Croatia welcomes Chinese tourists

ZAGREB, Croatia — Croatia warmly welcomes Chinese tourists, the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board, or CNTB, said on Monday.

"We warmly welcome Chinese tourists because they are our dear guests," director Kristjan Stanicic said. He noted that there used to be about 300,000 Chinese tourists visiting Croatia each year before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although Chinese tourists are reappearing on the streets of major Croatian cities such as Zagreb and Dubrovnik, their numbers are still marginal in terms of the huge potential the country has, Stanicic said.

He also said the number of incoming tourists is based on the number of flights to Europe, including to Croatia. There are no direct flights between Croatia and China so far. "We hope that normal flights between China and Europe will resume soon so that there will be a large number of Chinese arrivals to Europe, including Croatia," Stanicic said.

Main pillar

The CNTB's Shanghai office, launched four years ago, has worked hard to promote Croatian tourism, including organizing online workshops and digital fairs. Stanicic said in-person activities would be held this year to promote Croatian tourism, one of the main pillars of the country's economy.

The CNTB has always regarded China as its major focus in tourism development, Stanicic said. He voiced hope that the number of Chinese tourists visiting Croatia could return to pre-pandemic levels in a year or two.

"We will do everything to facilitate the arrival and stay of Chinese tourists in Croatia," he added.

Also on Monday, Indonesian Minister for Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno said his country is ready to welcome Chinese tourists.

"We are ready to welcome Chinese tourists with a red carpet," Uno said at a weekly news briefing in the Indonesian capital Jakarta.

Uno said Chinese tourists had always topped the lists of the country's tourist destinations before the pandemic.

Statistics Indonesia recorded 2.07 million Chinese tourist arrivals in 2019. However, the number has drastically dropped since the pandemic.