In 2002, THR developed the first Tourism Marketing Plan for the Government of Croatia. The results were so satisfactory that our company was commissioned to design a second plan in 2008 and again in 2014 in order to strengthen the previous achievements and further stimulate tourism in the country.

The CNTB needed a plan which could reorganise the system of national tourism marketing, revitalise the industry and provide it with innovative marketing tools. This would allow the country to successfully compete in a commercial environment.

Besides the recommendations strictly related to marketing, it needed a long-term strategic document which reflected the main opportunities and threats for the development of tourism in Croatia over the following years.

THR kept the slogan launched in 2002, 'Croatia: the Mediterranean as it once was' and developed specific marketing plans for eight tourism products and eleven regions in the country, under the basic guidelines of a single big plan.

An innovative plan was launched in the following fields:

• Sector approach: Sun and Beach, Culture and Tours, Meetings, Nautical Tourism, Rural Tourism and Special Interest Tourism.
• Regional approach: Reinforcement of the experience aspect.
• Definition of the long-term framework in Croatia's tourism development, which determines the main guidelines of the marketing plan.

Croatia is a country which, despite the deep European crisis, was in good economic health and was considered as a particularly modern and exemplary destination. According to Tourism Economics, its mid-term growth forecast was close to 15%.

The project produced the following results:

• 6 strategic and operational plans for the prioritised tourism sectors
• Comprehensive plan for the whole marketing of Croatia
• Implementation plan
• Integrated system of brand management