Croatian Tourism Officially Had A Record Year In 2011, And Yet The Season Is Still Extremely Short. January 27, 2012
Posted by janey in : travel general , trackbackCroatian tourism officially had a record year in 2011, and yet the season is still extremely short. A new survey reveals perceptions of the country from Continentals who have never visited. A beautiful shore, beaches, sea, Yugoslavia and war - these were the commonest replies in a survey about perceptions of Croatia, according to a report on Tportal.hr, according to a report in the Croatian Times on Jan 25, 2012.
The survey of 2,574 people from Germany, UK, Denmark, Sweden, Poland and Spain, was overseen by Sinisa Horak from the Institution for Tourism, which asked its target sample what came into their head when the word ‘Croatia ‘ was discussed. Not one of the respondents had been to Croatia, and roughly 20% answered that they could associate nothing with the country.
The survey was instructive, as it gave an understanding into how Croatia was understood globally, with perceptions varying from country to country. Poles, Germans and Swedes made the organisation between Croatia and a pretty coast, beaches and sea, as did the Spaniards, who also had a feeling of history and culture, while the Danes and British the 1st organisation is war. The survey aligned Croatia more as an ex-Yugoslav state than an imminent EU member.
The results aren’t surprising, but they do point to an area where the Croatian holiday maker board should be promoting its efforts - on improving awareness of Croatia and its traveller attractions worldwide. Alan Mandic, owner of boutique travel bureau, Secret Dalmatia, agrees, as he said in a recent interview with Digital Journal :
“My clients come from late March to mid Nov so I’m quite happy with the length of “my” traveller season. The solution is easy : get Croatia on the map. Irrespective of how easy, it needs a significant investment and determination from our government / ministry apropos continual promotion and focusing on opinion-making targets to maximize the result. Merely an example is to have Croatia featured, or at least mentioned, in most popular US shows and papers that are globally distributed.”
The task of the Croatian traveller board to brand the nations tourism in the wake of the devastating war in the area was gigantic, and it merits great credit in the very effective campaign under the slogan The Mediterranean as it Was Once, as a new generation of holiday maker came to uncover a new country with great beaches and nightlife. Tourists usually like to come in Split, Trogir,Makarska and Dubrovnik.
Before the break-up of former Yugoslavia, tourism to Croatia was booming, with over 440,000 Brits coming to former Yugoslavia every year, the second most popular destination after Spain, with many coming on packages with Yugotours. Back then the geography was easy, but the re-drawing of the map in Eastern Europe has caused misunderstanding, and there is a need to educate on the new reality. One of the common errors for example, is to mix up Slovenia, an EU member and part of former Yugoslavia, with Slovakia, also in the EU. Gaffes such as the recent placing of Bulgaria in former Yugoslavia by Fox Reports do very little to help.
The break-up of Yugoslavia causes bewilderment among an older generation who paid a visit to the area before the war, as was evidenced by a number of the replies I received in a forum survey for another online writing site, earlier in the year. Asked about perceptions of Croatia, one respondent answered :
“Before the war, when I was living in Europe I used to go to former Yugoslavia quite often. It was actually the ideal vacation place. I suspect the Adriatic coast is among the most beautiful in the world. But now I feel ignorant because I don’t know where the new boundaries are and even which country I might be visiting. Is Istria in the same country as Dubrovnik? I would perform some research. I suspect the war has indeed put people off, though it might be me. So if you could help people get over their prejudged ideas or, worse, stupidity, you’d be doing a great job”, writes tagza.com.
Comments
Sorry comments are closed for this entry