We are changing the experience ... New destination campaign of the Vukovar-Srijem County Tourist Board

Traveling is more than a vacation. Traveling is a personal gain. Personality gain. And therefore, to be at a profit. We are changing the experience happiness… freedom… art ... beauty - is the message of the new destination campaign of the Vukovar-Srijem County Tourist Board. 

We talked about the whole campaign with September Busic Srpak, director of the Vukovar-Srijem County Tourist Board.

The campaign is primarily related to the Croatian market, although we partly targeted the Slovenian market, says Bušić Srpak and emphasizes that they are still focused on the Croatian market as their primary market. 

We want to communicate a different and new, not only the type of vacation, but also, as written in the key messages, a different experience of key motives for arrival and what visitors expect in the trip. Vukovar-Srijem County offer.If we talk about the experience then we will communicate with specific experiences in the destination.We are a destination that is difficult to promote only through key messages no matter how attractive they are, they are just a "trigger" to motivate people to get to know our destination What was important to emphasize was the diversity of the destination in relation to the competition, which is what we promise visitors and what we can offer. a different type of holiday and to offer value for money. " states Busic Srpak. 

This is a destination that is close, but still unfortunately insufficiently discovered, says Bušić Srpak and states that the campaign calls for research into both the destination and himself. 

By the way, continental tourism grew continuously and steadily before the pandemic, which hit the entire tourism sector hard, especially continental tourism. Although this pandemic time was also an opportunity, because many citizens got to know the interior of Lijepa naša, let's not forget that the peak of the season on the continent is just before and after the season. 

"Our numbers are very good. Our indices are increasing by about 200 compared to last year. We cannot easily compare with 2019 because we have always had a significant share in the structure of visitors to participants in school excursions. A trend that is important to us. , that in the third pandemic year we record very large indices compared to the previous two pandemic years and that we are recording an increase in the number of arrivals and overnight stays in all age groups, not only in the categories of participants in school excursions whose return we are recording this year. The market has changed, as well as the way we choose destinations and travel, and it is important to us that in the new post-pandemic time we have taken our position and jumped on that "returnee" tourist train. We managed to stay in the perception of a domestic guest as a travel destination. " states Busic Srpak. 

In the end, Bušić Srpak points out that within continental destinations, one should distinguish between destinations that have large national parks and spas, and which in themselves generate arrivals as a key motive for arrival.

"We are not that type of destination, we have to tell a story about the product and the content. Not that I’m looking for an excuse or anything like that, but that’s the hardest part. We do not have one key motive for coming, except for Vukovar, which has its own strength, but everyone who comes to Vukovar also visits its surroundings. We have to communicate the whole county and everything that our stakeholders offer, from Županja to Ilok, and connect them all into one story and product of the destination of Srijem and Slavonia. This is not an easy task and we must be different from the "competition". In the foreign market we present ourselves as a destination Slavonia, but within the domestic visitors differentiate the destination, for example  Slavonski Brod from Vinkovci. Our task is to communicate our own "tourist identity card" and create an irresistible motive for coming to Srijem and Slavonia." concludes Busic Srpak.

Cover photo: New destination campaign Visit Vukovar Srijem / Photo: Franjo Škegro