The Master Class named ''Improve your skills in developing, optimising and evaluating properly integrated e-marketing strategies“, organised by the Ministry of Tourism, the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the European Travel Commission (ETC) had taken place in Zadar, proceeding the Croatian Tourism Days (CTD). The gathering was opened by the Assistant Minister of tourism Mr. Želimir Kramarić. He has emphasized that, as far as Croatia has been concerned, the organisation of such a Master Class was taking place at the right moment, as the Croatian National Tourism Organisation (CNTO) was about to present at the very Croatian Tourism Days the Strategic Marketing Plan 2014 - 2020 in which one of the strategic guidelines was a stronger focus on online tools. „We wish to present our tourism products to the world in a modern way, especially bearing in mind that Croatia has been the new EU member state. The EU funds have become available to us and we ought to seize the opportunity by preparing appropriate projects “, said Mr. Kramarić. The UNWTO representative Luigi Cabrini, pointed out at the opening of the gathering that Croatia has been a wonderful „success story“ in the area of tourism. „In spite of difficult economic situation, tourism has been having the upward trend. A good sign for Croatian economy is the fact that this year tourism has recorded growing figures in terms of arrivals, overnights and turnover. Croatia has a lot of products to offer, aside from the „the sun and the sea“, like eco and rural tourism, among other“, said Mr. Cabrini. Head of Research and Development at the ETC, Ms. Valeria Croce said that the Handbook which was to be presented during the CTD, had been the output of a several year long research, a destination e-marketing encyclopedia of its own, made available in all UNWTO and the ETC e-libraries.
The Master Class named ''Improve your skills in developing, optimising and evaluating properly integrated e-marketing strategies“, organised by the Ministry of Tourism, the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the European Travel Commission (ETC) had taken place in Zadar, proceeding the Croatian Tourism Days (CTD). The gathering was opened by the Assistant Minister of tourism Mr. Želimir Kramarić. He has emphasized that, as far as Croatia has been concerned, the organisation of such a Master Class was taking place at the right moment, as the Croatian National Tourism Organisation (CNTO) was about to present at the very Croatian Tourism Days the Strategic Marketing Plan 2014 - 2020 in which one of the strategic guidelines was a stronger focus on online tools. „We wish to present our tourism products to the world in a modern way, especially bearing in mind that Croatia has been the new EU member state. The EU funds have become available to us and we ought to seize the opportunity by preparing appropriate projects “, said Mr. Kramarić.
The UNWTO representative Luigi Cabrini, pointed out at the opening of the gathering that Croatia has been a wonderful „success story“ in the area of tourism. „In spite of difficult economic situation, tourism has been having the upward trend. A good sign for Croatian economy is the fact that this year tourism has recorded growing figures in terms of arrivals, overnights and turnover. Croatia has a lot of products to offer, aside from the „the sun and the sea“, like eco and rural tourism, among other“, said Mr. Cabrini.
Head of Research and Development at the ETC, Ms. Valeria Croce said that the Handbook which was to be presented during the CTD, had been the output of a several year long research, a destination e-marketing encyclopedia of its own, made available in all UNWTO and the ETC e-libraries.
„The e-marketing has been a key tool in destinations promotion nowadays, especially through the use of mobile technologies and social networks in which a continuous dialogue with users is being established“, said Ms. Croce.
The Handbook commissioned by the UNWTO and the ETC, prepared by the TEAM Tourism Consulting was presented at the gathering by the project leader Karin Elgin-Nijhuis. Ms. Elgin Nijhuis has led a Master Class on up- to -date trends, having presented the examples of the new practice and possibilities that the e-marketing had been opening up to tourism destinations. She said that the key to success was being useful to one's customers. „Customers should be provided truly focused information, as their time and patience are in a seriously short supply .“ „We should ask ourselves: What have we promised our customers? What shall we deliver for them?“, pointed out Ms. Elgin- NIjhuis.
The Master Class has gathered 120 foreign and local tourism professionals, among other the directors of numerous tourism boards in Croatia and directors of the CNTO representative offices abroad.
On Thursday, 24th October, the 2nd day of the event, a presentation entitled „Measurement and evaluation of the e-marketing activities“ will be delivered that will focus on setting objectives and establishing the right Key Performance Indicators. The keynote will be dedicated to „Online destination branding“, in which the e-marketing greatly contributes to the reputation management of a particular destination.
Upon closure of the Master Class, a traditional gathering of tourism professionals, named Croatian Tourism Days and the Croatian Tourism Forum will be opened by the minister of tourism Mr. Darko Lorencin, the general manager of the Croatian Radio Television Mr. Goran Radman, the vice-president of the Croatian Chamber of Economy Ms. Vesna Trnokop Tanta, the director of the Head Office of the Croatian National Tourism Board Ms. Meri Matešić, the prefect of the Zadar County Mr. Stipe Zrilić and the mayor of the City of Zadar Mr. Božidar Kalmeta.
The two events start at 11:30 am at the Hotel Iadera, Punta Skala, Zadar.