Lonely Planet lists Croatia amongst top ten European destinations

One of the most popular world tourism portals and publisher of the Lonely Planet guide has released a list of the ten most popular European destinations, including Croatia, the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) said on Tuesday.

The list was put together by the editors of the Lonely Planet in the USA and Great Britain and includes destinations that are a must for travellers to visit. Croatia has been listed along with Portugal, Hungary, Iceland, Switzerland, Ireland, Denmark, Italy, the Czech Republic and France.

In addition to recommending the coast, Lonely Planet recommends that travellers visit Zagreb, Dubrovnik, national parks and continental Croatia.

Croatia is recognised as an established destination for Europeans and one which is becoming more popular for US tourists. The number of tourist arrivals and nights from America in the first five months of this year has grown by more than 20%.

Proof that Croatia is becoming an increasingly interesting tourism destination for Americans, HTZ said, can be seen in the interest taken by several important American media which have written and released reports on Croatia. Also, companies offering organised tours have shown a growing interest in including Croatia in next season's brochures.

Americans are showing growing interest for Zagreb and in addition to Dubrovnik and the coast, more interest is being expressed in visiting continental Croatia.

HTZ notes that Americans are welcome guests because apart from being big spenders, they like to travel out of season, which is particularly interesting for the development of Croatian tourism. (Hina)