60 percent of foreign guests inform themselves about Croatia via the internet

Today, the NeoTour conference was held at the Croatian Journalists’ Association – the first multimedia conference organized by Kongres media.

With the aim of connecting the ICT and tourism industries through the presentation of the benefits of so-called WEB 2.0 marketing, or the promotion of tourism offerings via internet social networks, the conference gathered around 70 participants – leading ICT experts and owners of hotels, restaurants, and other tourist facilities. Approximately 200 tourism managers from around the world, mostly from English-speaking countries, followed the conference online.

The director of the organizing company, Vinko Mojtić, emphasized that Kongres media decided on this project to step out of the national market for organizing professional gatherings. – Given that this is the first project, and the fact that we are followed by around 200 tourism managers worldwide, speaks to the potential that social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, and others, provide in business communication, said Vinko Mojtić. – Now is precisely the time for large and small companies, tourism organizations, and all those concerned with promoting tourist destinations to turn to using social networks for promotion. If used correctly, the results can be extraordinary, concluded Mojtić.

The opening of the conference was also attended by the Minister of Tourism, Damir Bajs. – Croatia is present on about 40 internet portals and according to some research in 2009, the internet played one of the key roles in the decision of 60 percent of our foreign guests to come to Croatia, said the minister. – The internet should be promoted as something that can help not only the Ministry of Tourism and the Croatian Tourist Board but also all companies in tourism, concluded the minister, adding that Croatia cannot change the habits of its guests, but it can certainly adapt to them.

The main speaker and head of the British Hospitality Association, Bob Cotton, spoke about the possibilities for achieving growth in tourism, the changes that are coming, and how they will affect the tourism sector. Speaking about the impacts of the crisis on the tourism sector last year, Cotton emphasized the importance of the tourism sector’s ability to quickly adapt to new conditions. – Although markets such as the Asian, European, and Middle Eastern experienced a decline in tourism traffic of about six percent in the first half of last year, a slight growth was recorded in the second half of the year, and although 2010 is also expected to be a difficult year, experts expect that growth to continue, emphasized Cotton. Speaking about the domestic tourism offer, Cotton highlighted that Croatia has a good image in Great Britain and concluded that now is the best time to visit Croatia from European Union countries. – Croatia has a good image based on the fact that it is a Mediterranean country, and in that direction, you need to develop a strong strategy for attracting guests, as tourism is an industry that needs to grow, and advertising via the internet is one of the tools, Cotton stated.