About a dozen candidates are expected to run for the post.
The public competition for the new director of the Main Office of the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) will be published in a few days, and the winning candidate is expected to replace the outgoing director Ratomir Ivičić by the summer, reports Poslovni.hr on March 12, 2017.
Croatia’s tourism industry is speculating who might take over the national promotional organization, which has an annual budget of about 270 million kuna, but Tourism Minister Gari Cappelii claims that no one knows who will win. “I am glad that there are about dozen strong individuals from the tourism industry, as far as what I hear, who intend to send their applications to the public competition. The candidates will come from the Dubrovnik area, across the inland part of the country, all the way to Istria. The new director will have to face a major challenge to be remembered as a person who made a big step forward for our tourism promotion”, said the Minister.
“The HTZ Main Office must primarily become a promotion agency. The Zagreb Tourist Board and the Advent in Zagreb event are an excellent example of how much can be done to promote a destination, even without involvement of global PR agencies”, said Cappelli, alluding to the fact that the HTZ Main Office has previously hired international PR professionals.
Cappelli believes that the salary of the head of Croatian National Tourist Board is more than adequate. “To my knowledge, the director of the HTZ Main Office earns about 20,000 kuna a month, which is more than a minister – my salary is around 17,500 kuna”, says Cappelli, who initiated changes to the rules for the election of directors of tourist boards.
“I think the candidates will be able to do a better job if their term lasts for four years, instead of just one year. We have tightened certain criteria at all levels of tourist boards, but current directors who have lower education levels than those demanded by the new rules do not have to worry. They will get a chance to comply with the new criteria”, explains the Minister.
Asked whether political preferences will influence the choice of the new HTZ head, Cappelli says that the decision will be more professional than political.
