In the last two years, German tourists have been increasingly interested in Croatia, which is not a cheap but is an affordable destination, the vice president for tourism of the German ADAC auto club, Max Stich, said in Zadar on Tuesday, where he met Tourism Minister Veljko Ostojic.
Stich visited the Croatian seaport at the invitation of its tourist board. He told tourism officials not to raise prices but listen to what guests want and use their hospitality.
He said ADAC had 18 million members, the second largest auto club in the world, and that it viewed itself as a long term partner in Croatia's tourism, all the more so given that most German tourists arrive in Croatia by car and Croatia's roads have been upgraded in recent years.
Minister Ostojic said cooperation with ADAC would continue and that Croatia would be featured in ADAC's Reisemagazin in February 2014.
He said the Tourism Ministry was open for joint projects with ADAC, seeing it as a long term and good partner.
Ostojic said Croatia was the fifth most popular destination among Germans, but the fact that only 2.2 per cent of Germans chose Croatia meant that promotion there should be stepped up throughout the year.
Responding to questions from the press, he said results on the German market were much better than last year and that Germans had generated 15 per cent more nights on the year in the first seven months of 2012 and as much as 22 per cent in July alone. (Hina)