Croatia expands its reach in the U.S. market via New York: a new partnership with the ABC•CCRA network opens the door to the premium and luxury segment
The Croatian National Tourist Board has further strengthened its presence in the U.S. market, which has held a special place in Croatian tourism for years, by entering into cooperation with the ABC•CCRA Travel Network, one of the largest travel agency consortia in the United States of America. The start of this cooperation was presented on March 25, 2026, in New York at the special event “Croatia Full of Flavors”, organized by the CNTB office in the USA in cooperation with the tourist boards of Zadar County and Šibenik-Knin County. The focus was not only on classic destination promotion and meetings with partners, but also on a clear message that Croatia wants to play a stronger role in the U.S. market in the higher value-added travel segment, with an emphasis on authenticity, gastronomy, quality accommodation, and experiences tailored to more demanding guests.
The U.S. market is important for Croatian tourism not only because of volume, but also because of the structure of demand. These are guests who often travel outside the peak season, choose longer stays, spend more per trip, and increasingly seek a combination of coast, culture, wine and gastronomy, nautical tourism, and boutique or luxury accommodation. That is precisely why cooperation with a consortium that brings together thousands of agencies and tens of thousands of agents represents much more than a one-off promotion. It opens access for Croatia to a sales network that can influence how the country will be positioned in the eyes of American travel advisors, especially those working with clients from the premium and luxury segment, where an agent’s recommendation still carries significant weight.
An event designed as a blend of sales, experience, and branding
The program in New York was structured to simultaneously present destinations, concrete partners from the tourism sector, and the experience of Croatia as a country where a holiday is not reduced only to sun and sea. Alongside presentations of Zadar County and Šibenik-Knin County, American agents were also introduced to hotel and agency partners that already have products tailored to international guests with greater purchasing power. The event featured Falkensteiner Hotels & Residences, Hilton Hotels Croatia, Molum Hotel & Residences, and Crvena Luka Resort, as well as the agencies Lastavica Cruising and Feel Croatia DMC. Their representatives held direct meetings with American agents, showing that the goal was not only the branding of Croatia, but also concrete sales activation.
Such a format is becoming increasingly important in the promotion of tourist destinations in distant markets. Classic presentations are no longer enough today if they are not backed by the possibility of quick connection with agents who can offer a ready-made, market-tailored product. That is precisely why the fact that hotels, DMC partners, circular tours, and regional particularities were presented in one place is important. In this way, a message was sent to American agents that Croatia offers not only coastal sightseeing or a city break in Dubrovnik and Split, but also a wide range of products that can include luxury holidays, cruises on smaller ships, gourmet experiences, wellness, private transfers, tailor-made itineraries, and stays in less exposed, yet increasingly sought-after parts of the Adriatic.
Special emphasis was placed on gastronomy, which is a logical direction at a time when food and wine are playing an ever greater role in destination choice. In recent years, Croatia has not been trying to establish itself on the U.S. market only as a summer Mediterranean address, but also as a destination of identity, local cuisine, and authentic experiences. That is why the choice of Villa Berulia restaurant, a Croatian-Italian restaurant in New York that has operated since 1981 and this year marks 45 years of business, was a symbolically powerful detail. In an environment that has for decades connected the Croatian community and the New York gastronomic scene, the promotion of Croatian wine and gastronomy gained additional weight and an emotional framework that is extremely important for the U.S. market, especially in the experiential travel segment.
Why ABC•CCRA is an important partner
ABC•CCRA Travel Network is important not only because of the impressive number of member companies, but also because of its business model. According to the official data of the network itself, after the connection of CCRA and ABC Global Services, it is a system that supports more than 9,000 travel agencies and more than 40,000 travel advisors, with multi-billion annual turnover in the hotel segment. This means that through this partnership Croatia is not entering just another promotional channel, but an infrastructure that can influence the decisions of sales professionals across the USA. In an industry in which premium and luxury travel is often realized through advisors, membership in such a network and presence at its events can be crucial for a destination’s visibility.
At the event in New York, the network was presented by Peter Pincus, Chief Commercial Officer of CCRA, further emphasizing that the cooperation is not reduced to a formal announcement, but to an operational partnership. This is particularly important for Croatia because the U.S. market requires continuous reminders, agent education, and clear communication about what is new, how the destination is reached, and for whom a particular product is intended. Unlike closer European markets, where Croatia is already established, in the USA it is still necessary to constantly build perception and prove competitive advantages in relation to the Mediterranean, from Italy and Greece to Spain and Portugal.
American guests remain among the most important for Croatian tourism
Data from the Croatian National Tourist Board confirm why so much attention is invested in this market. In 2025, Croatia recorded 850 thousand arrivals and 2.4 million overnight stays by American tourists, which is an increase of 9 percent in arrivals and 10 percent in overnight stays compared with 2024. Thus, the United States of America retained the status of Croatia’s most important long-haul outbound market. This result is not important only nominally. It shows that interest in Croatia is not waning even at a time when the global tourism market is becoming increasingly competitive and travelers increasingly cautious in planning more expensive and distant trips.
