ZAGREB, 28 December, 2021 - A small number of Omicron cases have been confirmed in Croatia, so the existing COVID-19 protocols will remain in force in January, while on 31 December hospitality establishments will be allowed to stay open until 2 am, it was said on Tuesday.

Speaking to the press after a meeting of the government's Scientific Council, Croatian Institute of Public Health director Krunoslav Capak said there were eight sequenced Omicron cases in Croatia, eight cases "for which we are 99.9% sure it's Omicron" and "three or four suspect" cases.

He said a rise in Omicron cases was expected in the second week of January and the peak at the end of January and the beginning of February.

Due to the small number of Omicron cases, the COVID restrictions will not be tightened.

The head of the national COVID-19 crisis management team, Interior Minister Davor Božinović, said the rules on borders, shops' opening hours, transport and assembly would "likely be extended tomorrow."

He said the scientists on the council said the Omicron variant was different from previous ones due to a higher infection rate, but that there was no firm evidence on the seriousness of the illness.

He said it was necessary to keep in mind the burden on hospitals. If we will have four times as many cases, despite a 50% milder illness, it could still mean twice as many hospitalisations, he added.

Božinović said the new COVID vaccines and drugs being tested were expected to make next year easier in terms of serious illness and deaths.

He said the participants in the meeting underlined the need for the booster shot, calling on citizens to take it, notably medical workers, care home residents and all seniors. Thanks to higher vaccination rates, he added, EU countries with many Omicron cases have fewer hospitalisations and deaths.

Capak said the testing capacity was increasing and that 20,000 PCR tests could be done in one day.

According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, he said, persons infected with Omicron carry the virus only two days before and two to three days after the onset of symptoms. Hence, he added, those who are no longer contagious will have to self-isolate for a shorter time.

ZAGREB, 28 December, 2021 - An agreement on designing and building a wastewater processing plant worth HRK 522.6 million (€69.68 million) was signed in Rijeka on Tuesday by the local utility company "Vodovod i kanalizacija", as the contracting entity, and a Chinese consortium as the contractor.

The Chinese consortium, comprising China Energy Engineering Group Jiangsu Power Design Institute and Sumec Complete Equipment and Engineering, has 1,520 days to complete the project, including the demolition of the existing wastewater treatment plant.

The new wastewater processing facility will be located at Delta, close to the existing facility, on the right bank of the Rječina River. The new facility is a secondary wastewater treatment plant where wastewater will be biologically treated before it is released into the sea, while sludge will be dried up to at least 90% dry matter. All parts of the plant will be in enclosed facilities.

The plant is part of a project to improve water management infrastructure in the Rijeka agglomeration, worth HRK 1.7 billion and co-financed with EU funds through the Operational Programme "Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014-2020".

It is one of the biggest investments in municipal infrastructure in Croatia, and includes the construction and reconstruction of around 217 kilometres of drainage pipes and 125 pumping stations as well as work on some 100 kilometres of the public water supply network in Rijeka, Kastav, Viškovo, Čavle and Jelenje.

Economy and Sustainable Development Minister Tomislav Ćorić said the agreement was a significant step forward in the accomplishment of a clearly set goal - to expand the sewerage and water supply networks to cover the entire country.

The minister said he expected the Chinese contractor to complete the project within the agreed deadline and in the best way possible.

"That will be the best reference for the further engagement of Chinese companies on the Croatian market, as in the case of the Pelješac bridge project... Chinese companies are welcome in Croatia and the ministry is available for any kind of cooperation, to other companies as well," said Ćorić.

Chinese Ambassador Qianjin Qi said he expected the Chinese companies to responsibly meet their obligations and respect EU and Croatian regulations on environmental protection as well as other regulations, and all stakeholders to do their best.

He said the two companies had their economic interests but were part of the open market and acted accordingly.

China is interested in further cooperation with all companies and countries in Europe, to the benefit of all sides, the ambassador said, stressing that he was honoured to attend the signing of the agreement in Rijeka, one of the most important ports in this part of Europe.

