At a meeting with the director of the Dubrovnik Tourist Board, Romana Vlasic, the topic of the discussion was promotion of Dubrovnik and Croatia in Chinese media.

Vlasic pointed out that the Chinese market is becoming increasingly important for Dubrovnik with an ever-increasing trend throughout the year. Last year in Dubrovnik there was a significant increase of Chinese guests. In 2018, 37 871 Chinese tourists stayed in Dubrovnik, which is 48 percent more than in 2017. Chinese tourists in Dubrovnik in 2018 made 69 023 overnight stays, which is 45 percent more than in the previous year.

The Director of the Dubrovnik Tourist Board emphasized the recently opened office of the Croatian Tourist Board in Shanghai, which will certainly contribute to even better communication with the Chinese market, in cooperation with the office of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce. The Dubrovnik Tourist Board printed a new Dubrovnik Riviera Info brochure for the development of the Chinese tourism market, which is indispensable for communication in this market

Vlasic expressed hope for establishing a direct airline from China to Croatia, which is one of the basic precondition for developing cooperation between the two countries. Dubrovnik Tourist Board, together with the representatives of the City of Dubrovnik, also performed at the tourist fair in the friend city Sanya in November last year, and as a part of the year of culture of Croatia and China, there is also a possibility of the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra visiting China.

One of the topics of the discussion was also the important political summit "China 16 plus" of the countries of Eastern and Central Europe and China, which aims to deepen and intensify relations in trade and investment and other important economic sectors, whose host is Dubrovnik.

Representatives of Chinese leading media outlets asked a number of questions and gave suggestions to director Romana Vlasic about possible future cooperation and increased visibility of Dubrovnik in Chinese media. They expressed their enthusiasm for Dubrovnik as the most recognizable Croatian brand in the world. The positive growth trend of the number of Chinese tourists in Dubrovnik is extremely important and points to further popularity of Dubrovnik in this prospective and large market.

Photo credit: The Dubrovnik Times