The Croatian Tourist Board presents the overall Croatian tourist offer at one of the world’s most important tourist fairs, ITB Berlin, which this year takes place from March 7 to 9. In addition to the Croatian Tourist Board as the main exhibitor, 20 co-exhibitors, i.e. tourist boards and other tourist entities, present their offer as part of the Croatian stand, and the Croatian tourist delegation led by Nikolina Brnjac, Minister of Tourism and Sports and Kristjan Staničić, Director of CTB, is also present at the fair.
They, with the presence of Gordan Bakota, Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia in FR Germany, and Romeo Draghiccio, Director of the CTB Representation in Germany, held a conference for the German media, where Director Staničić presented the results of Croatian tourism, expectations for this tourist year, and numerous other news , investments and examples of good sustainable projects from Croatian tourism.
“The interest of the German media, as well as the feedback from our most important partners, which we met during the first day of the fair in Berlin, further confirm Croatia’s excellent position on our most important tourist market – Germany. The partners are optimistic, the demand for travel is high and they expect record traffic from the record year 2019. The recovery is also visible through the renewed trend of early booking, so in March we will launch a special campaign for early booking of arrangements on the largest travel platforms in Germany such as Expedia and Weg.de”, said Kristjan Staničić, director of CTB.
Among the partners with whom meetings were held, i.e. with whom expected results and expanded cooperation were discussed this year, are Jet2.com, Jet2holidays, Eurowings, KLM, etc., while additional promotional activities and campaigns were discussed with representatives of TripAdvisor, National Geographic, Lonely Planet, SkyScanner and others.
“This is another opportunity that we will use in order to strengthen Croatia’s already excellent position on our most important broadcasting market. Germany is the absolute record holder in terms of the number of foreign tourists last year as well, and the very beginning of this year also confirmed that. These excellent results did not happen by chance – all this is the result of continuous work, innovation and constant listening to the German market as well as targeted promotional activities. In Berlin, we present all the diversity and authenticity that Croatia offers throughout the year – from quality accommodation, natural and cultural heritage on the coast and inland to active vacations and wine and gastronomic delights,” said Nikolina Brnjac, Minister of Tourism and Sports.
As part of the Croatian stand, a presentation and tasting of top Croatian wines and cheeses was held in cooperation with the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, and a special “Treasure Chest” with exhibits showing Croatia’s rich cultural-historical and material heritage was set up as part of the stand.
“After three years, ITB is taking place again in the classic format and we believe that good trends and announcements for the upcoming season will be further confirmed here,” concluded Romeo Draghicchio, director of the CTB Representative Office in Germany.
Later in the day, the TB of Međimurje County will receive the prestigious silver award for sustainability awarded by the global organization Green Destinations, which will make Međimurje the first county with this award in Croatia, as well as in the wider region.
The ITB Berlin fair represents one of the world’s most important tourist fairs with a tradition since 1966. Around 5,000 exhibitors from 161 countries are participating in the fair under the motto “Mastering Transformation”.