Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), Zurab Pololikashvili, announced on Tuesday that Croatia was selected to host the 2nd World Sports Tourism Congress in 2023, and said that Croatia should be promoted more as a place for sport tourism.

Pololikashvili met with Croatia’s Minister for Tourism and Sport, Nikolina Brnjac and head of the national tourist board HTZ, Kristjan Stanicic, at the World Travel Market, one of the world’s leading platforms for the travel industry.

Pololikashvili said that sport was one of the drivers of tourism, Croatia was very strong in sport, so it should be considered with relevant stakeholders how to promote Croatia as a sport tourism destinations. He wished luck to Croatia’s national team at the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which is also a major tourist event.

Although several factors influence it, including the current global circumstances, Pololikashvili said he was very optimistic about the next tourist year, given the fact that all the visible signs of the pandemic, such as PCR tests and masks, have almost disappeared.

Before a bilateral meeting with Pololikashvili, Brnjac took part in a Ministerial Forum organised by the UNWTO and WTTC, which discussed the activities that will make tourism more resilient, innovative and sustainable at the world level in the coming period. Brnjac said all countries were facing the same problems in the tourism sector, so it was necessary to talk about sustainable tourism, young people in tourism, local communities etc.

“Stanicic said that partners on the British market reported an increase in demand for Croatian destinations, so it can be expected that next year would be very intense and it can be viewed with optimism. However, he underscored the need for caution due to the global circumstances,” state agency Hina said.