Croatia partner country at Munich tourism fair

ZAGREB, Oct 9 (Hina) - Croatia is to be a partner-country at the 2014 F.re.e international tourism fair in Munich, which will be an opportunity to promote Croatian tourism and to better position the country on the German and particularly Bavarian market and in that way improve positive trends in tourist arrivals from that market.

The partnership agreement was signed on Tuesday in Zagreb by Croatian Tourism Minister Veljko Ostojic and the Director of the Messe Muenchen GmbH fair, Reinhard Pfeiffer. Both signatories stressed the importance of cooperation for Croatian tourism and the Bavarian tourist public.

The F.re.e (or formerly CBR) is traditionally held in Munich in February with presentations of tourist offers from around the world.

Bavarians love to travel to Austria, Italy and Spain. Croatia is their fifth ranking tourist destination. They are specific though because they usually take at least two vacations a year.

Apart from resting, they are interested in recreational activities and attractions and this is Croatia's opportunity to show what it can offer outside the usual summer season, Pfeiffer said.

The Bavarian and German tourist market is traditionally very significant for Croatia and this partnership is an opportunity to let them know that we are strategically counting on this market, Minister Ostojic said.

He added that Croatia planned to invest 400-500,000 euros to promote its tourist trade at the fair which can be justified by the fact that 13.6 percent more German tourists visited the country in the first nine months of this year.

Croatia was already a partner at the Munich fair in 1993 and 2007.