Croatia was named tourist 2018 destination of the year in Canada, as chosen by the Association of Quebec Travel Agents (AAVQ), the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) reported on Thursday.

The sixth Uni-Vers award ceremony was held on Wednesday night in Théâtre Rialto, Montreal, and Croatia beat Portugal, Mexico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic to win the title of best tourist destination in 2018.

AAVQ, founded in 2011, is a non profit association, and all Quebec travel agents are automatically members of the Association.

“This award comes as a confirmation of our country’s excellent position on Canada’s market. So far in this year, we have recorded more than 170,000 arrivals and 470,000 overnight stays from Canadian tourists, which is an increase of 24 percent, and 18 percent respectively compared to the same period last year,” head of HTZ, Kristjan Stanicic, said.

Stanicic added that positioning Croatia as a tourist destination on distant markets will be one of the board’s key strategic goals in the following year.

“What makes this award even more significant is the fact the winners are chosen by the tourism industry professionals, meaning representatives of travel agencies and tour operators, but also votes by avid travellers,” he said.

Ina Rodin, head of the HTZ New York office, also in charge of the Canada market, received the award. She said she expected the positive trends to continue in the next year as well, with growth estimated at a 20 percent rate at minimum.

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