Is there hope for Croatian tourism this season? Italian tourists are slowly trickling back into some of their favourite destinations in Croatia – Kvarner and Istria. Owners of accommodation facilities in those parts of Croatia claim that the bookings are looking promising indeed.
As Novac/Barbara Ban writes on the 17th of June, 2020, Italian tourists have itchy feet as the better control of the coronavirus pandemic allows for a glimmer of hope.
How do I come to have my teeth repaired at the dentist in Rovinj? Will you receive us in your apartment like you did last year? Are we welcome? How can we even get to you in this situation? What are the recommendations and will there be problems at the border? Do I need to provide booking confirmation?
These are all questions that currently plague those Italians who, regardless of the major health crisis in their country, want to come to Croatia for dental tourism or just for a summer holiday. Many are addressed to Istrian and Kvarner apartment renters and dentists who work with the Italian market. Inquiries are continuing to arrive every day from Italians at the address of the Croatian National Tourist Board’s office in Milan, as well as at the addresses of local tourist boards across the Istrian Peninsula.
There are currently only two thousand Italian guests staying in Croatia, there are about 1,200 Italian guests in Istria, and about 500 in Kvarner, and the rest are in the vicinity of Zadar, while a slightly smaller number of Italian guests are in the rest of Dalmatia and in Zagreb. In Rovinj, for example, they are in 4th place when it comes to tourist arrivals.
”This is a great indicator if we take into account the fact that Italy came out of lockdown only on June the 3rd, when travel bans within Italy and travel abroad were lifted. Therefore, there’s a lot of interest in Croatian destinations on the Italian market, despite strong messages and campaigns aimed at motivating Italians to stay in their own country when it comes to tourist travel. Inquiries most often refer to Istria, Kvarner and Dalmatia, and there are also questions about the details about entering Croatia, the necessary documents, how to fill out the forms, as well as protocols in various destinations. However, by far the largest number of inquiries come from boaters and for accommodation in camps and private rental facilities,” says Viviana Vukelic, the director of the Croatian Tourist Board (CNTB) in Milan, the epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic in Italy.
Italians are primarily troubled by the fact that because of the whole situation surrounding the epidemic, they might not be accepted abroad. They have a feeling that they are not welcome anywhere else other than Italy at the present moment.
”The Italians closely followed who closed their to them borders first, and the disaster that befell them further strengthened their national pride and strong support for everything that is “Made in Italy”. This topic was covered a lot in the Italian media, and the news about the possibilities of going to Greece and how the inhabitants of certain Italian regions are treated there was especially negatively accepted. Croatia has always been a good host to all its guests and the perception of the country among Italians is generally very positive, which has been confirmed by numerous media reports about Croatia as a tourist destination,” says the director of the Italian CNTB office.
Despite the dire situation, Vukelic has been promoting Croatian tourism all along. During the quarantine in Italy, Croatia’s representative office prepared and delivered positively intoned texts and information to Italian newsrooms, and popular Italian tourism magazines published articles and reports about the country. The brand campaign of Croatian tourism entitled “The holiday you deserve is closer than you think” will soon follow, which will be implemented in late June and early July with a focus on the topics of nautical, sun and sea and cycling tourism in Croatia.
Last year, more than 1.2 million arrivals and about 5.5 million overnight stays were realised by Italian nationals, which was an increase of about 3 percenr when compared to how things were back in 2018. This year should have been even better. But now it is difficult to predict anything as far as travel and Croatian tourism in general is concerned.
Vukelic explains that the Italian market is characterised by individuality and “last minute” reservations, which is why even in normal market circumstances it can be somewhat difficult to predict trends from this market in advance. Given the current unprecedented situation, things are even harder to predict, not only because of the health crisis but also the economic issues Italy is now facing.
”Everything will depend on the financial capabilities of the Italians, of which there are currently about 2,000 in Croatia, and we expect a further increase as the main summer months approach, especially August, when Italians usually travel the most. In any case, we expect a challenging year. Through marketing and promotional activities, we’re positioning Croatia as a desirable, attractive and, above all, safe tourist destination,” she says.
Despite all of the efforts the Croatian tourism sector puts into trying to attract Italians and other foreigners to its shores, the fact remains that Italy will be putting an enormous amount of effort into keeping Italians at home and encouraging them to stay in their own country and spend their money at home.
For more on Croatian tourism in the coronavirus era, follow our travel page.
