The French are eager to travel and due to the ongoing pandemic, most will travel to a French or Central European destination this year, and some French airlines are optimistic about flights to Croatia, the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) said on Tuesday.

“According to a study conducted by the French specialized tourist magazine Echo Touristique, ten trends will mark the travels of French tourists in 2021 (and) they will certainly travel as soon as the quarantines and travel bans end,” said Danijela Mihalić Đurica, director of the HTZ’s representative office in France.

“Most French people will travel to one of the French or Central European destinations this year, with a preference to stay in nature and because of this, rural areas will attract more guests than cities,” the HTZ said.

This year “the French will book a large number of vacations through travel agencies that offer the possibility of cancelling reservations, providing refunds due to cancellations and through agencies that offer reliable information on the health and safety situation of individual destinations. Flexibility of reservations will be one of the basic criteria when choosing a vacation, and an increase in last minute bookings is expected,” the HTZ said.

This year the French will opt for fewer but longer trips and an increase is expected in last-minute bookings is expected, it added. “Strict health and safety measures will have a significant impact on the choice of accommodation, and the use of contactless technologies at airports and in accommodation and transport units will be emphasized.”

“The French can hardly wait for the situation to calm down and the possibility of international tourist travel again,” said Mihalić Đurica, adding that “in February we are launching a cycle of virtual events, i.e. webinars, with which we will present Croatia as an attractive and safe destination to interested agencies and travel organizers. At the same time, a special emphasis will be placed on airlines and trends in air traffic, because most airlines, including Air France, Transavia and Volotea, are optimistic about flights to Croatia.”