The day-long event brought together about 150 participants from Croatia and abroad who discussed new trends in the travel industry.
Concerning Croatia, the TripAdvisor platform shows that the most frequent term searched regarding Croatia's tourism industry in 2024 has been "food", while for Croatian competitors those have been "tours" or "day trips", UHPA president, Tomislav Fain, said at the forum.
A considerable number of travel agencies include wineries and family farms that produce local food as wine and food tasting holidays in Croatia.
The HTZ director, Kristjan Staničić, said that enogastronomy is important for Croatia's tourism industry, especially for visiting in spring and in autumn, when wine and food tasting can be the main motive for travel during that time of the year.
Staničić and Tourism Ministry State Secretary Monika Udovičić highlighted the importance of offering value for money in the travel industry.
This year has been successful and 2025 will be challenging. when more attention should be paid to the price policy, Udovičić said.
Spanish consultant David Mora presented positive Basque and Slovenian examples concerning food tourism.