During the first day of the “Days of Croatian Tourism” event, a traditional meeting of the tourism industry operators which this year was held on 26 and 27 October in Bol on the island of Brač, the Director of the Croatian National Tourist Board, Mr. Ratomir Ivičić, presented a comprehensive analysis of the Croatian tourism brand’s strength, as well as the projected activities of the Croatian National Tourist Board for 2017. As such, Director Ivičić stated during the presentation “National Tourism Brand - Measuring Effectiveness and 2017 Guidelines” that research into the Croatian tourism brand strength from 2013 has shown that its strength was insufficient, with the exception of a limited number of markets. Namely, out of the potential 258 million people, 43 percent of them were not aware of the Croatian tourist offer. It is estimated that the Croatian tourist offer was recognised by approximately 147 million people, but 55 percent of them did not understand the offer and the brand itself.
As stated by Director Ivičić, this is why the Croatian National Tourism Board has over the last two years initiated the application of new branding and communication strategies by taking into consideration the new consumerism and the new economic, social, and cultural environment. The new umbrella communication concept with the slogan “Croatia, Full of Life”, has already been applied successfully for one year, and has the important role in the abovementioned process. The main goal of the mentioned concept is to position Croatia as one of the leading tourist destinations with a rich and varied offer, that is as a year-round destination with a strong tourism brand. The proof that the new approach to promotional activities shows results is the research from 2016 according to which when compared to 2013, the brand awareness related to the Croatian tourism brand has increased by 23 percent, while the brand understanding grew by 16 percent.
“During 2016 we achieved a significant increase in brand awareness of Croatia as a tourist destination. Therefore, all other brand components strengthened as well, even those dimensions on which the Croatian National Tourist Board does not have a direct influence. This is a good sign of the successful action of other tourist stakeholders because only by acting jointly are we able to change tourists’ perceptions. Namely, Croatia is dominantly recognised as a summer destination where tourists come with the main motive of sun and sea. The mentioned motive was crucial in 2013 for almost 70 percent of tourists, and during 2016, the sun and sea were the main motives for approximately 63 percent of the tourists. The specified decrease shows that foreign tourists are increasingly recognising Croatian destinations for their other tourism products, which makes us extremely happy”, concluded Director Ivičič.
Expectations for 2017
According to Oxford Economics, the projected tourism growth in the following year globally will be +4.2 percent, while in Europe the estimated growth is 3.2 percent, that is 2 percent for the Mediterranean area. The estimates for Croatia mention the increase in overnight stays of 3.3 percent, which ranks it among the countries that will reach growth rates higher than the generic average. This category includes also Spain, Portugal, Greese, Malta, Cyprus, Slovenia, and Bulgaria.
During 2017 the Croatian National Tourism Board activities will focus, among others, on strengthening Croatian tourism traffic in the periods of the pre and post-season. Namely, analysis carried out by the new tourism traffic registration system eVisitor show that during the main summer months the occupancy rate of hotel facilities is very high, 93 percent in July, and 98 percent in August. Therefore, there is almost no space for increasing tourist traffic in the high season, due to existing hotel capacities. The realistic room for improvement exists in May when the occupancy rate of hotel capacities was 43 percent, that is 64 percent in June, and 70 percent in September.
In accordance with the above, we will in the following year continue with the implementation of the continuous integrated communication (advertising and PR activities), with a stronger emphasis on the pre and post season, and on markets with more significant growth potential, such as Germany, Austria, Italy, Great Britain, France, Scandinavia, Switzerland, and Poland.
DHT - Brač trailer from Croatia Full Of Life on Vimeo.