Speaking to TTG@WTM, Dubravko Miholic, Croatian National Tourist Board advisor, confirmed three-quarters of Britons visiting Croatia ended up in Dubrovnik and Split.

Showcasing a wine tasting taking in 16 local varieties, Miholic pointed to the country’s 80 Michelin-recommended restaurants – 13 of which have at least one Michelin star – and the various gourmet festivals tourists can visit.

“A tribute to the country’s oenophile spirit and wine heritage catapults Croatia’s new year’s calendar to new heights,” he said.

Miholic was also keen to promote other parts of the country, such as Istria, as year-round destinations, to entice visitors beyond the traditional holidaying areas.

The country’s “booming” nautical tourism sector will also be served by a promotional campaign to target UK bookings.

“Next year’s campaign, ’Early Booking’, will run until February, and reactivate with suitable messaging in April and May, aiming to leverage early booking tendencies from the UK,” said Miholic.

“Sun and the sea, nautical tourism, culture and active tourism are at the forefront of Croatia’s marketing endeavours.” 

From the UK, Croatia saw more than 750,000 people visit in the first 10 months of 2023, up 4% up on 2022, and is looking to welcome 800,000 UK visitors in 2024. 

“We’re also looking to accelerate our presence as a year-round destination, extending the operation of Croatia Airlines flights into the winter between Heathrow and Split once a week on Saturdays,” Miholic added.

He said the return of Ryanair’s twice-weekly Stansted-Osijek route would help best this year’s 12% increase in arrivals and overnights from the UK, and drive sustained tourism traffic to 10 diverse tourism regions.