Korean Air has been granted approval by the country's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which allocates air transport rights on an annual basis upon request, to operate up to five weekly scheduled services to Croatia this year. The Korean carrier may or may not exercise those rights, although the airline recently said it was exploring opportunities to expand its presence in the country. Korean Air currently maintains charter flights between Seoul and Zagreb over the summer with its Airbus A330 aircraft. "The Balkan region is an important market for Korean Air, and we are currently considering various possibilities to expand our destination network there", the airline told EX-YU Aviation News. The Ministry assigned six Korean airlines a total of 36 flights to nineteen different destinations.
Zagreb is the most served destination in Korean Air's European summer charter program, followed by Oslo, Glasgow and Marseille. Croatia is looking to step up its cooperation with South Korea, with plans to open an embassy in Seoul this year, while the Croatian National Tourist Board will put a greater emphasis on the Far East Asian market. Korean Air's long haul low cost subsidiary Jin Air previously announced its plans to introduce services to Zagreb next year. Meanwhile, Korean Air's rival, Asiana Airlines, concluded a codeshare partnership with fellow Star Alliance member Croatia Airlines last year, which was expanded just last month. As of this summer season, Asiana codeshares on Croatia Airlines' services from Frankfurt to Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, Pula and Zadar, as well as from Paris to Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik and from London Heathrow to Zagreb. In return, the Croatian carrier has its designator code and flights number on Asiana's flights from the above-mentioned European cities to Seoul.
Last year, 444.132 Korean holidaymakers visited Croatia, representing an increase of 20.2% on 2016. The country has become increasingly popular in South Korea following several reality shows which were filmed in places such as Dubrovnik. A spokesman for Korea’s top travel agency, Hana Tour, said that Croatia is emerging as one of the most promising travel destinations for South Koreans who visit Europe. Korean Air operates flights to a range of European destinations including Amsterdam, Prague, Frankfurt, Milan, Rome, Vienna, Paris, Moscow, Madrid, Barcelona, London and Zurich. The head of the Croatian National Tourist Board, Kristjan Staničić, said, "This year we expect for the number of arrivals from South Korea to continue growing. We are increasing our promotional activities on this market since Korean tourists primarily travel outside the peak summer months, helping us extend the tourist season".
soon, soon, soon :)
ReplyDeleteTokyo - Zagreb, ANA -Japanese aviation authority request for Tokyo - Zagreb direct flights on a regular basis. Croatian Government needs to respond to Japanese request, if all approved first flights between Tokyo and Zagreb could start in July.
DeleteThe service will be run by ANA All Nippon Airways on a regular basis, service to be agreed but it would most likely be a twice weekly service over Summer months and once per week in winter months.
The service will be first direct scheduled service between Tokyo and Zagreb and between Japan and Croatia.
Korean air is also looking to start service between Seoul and Zagreb, starting in late July or early August.
Croatian Aviation Authority CAA and Ministry of Transport have received request for direct flights and both airlines are keen to start scheduled service to Zagreb this year.
The CAA will be announcing the result of negotiations in few days to maximum a week from now, and the above airlines will most likely announce direct flights to Croatia by the end of May.
This is hot off the press literally. Croatia will be connected with Canada, Japan and South Korea this summer with regular scheduled service.
Chinese Aviation Authorities have also send a request for seasonal flights to Zagreb and Dubrovnik, the talks have been stalled a bit, due to EU, issue of 5th freedom, as Chinese also wish to fly further to Italy and Spain via Zagreb.
We'll see what happens next. Very exciting news. Zagreb being connected to China, Japan, S. Korea, Canada, is something I've not thought possible before 2020, not in my wildest dreams.
This is quite interesting development.
Braaaaavo Hrvatskaaa!
ReplyDeleteOkat, good news but wasn't it supposed to be Jin Air instead?
ReplyDeleteIt's good for Croatia to receive flights from richer countries. Who knows, maybe Korean can open a big factory in Croatia like Samsung, car company, etc.
Their non-Korean employees are treated like slaves, I am not sure you would like it in Croatia
DeleteSlovakia.
DeleteIn Serbia as well.
DeleteIn Serbia, I don't think so.
DeleteWasn't it announced already many times in the past but still nothing?
ReplyDeleteIt's the first time they applied for a permit.
DeleteThis time flights will happen, and it will be year round and from this year :) Not 5pw but enough for start.
Deleteand they will schedule their flights to Zagreb really soon. Hope they will publish that to media next week.
