Germans expect a high level of service and product quality for the money invested

It is in the premises today Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Berlin meeting held Croatian tourist delegation and representative DRV (Deutsche Reiseverband), the umbrella German tourism association.

The meeting was held the day before the start of the fair ITB, which takes place in Berlin from March 5 to 7, so this was an excellent introduction to the presentation of Croatian tourism at one of the world's most important tourism fairs. Namely, the Croatian tourist delegation led by Nikolina Brnjac, Minister of Tourism and Sports and Kristjan Staničić, director of the Croatian Tourist Board, met with the members on this occasion DRV among which are three umbrella organizations - German County Association (Deutscher Landkreistag), Association of German Cities (Deutscher Städtetag) and German Association of Cities and Municipalities (Deutscher Städte- und Gemeindebund), while supporting members are, for example, the largest German automobile club ADAC, DB Vertrieb GmbH and other companies from the private German tourism sector.

"Germany is the most important emission market for Croatian tourism, accounting for more than 20 percent of the total overnight stays in our country. At the same time, our country is among the top five foreign destinations of Germans when we talk about vacation trips, so the strong connection between our countries is very strong and strong. This was confirmed by numerous partners with whom we spoke today, who expect good results from the sale of package deals related to Croatian destinations this year as well.", said the director Stanicic, who on this occasion held a presentation of Croatian tourism with an emphasis on the achieved results and expectations from the German market, the goals defined by the new Strategic Marketing and Operational Plan of Croatian Tourism, and a cross-section of new tourism investments, especially in the segment premium offers.

"I am glad that, on the initiative of the umbrella German association for tourism DRV, I had the opportunity to present the Tourism Act and our reform. Croatia is the only country that has passed a law that clearly prescribes tools for the sustainable management of destinations based on exact data. Cooperation with tour operators and travel agencies, DRV members, it is especially important to us in the context of achieving year-round tourism and reducing excessive tourism, precisely through organized arrivals outside the main season. When we talk about the tourism results for the year 2024, we can be satisfied, because in the first two months we are recording better tourism results compared to the same period last year, in which we had a record pre-season. We are particularly pleased with the results of the new Reiseanalyse survey for 2024, which say that German tourist trips should return to pre-pandemic levels this year, which for Croatia opens up space, especially because according to these results, Croatia is in 4th place among foreign destinations to which German tourists want to travel", the minister emphasized Grinjak.

Among the numerous guests present were i Gordan Bakota, ambassador of the Republic of Croatia in FR Germany, Volker Adams, director of DRV, who greeted the gathered participants at the very beginning of the meeting, while Oliver Zahn, chairman of the Committee for Foreign Tourism of the DRV and owner of the tour operator Olimar, emphasized that Croatia's high-quality plans and investments in tourism contribute to the excellent positioning of our country on the German market, which certainly contributes to the satisfaction of tourists.

"Since Germans today spend more money when it comes to travel and vacation, they also expect a high level of service and product quality. In other words, they want a valuable experience for the money invested, which cannot be achieved without systematic investments in different types of segments such as culture , gastronomy and nature", he said tooth.

"Today's meeting was a great opportunity to meet with numerous tour operators who sell package deals to foreign destinations and also to Croatia. According to the information received, our country has great potential in the further growth of tourist traffic in the organized segment because Croatia, unlike its competitors, offers something new and different to the organized travel market, and the Germans are increasingly recognizing this", he concluded Romeo Draghicchio, director of the HTZ Representative Office in Germany, which is also a member of the DRV.

Later in the day, members of the DRV will hold an internal meeting of the association, during which they will discuss the progress of sales and the performance of destinations, while after the meeting, a joint social gathering will be held with a presentation of Croatian eno-gastronomy, i.e. dishes prepared by Berlin's Head Dominik Matokanović of Croatian origin.

Source and photo: Croatian National Tourist Board