Additional weight is given by data from the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, based on data from the Croatian National Bank, according to which revenues from foreign tourists in 2025 reached 15 billion and 298 million euros, two percent more than a year earlier. Although that amount covers all markets, and not only the American one, it shows that the growth of Croatian tourism is not only traffic-related but also financial. In that context, strengthening presence in a market whose guests often spend above average has clear economic meaning. Croatia, in other words, is not seeking only a larger number of guests, but guests whose arrival generates greater value for accommodation, transport, hospitality, excursions, and local suppliers.
Zadar and Šibenik as a response to the demand for a different Croatia
It is no coincidence that Zadar County and Šibenik-Knin County were at the center of the New York presentation. In recent years, both destinations have been increasingly building the image of regions that can satisfy both guests who want top-level service and those looking for peace, authenticity, and a combination of nature, heritage, and gastronomy. For the U.S. market, this is an important message because Croatia is still often perceived through a few of its best-known names, primarily Dubrovnik, Split, and Plitvice Lakes. The presentation of Zadar, Šibenik, their islands, national parks, nautical offer, and higher-standard hotels shows that the country has a significantly broader and more diverse offer than the average American guest may perhaps assume.
Such regional positioning is at the same time a response to one of the key challenges of Croatian tourism: how to relieve the most burdened destinations and at the same time increase the value of the stay. If the American guest is interested in staying in several regions, in circular tours, a combination of cities and coast, or arriving in the pre-season and post-season, the gain is not only promotional. It also becomes operational, because traffic is distributed better, the season is extended, and local service providers can more easily build a more sustainable business model.
The importance of air connections and the interest of United Airlines
The role of air connections in promoting Croatia on the U.S. market remains crucial. The event partner was United Airlines, which promoted direct routes to Croatia, and the meeting of representatives of Zadar Airport with a representative of that company further shows how key the issue of accessibility is in every serious step toward distant markets. United already flies between Newark and Dubrovnik, and for summer 2026 it has also announced a new seasonal direct route Newark–Split, with the message that it will be the only American airline next summer to introduce nonstop flights to Split. Such moves have a double effect: they make arrival easier and at the same time strengthen Croatia’s visibility within the American distribution system, because a destination with a direct flight always has a stronger sales argument than one reached with multiple transfers.
For the Adriatic regions this is especially important. Americans choosing the premium and luxury segment often expect the simplest possible journey, and every additional logistical complication reduces the likelihood of purchase. That is why the very fact that representatives of Zadar Airport were included in the talks is significant: it indicates that the Croatian side does not observe promotion separately from transport infrastructure. In practice, without good air connectivity there can be no more serious growth in distant markets, especially when it comes to guests with larger budgets, but also higher expectations.
From presentation to concrete sales
The event was attended by 22 American agents specialized in premium and luxury travel, and the organizers further stimulated interest with gift packages, vouchers for a short stay in Croatia, FAM trips to Zadar County and Šibenik-Knin County, and return tickets from United Airlines. Such an approach is not unusual in the tourism industry; study trips and direct experience of the destination are among the most effective ways of selling in a market such as the American one. An agent who personally experiences the destination, gets to know the hotels, local partners, gastronomy, and logistics, will recommend that country to a client far more confidently than someone who has only a brochure or general promotional material at their disposal.
The presence of representatives of specialized media such as Travel + Leisure, Travel Pulse, and Travel Weekly additionally strengthens the effect of such events. In tourism promotion, a good article or recommendation in a relevant medium can have a strong influence on shaping perception, especially when it coincides with stronger distribution through the network of agents. In that sense, New York was not chosen by chance. It is a market of great purchasing power, strong media visibility, and a city from which the message about a destination can spread across the broader American area.
All this shows that on the U.S. market Croatia no longer wants to appear only as a beautiful European destination worth visiting once in a lifetime. The ambition is clearly broader: to build a longer-term, sales-sustainable position in the higher-value travel segment, relying on regional diversity, gastronomy, quality accommodation, and better air accessibility. The partnership with the ABC•CCRA network can therefore be viewed as a move that has both a promotional and a business dimension. If the cooperation is turned into continuous education of agents, stronger involvement of Croatian partners, and better transport connectivity, Croatia could further strengthen in its most important long-haul market its position as a destination that is no longer an exotic discovery, but a serious and competitive choice for American travelers with greater purchasing power.
Sources:- - Croatian National Tourist Board – official press release on the event “Croatia Full of Flavors”, the partnership with the ABC•CCRA network, and the results of the U.S. market in 2025 (link)
- - ABC•CCRA Travel Network – official overview of the network and the consortium’s reach, including the number of agencies and travel advisors (link)
- - ABC•CCRA Travel Network – announcement about the event in New York and the beginning of the partnership with the Croatian National Tourist Board (link)
- - United Airlines – official announcement on the 2026 summer flight schedule and the new route to Split from Newark (link)
- - Ministry of Tourism and Sport – official announcement on revenues from foreign tourists in 2025 according to Croatian National Bank data (link)
- - Villa Berulia – official restaurant website and announcement of the 45th anniversary of operations in New York (link; link)
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