HTZ presented the new design of the Croatian stand at the WTM fair

Croatian tourist agency traditionally, the beginning of November is marked by the presentation of the entire Croatian tourist offer at one of the most important world tourism fairs - World Travel Market (WTM) which takes place in London from November 5 to 7.

The special feature of this year's performance is the premiere presentation of the new the Croatian stand, as well as new ones uniforms of Croatian informants at fairs. 

The fair is attended by a Croatian tourist delegation led by Minister of Tourism and Sports Tonci Glavin i director of HTZ Kristjan Staničić, as well as Croatian co-exhibitors, of whom there are a total of 23 at the Croatian stand this year.

The new design of the stand presents Croatia as a destination of true beauty that has managed to preserve its authenticity, they state from HTZ and add that its attractiveness is contributed by the large-sized portals on which LED screens display Croatian beauty, inspiring locations, people, but also experiences in order to introduced numerous visitors and business partners to Croatian "concept of beauty".

There are also recognizable red and white squares that are strongly represented in the upper part of the stand, a kind of crown, which made the Croatian exhibition space even more recognizable and distinctive compared to the stands of other countries. Along with the new look of the stand, the new uniforms of the Croatian informants at the fair were presented for the first time in London. 

"Croatia has a very good position on the market of Great Britain, which was confirmed by the partners we spoke with, as well as statistical data that tell us that this market is in a high sixth place among the foreign markets from which we have achieved the best tourism result in the previous part of the year. . We specifically chose London to present the new stand design in order to show a large audience part of the turnaround in the promotion of Croatia as a tourist destination, which is defined by the guidelines of our new Strategic Marketing and Operational Plan for Croatian Tourism.", he said Director Staničić i added that they are aware that the results from the British market, especially towards our southern destinations, largely depend on the quality of air connectivity.

"That's why we focus on further strengthening existing airlines and expanding cooperation with airlines with an emphasis on the pre- and post-season," he concluded Stanicic noting that by participating in WTM, we want to further strengthen ties with different tour operators and media, which play a key role in promoting our country on the UK market, but also on a global level.

During the first 10 months of this year, British tourists achieved around 820 thousand arrivals and 4 million overnight stays in our country, which compared to the same period last year represents growth of about 9 percent in arrivals and 8 percent in overnight stays. At the same time, the British spent the most nights in the Dubrovnik-Neretva and Split-Dalmatia counties, and by destination in Dubrovnik, Split, Konavle, Župa Dubrovnik, Zadar and Rovinj.  

"The representatives of ABTA were interested in the strategy of Croatian tourism in the coming years, and what they learned from their Croatian interlocutors fully coincides with their expectations and research into the mood and preferences of travelers from Great Britain. New experiences, the extension of the season, hidden gems, or lesser-known destinations, are strong motives for travelers who come to our country from Great Britain and recognize it as a friendly, diverse offer and high-quality, premium destination. Considering the significance and important role of ABTA, which has been bringing together the best tourism stakeholders in Great Britain for 75 years, the conversation was extremely content and constructive", considers Pearl Fabrio, director of the HTZ Representative Office in London.

During the first day of the fair, meetings were held with representatives of partners and organizations such as Jet2.com & Jet2Holidays, the British Association of Travel Agencies (ABTA), Travel Weekly, etc., and continued discussions with representatives of other companies, such as Iberia, EasyJet, CNBC and others are on the schedule during tomorrow's fair. The topics of discussion are analyzing the results of cooperation so far, as well as considering the possibility of additional improvements in order for Croatian tourism to achieve even better results.

"The presentation of our tourist offer at this leading international event is part of the activities with which we prepare for the tourist year 2025 and what we see, and what makes us especially happy is the fact that for the British, in terms of travel, Croatia continues to be listed as a value for money destination. That's why it's extremely important that we send the right message now and for this first minute - that we are a destination that pays attention to the ratio of price and quality, and that's why I especially appeal to the tourism sector to take care of this. When we talk about the next year, the entire sector must also take into account the fact that most of our broadcast markets are in a challenging economic situation, which affects tourism trends, and thus the policy of price and quality will be in even greater focus, and this is confirmed by many carried out research on next year's travel. Also, the perception of Croatia as a diverse destination with a rich cultural, natural and gastronomic heritage is growing, as well as the increasing interest of the British in active vacations, which opens up additional opportunities to visit Croatia outside of the summer months, which is extremely important to us in the further development of year-round tourism.", He said Minister Glavina.

Among the Croatian exhibitors are, among others, the tourist boards of Split-Dalmatia, Dubrovnik-Neretva, Zadar, Šibenik-Knin County and Kvarner, TZG Zagreb, TZG Split, TZG Crikvenica, Croatia Airlines, NP Plitvička jezera and others.  

Photo: HTZ