NEW YORK -- Croatia is a destination in the midst of its second
tourism rebirth in only 10 years.
Following the end of conflict in nearby Kosovo last summer, many
tour operators and cruise lines reintroduced packages to the
Adriatic nation.
Nazli Weiss, vice president of marketing for Washington's Atlas
Travel, said that as a destination, Croatia qualifies as
"rediscovered" and that it is "perfectly primed to return to its
past days of glory."
Weiss was referring to the 1980s, when Croatia, still part of
Yugoslavia, attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors to its
historic cities and seaside resorts.
But with conflicts in the Balkans throughout the past decade,
including Croatia's war of independence in the early 1990s, travel
to Croatia was deemed unsafe, Weiss said.
Just as the country began to recover from the conflicts by
promoting the destination and renovating hotels, Kosovo struck, and
travelers again steered clear of the Adriatic.
The region has shown stability since last summer, however, and
the pent-up demand has led to product development, operators
said.
The country got a further boost in January when, following the
death of longtime iron-fisted leader Franco Tudjman, presidential
and parliamentary elections were held and democracy was
strengthened.
Tourism sources within Croatia said the change in government
will encourage a flow of foreign investment into tourism
infrastructure not seen during the Tudjman era.
According to Weiss, one of the reasons for the increase in
travel to Croatia is that people are looking for a new destination
and Croatia is serving that purpose.
She added that Croatia has the positive aspect of not being as
commercial or expensive as other European countries.
Atlas Travel offers two guaranteed escorted motorcoach tours
that feature the destination.
The seven-night Best of Croatia package is highlighted by visits
to Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar, Opatija, Zagreb, Plitvice Lakes in
Croatia and Postojna, Slovenia. It is priced starting from $599 per
person, double.
From $1,645 per person, double, the 14-night European Classic
plan not only includes visits to Zagreb, Opatija and Postojna, but
also Venice, Italy; Salzburg and Vienna, Austria; Prague, Czech
Republic, and Budapest, Hungary.
Dragica Lukas, manager at GeneralTurist International in
Astoria, N.Y., concurred with Weiss on Croatia's image problems,
stating that "Croatia is not a new market and was, in fact, a large
market, but was unfortunately connected to the conflicts in
Yugoslavia."
According to Lukas, after the association was made, "people just
didn't want to go."
But the firm is optimistic, offering the new Wine Tasting Tour
package on the Dalmatian Coast, with departures on May 20 and Oct.
7.
The seven-night, land-only program, priced at $810 per person,
double, includes a visit to the Grgic Vina winery in Trstenik and
two other wine cellars, hotel accommodations, half board daily, one
Mediterranean lunch, sightseeing and motorcoach transportation.
The tour features stays in Split, the islands of Hvar and
Korcula and Dubrovnik.
A single supplement is $100.
Besides packages, GeneralTurist offers rates for first class
hotels in Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Split and Opatija, and works with
other tour operators to create custom-made programs.
Blue Heart Tours of Alexandria, Va., offers a seven-night Best
of Croatia package with various departure dates from May through
September.
Starting at $1,739 per person, double, from New York and $1,899
from Washington, this plan includes roundtrip air, all
transportation, hotel accommodations, all breakfasts and dinners,
six lunches, sightseeing and entrance fees.
Featured city tours include Zagreb, Zadar, Split and
Dubrovnik.
The program also has a seven-night Dalmatian Coast extension
available for $1,049 per person, double.
The extension features an extra night in Dubrovnik and stays on
the islands of Korcula and Hvar.