An excellent choice by Russian travellers.

Croatia was declared the best destination for family vacations in 2017 for Russian tourists, announced the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) on Friday, reports tportal.hr on December 1, 2017.

This is a traditional annual award given by National Geographic Russia, which is awarded to the best holiday destinations for Russian tourists, based on the magazine readers' votes. More than 270,000 people voted this year.

“Croatia has once again proved that it is a well-known destination for family vacation in the Russian market. It is a destination which Russian tourists rank among the very top of the desirable tourist destinations in the world,” the Croatian National Tourist Board pointed out.

The ceremony was held last night in Moscow, and Croatia won in the family vacation category, in competition with countries such as Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, Finland and Cyprus, according to the statement.

The award was received by the director of HTZ’s representative office in Moscow Rajko Ružička, who pointed out that this was an additional motivation for future activities on this market which is of great importance for Croatian tourism.

“It is great that, despite some difficulties which have affected this market, for three years in a row the Russian tourists and the Russian tourism sector have recognised Croatia as an important and reliable partner,” he said.

Prizes were also awarded in other categories, such as the best summer beach destination, the best winter skiing destination, the best destination for excursions, the gastronomic destination of the year, the best exotic destination, the best destination for health tourism and others.

According to the eVisitor system, more than 132,000 Russian tourists came to Croatia so far this year. More than 950,000 overnight stays were realised by visitors from the Russian market, which is 10 percent more than last year. With regards to individual destinations, Russian tourists have spent most of their overnights in Poreč, Umag and Dubrovnik, according to the HTZ.

The two main issues which prevent even better results from the Russian market are political relations between the European Union and Russia, which include EU’s sanctions, as well as the issue of visas which Russian nationals need to enter the European Union.

Translated from tportal.hr.