In Opatija at Villa Angiolina on Friday, 25 November, a presentation was held titled “Shanghai meets Croatia in Opatija”. The presentation and meeting of tourist associations and employees took place within a three-day stay of the Chinese delegation in Opatija, with the basic aim being to introduce Opatija and Croatian markets, but to also explore the possibilities of cooperation between Chinese and Croatian partners. At the meeting, a letter of intent was been signed between the Tourist Board of Shanghai and Opatija.
Poslovni.hr reports that last weekend in Opatija, a letter of intent was signed on future cooperation between the President of the Tourist Board of Shanghai, Jin Song Yang and the Mayor of Opatija, Ivo Dujmić. The Director of the Croatian National Tourist Board Ratomir Ivičić, Dean of the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Dora Smolčić Jurdana, and many representatives of the Tourism Council of Opatija Tourist Board, UHPA, hotel companies and travel agencies were also in attendance.
While there are currently no concrete forms of future cooperation, the Chinese delegation will this week visit several tourist companies in the Kvarner region and examine the possibilities of cooperation. Statistics show that last year, the Chinese recorded 13,375 arrivals and 16,117 overnights in Opatija, with most of the guests there on travels.
These figures are 41 percent larger than those of the year before, and as much as 11 times higher than those realized in 2011; the Chinese recorded a total of 88,000 arrivals and 130,000 overnight stays in Croatia last year alone. As Jin Song Yang explained himself, Shanghai is the tourist center of China, and last year it was visited by 200 million Chinese and eight million foreigners. Through its two airports, the city is directly connected with 256 cities in the world which is especially important for congress and the general business sector. In Shanghai, 255 large hotels with a total of 100,000 beds are currently operating.
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