Emirates' recently launched service between Dubai and Zagreb has generated strong interest on the Indian travel market, in line with targets set out by both the airline and the Croatian Ministry for Tourism to produce more passengers from the Indian subcontinent to Croatia. Emirates' Vice President for India and Nepal, Essa Ahmed, said, "Interest among Indians for our service to Zagreb has been very strong. Tourism motivated by TV or movies has really exploded in India in recent years. Filming locations in Dubrovnik featured in popular TV series like "Game of Thrones", has seen a huge jump in tourist interest over the last two years. These shows are inspiring the new breed of travellers to capture the striking landscapes that they view on shows on a daily basis and become a part of the fantasy tale that they love".
Over 70% of all traffic between Croatia and India used to be handled by Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines, however Emirates' arrival in Zagreb this June has created significant competition for the two. Furthermore, the carrier's interline agreement with Croatia Airlines, which enables travellers to reach holiday hotspots such as Pula, Dubrovnik and Split with a single ticket and baggage through-checked to the final local airport, has further lured Indian travellers to Emirates. Air India itself has recognised the growing travel demand between India and Croatia and recently concluded a codeshare agreement with its Star Alliance partner Croatia Airlines. As part of the deal, the Croatian carrier has placed its "OU" designator code and flight numbers onto Air India's services from Mumbai to London and from New Delhi to Frankfurt, London, Vienna, Rome and Paris. In return, the Indian national carrier has placed its code and flight numbers onto Croatia Airlines' services from Split, Dubrovnik and Zagreb to Frankfurt, London, Vienna, Rome and Paris.
Croatia has identified India as a high-potential long-distance market. In 2016, 35.057 Indian nationals visited Croatia, an increase of 77% on the year before, while numbers have grown significantly so far in 2017. "Long distance markets are very important for the Croatian tourism sector because those tourists like to travel outside of the peak season. During the first six months of this year we have recorded 27.514 arrivals (growth of 85%) and 61.135 overnight stays (growth of 75%) from India. India is definitely a high-potential long-distance market for Croatian tourism in the future", Lucijana Natalija Jerković from the Croatian National Tourist Board said. The Croatian Minister for Tourism, Gari Cappelli, recently noted that the country is looking at securing flights from far-away markets in the coming period. Mr Cappelli, noted, "The Ministry's strategic goal is to develop Croatia as a destination which is accessible to various airlines, particularly before and after the height of the summer season. We are directing a part of our funds towards closer cooperation with carriers, which will result in more flights to all of our airports. We are turning towards the Far East and the Middle East".
Great to hear.
ReplyDeleteIf EK was to start DXB-ZAG-JFK flights I'm sure they could get more Indians fly the route. They could offer some 24 hour stop over program in Zagreb through Emirates Holidays.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they have any such plans.
DeleteEK already flies 5 daily to JFK and once daily to EWR. I think they have more than enough capacity on the NYC market.
DeleteBut isn't one of the flights via Athens and the other via Milan?
DeleteYes and it shows that the Dubai-NYC market is already overserved.
DeleteWell from those five you could always get one to land in ZAG.
DeleteWould the passengers from Dubai and the rest of EK's network want another stop on their way to America or they would look for other options?
DeleteThat is the major question.
They would still have another 2 daily nonstop flights.
DeleteSo why take the extra stop?
DeleteWhy not take another airline altogether if EK's direct flights are full or expensive?
How is Emirates doing on its ZAG flights overall. Anyone know the loads?
ReplyDeleteWell they are decreasing it to 5 pw during the winter.
DeleteWhich still is over 4000 seats a week between DXB and ZAG!
DeleteThat is serious capacity.
Apparently they have been doing very well, especially in first and business class.
Delete@AnonymousSeptember 10, 2017 at 9:10 AM
DeleteVery well, 85-90% load factor to Zagreb and 80-85% Zagreb - Dubai.
Above any expectations.
As to number of Indian visitors to Croatia this year, so far this year 43000 have visited Croatia, 65000 expected this year. Same time last year 24000 Indian visitors...
Number if Chinese, Indian, Thy, Malaysian, Indonesian, Korean and Japanese visitors is up dramatically, between 20 and 45%.
So far 13.4 million foreign visitors visited Croatia. Projections for this year, 15.7 million foreign, and 1.8 million domestic visitors. Emirates helps no question about it. Qatar does too. We'll see how 2018 shapes up, but if early indications are anything to go by, Croatia could see 20 million visitors, 18.2 million foreign.
Good news. Emirates Zagreb flights will have a considerable impact on Croatian tourism, especially on extending the tourist season.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. But above that, the biggest impact will be on its quality.
DeleteMaybe Croatia should think about getting nonstop flights to India.
ReplyDeleteIt would make more sense than the proposed New Delhi-Belgrade line.
Delete+1
DeleteWhy woukd it make more sense ?? On the contrary, no visas for Indian citizens to Serbia gives far more weight and sense to BEG flights rather than ZAG flights.
DeleteThe same thing happened with China flights to Croatia. They changed their minds as soon as Serbia introduced visa free travel for Chinese citizens
The visa waiver alone is not enough, right? And what is the Serbian tourist product please?
DeleteIt does not matter what he tells you, you have a closed mindset in which you believe only your country is the best. Not worth wasting my time.
