Croatia wishes to consolidate its position as a leader in tourism in South Eastern Europe. It has joined forces with UNWTO, the United Nations World Travel Organization, to promote the sustainability of tourism in Croatia.
As a holiday destination, Croatia has everything: a lengthy coastline for a country of its size, a romantic image compared to the surrounding Balkan states, reasonable prices, the closest warm sea for a number of central European states and the reputation of being a paradise away from the beaten track. However, life for the Croatian tourist board is not that simple. 2009 was a bad year due to the global financial crisis and the images of the horrific Yugoslav civil war are naturally associated with the relevant states.
Nevertheless, Croatia and UNWTO have joined forces to settle issues such as sustainability, competitiveness, governance and promotion. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the two parties to further advance the sustainability of tourism in Croatia and to ensure that the country benefits from the tourism revenue on an economic level. A special focus has been placed on ensuring that tourism brings enough jobs to the Croatians and that the county’s job market can be developed.
The first international conference on tourism and the media in Croatia will take place in September 2012 and will serve as a benchmark for further such conferences and events in the future. It will be held in the Croatian capital, Zagreb, and will primarily focus on the sustainability of the position of the media in Croatian tourism and on the consolidation of Croatia as a major South European holiday destination.
