hundreds of Croatian tourism professionals traditionally present at the ITB, who will negotiate concrete business deals with partners and hear about current trends in business and market interest for the tourist offer.

And while there should be international growth in tourist travel this year, for some regions, unlike the last two or three years, announcements ahead of this ITB are somewhat more cautious, with slower or smaller bookings for the coming months and summer, especially in the Mediterranean, which is one of the most visited tourist regions in the world.

For example, Spain, one of the strongest tourist countries in the world, recorded a decline in bookings in the first months of this year compared to the same period last year, especially from the British market, with Portugal and some other countries in the minus, while Croatia has also slowed down.

On the other hand, Turkey is pushing a great offer, has a price advantage and is investing in marketing, similar to Greece, Egypt and other countries in North Africa, who are seeking to attract as many tourists as possible since they lost them in the last two or three years due to political and other instability. 

"I know that there is anxiety because foreign markets are slower, but we need to be patient and impose quality without lowering prices, which I am against. Slower bookings are happening because now there is a lot more capacity on the market than two or three years ago when there was migrant and political turmoil in Turkey, Greece, Egypt and other countries in North Africa, which are now more stable, so tourists have more places to choose from and it is certain that this year there will be more prominent 'last minute' bookings, that is, they will wait for more favorable prices,” said Cappelli.

He is aware that those in the tourism sector are a bit nervous, but that the market will do its part. Nevertheless, Cappelli advises the sector to listen carefully to the market in the next two to three weeks, and then decide whether it is necessary to react with price corrections or other measures.

Cappelli also says that there is no panic from the big hotel houses, for the time being, and that summer bookings are now similar to last year, with slightly better pre-season bookings, which the Minister points out as more important, because “the peak season will work out last minute and come to the previous level, and there should be no problem here.”

"The ITB will show a lot, especially from the German market, for which we have already taken additional activities and investments in marketing actions. We anticipated 2.5 million kuna, which is the most for a particular market from the total, recently additionally allocated 10 million kuna for promotion from the HTZ budget for all markets. We expect Germany to keep the same figures as in 2018, and this can be confirmed by previous talks and information from our German partners, who said that Germany would not be reducing the number of trips this year,” says Cappelli.

Both Cappelli and Staničić recalled that Germany is still the most critical market for Croatian tourism, which in a certain way signals to many and what they should do.

“After the ITB, we will have clearer information about the status of bookings from the German market, from which almost 3 million tourists visited us last year. To further boost bookings and attract German tourists to Croatia, there is a large campaign on the 11 most popular German TV channels, and at the beginning of March, a pre-season campaign on 12 markets with an emphasis on the promotion of cultural, active tourism and eno-gastronomy,” Staničić.

At ITB, they will meet with representatives of numerous partners, such as TUI, FTI, Condor, British Airways, Eurowings, Jet2 and others, as well as representatives of the National Tourism Organization of Albania, and participate in the international the manifestation of the Danube countries “Donavausalon”, which this year Croatia is a partner country.

"At the HTZ booth at ITB we will have 23 co-exhibitors/companies and tourist boards, and we believe in a great presentation, as we believe that this tourist year will show good results. This optimism is thanks to the first two months of this year, where according to eVisitor, almost 485,000 tourists visited Croatia, which is 9 percent more than the same period in 2018. An increase of 4 percent was also recorded with 1.3 million overnight stays,” Staničić concluded. 

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

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