Croatian Tourism 2021 Preparations v Competitors: The View from London

March 6, 2021 – How are the preparations for the Croatian tourism season 2021 compared to the competition? The look of London based tourism professionals.

With many other exciting events in Croatia and elsewhere, and with more writers joining the growing TCN team, I write less about tourism these days than I did in previous years. My fascination with a country that generates more than 20% of its GDP from tourism but does next to nothing remarkable (unless you mean all the stupid stuff – there are A LOT of them) continues. And I wonder what this country could achieve – not just in tourism but in all sectors of the economy – if it had more competent civil servants who work more for the common good and with real expertise.

I can’t think of a clearer current example than an article I wrote last week comparing the efforts – and results – of a volunteer expat and the worldwide promotion he achieved with zero kuna compared to the lack thereof Presence of the state body with 70 80 employees and a budget of up to 400 million kuna per year, the sole purpose of which is to promote Croatian tourism. Read more in Dutch promotes Croatia worldwide: In the meantime in the kingdom of unintentional tourism …

There is still no information I can find about the new digital nomad permit in the Croatian National Tourism Association. This is what you get by searching for “Digital Nomad”. There is also no information on the Ministry of Tourism’s website. Similar to last year and in dealing with tourism during the pandemic, the only officials who have information are the Croatian police and the Ministry of Interior.

CNN, Lonely Planet, Forbes and the Washington Post may be busy telling the world about new initiatives in Croatian tourism, but it seems that those responsible have not yet figured it out. I think it’s only March, the season is so far away. Pomalo …

As I said, it fascinates me. However, since my business is not dependent on tourism, it doesn’t bother me very much these days.

But it bothers those whose livelihood is directly related to tourism. I have received around 10 UK emails and messages in the past few days from tourism companies affiliated with Croatia. Emails like this:

Hi Paul, I hope you are fine. Do you think Croatia will post news to let the UK know it will be open for business this summer? It’s been a few days now and we haven’t seen anything here to reassure potential visitors that they are welcome. Unlike Greece which has been featured in most news outlets lately. I received an email yesterday about the new Stay Safe Croatia campaign but I think an invitation needs to be sent out for the summer as people are not sure if they are welcome. Is there anything you can do to help?

Much more complete was the following, which I received from a UK based representative for a company specializing in tourism in the region. I received it on March 1st (was a bit busy here …) and will publish it in full.

Travel reports show that the British are preparing for the trip and a large number of travelers are booking the summer. Marketing promotions come from tour operators, tour operators, newspapers, travel magazines and articles listing the best travel destinations for summer 2021.

With 19.6 million people vaccinated, one in three adults is in the UK (Source BBC) and the PM announcing travel should be possible after May 18th, the UK market is getting very active and travelers are looking for their next destinations.

Although Croatia has been a desirable and popular travel destination in recent years, we haven’t seen much about Croatia in travel campaigns, articles, and news in recent weeks. At the moment Croatia does not appear on the front page of tour operators, but rather on the second or third page. Given that we are being asked to stay home, it’s hard to notice the usual £ 49 flight from Dubrovnik on a London double decker. However, compared to the last few years, there is less marketing for flights to Croatia and less news about the summer in Croatia.

This could be because we still feel like it’s pretty early and everyone is expecting last minute bookings. However, reports show that it is not. After a few phone calls to Croatian hoteliers, we found that most of them didn’t know that something had changed here in the UK. Many Britons will have both vaccines by the summer and may be looking for destinations that could offer the best approach and rules for entering the country.

If you google Croatia or travel to Croatia in the UK you won’t see much. Other Mediterranean destinations have plenty of media coverage and mention specific outlines for the new Covid season.

This type of information has been heavily followed by the news and reflects the booking itself. Tour operators have focused heavily on flights to Greece and Spain and advertised them as top travel destinations.

Marketing campaigns show how safe Croatia is, including Stay Safe in Croatia, although WTTC is a very good place to start. The designation as a safe country that follows the principles of the WTTC should lead to a safe movement of tourists in 2021.

As important as it is for the vaccine to vaccinate as many people as possible and keep the good COVID numbers so that guests feel safe at our destination, this year won’t be a deal maker like last year. Although the focus is still on safe stay this year, for a very large number of guests, logistics will be the most important part of their vacation, and it will be equally important to have a plan for the safe movement and entry of tourists into it Land to set up.

The establishment of such plans and their announcement through strong marketing campaigns, while tour operators actively offer Croatia in their top travel destinations, should provide different impulses.

Marking hotels, restaurants, museums, etc. as safe is a reassuring thing for guests, but that guest is already where we want them to be. We should focus more on those guests who are still undecided and where to flee this year in their long-awaited and overdue vacation. That’s why we not only need to be present on official channels, but also direct our direct marketing to tour operators, OTAs and travel review sites much more towards those who are at the forefront when it comes to getting bookings to our destination bring as in this case. “New World” Everyone is holding onto the digital world more than before.

The race for early bookers has already begun. Greece has seen very positive booking trends in the last 7 days since the UK announced that it would lift restrictions in the second half of May.

We now have a very good trend compared to other Mediterranean countries.

We all know that numbers are very relative and can change very quickly. Last season made us think how quickly we can go from bliss to despair and there was nothing we could do to prevent it. It was far too late to react. We were very surprised and we can’t afford to repeat ourselves last year.

Every country was affected by Covid in the past year and we cannot rely or be deceived that due to the good geographic location and good “Covid reputation” we will continue to see an increase in bookings in “neutral driving mode”. We’ve all heard coronavirus hit Spain, Italy, Portugal and Turkey lately, but they are all still at the forefront. Follow ETC’s trends and statistics:

We need to get to this pace before the federal government lifts restrictions and starts actively booking their next vacation.

If the federal government sticks to the idea of ​​opening borders and lifting travel restrictions only for countries in which fewer than 35 infected people with 1000 inhabitants live, how can you best react? Perhaps the answer lies in the Greek model, where they divided the country into many regions. Each island is a region in itself and offers you plenty of scope to prepare for the season.

The surveys constantly show and remind us that flexibility, non-prepayment and safe entry and exit of the country, knowing under what conditions and from what date they are entering the country with clear information easily accessible online can determine this season.

We believe that we can remind not only driving distance markets but also flying guests of all the remote places they can visit, from small picturesque villages around Dubrovnik and Split to islands with hardly any falls. We could notice a different booking speed from flying guests mostly British travelers, but that has to be advertised.

Let’s not forget that we have the best of both worlds, the driving route between German and British travelers preparing for the flight. Let’s keep reminding these countries of how safe and beautiful Croatia is and help our tourists discover different places to enjoy in Croatia (seclusion, nature, islands …) With so much diversity, we should set the trends and not try to keep us with them all the time.

We believe that through strong marketing campaigns and good media coverage of how beautiful and safe Croatia is, a number of protocols will be presented that Croatia will follow and that travelers will get safe, fast and smooth access (possibly through vaccination certificates or PCR tests at airports). Hotels etc.) we may see a different booking peace, similar to that which other Mediterranean countries are currently experiencing.

Interesting stuff. Everyone else has information and insights from outside Croatia into important tourism markets. If you have an expert comment you’d like to share that is backed up by links and data, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spam bots! You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Subject season 2021.