Croatian expatriates are happy with the response and recognition their country is receiving from Qatar residents, the South Eastern European nation's ambassador Tomislav Bosnjak has said.

"I am extremely pleased that there is a growing familiarity for Croatia and its people in Qatar in a little over two years since we opened in Doha our first embassy in the Gulf region," he told Gulf Times.

The Croatian embassy in Doha, opened on November 11, 2013, also provides consular services for its expatriates residing in other GCC countries as well. Bosjnak is also in charge of his country's diplomatic affairs in Oman and Kuwait too.

"If some 15-20 years ago Croatia was known more among Qatar residents for sportsmen like tennis legend Goran Ivanisevic, footballer Davon Suker and NBA star Drazen Petrovic, these days our country is getting a lot of recognition from all over as a good tourist destination of East Europe," he stated.

The envoy, who lived in France before the formation of independent Croatia in 1991 after its secession from the now defunct Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia said theirs is a country,endowed with a large number of qualified professionals, rendering services in diverse areas, in most of the developed and developing countries.

"Though Qatar hosts only around 500 Croatians, I am happy that almost one-third of my compatriots are senior construction engineers or similar highly placed professionals," said the ambassador while adding that Croatia has at least 20 pilots serving in this country. Many others from Croatia are also serving the Qatar Airways.

Bosjnak also informed that there are quite a number of Croats in this country's oil and gas industry as well. The ambassador said even though Qatar has not made any investments so far in his country, there are some good signs of late as Qatari companies are exploring opportunities for investments in different areas in Croatia.

"Our engineers' skills are recognised across the world and some of the good roads including the Eastern Industrial interchange and the stretch from Forousiya signal were built by a Croatian company, which is actively executing some major road projects in Oman these days," he said.

Though a small country of just about 4.5mn people, Croatia boasts of an excellent industrial infrastructure and some of the best 'one-off' special ships, used for transportation of LNG and similar goods are manufactured in Croatia.

"We are happy that shipyards in Croatia are receiving encouraging inquiries from the GCC States, including Qatar," the envoy said while hoping that Qatar would meet some of its shipping needs in coming years from his country.

"Croatia also houses a remarkably good industrial sector, hosting some of the manufacturing units of several major brands like General Electric," said the ambassador who also informed that many transformers and other advanced electrical equipment seen in Qatar are developed in his country.

While thanking HH the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani for visiting Croatia twice last year, the ambassador said the visits generated considerable interest among the people across Croatia. "Qatar also received a lot of attention in the entire Eastern Europe," he added.

Road show planned soon on tourist spots

With a number of tourist destinations, which attract tourists throughout the year, Croatia expects a rise in the number of visitors from the Gulf region.

"Though around 15,000 people from the Gulf states travelled to Croatia last year, my country's growing acceptance and recognition as a good and affordable tourist destination would help attract a number of GCC residents in future," Croatian ambassador Tomislav Bosnjak said.

Last year, a record 14.2mn tourists travelled to Croatia, said Bosnjak.

While Qatar Airways, Fly Dubai and Turkish Airways are operating daily flights to Zagreb, the neighbouring Bosnia's capital Sarajevo is well served by other airliners, the envoy said, adding that those with Schengen visas are granted entry into the country. Visas are also issued locally at the Croatian embassy in Doha.

The ambassador said Croatia has plans to hold a road show for the potential tourists from the region as part of its efforts to increase tourists' flow. "During July and August when temperatures are at the peak in the Middle East, Croatia offers an oasis with cool weather," he said, adding that tourism contributes 20% of Croatia's GDP.

While Croatia houses only about 4.5mn inhabitants, more than a million Croats are residing in the US and about 300,000 in Australia. "We receive a large number of tourists from the two countries, besides EU," the envoy said.

For Qatari youth, Croatia's dense forests provide opportunities for falcon and eagle hunting.