The news came as the Croatian National Tourist Board director was visiting the United States.
The head of the Main Office of the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) Kristjan Staničić visited the United States in recent days and attended the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA) conference held in Hollywood, Florida, reports Poslovni.hr on December 4, 2017.
On that occasion, Staničić met with USTOA President Terry Dale, with whom he agreed on a more active engagement of the HTZ in the US market, in particular through presentations which will be organised for forthcoming USTOA conferences.
In addition to USTOA representatives, Staničić met with other key partners in the US market, including representatives of the Signature Travel Network association and the Virtuoso network of luxury travel agencies, with whom the 2018 action plan was agreed, as well as long-term co-operation.
"One of the most important topics of the meetings we had with the key partners during our stay in the United States was the establishment of direct flights between Croatia and the United States. We are extremely pleased to see that the partners in this market have expressed strong support for the realisation of the direct flight initiative, which would be of great importance for Croatia, and not just for its tourism. I am optimistic, and I believe that Croatia will have direct flights with this large and globally important market in the near future,” said Staničić, adding that all partners had confirmed this year's excellent results and a 35 percent increase in the number of arrivals and overnight stays, which means that Croatia is one of the fastest growing destinations in the North American market.
In addition to the HTZ, the largest annual meeting of North American tour operators was attended by representatives of the Zagreb and Dubrovnik-Neretva County tourist boards. The conference brought together around 900 participants who had an opportunity to be introduced to new tourism developments and trends, as well as participate in networking events and meetings aimed at fostering business cooperation.
The Virtuoso network of luxury travel agencies conducted a traditional research among its members – the Virtuoso Luxe Report. According to the results of the 2018 survey, Croatia has been ranked among top 10 destinations in three categories, which is a better result than in the survey for 2017. Croatia is now second in the group of the most popular emerging destinations. In the category of the most popular international destinations, Croatia took the eight position, which is a step forward compared to the 2017 survey, when Croatia ranked tenth in this category. In the category of the most popular destinations for millennial travellers, Croatia was listed at the sixth position.
Director Staničić is currently on an official visit to France during which he will visit the Croatian area at the "Salon Nautique de Paris" nautical fair. He will also take part in a business workshop where he will meet with representatives of numerous French tour operators and companies.
Translated from Poslovni.hr.
