ZAGREB, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Croatian Minister of Tourism Gari Cappelli announced on Monday various joint activities to be carried out in both Croatia and China to promote tourism and establish stronger cultural and transport links as part of the celebration of the Year of Culture and Tourism between the two countries.

The activities include study trips for Chinese media and tour operators in Croatia, workshops and cultural-tourist events, as well as many presentations at tourist fairs.

Some of these activities have been agreed last week during the visit of the Chinese delegation to Croatia when Cappelli and his Chinese counterpart signed a Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of special forms of tourism.

The signing of the Memorandum is a sign that both China and Croatia recognize the potential for cooperation, which is the basis for future concrete activities, the Croatian minister said.

"The Chinese market is extremely important to us because their tourists are not motivated by a holiday rest, rather with a cultural offer, gastronomy and other special forms of tourism," said Cappelli.

According to the minister, a total of 234,100 visitors from China visited Croatia in 2018, with 344,000 overnight stays, an increase of 46 percent compared to 2017.

"Positive trends from that market are expected this year too," Cappelli said in his announcement.

In January 2019, 33 Chinese citizens got tour guide licenses in Zagreb, in February Chinese artists performed in the city of Varazdin in northern Croatia, while in March there was a conference "The Role of China in Southeast Europe" in Zagreb.

Croatian tourist board also organized two workshops in China for around 200 Chinese tour operators in Beijing and Shanghai earlier this year, while the Zagreb tourist board presented its offers in Beijing last month.