Kristjan Staničić, head of the Croatian tourism community, gave a special interview to the Votpusk.ru correspondent.
What steps is Croatia taking to promote tourism in its country on the Russian tourism market?
- This year we have made a new strategy for promoting Croatia in the Russian market. The recent Days of Croatia in Moscow are part of this strategy. We organized this event together with our representative office in Moscow. As part of it, a huge workshop was held, which was attended by about 35 travel companies from Croatia and more than 140 Russian partners.
In addition to the classic workshop, which we held before, we made an entertainment program and panel discussions, in which we answered questions from media representatives.
Events of this kind are very important. It was important for us that representatives of the tourism industry of Croatia and Russia could meet, talk directly, and discuss all important issues.
What regions will the Croatian tourism office focus on this year?
- We will advertise all of Croatia in Moscow, St. Petersburg and in cities with a population of one million in the European part of Russia.
How likely is an increase in flights from Russian regions?
- This year the flights will be from Moscow and St. Petersburg, like last year. In 2020, it will be announced, and in 2021, a program of co-financing of charter flights from Kazan and Yekaterinburg for Russian national tour operators will be launched. In the summer of 2020, tours to Croatia are planned with departures from eight regions of Russia.
What share of tourist traffic to Croatia is occupied by the Russian market and are there any resorts where the share of Russian tourists prevails?
- For us, first of all, it is important that Croatia offers a high-quality tourist product, and it is for it that Russian tourists come. Russians most of all rest in the northern part of Croatia: these are the resorts of Dubrovnik, Split and the city of Zagreb as the capital.
In 2019, Croatia was visited by 21 million tourists, among them there were 154 thousand Russians.
Are Russian tourists interested in Croatia? If so, why?
We are interested in Russian tourists, as they stay in the country longer than others and are ready to spend more money. The image of Croatia as a high-quality year-round destination, the possibility of recreation in the country outside the summer season is important to us.
What can Croatia offer to tourists from Russia?
Croatia has, of course, the most basic to offer - sun and Mediterranean beaches, but not only that. The country has a well-developed sea, gastronomic and active tourism, excursion and cultural tourism, active recreation and VIP tourism. All this can be combined in any quantity with a beach holiday. Special attention will be paid to health tourism in the Croatian thermal spas.
What festivals will be held in Croatia this year, potentially interesting to Russian tourists?
- In Croatia every year there are many different festivals: music, cinema, gastronomic and many others. One of the famous is Ultra Music Festival Split, which gathers more than 150 thousand people. The INMUSIC Music Festival in Zagreb attracts 100,000 visitors. He has a different playlist for a different audience.
On March 13-14, 2020, we invite you to WineRi - International Eno-gastro Festival in Rijeka. A colorful carnival has recently taken place there. The National Fair of Prosciutto Ham and Dry-Cured Meat Products will be held in April.
More details about all our festivals are written on our official tourism website: www.croatia.hr/ru-RU/Activities-and-attractions/Events
What are you doing to make Croatia recognized as a country of rest in the regions of Russia?
- We will hold presentations and workshops in major cities of Russia such as Kazan, Rostov-on-Don, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, St. Petersburg and others.
We will bring journalists so that they can experience all the beauty of Croatia, we will also bring representatives of travel agencies so that they can see everything themselves and can, with full understanding of the matter, tell tourists about the benefits of a vacation in Croatia.
