The Croatian EU presidency is now in full swing. Having taken over the EU’s rotating presidency from Finland, the next six months will see Croatia partake in influential decisions within the bloc. Not only that, but as Brexit is set to occur at the end of this month, seeing the UK enter into a transitional period, Croatia will take a leading role in helping to negotiate the UK’s (hopefully) smooth exit.
Hotels, particularly those in the capital city of Zagreb, are also experiencing a boom which is expected to continue as the city plays host to many EU delegates, and Croatia’s presence grows more strong on the European tourist map. Owing to that, the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) has decided to use the Croatian EU presidency as a way to attract tourists from the country in which Brussels is situated – Belgium.
As Marija Crnjak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 8th of January, 2020, HTZ’s director Kristjan Staničić has stated that guests from Belgium usually book their holidays between December and February.
HTZ is conducting a major promotional outdoor advertising campaign in Brussels to mark the beginning of the Croatian EU presidency. During January and mid-February, public transport, buses, trams, airports and the most frequent and representative city locations in Brussels will be adorned with Croatian motifs, all with the aim of further emphasising that Belgians should pay a visit to the youngest, and also the most beautiful, member of the EU.
“The Croatian EU presidency is an ideal opportunity for the further promotion of the country, so before the very beginning of the presidency we started this campaign that we believe will have positive promotional effects. We also support the timing of the campaign, which fits in perfectly with the Belgian “tourist” calendar, as market research by the umbrella association of Belgian tour operators ABTO shows that guests from Belgium most often book their holidays between December and February,” and Kristjan Staničić, adding that more than 220,000 arrivals and almost one million overnight stays were realised in Croatia from the Belgian market last year alone.
As part of the Brussels campaign, 25 buses and trams operate on which citizens of the European Union’s capital, as well as its numerous visitors, can see pictures of Croatia with a focus placed on the country’s nautical tourism.
Advertising activities are also carried out through large posters located at subway stations in Brussels, in the city centre, and in the so-called “European Neighbourhood”, in selected attractive city locations and through large digital screens positioned at the most frequent locations within Brussels Airport, which sees over 26 million passengers annually.
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