Gari Cappelli, Minister of Tourism Republic of Croatia

Gari Cappelli, Minister of Tourism of the Republic of Croatia since October 2016, graduated from the Faculty of Maritime Studies in Rijeka in 1984. His business career before he became minister of tourism includes his position as a mayor of Mali Lošinj and the President of the Tourist Board of Mali Lošinj, which he held since 2005.  He was Chairman of the Management Board of Jadranski luksuzni servisi (Adriatic Luxury Services), Dubrovnik and Consul of Economic Affairs at the Consulate General of the Republic of Croatia in the Italian Republic in Trieste.  Besides, he worked as a manager of the RI Adria Bank Branch in Mali Lošinj and as a Director of the Cappelli tourist agency founded by him.  He is fluent in English, German and Italian.

During his work as a mayor of Mali Lošinj, he undertook a number of activities that prompted the development of destination management in Lošinj and Croatia and Lošinj archipelago as a year-round destination.  Under his leadership, Tourist Board of Mali Lošinj  became an associate member of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and a full member of the UNWTO Knowledge Network, and in 2015 Mali Lošinj received the prestigious award from the World Tourism Organization for the project “Fragrances and tastes of Lošinj” in the area of innovations in public politics and government.

In addition, he was a member of the 6th Croatian Parliament during which he was a president of the Tourism Committee and a member of the Committee on Transport and a member of the Island Council.  In the period from 2007 to 2011 he was deputy chairman of the Supervisory Board of Jadrolinija.  He has been performing the duty of a President of the Tourism Committee of the Croatian Democratic Union since 2012.