"That this is a significant indicator is evidenced by the fact that among the top ten countries in that category, aside from Croatia, is only one other European country, Iceland," the HTZ said, noting that Croatia's rating was based on an analysis of Virtuoso's current and planned bookings.
"Croatia has been recognised in Europe as a family travel destination, and now we have confirmation that we have been recognised as such a destination in the U.S. market as well," said HTZ director Kristjan Stanicic.
According to HTZ data, 476,000 U.S. tourists visited Croatia in 2017, a 35% increase from 2016. They made 1.3 million overnight stays, an increase of 34%. These trends have continued into 2018 and already now the number of U.S. visitors is 25% up from last year.
The trends are confirmed by the recently released Virtuoso Luxe Report 2018, an annual survey bringing key trends in the luxury travel industry.
In that survey, Croatia is ranked among the top ten destinations in three categories, having gone up in the ranking compared to the 2017 survey.
Croatia is second in the category of the most popular emerging destination, while in the category of the most popular category for millennials it is ranked 6th. In the category of the most popular international destinations it occupies 8th place, the HTZ said.