A delegation of Croatian tourism officials presented Croatia's tourism results in Budapest.
In the Kimpton BEM Hotel's rooftop bar area Budapest a conference was held for the Hungarian media where the results of the year so far were presented, showing an increasing trend in arrivals and overnight stays of Hungarian guests in Croatia. This is about 8% more arrivals and 12% more overnight stays In the period so far this year, which is an encouraging fact and an excellent announcement for the main summer season. Most overnight stays were recorded in Kvarner and Istria, while the leading destinations for Hungarian tourists were Zagreb, Opatija and Rovinj.
Croatia's availability to Hungarian guests this season will be better than ever as Budapest will be directly connected to Zadar and Dubrovnik by two airlines, and options for short city break trips to Croatia's southern destinations have also been presented.
The Local Host project, a system for marking and certifying the quality of private accommodation, was also presented at the conference. This project promotes tradition, hospitality, and local values, while also strengthening conditions for experiential tourism. An authentic living experience and opportunities for slow tourism were presented within the „Find your Pomalo“ exhibition, where attendees had the chance to take photos and experience their own „Pomalo“ moment for a brief time.
After the presentation by the Croatian National Tourist Board's Representative Office, conference guests included representatives from the Međimurje County. Filip Horvat The tourist offer of the city of Čakovec was presented to those gathered by the TZ grada Čakovca, with an emphasis on the heritage and rich history of the Zrinski family, who had a great influence in Hungary, and on the events held on this theme. Tonia Bermanec The Tourist Board of Međimurje County presented the tourism development in Međimurje, a region that serves as an example of good practice in sustainable tourism as the first certified „Green Destination“ in Croatia, which was recently visited by representatives of Hungarian travel agencies during a study trip.
The region's cultural richness, traditional gold panning, the tradition of making and playing the cimbalom, the transformation of Feštetić Castle into a modern experience centre, and the renovation of Hirschler Palace, which will become the Visitor Centre for Međimurje Folk Songs, along with numerous other elements of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, were presented to representatives of the Hungarian media, who also had the opportunity to sample Međimurje pumpkin seed oil and pumpkin seeds.
The get-together with media representatives continued with an interesting quiz in which participants showed exceptional knowledge of Croatia and Međimurje. Among the approximately 20 journalists present, special thanks were extended to this year's Golden Pen recipients, Gabor Tenczer i Zsoki Szabo who were also present, and all those gathered were welcomed by the Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to Hungary, H.E. Mladen Andrlić.
„We are extremely pleased with this year's results so far, which have exceeded our expectations and further encourage us to continue our activities. We are particularly delighted by the fact that the connection between Croatia and Hungary is stronger today than ever, which will certainly contribute to tourism results in the very south of Croatia. At today's conference, we presented a number of projects that emphasise authenticity and sustainability, because we believe that these are precisely the key elements for long-term and high-quality tourism development. We also presented Međimurje-region, which is an example of sustainability, as well as the city of Čakovec, which holds a special place in Hungarian history as the birthplace of one of the greatest national heroes - Nikola Zrinski., she concluded Ivana Herceg, director of the HTZ Representative Office in Hungary.
