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For the third year in a row, Croatia's capital Zagreb has been named the best Christmas market in Europe, the European Best Destinations website announced on Monday.
Zagreb was the number one destination for most of the 200,516 travelers who joined this year's vote.
It won almost 40,000 votes, finishing ahead of such better-known cities as Vienna, Budapest and Prague.
According to Brussels-based European Best Destination, the second-best Christmas market is in France's Colmar while the third is in the Austrian capital Vienna.
Croatia is known for its beautiful seaside resorts and islands, but recently it has established a reputation as a popular winter destination, especially in December.
During Advent, almost all hotels are fully booked and every year Zagreb sees growing numbers of tourists.
Last December, the city logged 145,000 overnight stays, up 33 percent on the previous year. This year, a new record number is expected.
The first of Zagreb's Christmas markets took place 16 years ago in a much more low key format than today.
This year, the Christmas market has spread throughout much of the city.
Security measures are also much more visible than in 2016, with more police in the city center and physical obstacles set up as precautions for possible terrorist attacks.
"In the long run, there should be more rigid physical obstacles. Only last weekend there were about 200,000 people in Zagreb, indicating that it is an attractive place and there will be more and more people," Pavel Kalinic from the Emergency Management Office said.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
