Croatia’s Tourism Minister Darko Lorencin Heads to China

Croatia’s Tourism Minister Darko Lorencin met with the Deputy Director of the China Tourism Association, Wu Wenxue, in Beijing yesterday to discuss expanding tourism relations between the two counties. With Croatia tourism largely dependent on EU visits, attracting foreign travelers is high on the ministry’s agenda.

The Tourism Minister presented his Chinese counterparts with Croatia’s tourism results from 2013 which showed Croatia as a destination primarily visited by Europeans. The goal of these meetings being increasing in bound Asia tourism, and secondarily presenting China as a Croatian outbound destination. In a press release from Croatia’s Tourism Ministry, Lorencin is featured heralding the need for direct flights between the two countries, among other binding agreements and strategies.

The ministers also discussed a study trip to Croatia later this year for Chinese tour operators and journalists, as well as a Chinese application for Chinese to become one of the official languages of the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). Loreencin is scheduled to meet with leading tour operators, airlines, and some media later in the week.

Just last month Lorencin was in Washington speaking about opportunities for investment in Croatia with the International Trade Association (ITA). The minister discussed planned investment strategies for Kupari, Brijuni, Imperial-Rab, Plat and Maestral. An early April trip to Azerbaijan further illuminates a Croatia tourism sector on the move for the coming year. The Eurostat graphic at right tells of the preponderance of Croatia visitors being European. As one of the countries with highest touristic growth in Europe, Croatia attracting outside tourist will be an obvious boom.