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WTA Delegation Meets with Croatian Tourism Officials

2024.07.12

WTA Delegation Meets with Croatian Tourism Officials

In response to an invitation from the Croatian National Tourist Board, a delegation led by Mr. ZHANG Xu, Chair of the World Tourism Alliance (WTA), visited Croatia from July 9 to July 11, 2024. On July 10 and 11, Mr. ZHANG Xu and Mr. LIU Shijun, WTA Vice Chair and Secretary-General, met with Ms. Alijana Vukšić, Director of Split Tourist Board, and Ms. Olivera Šarić, Advisor for International Cooperation at the Croatian National Tourist Board.

WTA Delegation Meets with Croatian Tourism Officials

Mr. ZHANG Xu and Mr. LIU Shijun provided detailed insights into the World Tourism Alliance and the recently held “Europe-China Tourism Dialogue” in Budapest. They extended invitations for the Croatian National Tourist Board and the Split Tourist Board to join the WTA, encouraging the inclusion of more Croatian high-quality tourist destinations, tourism enterprises, associations, and research institutions in the alliance. They also invited Croatian representatives to participate in the upcoming “WTA • Xianghu Dialogue 2024” event, scheduled to take place from October 29 to November 1, in Sanya, Hainan.

WTA Delegation Meets with Croatian Tourism Officials

Croatian officials emphasized the significance of China as one of the world’s largest tourism source markets. In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Croatia welcomed nearly 500,000 Chinese tourists. After the downturn during the pandemic, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Croatia has shown a significant rebound. As of now, the number of Chinese visitors to Croatia in 2024 has increased by 60% compared to the same period in 2023, with overnight stays up by 80%. The Croatian officials expressed a strong desire to continue promoting inbound tourism from China and highlighted the urgent need to establish direct flights between China and Croatia. Both the Croatian National Tourist Board and the Split Tourist Board showed great interest in joining the WTA and participating in future events, indicating a positive outlook on further collaboration.