According to the specialized cruise website Cruise Critic, Dubrovnik was declared the best cruise destination in the Eastern Mediterranean category for the second year in a row. The significance of the Cruisers’ Choice Destination Awards is even greater when you know that the destinations were chosen by the users of this popular website and cruise travel enthusiasts, which describe Dubrovnik with many positive comments, saying it is a desirable cruising destination of an exceptionally rich cultural and historical heritage. Behind Dubrovnik, in the mentioned category, there were Kotor, Venice, Santorini and Rhodes.
– Looking at realized overnight stays all year round, Dubrovnik is the most popular Croatian tourist destination, which last year only realized more than 4 million tourist overnight stays. In this year, this is the most sought after destination too, with over 2 million overnight stays realized. This acknowledgment confirms the exceptional international popularity of Dubrovnik, which greatly contributes to the overall recognition of Croatia as a tourist destination in international contexts – said the director of the Croatian Tourist Board Kristjan Staničić, adding that he expresses sincere congratulations to all Dubrovnik tourist workers who contributed to the reputation of Dubrovnik.
A specialized “Cruise Critic” website is a key place for sharing information and knowledge on cruises. This is the most popular world cruising website launched by 1995 by The Independent Traveller, a subsidiary of TripAdvisor. The website is intended for fans of this type of tourism and it contains over 350,000 cruise reviews and hosts the world’s largest online cruise community where travellers share information and share their cruise travel experiences and opinions.
– After Dubrovnik was declared the best congress destination, the title of the best cruise destination in the Eastern Mediterranean is yet another confirmation of the diversity of quality that Dubrovnik and Croatia offer. I believe that this recognition will further open the doors of Dubrovnik, and thus our entire country, to visitors from all over the world who will come back in private arrangements and remain in town longer. This is also a reward for all Dubrovnik tourism workers who year after year set Dubrovnik as an inevitable destination and I congratulate them all – said Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli.
Dubrovnik has become one of the most desirable cruising destinations in Europe offering a very diverse tourist offer recognized by UNESCO, a beautiful and preserved landscape and a quality eno-gastronomic offer. The status of Dubrovnik as a desirable cruise destination is further confirmed by hosting the fourth Festival of Tourism and Strategy that will held in November, and the main topic will be the cruising tourism, the challenges and the opportunities that the popular cruise destinations meet.
– Dubrovnik, as a globally recognizable Croatian tourist brand, succeeds year after year to be the best in several different segments of wider regional competition, from cruising and nautical to congressional and incentive offers. Special attention is given to the joint activities of numerous participants in the tourism offer, as well as to the appropriate city and other services, and the recognition of Dubrovnik as the best cruise destination is a recognition of everyone who responsibly and diligently makes the tourism image of the city – said Director of the Dubrovnik Tourist Board Dubrovnik Romana Vlasic, adding that because of the unique experience in the city that inspires, many visitors from cruise ships are happy to return.
It’s good to add that 9.8 million arrivals and 47 million overnight stays have been realized in Croatia during the first part of year which compared to the same period last year represents a growth of 6 percent in arrivals and overnight stays, while more than 650 thousand arrivals (+ 7 percent) and 2.2 million overnight stays (+ 5 percent) were realized in Dubrovnik.