DeleteNice. I hope they exercise those rights. I doubt they would apply for them if they had no plans to start flights.
ReplyDeleteJin Air is out, Korean Air is in.
ReplyDeleteIf this is not proof that Zagreb doesn't need LCCs then I don't know what is.
Having almost half a million tourists from South Korea probably made their decision easier.
DeleteZAG maybe does not need LCC but people from Zagreb surely do!
Deletegreat comment Anonymous 9:10, fully agree with u!
DeletePeople from Zagreb are not that poor so that 100 EUR in the cost of the ticket would make much of a difference when they travel somewhere.
Delete@anon 9:08
DeleteThe conclusion does not follow. Revise. :)
What conclusion?
DeleteJin Air is Korean Air division. ZAG market is not rich enough to sustain 4 or 5 weekly flights on Korean Air with 3 class product, but could sustain some, let's say twice weekly for some business travel and upper class Korean tourists. And with almost half million Koreans in Croatia Jin Air will cater for tourists which are more on budget. So, in my opinion, Korean starts this winter with 2 weekly, with Jin Air joining starting next summer with 2 more weekly. Just like Transat started and Air Canada joined. Or Qatar started, and Emirates joined. Now the next goals should be the US and China. The only sad thing about all these is Croatia Airlines which had that many chances to operate at least some of these traffic but because of corruption, management incompetency and lack of vision remains small bad regional airlines and feeder for others in the country with such potentials.
Delete@anon 9:14
DeleteWhy can’t you people understand that LCC are used by both rich and poor, movie stars and “Gastarbeiters”, politicians and students. Governments of Baltic states have special rate agreements with Ryanair. Think about that.
It’s not about how much money you can afford, it’s how smart you are to consider your own options.
Exactly. And another example recently Finnish president flew from Split back home with Norwegian.
DeleteLCCs are only good fo those who have a snake in their pocket.
Deletewhen will we have flights to Asia Pacific to anywhere in our region so we can buy tickets for trips starting here?
ReplyDeleteWe had ICN-ZAG flights where one couldnt start their trip in ZAG, it was just for Korean tourists.
There used to be KUL-ZAG flights once upon a time.
DeleteI'm surprised there already aren't scheduled flights because that is quite a large number of tourists.
ReplyDeleteWith 500,000 Korean tourists they could even launch daily services.
Delete444.132 Korean holidaymakers! I am amazed! Bravo!
DeleteMakes sense. Good news for ZAG.
ReplyDeleteNice. More widebodies coming to the region.
ReplyDeleteGood luck, I hope these flights get launched soon.
ReplyDeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteOnly 5 charters have been scheduled this year - in May and June. This indicates to me they plan to start scheduled flights in July or August.
ReplyDeleteYup, from August, year round.
DeleteSeems to be growing interest from these long haul Asian airlines to begin flights to Croatia. Air Asia X also said it could fly to Zagreb in the future.
ReplyDeleteUntapped markets with growing inbound tourism.
Delete+1
DeleteIt's great to finally see some increased interest from far away destinations and more exotic airlines.
Don't forget that Garuda is still in the race for OU so we might be seeing Jakrata flights as well. They could be great for Australian transfers.
DeleteHopefully we will also see some Croatian tourists travelling to Asia on these flights. Good news.
DeleteThose will be small numbers. Huge percentage of Croatian citizens spend their holidays in Croatia.
DeleteFor customers it's the opportunity that counts
DeleteAsiana starting flights would suit Croatia Airlines much more.
ReplyDeleteCA will shut down in the near future so that is not really an argument.
DeleteI agree with anon 9.43. Croatia should have attracted Asiana Airlines which is a member of Star Alliance and could cooperate with Croatia Airlines rather than Sky Team's Korean
DeleteFrench concessionaire takes care of their concession not of CA. Besides, CA is becoming ever more insignificant.
DeleteAsiana Airlines just started
Delete(this May) regular flights to Venice. Koreans are all around :)
One thing I dont get. Visisted by 444K tourists in 2017. Thats 1216 every single day and of course they arrive via PRG VIE VCE and elsewhere. Still if there is everyday a demand of 1200 passengers, you should have established regular flights 2 years ago already, at least during Northern SUTT period. Its really impressive the amount of Koreans visiting the region, I saw quite some numbers even during xmas last year.
