'Best of Croatia 2013 - citizens choose' survey presented

Natural attractions and a coastline dotted with islands, bays and inlets along with politeness and hospitality are the characteristics that distinguish Croatia from other tourist destinations while its main drawback is the high prices compared to service and the lack of additional attractions, according to a survey, "The best of Croatia 2013 - citizens choose", conducted by the GfK market research centre.

The on-line survey on a sample of some 300 respondents during June showed that respondents believe that Croatia should look to Austria as an example of tourism.

Asked if they were tourism minister what they would do to improve the situation, 25% of respondents said they would work on additional attractions, 14% would reduce prices and 9% think that it is necessary to improve marketing and Croatia's tourism development strategy.

Tourism Minister Darko Lorencin agreed and said that the entire tourism system in Croatia was undergoing a process of reorganisation to render it more functional and to contribute toward implementing a new strategic marketing plan which is currently being prepared.

The GfK survey indicates that 47% of Croatian citizens seeking information regarding accommodation refer to recommendations by friends, while 24% search the Internet.

Recently a new web site launched a mobile phone application - bestCROATIA - which presents over 3,400 Croatian tourism attractions in 11 categories such as: natural attractions, history and culture, sports, accommodation, etc. (Hina)