DeleteAnon @ 1.19pm - perhaps you should ask the Chinese what they see in the serbian tourist product and why they decided to fly to serbia instead of croatia ...
DeleteAnything anyone says on this forum will simply be expressing their biases ..
I love how some people on here belittle Serbia by saying we have nothing to offer. Chill out. At least the things we are showing them are our own, not taken from others.
Delete@AnonymousSeptember 10, 2017 at 3:37 PM
DeleteArrogance and ignorance, what a great combo.
Which part is arrogance and which is ignorance ?
Delete@Anonymous September 10, 2017 at 4:55 PM At least the things you are showing them are your own, not taken from others. And what has Croatia taken from others that it is showing to tourists? Could you elaborate on that nonsense?
Delete@Anon 4:55PM
DeleteCan you sound any more ignorant? We took what exactly? Croatia, just like Serbia was under influence of many empires and that reflects todays' history.
Get off your high horse.
Bravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteThe more the marrier.
ReplyDeleteSame like in Warsaw.
ReplyDeleteWhat's same like Warsaw?
DeleteThe hordes of Indians coming on Emirates to places they've never heard before.
DeleteWill Emirates resume daoly ops next summer or will they keep 5 weekly flights?
ReplyDeleteThey said the 5/W is only a seasonal reduction. More importantly you can book flights for next summer and they are daily!
DeleteGoes to 6 weekly from March 19 and daily from March 26.
DeleteI have seen a lot of Indians in Zagreb this year. Not surprising with that increase in the number of Indian tourists.
ReplyDeleteMakes you wonder how much TK and QR are being affected by EK on their flights to Zagreb.
ReplyDeleteQR still runs their second daily flight.
DeleteTK had 8 times A321 to ZAG last week, BA will send A321 tomorrow to ZAG.
DeleteYou are all talking like the number from previous years are stagnating and being divided between all the carriers, new and old. The numbers are up every year and the demand needs to be followed by available seats.
DeleteWhat's with the sudden interest from ex-Yu countries in India?
ReplyDeleteIt's a huge market with a growing number of travelers. Not surprising really.
DeleteWhat region do they come from mostly?
ReplyDeleteHappy to hear EK is doing well on the route despite what others were saying.
ReplyDeleteAgree!
Delete2 trolls were saying that. And yes EK has been doing amazingly well! What's more the prices aren't too much for Croats, due to competition with QR.
DeleteIt seems Croatia is leading the way in getting the Indian tourist numbers with the worlds leading airline Emirates
ReplyDeleteThe world's leading airline Emirates has just announced a 135$ fee for seat selection in economy class.
DeleteEmirates has really gone south in terms of quality from where they were some years ago. TK and QR offer a much better product
DeleteTheir quality started going south around 10 years ago when due to unprecedented expansion they started hiring very questionable and downright rude crew. They also did a lot of stingy cuts back then like cutting a second drink run during meals and so on. Also in my opinion Emirates, Etihad and Qatar have some of the worst long haul meals in the industry (in economy).
DeleteAgree with last anon but still miles ahea of European airlines.
DeleteNot quite, I would say Lufthansa's long haul product is superior to Emirates'. Air France is also more than decent.
DeleteAnd ZAG has all three of them, yeah!
DeleteYes, it's an aviation portal so I guess most of us know that already.
DeleteI am used to fly EK and I also flew several times AF snd LH.
ReplyDeleteEK # 1
AF # 2
LH # 3
No European airline comes close to EK. Still a superior product compared to AF or LH. Also, if you traveled once, you cannot tell, but when you take multiple trips on each of them, I don't think it's even close. Crew can have a bad day, or you may not like the meal, but in the end it's not gonna happen often on EK. That consistency is key.
ReplyDeleteI speak from experience. I have flown with EK at least a dozen times on their B777, A380, A330 and A340-500. Inconsistency is the key at Emirates, including a different onboard product on each aircraft. They managed to improve on this by having a 2-type fleet but I also find it incredibly odd that an airline such as Emirates has a 2-3-2 configuration in business class, which is something most even American carriers no longer have.
Delete+1
DeleteI've been flying on EK since 1996 and they have really changed since then. About 15 years ago they represented something new on the market, something fresh.
Today the only thing they have going on for them is the entertainment system. Their premium product is tacky and nothing special. Their A332s which were recently retired were absolutely horrible to fly on, especially those retro pinkish seats.
Qr No.1 EK No.2 in the world. That's a fact. Not an alternative fact some folks here prefer. It's a fact even with their product having been downgraded somewhat.
DeleteAnd the crew attitude is way ahead of any European airline, not to mention American airlines, which are a disaster in that regard.
Well, I think it all boils down to individual preference. Personally I dislike EK's product, especially the one that involves mahogany. However, I don't see how their product is better than let's say LH. A decade ago sure, but not today.
DeleteQatar is a different story, we'll have to see if they keep this up as they continue to grow.
As for American airlines, I think we can all agree on that.
Nemjee I prefer LH as well. Not saying EK's product overall is better. I wasn't the one making the list of best world carriers.
DeleteIn terms of European airlines I was talking purely about air crew attitude. QR is better without a doubt, but even on EK flights I was always treated as a "king". They jist seem way more pleasant and communicative to me.