The Croatian National Tourist Board is presenting the overall Croatian tourist offer at one of the world's most important tourist fairs, ITB Berlin, which this year takes place from today March 7th through the 9th. In addition to the Croatian National Tourist Board as the main exhibitor, 20 co-exhibitors, i.e. tourist boards and other tourist entities, are presenting 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 CNTB, was also present at the fair.
Together with Gordan Bakota, Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia in Germany, and Romeo Draghiccio, Director of the CNTB Representative office in Germany, they held a press conference for the German media, where Director Staničić presented Croatian tourism results, expectations for this 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 key partners, with whom we met during the first day of the fair in Berlin, further confirm Croatia's excellent position on our most important tourist market - Germany. Our partners are optimistic, the demand for travel is high and they expect record traffic compared to the previous record year of 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 on the largest travel platforms in Germany such as Expedia and Weg.de", said Kristjan Staničić, Director of the CNTB.
Meetings were held with partners such as, Jet2.com, Jet2holidays, Eurowings, KLM, etc., with whom expected results and expanded cooperation were discussed for this year, 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 inbound market. Germany is the absolute record holder in terms of the number of foreign visitors last year, while the very beginning of this year also reaffirms this. These excellent results did not happen by chance - all this is the result of continuous work, innovation and constant monitoring of 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 culinary 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 Economy, 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 its traditional format and we believe that the good trends and early indications for the upcoming season will be further confirmed here," concluded Romeo Draghicchio, Director of the CNTB Representative Office in Germany.
Later in the day, the Tourist Board 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 exhibition 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".
