Croatia needs better services and infrastructure to become top business tourism destination

In order to become a more attractive destination to organisers of conference and incentive travel, Croatia must build congress halls, improve the quality of services as well as establish convenient connections by air, reduce hotel and transport prices and obtain well-known hotel brands, according to a survey on possibilities and limits of conference and incentive travel in Croatia.

The findings of the survey, conducted among 200 foreign conference and incentive travel organisers by the Croatian Meeting Professionals Association (CMPA) and the Poslovni Turizam.com web portal last autumn, were presented at a round table discussion organised in the Croatian Chamber of Commerce this past Thursday.

The survey was carried out among professionals in the business tourism in European Union member states, Russia, the United States, Brazil, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

Slaven Reljic of the Croatian Meeting Professionals Association said that a majority of respondents were not enough familiar with Croatia and they still perceived Croatia as a destination for leisure tourism rather than for business tourism.

Some headway must be done so as to place Croatia among destinations for large-scale international congresses in medicine and other similar disciplines.

Markus Penz, the head of the Strategic Destination Development in Vienna, said that last year the Austrian capital had hosted over 3,000 international conferences and gatherings that brought 1.4 million overnight stays and turned over 840 million euros, a record high for the city.

Croatia's Assistant Tourism Minister Zelimir Kramaric said that the ministry would do its best to make use of Croatia's potential in business tourism, which would lead to the extension of the high season in tourism notably in the interior of Croatia. (Hina)