News

French sales for summer package arrangements in Croatia rise 45%The demand for vacations in Croatia is rising in France again this year, with a 45% jump in sales and bookings of summer package arrangements, Croatia's National Tourist Board (HTZ) said on Friday, based on information from the French market and this week's world tourism fair in Paris. Croatia is attending the March 15-18 Salon Mondial du Tourisme, one of the biggest tourism fairs in France featuring over 500 world destinations. "France represents a very potent market for Croatia where we have been recording excellent tourist turnover results in recent years. Together with key partners, we are working on increasing the number of flights, which is one of the key prerequisites for further growth and keeping up the positive trends," said HTZ director Kristjan Stanicic. 17.03.2018. | News

​Police Museum in Split displays counterfeit art piecesThe Police Museum in Split staged an exhibition of counterfeit products and forgeries as part of the two-day international conference "Security of Historical Cities 2018 - Challenges of Tourism" which ended on Saturday. The collection of counterfeit art pieces, paintings, and sculptures of well-known Croatian artists seized on the black market included forgeries of paintings by Edo Murtic, Zlatko Prica, Mersad Berber, Dimitrije Popovic, Vasko Lipovac, Ivan Lackovic Croata, Ivan Rabuzin, Ivan Getaldic and other prominent artists, and counterfeit sculptures by Dusan Dzamonja and one by Vojin Bakic.  17.03.2018. | News

Place2Go travel show opens in Zagreb ArenaThe seventh international travel show Place2Go opened in the Zagreb Arena on Friday, attracting over 200 exhibitors from Croatia and 20 other countries. Opening the show, State Secretary for Tourism Frano Matusic emphasised the importance of exhibitions like this for promoting cooperation in the tourism sector and learning about new trends, innovations and new destinations. The organiser Damjana Domanovac said she was pleasantly surprised by a considerably larger number of exhibitors than last year, adding that she expected more than last year's 15,000 visitors. 17.03.2018. | News

Croatia launches initiative to establish EU tourism fundCroatia's Tourism Ministry has issued a declaration proposing the establishment of a European Union tourism fund, and to that end, Bulgarian and Maltese tourism ministers are likely to come to Zagreb in two weeks' time to co-sign the declaration and to put it forward to other EU member-states. Croatian Minister Gari Cappelli's adviser Barbara Mesic said in Zagreb on Thursday that the European Commission currently does no have either a directorate or working group exclusively for tourism, although tourism accounts for up to 10% of the Union's GDP. 15.03.2018. | News

Excellent announcements from Russian market for Croatia's tourismPositive indicators and good announcements for tour operators from the Russian market are promising a good year for Croatia's tourism and it is estimated that 2018 could see 15% more guests from Russia, the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) said in a press release on Tuesday, following a presentation at the 25th Moscow International Travel & Tourism Exhibition (MITT), held on 13-15 March. MITT is Russia's largest and longest running travel exhibition, attracting representatives of the tourism industry from Russia and other regions of the world. With over 1,972 participating companies presenting international destinations, it is the key meeting place for the industry and an opportunity to catch up with colleagues and clients. Along with the HTZ as the main exhibitor, also presenting at the fair are the Zagreb Tourist Office, the Plitvice Lakes National Park, Losinj Hotels & Villas, LifeClass Sv. Martin and Atlantis Travel. 13.03.2018. | News

ITB Berlin tourism fair: Minister says Croatia's proposal for EU tourism fund receiving supportCroatian Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said at the ITB Berlin tourism fair on Thursday that his proposal to set up an EU fund for tourism had already been supported by Bulgaria, Malta, Italy, Austria and Germany. "We have discussed that initiative here at the ITB Berlin tourism trade fair with the chair of the Bundestag Committee on Tourism, Sebastian Munzenmaier, who said that he would have the proposal discussed by the committee. He liked the idea since a certain amount of money from that fund would be set aside for programmes and investments in tourism, notably in cases of floods or some other emergency situations," said Cappelli. 09.03.2018. | News

Croatian minister says Chinese visitors interested in Slavonia as tourist destinationTourism Minister Gari Cappelli said at the international tourist industry trade fair ITB Berlin on Wednesday that five eastern Croatian counties were planning to form an association of the Slavonia region as a Destination Management Organisation to boost tourism development. "The Chinese are interested in Slavonia and tours that last several days and we are talking to China about a joint conference on tourism, possibly this summer when we will be opening a Croatian National Tourism Board (HTZ) office in Shanghai," the minister said. Cappelli was talking to reporters at the HTZ stand at ITB, which was opened this morning. 07.03.2018. | News

EIB signs loan agreements with Valamar, HBOR and Regional Development MinistryThe European Investment Bank (EIB) on Tuesday signed loan agreements with the Croatian Bank for Regional Development, Croatia's leading tourism company Valamar Riviera and the Regional Development and EU Funds Ministry. The agreements were signed by EIB Vice-President Dario Scannapieco, Regional Development and EU Funds Minister Gabrijela Zalac, Natasa Beres of Valamar Riviera, and HBOR management board president and board member Tamara Perko and Hrvoje Cuvalo, respectively. The loan agreement with Valamar Riviera is worth EUR 16 million. 06.03.2018. | News

Croatia reports two-digit increases in tourist arrivals and overnight stays in Jan and Feb 2018Some 443,000 tourists visited Croatia in the first two months of 2018 and generated 1.2 million overnight stays, which are increases of 12% and 11% respectively compared to the same period in 2017, the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) said on Monday, citing data from the eVisitor and eCrew tourist registration systems. The data combines the number of tourists who stayed in commercial, non-commercial and nautical accommodation. Most of the arrivals and overnight stays were generated by foreign tourists. Their number increased by 15% to 267,000 and the number of overnight stays made by them rose by 15% to 755,000. 05.03.2018. | News

3 restaurants with Michelin stars and 55 with Michelin spoon and fork symbol in CroatiaThe Pelegrini restaurant in the coastal city of Sibenik and the 360º restaurant in Dubrovnik have recently been awarded a Michelin star and an additional 24 restaurants throughout the country have become "Spoon and Fork" Michelin-rated restaurants, the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) has reported. The Michelin company awards stars to restaurants for the quality of service and cuisine. One star means "a very good restaurant", two stars designate "excellent cooking", and three stars acknowledge "exceptional cuisine". In 2017, Michelin inspectors visited restaurants around Croatia. 04.03.2018. | News