ReplyDeleteCan only hope to see 5 weekly 789 to ZAG anytime very soon
Maybe fleet shortage. And not sure about 5pw, but 3pw woudl be great in first year.
DeleteOne could also say that about US flights!
DeleteIf you would spread out Korean visitors to Croatia over the year, it could fill an A380 daily.
DeleteConsider that 400k+ arrivals does not mean that 400k individuals visited Croatia. If one person spends one night in Zagreb, one night in Zadar, one night in Split, and two nights in Dubrovnik, they would be counted four times, and you'd see four arrivals and five nights on the stats sheet, for one actual person. While there definitely are a lot of Koreans visiting Croatia, the numbers can be misleading.
DeleteAnon 11:48
Delete+1 for the common sense and logic.
Figures professionals deal with and publicly known are significantly different.
Thank you @1148h
DeleteThougth they count the real arrivals with todays biometric passports at border entries since u usually get arrival and night stats
This is wrong statement about arrivals. Arrivals measure actual persons, stays measure the nights that they spent at different locations. Please do not create confusion!
DeleteIf a Korean tourist group lands in Zagreb and later on vistis on a day trip Mostar and returns to the HR Coast, do customs systems count them as two arrivals or they know as per biometric data, these guys just did an excursion?
DeleteEach crossing of the border is counted as an arrival. However, the kinds of arrivals you have described above make only a tiny percentage.
DeleteJU520 BEGLAX: Every country has its own way to count the no. of visitors, some count the border entry/exits, some count the accommodation statistics. Since Croatian law obliges all accommodation businesses (private or professional) to report every single visitor with their ID's, it has been decided to gather the statistics from every county and compile them to reach statistics at national level. That means, a Korean tourist entering the country from Zagreb and spending one night there, one night in Plitvice, one night in Split and one night in Dubrovnik will appear as 4 Korean tourists in statistics. Likewise, tourists entering the country in the morning and leaving at night without accommodation (or couchsurfers etc.) do not appear in the statistics at all.
DeleteI believe Croatian government chose this option over border entry/exits cause the results are considerably higher.
Is it 100% logic? No. Is it legal? Yes.
You would be surprised if you had an idea how the revenue per tourist is calculated :)
@AnonymousMay 10, 2018 at 5:27 PM
DeleteYou're talking utter nonsense, pleas shut up, and stop embarrassing yourself.
Anyone visiting Croatia it doesn't matter which entry point is counted only once, not 5-6 or 10 times.The passport ID is used and biometric number taken, this number is then processed by a central system.
When one visitor visit Croatia, he or she might visit and stay in Croatia for up to 90 days, (non-EU) the same visitor won't be counted as 90 visitors you dumbfuck.
You enter the country, you passport is scanned, you leave the country is scanned, this is how Croatia knows how many visitors visited Croatia and for what purpose, stop embarrassing yourself, you're totally clueless.
Ministry of interior does not disclose/share the border data. Published numbers come from ministry of tourism, which collects the data from counties, as per accommodation.
DeleteEmbarassing, clueless, shut up...? What’s the reason for aggression?
Perhaps you giving people wrong info and looking stupid?
Delete@AnonymousMay 10, 2018 at 8:09 PM
DeleteActully MUP shares these info with the press, they don't share personal data, it is them who actually publicizes these information and share it with other ministries. Ifyou lived in Croatia you'd knew that, Vecernji List,Jutarnji List... all publish reports, you can even find them online just look at recent tourist visitor figures, MUP says this and that many tourists crossed the border @ this and that border crossing....
This data is shared with the ministry of Transport,Trade and Tourism and other government departments.
It is that simple, so plz don't talk nonsense, it is quite embarrassing.
But many times when you cross the border nobody scans your passport...
Delete@AnonymousMay 10, 2018 at 11:39 PM
DeleteThey do, unless you're an EU citizen, then your name and address and bio-metric number are reported to local authorities, and central government database.
However, you enter Croatia you passport is scanned on the border,otherwise you can't enter the country.
In any case, if you're staying in a hostel, hotel, inn or some other organized accommodation, propertier must check your ID, scan it or take your details and manually input data in to database.
Same ID is checked again to establish how long a visitor stayed in the country, how much roughly they spent during their and so on.
plz stop trolling, if you don't know how Croatian immigration works, plz don't talk,you only look stupid.
