Croatia negotiating Beijing and Shanghai service

The Croatian Prime Minister, Andrej Plenković, has said his government is negotiating the establishment of flights from Beijing and Shanghai to Zagreb. "We are attempting to reach an agreement over nonstop flights between Zagreb, Beijing and Shanghai. Croatia has been recognised by Chinese tourists as an interesting new destination in Europe and this year some 200.000 could visit the country", Mr Plenković said following talks with his Chinese counterpart at the 16+1 CEEC - China summit in Sofia last week, which comprises of sixteen Central and Eastern European nations and China. Zagreb Airport's General Manager, Jacques Feron, recently noted, "We anticipate to finalise talks over the arrival of a Chinese carrier because Croatia is becoming of growing interest to Chinese tourists. There is also an increasing number of Chinese investments in Croatia and we believe that we will be able to find a common ground for the introduction of flights from a Chinese city".

Earlier this year, the Zagreb-based Chinese Southeast European Business Association (CSEBA), said Hainan Airlines could introduce flights to Croatia in the near future following talks with the government of Hainan province and the Croatian Embassy in China. "We discussed the possibility of Hainan Airlines introducing nonstop flights from China to Croatia, most probably to Zagreb. The launch of this service would boost the number of Chinese tourists to Croatia. There is certainly increased interest for Croatia from both the provincial and central governments after the China Road and Bridge Corporation was awarded a contract to build the first phase of Pelješac Bridge", CSEBA said in a statement. It added, "Hainan Airlines is very interested in introducing services to Croatia and the region in general".

The Chinese carrier, which launched flights between Beijing and Belgrade via Prague last year, has said that, in line with China's One Belt, One Road initiative, it plans to continue expanding its presence outside of its home market, especially across countries in Central and Eastern Europe, most of which have already established close ties with China. Last year, the CEO of the HNA Group, the parent company of Hainan Airlines, held talks with Croatia's President, Kolinda Grbar Kitarović, where the two discussed both investment opportunities and potential flights. Beijing Capital Airlines, another HNA subsidiary, was to introduce services between Beijing and Zagreb over the 2017 summer season. The carrier filed for a permit for a two weekly service with an Airbus A330-200 aircraft, however, the planned operations were later cancelled.

A record 160.081 Chinese tourists visited Croatia in 2017, an increase of 56.5% on the year before. In March, Dubrovnik hosted the 16+1 tourism summit, while in September a meeting of 16+1 tourism ministers will also be held in the city.