More and more tourists have been prolonging their stay in Croatia because of the incredible atmosphere that spread across the entire country during the FIFA World Cup.
The success of the Croatian national football team saw many tourism-oriented markets experience a considerable rise in demand, including in France, the United Kingdom and in Russia, countries against whom Croatia played key matches, stated the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board's (HTZ) head office, Kristjan Stanicic, Total Croatia News reported.
Stanicic stated that the information they have received so far from various markets indicates a rise in interest in Croatia due to the country's amazing appearance at the 2018 World Cup. When looking at the trends of tourism demand and sales to Croatia in the countries against which Croatia played the final three matches at the World Cup, and whether there was any downsizing or decline in sales, HTZ's head office stated that this did not happen in Russia (quarterfinals), nor did it occur in England (semi-finals) or in France (final).
"We're currently recording an increase of about 10% in tourism from France compared to this time last year, and we're particularly pleased that more and more French are arriving in regions such as Zagreb, Slavonia, Istria or Kvarner. This year, there are new direct airline routes from several French cities, including Paris, which are contributing to that,'' HTZ stated.
Joining the Club
It was also pointed out that the members of the SETO French Travel Association have recorded a considerable 21% increase in summer reservations for Croatia compared to 2017. In addition, according to the Association of French Travel Agencies (Les Enterprises Du Voyage) for the very first time this year, Croatia has joined the ranks of Greece, Italy, Tunisia, Portugal, Morocco, Great Britain, Turkey and Germany on the list of the most popular destinations.
It appears to be a very similar situation in France's northern neighbor. In the UK, many supportive mails were received by both partners and Brits who had been in Croatia or were planning to go.
There are also good news coming from the country that Croatia beat on its home turf—Russia. According to some reports, the demand for Croatia has grown by around 20% compared to last year, and that trend seems to be set to continue right up until October, leading top tour operators to believe that more Russian tourists will come to Croatia than they did last year.
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