Korean tourists are fascinated with Croatia and come mostly outside of the main tourist season.
The fact that Šibenik-Knin County is very appealing to visitors from Korea has been confirmed by a recent presentation in Seoul, where 74 representatives of Korean travel agencies and a dozen journalists gathered. In addition to the Tourist Board of Šibenik-Knin County, representatives of tourist boards from Lika-Senj County, the City of Zagreb and the City of Dubrovnik were also present. The whole event was organised by the Croatian National Tourist Board, reports Poslovni.hr on June 9, 2017.
After a very successful workshop, the rich tourist offer of Šibenik-Knin County is currently being presented at the HanaTour International Tourism Fair, which runs from the 8th to the 11th of June in the South Korean capital.
“The more intense interest of Koreans for Croatia, as well as the growth in the number of tourists from that area, started with the broadcast of several reality shows which enabled Koreans to see the attractions of Croatia for themselves. After more intense work on this market and after three years of being present at the fair in Seoul, there has been a significant increase in the number of Koreans and guests from other distant countries to our county. Given the economic growth and the growing global power of the Far East, the importance of this area – China, Japan, Korea – needs to be recognised: these are the nations whose citizens love to travel and spend on average hundreds of millions of dollars a year,” said Željana Šikić, Director of Šibenik-Knin Tourist Board.
“As for Šibenik-Knin County, there is an outstanding interest in protected natural heritage and UNESCO sites, specifically for Krka National Park and the old town center with St. Jacob’s Cathedral. Also, it is crucial that their primary motive for arrival is not the sun and sea, which means that they come mostly outside of the main tourist season,” said Šikić.
From January to the end of May, Šibenik-Knin County recorded the arrival of 6,447 Koreans, who achieved 7,348 overnight stays. Compared to the same period last year, that is an increase of 37 percent in the number of arrivals and 27 percent in overnight stays. According to this year’s reports from Seoul, the number of visitors from the Far East should continue to grow.
