Looking back
EVENTS Croatian Tourism Days 2014 The largest annual meeting of Croatian tourism professionals, Croatian Tourism Days, was held on October 16 and 17 in Opatija. During the event, several lectures, presentations, and meetings were held, and some of this year's topics included managing travel destinations, trends, and digital challenges in tourism. Participants were presented the "Strategic Marketing Plan for Croatian Tourism by 2020", as well as the "Croatia 365" project for developing the pre- and postseason. On the second day of the meeting, as is tradition, a meeting between the professionals and representatives of the Government of the Republic of Croatia was held, and awards were handed out on the first and second evening for campaigns by the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, the Croatian National Tourist Board, and the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Croatia, who were the organizers of this grand event.
Photo archive: UHPA
Photo archive: www.mint.hr
Over the past few months, we followed important events and heard about the novelties and trends in the travel industry: we heard about the challenges of the tourism industry and the position of travel agencies, the importance of sustainable development and ecotourism in Croatia, the popularization of digital business in tourism, travel destination management... Here is an overview of some of the leading events in the travel sector that have marked the past two months in Croatia.
World Congress of Presidents of Travel Agency Associations From November 6 to 8, 2014, more than 120 representatives of the travel industry gathered in Zagreb for the second World Congress of Presidents of Travel Agency Associations, where they spoke about, amongst other things, the greatest challenges the tourism industry faces today, and the position of travel agencies. Amongst the participants of this three-day event were fifty heads of the leading travel associations in the world from 34 countries. The congress officially started with the signing of the World Tourism Association (UNWTO) Global Code of Ethics, which was, along
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with Boris Žgomba, president of the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies (UHPA), also signed by representatives of seven foreign associations of travel agencies from the following countries: Montenegro, Argentina, Malaysia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden, and Slovenia. "Human rights are the basis of our mandate as the UN's specialized agency for tourism. It is the core of the basic strategic document of the UNWTO, the Global Code of Ethics", said Taleb Rifai, the Secretary-General of the UNWTO, who attended the signing.
He added that the code represents a guide for the development of tourism with the aim of guiding tourists, tour operators, and host communities worldwide. The signing of the code was also supported by Croatian Minister of Tourism, Darko Lorencin, who didn't hide his satisfaction that this important event was held in Zagreb and Croatia. The organizer of the event was the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies (UHPA), in partnership with the Croatian National Tourist Board, and the Zagreb Tourist Board.