Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said on Tuesday that the three tourism-related bills which the government forwarded to Parliament in late October are laying the groundwork for creating a new "competitive identity" of Croatia.

“Croatia must create a new image for itself, and move towards tackling this issue with responsibility, professionalism, and maturity. It is the duty of our government, on behalf of all citizens, institutions and companies, to develop a management strategy to create a positive perception of Croatia,” Cappelli said at a tourism panel organised by the Jutarnji List daily in Zagreb on Tuesday.

Cappelli said that the proposed legislation is meant to establish a modernised system of tourist boards following the model of Destination Management Organisations (DMO). These would be tasked with promoting tourism in their area, but also work more closely with local and regional governments.

At the same time, the network of tourist boards would be more decentralised, and the national board (HTZ) would focus on promoting Croatia as a destination in foreign markets. Cappelli said that after the recent opening of a HTZ bureau in Shanghai, another one would open soon in Seoul, with a third one currently considered in Los Angeles.

He said that revenues from foreign visitors over the first six months of 2018 totalled €3 billion, which is 10 percent up from the same period in 2017. In addition, announced investments in developing new projects in Croatia’s tourist industry reached nearly €1 billion this year, up by 15 percent from 2017, and about 40 percent up from 2016.

(€1 = 7.43 kuna)

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