I cross slo cro border a least 8times year and in last 6years nobody scaned my passport or ID... they only look at it or not even that
DeleteIf you dont belive me try it and you will see
@An.2.35
DeleteI don't see much logic in your posts because if you claim that not all of the people who enter croatia are registered, it means that there is more tourists in croatia than published numbers, not less as you claim
I never said that there is less tourists but sumply that they dont scan every passport on border crossing
DeleteBut here is like you say something bad about Croatia you get bombed...
Chill guys it's just a comment
Finally, this was the news mentioned a few days ago, with 2 more huge announcements to follow for ZAG! Stay tuned! ;)
ReplyDeleteStay tuned until eastern 2020
DeleteUS flights to ZAG? :-))
Delete@easy jet
Deleteyou probably meant western, not eastern, but that happens when you are too much jealous
I don't understand either of you.
DeleteBtw anon 11.14 @easyjet is croatian member here so I don't understand why he would be jealous and how you concluded he was jelous in his post (not that I understand his post either).
i meant easter. it was meant ironically. I'm a bit annoyed because every year any Anon announces great news shortly. only half information and in the end it's nothing. especially when it comes to USA flights
DeleteEaster is an insider. former airline, called Dalmatian, which never operates, used to announce flights at Easter each year. As everyone here knows, it never came to realization
Delete@easyjet
DeleteI'm An. 11.14, I replied because there was huge difference between "eastern" (more to the east) and Easter (holiday).
Btw. I know Zeljko Romic personally, I know the building on Radnicka where HQ supposed to be located, I saw the contract with Bulgarians for the first 320, I know how much money the income was for 10 days of Internet opened sales, and it's much better for you for me and for all other that I don't mention why everything was stopped overnight.
Please do. I'd love to hear the reasons
DeleteI wonder what this means for EK. From what I read on here they seem to carry a lot of Koreans.
ReplyDeleteIt would result in cheaper fares thus more passengers. EK will need to reduce its CASM to Zagreb more so maybe *wink*wink* they will send something bigger than A380. :D
DeleteEK would need to focus on their CASM to ZAG on account of that only if Koreans make vast majority of their passengers (not the case) or if KE undercuts them with non stop flights (also will not be the case, KE will charge extra). That being said, both EK and QR will not lose their sleep over this as Korea is not the bulk of their business - and KE will anyway not grab all of that (price concious will take 1 stop to get lower fares) + it will push the demand additionally up.
DeleteI dont expect any price killers on ICN from nobody, expect maybe during some introductory period - as everyone does.
Most of the Koreans who fly on EK right now are coming via package holidays as that's how most Koreans travel abroad.
DeleteKE has a very good deal with tour operators so it's realistic to expect them to shift their business to them.
Point being that a) Korean market is ot make it or break it for EK or QR and b) with KE arrival the market will only get bigger and KE alone cannot satisfy it, nor will make bottom of the barrel fares to grab every single passenger (they will not fly double daily or similar). Overall, I really don't see fares going down for that matter (besides, they are already low and KE will anyway charge more for non stop service).
DeleteKE will charge more. KE is expensive even for many Koreans. But time is very important too. Win win.
DeleteKorean Airlines have very competitive connections to Europe (and North America) from Australia. The extra flight time is their disadvantage.
DeleteTo Q400May 11, 2018 at 8:29 AM
DeleteTrue!
Korean Airlines is more expensive than any competition if you buy a ticket starting in S.Korea.
But for flights starting in Australia etc. is cheap.
many of those passengers to Zagreb also visit Ljubljana, and I'm sure many other cities. There are hordes of Korean tourists in the town during summer :)
ReplyDeleteSurprisingly in Bosnia too. We discussed it a few days ago in the Sarajevo article. I think there were over 50,000 Korean tourists in Bosnia last year.
DeleteKorean tourists in 2017:
DeleteCroatia - 448,636
Slovenia - 147,981
Bosnia - 52.056
according to those numbers Zagreb is the logical choice for more frequencies. I wonder if local political and airline boys are capable of some synergy like providing charters to other cities, like BEG and others....
DeleteWhy would they do so in an environment when everyone sees others as enemies?
DeleteThis would be good for Croatian tourism. More direct lines are needed to attract people from long distance destinations.
ReplyDeleteAs tourists numbers grow I'm sure we will be seeing more flights to Zagreb from various long haul destinations.
DeleteWe need more frequent connections to EU hubs, not these silly long-haul flights.
