A year later, in 2019, more than a million British tourists are expected.
Although at moments it seemed as if Croatia had too many tourists this year, British tourists did not mind the crowds. There were as many as 160,000 more British tourists than in 2016, and hundreds of thousands more are expected to come next year. The figure of half a million British tourists, which was a long-sought-after goal, was achieved several years ago. This year, the number of 800,000 Britons has been exceeded and now the bar has been raised to a million. Judging by the first day of a major tourism fair in London, the Croatian tourism industry has reasons to be optimistic, reports Večernji List on November 11, 2017.
“Many of our hotel companies have already signed multi-year contracts with British partners. The only criticism we have received from the British market is the one about traffic connections between the mainland and the islands. We want to make tourist seasons last longer, and we can no longer allow for airliners to bring in tourists, but for ferries to run on the winter schedule,” said Croatian Tourism Minister Cappelli, adding that they will see how to solve the problem. One of the possible solutions is that the Croatian National Tourist Board might sponsor the improvement in transport links with the islands.
The number of air connections from Great Britain to Croatia in 2018 will be at the record level. Jet2 alone plans to bring in 16 percent of all British tourists. In the winter months of 2019, they plan to bring as much as 59 percent more tourists than during this winter.
“They are no exception. Other airlines are also increasing capacities to Croatia, which is a highly sought-after destination. Some hotels, such as the Park Hotel in Rovinj, which is undergoing reconstruction, have already been sold out for the 2018 season,” said the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board Kristijan Staničić, adding that next year Croatia will also get two direct weekly services from Canada.
Of course, British tourists will not travel just to Croatia. Approximately 30 million of them will travel to the EU, of which about 10 million to Spain alone, six to France, and two million each to Italy and Greece. Interestingly, Greece has decided to launch a marketing campaign similar to the Croatia 365 campaign and its stand is covered with messages about a 365-day tourist season. Minister Cappelli thinks that is not a coincidence. “That means we are doing a good job.”
As much as 74 percent of British tourism industry professionals believe there will be a further increase in the number of foreign trips next year. The only negative factor is Brexit, for which more than half of the respondents in a poll believe will negatively affect both British tourism and British travel abroad.
Translated from Večernji List.
