Voting was conducted from 20 January and of a total of 288,992 votes every fifth vote or 57,616 went to Zadar.
Zadar was elected for this prestigious title of the Best European Destination 2016 ahead of Athens, Plovdiv, Nantes, The Azores Islands, Paris, Novi Sad, Brussels, Kotor, Milan, Prague, Rome, Vienna, Madrid and Nicosia.
Tourism Minister Anton Kliman congratulated Zadar and its citizens on winning the title.
"This is a wonderful recognition and congratulations to all tourism workers in Zadar and the surrounding area. We hope that this will motivate them to further develop the destination and that it will stimulate other tourism destinations around Croatia. You are proof that the effort was worth it," Minister Kliman said.
European Best Destinations is a Brussels-based organisation aimed at promoting culture and tourism in Europe. In partnership with the participating tourism offices and the EDEN Network, it promotes a better understanding of the wealth, diversity and quality of European destinations.
Since 2009, European Best Destinations has been working with major tourism offices in Europe to reward and highlight the most visited destinations via its website and social networks.