DeleteWe need every flight we can get
DeleteThese flights are of no use to Croatian travellers. What we need are connections to EU destinations where huge majority of Croatian citizens travel. The rest is good for tourism but Asian tourists never travel to a single country anyhow. Besides our main tourist markets are in EU.
DeleteThese flights are certainly of use to those who work in the tourist sector. These planes bring tourist who spend money and contribute to their salaries and the state in general throug VAT. Croatian travellers thus get richer and travel overseas as well.
DeleteGuys, every single new route u get, its good. ZAG is not that busy, that slots would be a problem and that a new (less useful) route (for locals) excludes other (more useful) routes (for locals). The other way around. More traffic always means more new routes. More long haul routes=bigger potential for other airliens to join/to start flights. If u dont like koreans, LJU would be more than happy to get them :)
DeleteTypical Croatian comment... while the whole region (and the wider region) "fight" for long haul flights this guy makes it sound as if there were no EU flights for and from ZAG but a huge queque of widebodies contesting ZAG and making it impossible for him and his fellow business buddies to fly to EU cities 6 times a week. Dude just check the schedules out of ZAG. There is no important EU city you cannot reach, at least with one stopover. So that's not the problem. Your problem is that you'd like to fly to Dublin, Lisbon, Barcelona etc for 40 Euros. Both ways of course.
DeleteAnd now more seriously - check the airport fares company flying a widebody has to pay to ZAG, and then check the fares a CRJ operating company is obligated to pay. And don't get me started even yo being to elaborate about the benefits of flights that bring several hundred people to Croatia per week regularly... those guys above already did.
*congesting ZAG
DeleteEU flights is all that matters for Croatia. Everything else is barely insignificant. Those other flights serve only transfer passengers who are not an interest for the Republic of Croatia. Our economy is tightly tied to EU and making sure there art three flights a day to each EU capital is what should be a goal for ZAG. Long-haul flights should be left to others in the "region".
DeleteAnon 2:37 PM...what you are saying is utter nonsense. Croatia is not low on seats to and from EU and as anon previously said, wish to fly everywhere for 40 EUR is not raional. Desirable yes, not rational. As to long haul flights to be left to others in the region...dare to explain (note Croatia is per GDP structure first and foremost tourism oriented country)?
DeleteHahahaha anon@2:37!!! Croatia doesnt subsidize these flights, have absolutely no expenses with long hauls coming to ZAG and u keep undermining it - i thought only slovenian right wing does this, but now i see u got this madness in croatia as well!
DeleteNothing to elaborate really. Our dominating tourism markets are in EU. Those markets need to be attended well with excellent connections. Asians spend little time in Croatia and there is no real revenue out of them. Their travel habits are to visit as many countries in as little time as possible. We need to focus on those who bring real money to Croatia and attend the needs of Croatian travellers. Simple as that.
DeleteVast majority of EU tourists actually come by car, not by plane and would not come by plane due to costs (family of 3, 4, 5). Charter services and seasonal coastal low costs provide the rest. Not really agreeing with you and your reasoning. Genuine growth is coming from the East, that is why you see more mid/long haul. I think you are too limited and too conservative in your observations. And again, note that vast majority of tourists from Italy, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Poland etc are coming here by car and would continue to do so even with 10 daily services from their countries as a ) no airline would fly in summer for 50 EUR RT and b) they need the car for baggage, lower costs and flexibility (not everybody spends summer in city of SPU, ZAD or PUY).
DeleteNobody here was discussing about tourists who arrive by their car. But what about British, Irish, French, Spanish, etc. Those EU tourists arrive by plane. Also, the needs of Croatian travellers need to be the first interest in planning destinations and allocating slots. Tourists from far East will be arriving from EU anyhow. They will always make negligible part in the total number of tourists in Croatia.
DeleteYou ever heard of demand and supply? Is somebody banning EU airlines to open routes to ZAG (which is not slot constrained)?
DeleteAnd you really think Korean was not subsidized to establish flights to ZAG? Get real ...
DeleteWhy do you think the Croatian tourist board has defined those markets as worthy of being conquered in order to extend our tourist season? Furthermore you cannot simply belittle Asian tourists without any knowledge about their spending habits. This beside the fact that South Korea is one of the wealthiest countries in the world and their tourists do spend a decent amount of money actually. But even if you werde right they still would bring more money than they would take, wouldn’t they?
