January 24 (SeeNews) - Spanish low-cost airline Volotea plans to launch new services from Strasbourg and Marseille to Croatia's coastal towns of Dubrovnik and Split this year, Croatia's tourism ministry said.
Last year, Volotea opened two seasonal flights to Split and Dubrovnik, while this year it plans to increase the number of seats offered on these lines by 52%, the tourism ministry said in a statement late last week.
Volotea also has plans to add flights from France to Zagreb, Pula and Zadar, with the aim to carry 220,000 passengers to Croatia by 2020, tourism minister Gari Cappelli was quoted as saying after a meeting with company representatives in France.
Cappelli noted that another low cost carrier - Transavia, a unit of Air France-KLM, is also looking to launch services to Zagreb. The company currently flies to Dubrovnik, Split and Zadar.
This year Transavia plans to increase the number of seats available to Dubrovnik, while flights to Zagreb and possibly Pula are expected next year, he said. Transavia will also consider the possibility of introducing services to Rijeka in 2018.
"We are in serious negotiations with air companies concerning the introduction of new routes. Special emphasis is being put on Zagreb, Istria and Krk since they are in close proximity to islands and continental Croatia, which could be of interest to French guests," Cappelli said.
Tourism is a key industry for Croatia, generating around a fifth of the country's gross domestic product.