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Obzor putovanja, a long-time CCBN member and member of the Canadian franchise association Uniglobe, took part in the Montreal International Tourism and Travel Fair, held at the Place Bonaventure congress centre in Montreal from 21 to 23 October 2016.

The Montreal International Tourism and Travel is one of Canada’s largest travel fairs, and the most important tourism fair in the Francophone part of Canada. This year, the fair included 400 exhibitors from 100 countries, and numerous tourism and media partners. More than 33,000 visitors attended the fair, with 60% of visitors in the 45–64 year age group, and 54% stating that they intended to travel abroad in 2017, with an average travel budget of $7,000. In cooperation with the New York office of the Croatian National Tourist Board and the Zagreb City Tourist Board, Obzor putovanja successfully presented Croatia as a destination. On opening day, Croatia’s Ambassador to Canada, Mrs. Marica Zorica Matković visited the Obzor stand, and together with the Obzor representatives, met with the president of Celibritours, Marc Ancut, a Canadian travel agency that has been offering tour packages for Croatia for the past seven years. Mr. Ancut stated that his experiences with Croatia were very good, and that interest in Croatia as a destination is increasing each year. He commented that Canadian tourists view Croatia as a safe country, with great natural and cultural heritage, and excellent food, and the Croatia, together with Ireland, are the top travel choices in Europe for Canadians.

CCBN’s Tourism Officer Mark Mocnaj also participated in the event with representatives of Obzor putovanja.

Obzor representatives also met with representatives of Air Transat: Gilles Ringwald, VIP of Air Transat, and Claude-Helene Faucher, national sales manager of Transat Tours Canada. According to Mr. Ringwald, Air Transat is very pleased with this year’s results of the Zagreb – Toronto route, and next year there will be two flights weekly, flying from 30 May to 17 October 2017.

As in previous years, the Croatian stand was surrounded by visitors on both days of the fair. Canadian tourists are well informed about Croatia as a tourism destination, and most decide to visit the country based on recommendations from friends.

Figure captions: Left to right: Silvana Turčić, director of Obzor putovanja; Ina Rodin, director of the New York branch of the Croatian National Tourist Board, Danijel Petrović, Zagreb Tourist Board, and Dubravka Mićić, Obzor putovanja; CCBN Tourism Officer Mark Mocnaj with Silvana Turčić of Obzor Putovanja; great interest of visitors for the Croatia stand