That was the year “ Romantic ,” featuring young South Koreans on tour in Croatia , began airing . Since then , tourism from South Korea has spiked , says Siniša Topalovic , managing partner at Horwath HTL in Zagreb . “ PR plus marketing plus media influence really put Zagreb on their bucket list ,” he says . “ The EU ascension just emphasized the tourism potential for the country .”

Europeans , particularly Germans , Austrians and Italians , have known Croatia as an inexpensive destination since the 1960s . But from 2010-15 , total overnight visits ( including private or other accommodation besides hotels ) increased from 56 million to 70 million . Overnights at 4- and 5-star hotels increased from 6.4 million to 9.5 million over that period , says Topalovic , who says he is seeing many investors switch from midscale projects to upscale and upper upscale . As well , the hotel sector on Croatia ’ s stock exchange has gained more than 400 % in the past five years . “ More than twothirds of internationally

branded hotels fall in the upper-midscale and upscale sectors , and resort-type hotels along the Adriatic coast make up the majority of these ,” says Alan

YOU CAN ’ T DO THIS IN ITALY OR SPAIN OR FRANCE

Mantin , senior director , development , Southern Europe , at Hilton . Hilton entered the country in 2004 with the Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik ; in 2012 , it opened the

DoubleTree by Hilton Zagreb .

Development for international brands improved after Croatia joined the EU . “ Since then , visitor numbers have grown significantly – as tourists from the continent were drawn with cheaper flights and smaller barriers to entry – and investment into hotels , travel infrastructure and other tourism related sectors has grown to account for one-tenth of total investment in Croatia today ,” Mantin says . Most recently , Dubai-based Arqaam Capital partnered with Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts to develop a mixed-use resort on the Croatian island of Hvar . Hyatt Hotels is

joining Dogus Croatia , a subsidiary of Turkish conglomerate Dogus Group , on a Hyatt Regency in Zadar , the first Hyatt brand in the country , in a landmark waterfront building that used to house a maraschino cherry liqueur company . Both hotels are expected to open in 2019 .

LIVING HISTORY “ Apart from the fact that Croatia is the home to one of the most beautiful coastlines in Europe , I think it is fascinating that Old Towns and ancient buildings in many of the country ’ s renowned cities are still ‘ alive ’ – they are towns which have not become museums but where local residents carry on

10 hotelsmag . com March 2017