Over the past couple of years, Croatia and its destinations, particularly Zagreb, followed by Zadar, Rovinj, Pula, Nin, Plitvice and others, but also Zagreb' Maksimir Park and funicular, have made their mark on the website. Zagreb was declared the 2nd best European destination in 2014, after Porto, Portugal, which in a way opened the door for other Croatian destinations to be discovered.
Over the past couple of months, three Croatian destinations have been voted as the best on the website - Zagreb was voted as the Best Christmas Market 2015, Zadar was vote as the European Best Destination 2016 and the Stiniva beach on Vis island was voted as the best beach this year, which puts Croatia among the few countries that can boast of such success.
Croatia is geographically much smaller than France which also had three best destinations in 2015, yet it is one of the most important tourist destinations in Europe and the world, Lejeune said.
Croatia's nomination for best destinations on the EBD website in various categories is confirmation that it is a European 'jewel' and an extraordinary country with a rich landscape, culture and cuisine, he added.
The EBD website is part of the eponymous European organisation, which is based in Brussels and was established in 2009 to promote European destinations and tourism in partnership with major European tourist offices but also with major European media.