HGK premium tourism platform presented: Stories – Experience Premium Croatia

The strategic documents of Croatian tourism set as one of the goals the positioning of Croatia as a premium destination. Companies with a premium offer are gathered by the Croatian Chamber of Commerce in the Stories - Experience Premium Croatia platform. The platform was presented on Tuesday at the Esplanade Hotel Zagreb.

"Tourism is our most important export product, an important generator of growth and development in many regions, but our attitude is changing, what kind of tourism we want and what we need to do in order to profit from this important sector in the long term and manage all challenges and risks. Croatia has premium brands, but the complete development of this type of offer requires high-quality coordination of key stakeholders, joint performance on the international market and development of projects that will create a new premium offer", the president of HGK said in the introduction, Luka Burilović.

The platform brings together HGK members from the hotel and catering sector, campsites, marinas, holiday villas, travel agencies and charter companies.

"I am sure that the new Stories platform within the Croatian Chamber of Commerce will be another step forward in strengthening the Croatian tourist offer. We know that Croatia is becoming recognized in the world today not only as a destination of "sun and sea", but also as a safe and quality destination, which attracts tourists attracts in every season. This is confirmed by the excellent tourist and financial results that prove that the development of year-round and sustainable tourism is possible if we provide tourists with a quality offer, but also present that offer in a quality way. That is exactly why I believe that this new platform, which unites the entire premium offer in one place, to be another step forward in profiling Croatia as a quality boutique destination", she emphasized Nikolina Brnjac, Minister of Tourism and Sports.

"Tourists in 2024 value the variety and quality of the offer, and not only accommodation and wine and gastronomic pleasures - but experiences. The platform for premium tourism brings together companies with a top offer from seven industries that will work together to make Croatia a premium brand of sustainable , year-round tourism", she said Andreja Vukojević, director of the Tourism Sector of HGK.

The Stories platform is a real action in favor of the Sustainable Tourism Development Strategy until 2030, the overarching goal of which is to curb the negative effects of mass tourism.

"According to the new strategic documents of Croatian tourism, we want to position our country in a niche between standard and premium. Our luxury offer will play a big role in this, which is increasingly in demand, but also of better quality when we talk about Croatian destinations. It is up to us to systematically continue to develop this segment of the tourist offer and to promote it in foreign markets, so in this sense we especially welcome the creation of the Platform Stories - Experience Premium Croatia, which will contribute to an even more successful presentation of all the premium assets of Croatia.", said the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board Kristjan Staničić, adding that more and more inquiries from partners relate to the possibility of providing premium offers and authentic experiences, especially from the markets of the USA, Great Britain, Germany and France.

A panel discussion was held at the presentation of the Stories platform at the Esplanade Hotel Preparation - attention - premium where the potential of premium tourism in Croatia was discussed. They participated Slavija Jačan Obratov, director of the TZ system and product development sector at HTZ, Iris Domazet, CEO at Adriatic Concierge, Gea Kariž, Director of Mastercard for the Republic of Croatia, Kristijan Pavić, president of the ACI Management Board, Josipa Jutt Ferlan, director of Zagreb City Hotels i Marin Medak, owner of the restaurant Rougemarin.

Gea Kariž, the director of Mastercard for Croatia spoke on the panel about the importance of connecting stakeholders in tourism.

"For us, tourism is one of the main strategic pillars, we are working on this topic both at the local and global level with the aim of real impact and change. In this context, we are joining forces with the Stories platform, aimed at creating synergy between tourism and other sectors, which is in line with our aspirations to develop the tourist offer through digitization and mutual support", said Kariž, and pointed out that through this initiative, they are working together to achieve long-term goals that include the growth of the sector and the promotion of Croatia as a destination for unique experiences.

Among other things, the panel pointed out that the transformation of accommodation facilities is one of the prerequisites for strengthening Croatia's premium offer.

"Croatia is moving away from the perception of a cheap tourist destination, and we have not yet exhausted the potential for the development of a premium offer. There are more and more smaller and larger hotels that, through active promotion, need to be made recognizable to the premium segment of the market. This proven stable market niche of guests believes that travel is an excellent accommodation and original offer are part of their quality of life", she pointed out Josipa Jutt Ferlan, Cluster General Manager Hilton hotels Zagreb.

Among other things, platform member companies will have at their disposal assistance in promotion on foreign markets, labeling of premium offers under the same quality denominator, and networking with stakeholders of the premium segment. Companies can join the platform on the site Stories – Experience Premium Croatia.

Source and photo: HGK