The great Croatian scientist Nikola Tesla is part of the heritage which Croatia uses to represent itself as an attractive tourist destination for the U.S. market.
In an article of The New York Times, prepared by the European Tourist Commission (ETC), Croatia had the opportunity to point out its famous personalities which are marking the year 2006.
Other European countries are celebrating the year of Rembrandt, Mozart and Beethoven, while Croatia celebrates the 150th anniversary of Nikola Tesla’s birthday.
Those sponsored articles are being published twice per year, where ETC along with the Times is being distributed in an edition of 2 million copies. This makes it possible to reach the homes of many Americans who all represent potential visitors to those countries.
Besides the mentioned article, another article on Croatia has been published only one week ago in The Washington Post. That article defined Croatia as a secure tourist destination, complimenting its natural beauties and cultural richness as well as the long tourist tradition of Dubrovnik, Korčula and Split.
With the ending of the war, the number of American tourists is growing with every new season. Last year, Croatia has registered 130 000 American tourists, not counting those arriving on cruisers. The HTZ office in New York expects for this year an increase of 5-8%, as compared to 2005.
The most famous magazine for tourist marketing JAX FAX will dedicate nine pages of its April edition to Croatia. The main topic will be Croatian Islands and on the cover of the magazine will be a photo of Zagreb.
The Croatian tourist campaign in the U.S. media will continue on the 22 April, when the American cable television 'Fine Living' specialized in tourist promotion, starts featuring a program based on Croatia. Within the next 3 years it will show the attractions of many Croatian cities 120 times, introducing also many culinary specialties.