ZAGREB, Croatia – A Croatian tourism delegation led by Minister Darko Lorencin will pay a working visit to Moscow and Kiev on January 21-24 to attend workshops aimed at improving relations with partners and restoring trust and bringing back Russian and Ukrainian tourists following last year’s decline in their arrivals and bed/nights.

One of the reasons for the decline were the visas introduced when Croatia joined the European Union on July 1.

The workshops will be organised by Croatia’s National Tourist Board (HTZ), which said on Monday that interest in them was big in both Russia and Ukraine. Representatives of 14 Croatian tourism companies and about 100 Russian business people are expected at the Moscow workshop on January 22.

About 120 Ukrainian business partners, 20 Croatian agents and Ukrainian media representatives will attend the workshop in Kiev on January 24.

The decline from the Russian and Ukrainian markets was over 20 per cent last year. Russians accounted for 165,000 arrivals and 1.36 million bed/nights, down 22% from 2012, while Ukrainians accounted for 55,000 arrivals and 393,100 bed/nights, down 25.5% and 24% respectively.

Apart from the visa regime, the decline was also the result of the poor economic situation in Russia and Ukraine. The Croatian embassies in the two countries have set up centres in order to facilitate and expedite the issuing of 180-day visas.

In Moscow, Lorencin will meet with Alla Manilova, Russian deputy culture minister in charge of tourism, while in Kiev he will meet with Olena Shapovalova, director of Ukraine’s state tourism agency.