May 7, 2020 - Croatian media monitoring and analytics service Mediatoolkit with some very interesting research on interest in Croatia as a tourist destination this summer.  

Recently, the BBC published an article about Greece and Croatia being two European countries that reacted swiftly and effectively to stop Coronavirus from spreading, which might lead to a successful tourist season as a reward. 

These types of articles that present Croatia as a “Corona free” country that has the situation under control can be of great help in attracting tourists. Especially when published by prominent news outlets such as BBC.

According to Mediatoolkit, over a million people read the BBC article in one day, and almost two thousand interacted with it, whether through likes, comments, or shares.

The mention analysis of Croatia in the context of tourism and Coronavirus was made using the media monitoring tool Mediatoolkit. This type of analysis is possible in all languages, but for this purpose, we focused only on English, Italian, and German.

Query setup 

Croatia - an example of good practice

The BBC wasn’t the only news outlet that mentioned Croatia. 

Lately, foreign media has started describing Croatia as a country that had set a good example for handling the Coronavirus crisis and also having a chance to save its tourist season. In the graph below you can see the growth of online mentions of Croatia in the context of Coronavirus and tourism in English. To be precise, the number of online mentions in the analyzed period was 175,57% higher than in the previous one. Also, in the graph, you can see a spike in mentions of Croatia after April 19, which may have a positive impact on tourism if that trend continues.

Mentions over time in English

When it comes to mentions of Croatia in the context of Coronavirus and tourism in German, we noticed a spike of mentions of 167,2%.

Mentions over time in German

Most mentions in German were published in Germany, followed by Austria and Switzerland. For years now, Germans are among Croatia’s most numerous guests over the summer, so it is no wonder that there’s huge interest from the German public about the situation in Croatia. 

On the other hand, mentions in Italian are currently declining for 11,5% compared to the previous period. Such a result can be explained by the fact that Italy itself is an extremely tourist-oriented country. They’ll focus primarily on saving their season, which is projected to drop traffic by 60%.

One interesting piece of data came up in the analysis. Mentions of Croatia in English and German were predominantly negative (around 55,8%), while mentions in Italian were predominantly positive (73,6%). This could be due to the fact that the Italians write more about how to save the tourist season and also mention Croatia. German and English language-based media, on the other hand, are more concerned with the general situation around Coronavirus and tourism.

Positive-negative sentiment ratio

Successful tourist season?

From the very beginning of the Coronavirus epidemic in Croatia, one of the burning issues has been what will happen to the tourist season. At first, there was little room for optimism, but after two months of adhering to distancing measures, it seems that Croatian people potentially saved tourism from a complete disaster. We say potentially because we still have to take into account that the Coronavirus has not disappeared and that due to negligence, the situation can turn upside down again.

Istria, which was recently declared a “Corona free” zone, will slowly start opening their hotels and camps for tourists. This news was also conveyed by our multilingual portals, which are a strong support to tourism.

News about Istria being “corona free” for the last three days on the La Voce del popolo portal was seen by over 30 thousand people. Similarly, the news on Kroatien-Nachrichten about Istria opening hotels and camps for tourists was seen by over 9 thousand people in the first 8 hours. 

What measures will be taken?

To prevent the recurrence of the black scenario, intensive efforts are currently underway to find solutions for the safe arrival and reception of tourists. While Czech travel agencies are proposing to set up "corridor coronas" so that Czech tourists can reach Croatia safely, Dubrovnik is considering organizing special flights from the EU and the UK. Dubrovnik is expecting to solve the situation by mid-July.

The director of the Tourist Board of the city of Split, Alijana Vukšić, announced in Slobodna Dalmacija, city’s new Together in Split campaign, through which they will try to attract tourists. The emphasis will be placed on tourism products that enable tourists to maintain the necessary distance, such as recreational, nautical, and health tourism.

Intensive talks are also being held with Slovenian neighbors, whom the Minister of Tourism Cappelli described as one of the most loyal and numerous guests. Both sides are interested in establishing cross-border tourist traffic between the two countries, which is expected to happen in late summer under special health care conditions.

At the moment, it is still uncertain whether prices will drop in the most popular Croatian tourist centers to further motivate tourists to come.

The importance of media image in the age of the Corona

Judging by the epidemiological data, Croatia, along with Greece, is in a much better position than other tourism competitors. If the favorable epidemiological situation continues, the tourist season may be somewhat successful after all. We can already see the trend of reporting on Croatia as a “Corona free” zone in the foreign media, which will be one of the most important factors in the decision-making process for tourists this year.

We should emphasize the importance of monitoring the Croatian media image in foreign media and creating campaigns similar to the one in Split. With these types of campaigns, we could present accessible and safe activities to potential tourists. Such a strategy also enables timely response and ensures visibility. However, this applies not only to tourist boards but also to travel agencies and restaurants so that they can better manage their promotional activities.

It is also recommended to monitor the media coverage of competitors such as Greece. By following the foreign media outlets that frequently post about Greece, opportunities can be found to promote our tourist offer as well. Considering that this tourist season might be the most competitive yet, it is extremely important to work on further increasing the number of mentions of Croatia abroad.

You can learn more about Mediatoolkit on the official website.

How are the official Croatian tourism bodies updating visitors regarding the latest travel situation? A comparison with Croatia's tourism competitors.

Still, if this growing popularity of Croatia as a tourist destination tells us anything, it is that we must keep the epidemiological situation under control and take personal responsibility for reducing the spread of the virus by maintaining hygiene and social distance. With enough discipline and clever promotion, this season can be far from over.

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