Tourism traffic: 14 million overnight stays in first five months, led by Istria and hotels
The 6th session of the CNTB Tourist Board was held, where Kristjan Staničić was appointed director of the Croatian National Tourist Board for a four-year term by a unanimous decision of the Board members. This officially concluded the competition for the selection and appointment of the CNTB director, which was open until 30 March this year. As a reminder, Director Staničić has held this position since July 2017, when he was first appointed director of the CNTB.
Director Kristjan Staničić expressed his gratitude to the CNTB Tourist Board, as well as to the Minister of Tourism and Sport, Tonči Glavina, for the trust placed in him. "Re-election to the position of CNTB director primarily represents a responsibility towards Croatian tourism, all tourism workers, partners and Croatia as a whole, given that tourism is one of our most important economic branches. I most sincerely thank Minister Glavina and all members of the Tourist Board for the trust shown. Together, we have successfully responded to numerous challenges over the past few years, and I am particularly pleased that we have further strengthened Croatia's international position as a quality, safe and sustainable destination that attracts guests throughout the year," Staničić said.
He particularly emphasised that today, compared to 2017, Croatia records eight million more overnight stays, meaning that the figure of 110 million overnight stays on an annual basis has been exceeded. Numerous campaigns and promotional activities carried out by the Croatian National Tourist Board in domestic and foreign markets played an important role in this. This is also confirmed by the growth of traffic from the most important source markets, both European and long-haul, with the US market standing out in particular, recording a continuous and significant increase in tourist arrivals and overnight stays over the last few years. Furthermore, the CNTB played an important role in positioning Croatia as an aviation destination.
"In the new mandate, we will continue to work on further strengthening the competitiveness of Croatian tourism, developing a year-round offer, sustainable destination management and the promotion of all Croatian regions and tourism products. In doing so, the emphasis will be on digitalisation, the use of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and further strengthening cooperation with strategic partners in order to maintain the growth trend of new airline routes to our country. I also remind you that we will soon release a completely new promotional video for Croatian tourism starring John Malkovich, which will serve as the basis for new innovative marketing campaigns in the coming years. I believe that through the joint work of all stakeholders, we can further improve the quality of Croatian tourism and ensure its sustainable growth for the benefit of local communities, the economy and all citizens," concluded Staničić.
In addition to the above, the decision on the selection and appointment of directors of CNTB representative offices in six markets was also adopted at the session, namely in the markets of Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, where the current directors were re-elected, while new ones were appointed in the markets of Slovenia, Scandinavia and China.
It should be added that the Decision on approving the hosting of the annual general meeting of the Lufthansa City Center International GmbH (LCC) travel agency network was also adopted at the session. LCC is the world's largest independent travel agency franchise, operating through 600 offices in 110 markets and in business for more than 35 years. The LCC annual general meeting is held every two years in different destinations, and interest has been expressed for the meeting to be held in Istria in June 2027. The planned number of participants is over 400, consisting of high-ranking representatives, agency owners and leading managers in the tourism industry. Based on this Decision, the signing of a letter of intent will commence, followed by the conclusion of an appropriate agreement between the Croatian National Tourist Board, LCC and the Istria County Tourist Board.
