Source: Government of the Republic of Croatia
Glavina believes that Croatia has some advantages at the moment, including the fact that approximately 80 percent of tourist traffic is made by tourists from Europe. He said that the most important thing now is for the tourism sector to prepare as best it can for this year.
Responding to journalist questions, Minister Tonči Glavina, in reference to the war events and their impact on tourism, said that we are recording growth from distant markets, mostly from the USA and Canada, or North and South America.
Many tourists from the affected areas of the Middle East are traveling to Europe, but in Croatia, tourists from Western Europe still dominate. Glavina believes that Croatia will maintain its tourist traffic, and perhaps this year some of the Europeans who planned trips to distant destinations will remain in Europe and possibly come to Croatia.
We need to take into account the price competitiveness of our tourism
“However, according to all feedback from our partners, tour operators, airlines and others, the numbers and reservations for Europe, specifically for Croatia, are stable, approximately at the same level as last year at this time. The most important thing now is for our tourism sector to prepare as best it can for this year, especially before and after the season, and to be as competitive as we objectively can be,” the minister said.
He also emphasized that Croatia’s advantage is that tourists perceive it as a country where they feel safe, and that, as he adds, should be upgraded with competitive quality of offers and prices, and if Croatian tourism offers that, Glavina believes that we can have a good, stable tourism year, but he also emphasized that it would be a great success if last year’s tourism figures were repeated.
I invite the sector to monitor what is happening on the markets and adapt to changes, offering above all a good price-quality ratio.Pozivam sektor da prate što se događa na tržištima i prilagođavaju se promjenama, nudeći prije svega dobar odnos cijene i kvalitete.
“With all our competitors, a certain stabilization of prices is noticeable, and it is undoubtedly necessary for Croatia to increase its competitiveness in terms of prices. So, we cannot put ourselves in a situation where Croatia becomes too expensive in some of our traditional markets, we must adequately respond to that challenge. I call on the sector to monitor what is happening on the markets and adapt to changes, offering above all a good price-quality ratio, that is, very competitive and favorable prices. If we do this, and this is also linked to the strategic advantages we have, we have a chance to a good and quality year,” said the minister.
Slovak and Hungarian tourists are always welcome in Croatia
He also commented on recent announcements by Slovak media that they are boycotting tourist trips to Croatia due to the situation with MOL and Janaf, noting that communication with tourist partners in Slovakia, including Hungary, is important in this, and that Croatia is a very good neighbor and partner for them.
“This was information mostly on social networks, as far as I understood, and taken out of context, and even some media from Slovakia reported to the Croatian media and said that this is not something that represents a big problem, that these are some sporadic topics, possibly a political tussle between the position and the opposition. We are telling Slovakia and their tourists that they are dear to us, as are those from Hungary, and they are always welcome,” concluded Glavina.
