The capital is definitely becoming a tourist destination. Last year it was visited by over a million tourists, even more than the globally renowned Dubrovnik, with strong growth this year.
In the first five months Zagreb was visited by 337,300 guests, a 6% increase over the same period last year and a 12% rise in overnight stays. Most guests came from South Korea, Germany, USA, Italy and Bosnia&Herzegovina, Index reported on July 3, 2016.
Martina Bienenfeld, director of the Zagreb Tourism Board said the numbers are a result of the continuing work by the Zagreb tourism industry as well as city and state institutions. Thanks to numerous events Zagreb is a year-round destination.
“The city is awake, guests are increasing. Throughout the year we promote Zagreb on different tourism and congress fairs around the world and we made sure the story of Zagreb is heard by all ages and visitors in different platforms – from advertorial to mobile advertising and billboards to radio campaigns, Bienenefeld said.
“We also published a special webpage detailing all events – concerts, exhibitions, film and street shows, all united under the Zagreb Summer Tour 2016 brand. The campaign took some two years to perfect.”
Besides different cultural and entertainment content, an important role in year-round tourism in Zagreb is congress tourism. Last year there were 233 business events, with 115 in the first five months of this year. According to data published by the International Congress and Convention Association, Zagreb has moved from the 79th to the 64th place out of 373 cities.
As for accommodation, Zagreb today has 53 hotels, 45 hostels and 1,707 apartments and rooms, with a total of 14,466 beds.
“The accommodation offer is still being profiled and the accommodation owners are still searching for their niche, listening to the needs of the business and vacation visitors. The Zagreb Tourism Board support the work of all renters through our activities,” Bienefeld concluded.
