Zagreb County recorded 131,641 tourist overnights in 2016, which is a 36% increase from 2015. Arrivals increased by 26%, growing from 59,500 in 2015 to 75,023 in 2016, reports HRTurizam on January 11, 2017.
Of the total number of overnight stays in Zagreb County, 88,136 were realized by foreign guests and 43,505 were realized by domestic guests. For arrivals, 51,092 were made by foreign guests, and the remaining 23,931 were made by local guests. In 2016, Zagreb County was visited most by guests from Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Poland, in addition to tourists from Canada, Russia, New Zealand, Tunisia, China and so on. The most popular cities visited were Velika Gorica and Samobor.
"The increase in the number of arrivals and overnight stays is certainly influenced by the proximity of Zagreb, numerous events, the developed excursion value chain, and the varied and interesting rural areas that make us famous with a rich gastronomic offer“ said Ruzica Rašperić, director of the Tourist Board of Zagreb County. Rašperić also noted that recently, 10 tourist establishments from the area of Zagreb County became the holder of the standard “Okusi zagrebačkog kraja” (Tast of the Zagreb Region). Branded as part of the national project “Okusi hrvatske tradicije” (Flavors of Croatian Tradition), these objects daily offer at least two major local traditional food items and six drink labels, of which at least four are wines.
"I want to commend the exceptional effort by the tourist workers who each year raise the quality and quantity of tourism in our county, and a beautiful tribute to their efforts and work are these excellent results for which I have no doubt will continue to grow in the future,” said Mayor of Zagreb County Stjepan Kozic. "Apart from the exceptional natural beauty and the many substantial events that attract more tourists to our area, Zagreb County has a huge potential in the development of health tourism. Specifically, in Ivanic-Grad is a unique hospital known for its curative treatments with "Naftalan" (Napthalene), a derivative of oil, whose site is still only in Azerbaijan. This year, for the expansion of the Naftalan hospital, we have provided 10 million kuna,” stressed Kožić, adding that interest in this hospital has been carried out by guests from America, Russia and Scandinavian countries.
Otherwise, in 2016, Zagreb County implemented the Strategy of Tourism Development by 2025, which represents a conceptual framework for action by all stakeholders in the field of tourism. The strategy was developed by the Tourist Board of Zagreb County, in cooperation with the Institute for Tourism in Zagreb, with the aim of better positioning and creating a recognizable tourist destination in the future. In addition, in November 2016, Zagreb County introduced a digital interactive display for the area which offers a full multimedia experience of the beauty of “Green Ring of Zagreb County“, using new technologies to simplify the navigation for each user.