DeleteFurthermore you make it sound as if the flights to and from the European union exclude long haul flights... More flights more revenue. As simple as that. And if you had any clue about Croatian tourism you would know that we are desperate for flights and tourists, especially after August and September. And that’s wenn Koreans etc. Arrive and fill up our hotels etc. Or do you think they stay for free? And it's really sad that guys who are obviously not from Croatia (e.g. Sloavio) have to explain the basics of Croatian tourism and aviation industry to you.
Anon 4:10, I am sure you have some documents on that...oh, btw, ZAG airport provides incentives for all new airlines in the first year. For 'illegal' subsidies, please provide details with evidence or don't bring it up...
DeleteAnd it's me again, anon 2.23 and 4:28. Sorry to bother again. But it is this attitude that makes me furious. We are one damn poor country with over 200.000 having left since the Croatia joined the EU, an et there are guys who think we're the centre of the world and can allow ourselves to be "picky" regarding tourists. Beside the fact that above anon's conclusions are simply not true... And even if there are tourists who spend a little less... So what? We are an open countr and everybody should be welcome and be able to enjoy Croatia. But, no, like thos Dalamtian apartment landlords who d like the tourists to pay for for weeks (so that they do not have to clean the damn thing in between), in advance of course, and if possible they even should not come at all. But pay. C'mon! Or this guy from Trogir, whose whole region literally lives from tourism but who is annoyed by so many flights during three months a year... The Germans have a saying, roughly translated by "wash my fur but don't make me wet". And that's the attitude of a lot of uhljebs or lazy people who are just lucky to have inherited some house or property near the coast. Ever asked yourself why whole Slavonia left towards Ireland and Germany. And such an attitude is the reason why Croatia has not attracted any big investment in the industrial sector, which development would create jobs, wealth and eventually demand for flights throughout the whole year. Just compare it to the fact that only ONE Renault produced at Revoz in Slovenia equals 300-500 nights spent in Croatia.
DeleteIsn't it obvious that the same anon is trying to troll? Anyway, things work different here in Croatia dear troll, market conditions drive the growth not political stimulation.
DeleteI think it's time for Croatia Airlines management and the government to think about their marriage with Lufthansa. They were forced to cooperate (you can read it as "obey") with Lufthansa until 5 years ago, but market conditions changed significantly. There's a big opportunity for Croatia Airlines to become a real hub operator by cooperating with all major carriers feeding ZAG. They don't need to feed Lufthansa hubs from every Croatian city, they can be a serious player if they keep up with the vision French have, and play the cards correctly.
You must be living in a fairytale land if you believe Croatia Airlines will ever disconnect from Lufthansa. That company is on a verge of collapse and nobody really cares in government circles. Another on bites the dust.
DeleteWhy are you even replying to his rant like he's paying for the long distance flights out of his pocket. Click - ignore.
DeleteLuckily there will be very few long-distance crap at ZAG as BEG will take most of them, being a much bigger airport. That way French concessionaire will have to focus on EU bound flights.
DeleteSure, Nostradamus.
DeleteGreat news. Any other Asian carrier planning to come to Zagreb?
ReplyDeleteJin Air and Air Asia have shown interest
DeleteI wonder what frequencies they would operate. Since they have rights for 5 weekly, my guess is 5 during summer, 3 during winter. Or 4 and 2.
ReplyDeleteMaybe three per week year round. The guy from the tourist board says Korean tourists are plentiful off season.
DeleteThat’s a lot of Korean tourists. I’m surprised there aren’t already all year flights. Koreans are also big spenders so it's a good group to attract
ReplyDeleteSo there are more Korean tourists in Croatia than from the US and Canada? Correct?
ReplyDeleteYes
DeleteNo
DeleteThe US surpassed Korea, 452k vs 448k
Asiana started regular flights to Venice this year.
ReplyDeleteLogical
ReplyDeleteNice!
ReplyDeleteHope we see their B787s in ZAG,
ReplyDeleteThere are rumours - one type of plane in season, other in off season...
DeleteWell done. It seems Zagreb Airport's management is really trying to attract as many new customers as possible.
ReplyDeleteWasn't it obvious since they came in charge? I mean KLM, LOT, Brussels, Swiss, Air Transat, Aegean, Air Canada, Emirates... Now Korean Air! Very good job.
DeleteMy bet is 3x weekly, nonstop with an A330 in high season and in low season with a B747 via PRG
ReplyDeleteCould be 777 summer v 330 winter.
DeleteSo Emirates, Air Transat, Korean Air and Air Canada Rouge with scheduled widebody ops at ZAG this year.
