He was speaking in a video message inviting both American and Croatian partners to come to Dubrovnik to arrange cooperation and new deals as well as visit Croatia.
This will be ASTA's first Destination Expo in Croatia.
About 150 ASTA members will arrive, says Jurica Glavina, executive director of the Hit Dalmatia agency, organiser of the expo's Trade Show and B2B workshops.
Some U.S. tourist agents and experts will arrive on 3 June and stay until the 20th, visiting Dubrovnik, Split, Zagreb and other parts of the country, he has told Hina.
About 150 representatives of Croatia's tourism will attend the Dubrovnik event.
Glavina says it is a very important event as the experience of other countries which hosted ASTA Destination Expo shows that they recorded a marked increase in U.S. arrivals. In Croatia this could be evident already in this year's post-summer season given that Croatia is "well-marketed" in the U.S. and promotion there is intensifying, he adds.
U.S. tourists spend more than others and new direct flights to Dubrovnik this season could increase arrivals, Glavina says.
The purpose of ASTA Destination Expo is to promote Croatia as a destination and to educate American agents in the sale of arrangements for Croatia, he adds.
The official organisers of the event are ASTA and the AmCro agency in partnership with the City of Dubrovnik, the Croatian and Dubrovnik Tourist Boards, and the Hit Dalmatia and Elite Travel agencies.