BTB: Foreign Visitors Evaluate Bratislava Positively, Many Plan to Return

Bratislava, 23 November (TASR) - Foreign visitors tend to evaluate Bratislava positively, with more than half of them planning to return to the Slovak capital, according to a survey carried out by the Bratislava Tourist Board (BTB) on a sample of 7,237 respondents from 11 European countries that are important for Bratislava in terms of tourism. "The results of the survey confirm that Bratislava has strong potential for repeat visits, but in order to fulfil this potential, it's important to develop products and experiences that would make visitors stay longer," stated chair of the BTB board of directors Nina Erneker. As many as 85 percent of the respondents expressed positive feelings about their visit to the Slovak capital, 10 percent had a neutral attitude and the remaining 5 percent were unimpressed. Fifty-seven percent of visitors can imagine spending more days in Bratislava, and 51 percent plan to return within three years. Visitors appreciate the proximity, compactness, accessibility, history and architecture of the city. The survey also showed that 77 percent of those who haven't yet visited Bratislava can see nothing to stop them from choosing it as a travel destination in the future. At the same time, 59 percent plan to visit it in the near future. Only 2.7 percent of those surveyed don't plan to visit Bratislava, but more than half of this group could be won over by better communications and more information about the city. "Bratislava doesn't suffer from a negative image, but from low awareness of the brand. This means that the city's image has healthy foundations, and the people who know it view it positively. The key to the future is to increase awareness of Bratislava," stated Erneker. ko/df