Outbound

Croatia tests Indian waters before setting sail

Reema Sisodia and Sanjeev Bhar - Mumbai

Make way for yet another destination that is making moves to tap the Indian outbound potential. The Croatian National Tourist Board (CNTB), with support from its embassy based in New Delhi, conducted its first two-city roadshow (in Mumbai and New Delhi).

The board aims to highlight the destination as the most authentic Mediterranean destination with a catchline, 'Mediterranean as it once was'. The delegation comprising Ambassador of Croatia in India, Dino Debeljuh, first secretary (Economic Affairs) at the embassy of the Croatian republic Boris Suran, and Niko Bulic, director of CNTB made a presentation of the product to the trade and emphasised on Croatia's future inclusion in the European Union by the end of this decade.

The presentation highlighted the country's culture, art, history and heritage (including six UNESCO-protected monuments) of the region emphasising on the region's popularity as a cruise destination. The board aims to conduct regular roadshows in India to get familiar with the Indian market. Bulic said, "We are keen to work closely with the Indian trade and will be happy if they included us as part of the European packages."

He also mentioned that CNTB in cooperation with the Croatian embassy in India, support the idea of Indian tourists with multi-entry European Union visas to get a multi-entry visa for Croatia by default. However, direct entry into the country from India is restricted due to an absence of direct connectivity. The only way to get in at present is through other European carriers that fly into the region from India.