ReplyDeleteNo wonder then why the concessionaire announced the terminal expansion for additional wide body gate as early as next year
DeleteWell done, Croatia!
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Sofia!
Passenger traffic is definitely the main driver for long-haul routes. But another opportunity wide-body operations bring is the cargo traffic. Emirates caused ZAG cargo figures to increase by nearly 50%, now another door opens with Korean Air.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteExactly. I was just checking out the cargo handled at Zagreb and Belgrade. Both are growing at unprecedented rates. I'm sure the same is true for smaller airports as well. LJubljana must have awesome potential with Slovenia's incredible GDP growth.
DeleteRJK Kalitta/Atlas twice weekly 747-400
DeleteHas BEG ever had direct service to ICN?
ReplyDeleteI'm sure they will have it soon. No reason why there should not be such a connection given BEG size and importance in the region.
DeleteNo. They were supposed to begin in 1992. Even deal with Asiana was signed.
Delete@6:08 PM
DeleteThat's interesting, I didn't know that. It would appear there were many things in the 90s that would've been a first for Belgrade, such as the opening of IKEA, but didn't happen until much later
Ikea did open in Belgrade in 1991 but operated very briefly because sanctions began months afterwards. It was right next to the Hyatt hotel. That's why they were advertising in Serbia last year as "The Swedes are back". JAT planned to launch Seoul, Tokyo and Caracas in Venezuela in 92/93. Representative office was opened in Venezuela and partnership deal with Asiana made. Plans were also made to make Skopje the next Yugo city with nonstop flights to main European cities.
DeleteAnyway I hope flights from Seoul do begin one day and good luck to ZAG on a good new route.
Pre dve godine je potpisan novi sporazum o vazdusnom saobracaju, pre godinu dana je njihov zamenik ministra u poseti Srbiji izjavio da su zainteresovani za direktan let na nedeljnom nivou.
DeleteVerujem da ce direktan let biti uspostavljem veoma brzo.
I think several countries in balkan should open a regional cargo airline instead of passenger airline, all countries cargo numbers are increasing? Or at least one of the cpuntries should consider it given the good geographicsl location
ReplyDeleteKoreans are attracted because they discovered Croatia thru reality shows and dramas. Secondly there is a perception of safety well higher than if you travel to London or Paris.
ReplyDeleteHow come the Russian tourists are neva on the spot? This is also a huge country with potential!
ReplyDeleteWhy would they when their beloved Montenegro is next door?
DeleteWhats wrong having them come to Croatia? They pay and they are good tourists.
DeleteRussians are not really well suited to having vacations in Croatia. Nothing in Croatia really fits their needs. I believe they're better served in other countries.
Delete@AnonymousMay 10, 2018 at 10:19 PM
DeleteThis year, 200 000 Russian visitors are expected, this data is based on number of bookings and flights to Pula, Dubrovnik and Zadar.
This would be all time record. previous record was around 180 000 Russian visitors to Croatia, in 2011 I think.
Really, Anon 12:41AM? Nothing fits them in Croatia?
DeleteThis is a great step up for sure, I didnt know there were more more Korean tourists in Croatia than from the US and Canada.
ReplyDeleteThere aren't
DeleteNumber of US Visitors to Croatia is around 475 000, number of S.Korean visitors was around 444 000.
Number of Canadian visitors was around 143000
This year, I expect, some 500 000 South Koreans visitors, some 575 000 US Visitors and some 200 000 Canadian visitors to visit Croatia.
https://www.htz.hr/sites/default/files/2018-01/Turisti%C4%8Dka%20statistika%20-%20prosinac%202017..pdf
Just done some number crunching, very likely this year, Croatia will attract 18.2 million foreign visitors and 2 million domestic, generating around 112 million nights and €12 billion in revenue.
DeleteLatest data on Croatian GDP projected for 2018, tourism will generate 22% of Croatia's GDP in 2018, and it'll contribute to Croatia's GDP growth in 2018,with around 2.1% contribution.
Zagreb will attract between 1.45 and 1.55 million visitors, last year city attracted 1.32 million, of this 170 000 were Croatian visitors.
Zagreb could potentially attract 2 million visitors in 2020, and generate 3.7 million nights. This figure falls well short of Vienna, Prague or Budapest numbers who manage to attract 6.2, 7.5 and 4.6 million visitors respectively.
About time!
ReplyDelete