Rijeka Mayor Marko Filipović said the project was an investment in the future of Rijeka as a smart, green and clean city. In the long run, this project is a guarantee of clean sea and clean beaches in the very centre of Rijeka, which is particularly important in the context of the city's constant growth as a tourist destination, he said.

The director of the state-run Hrvatske Vode water management company, Zoran Đuroković, said there were four agglomeration projects in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, for which HRK 3.8 billion had been secured, and of which the Rijeka project accounted for HRK 2.2 billion, including VAT.

After three years of slower project implementation, today's agreement increases the value of contracts for local water infrastructure to HRK 1.2 billion of the 2.2 billion, Đuroković said, adding that the project would raise the rate of connection to the public sewerage system in the Rijeka agglomeration from 78% to 94%, with around 30,000 more citizens being connected to the sewerage system.

Once built, the new waste water processing plant will be used for the treatment of all wastewater in the Rijeka area, Đuroković said.

(€1 = HRK 7.5)

ZAGREB, 28 December, 2021 - The Croatian Red Cross (HCK) recalled on Tuesday that a year ago, after the first of several Sisak-Moslavina County earthquakes, one of the HCK's biggest operations began, involving over 5,000 volunteers and 1,600 staff to help more than 100,000 people.

Addressing a press conference called on the anniversary of the first earthquake which rocked the Petrinja area, executive president Robert Markt said the HCK would be on the ground until the last earthquake victim had a firm roof over their head.

Over the past year, the HCK has distributed 1,250 tonnes of food to the people affected, more than 734,000 litres of water, 313 tonnes of hygiene products, almost 10,000 packages of children's food and gear, and almost 2,500 packages of food for pets.

The HCK has also distributed 4,450 heaters, 5,900 blankets, 700 mattresses and beds as well as raised almost HRK 52 million. Markt said all of they money was given to 32,500 households.

Another HRK 660,000 was given to kindergartens in Sisak-Moslavina County damaged in the earthquakes, while HRK 209,500 was given to the Vrbina Children's Home in Sisak.

Over the past year HCK staff have provided psychosocial assistance more than 17,000 times as well as organising drives and workshops..

HCK president Josip Jelić said their teams were on the ground on the day of the first earthquake and that initially 100,000 people requested and were given assistance. Today the HCK provides for more than 30,000 quake victims.

Jelić said the HCK had also cleaned up more than 820 wells in the affected areas.

(€1 = HRK 7.5)

December 28, 2021 - Croatia has more than 300 tourist board directors all over the country, most on permanent contracts. An interesting initiative from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports could change all that. 

I am not holding my breath - this is Croatia after all - but could a much-needed shakeup of the outdated and inefficient tourist board system be on the cards?

A new law requiring all of Croatia's 300+ tourist board directors, including the Croatian National Tourist Board Director, to take part in a tender to reapply for their jobs. And rather than - in most cases - a job for life, a fixed term of four years only. 

And not only that, but some insane requirements such as successful applicants needing to know at least one foreign language. I can immediately think of 15 tourist board directors I have met on my travels who do not fit that requirement. 

More detail in Lauren's translation of the Poslovni Dnevnik by Marija Crnjak below, but if passed, this could be a massive step forward for Croatian tourism. 

I am often criticised for my criticism of Croatian tourism, and many assume that I am against all tourist boards. I am not at all. 

Some of the best people in Croatian tourism work within the official system, and some of the local and regional tourist boards who do the best work are TCN partners, and others are not. Once we accept that the Croatian National Tourist Board in its current state and leadership is an irrelevant institution, a closer look at the excellence of official tourism promotion shows plenty of great examples. 

The award-winning public-private partnership between Saltwater Nomads, TCN and both the Zagreb and Dubrovnik Tourist Boards for Zagreb Digital Nomad Week and Dubrovnik Digital Nomads-in-Residence program are two cases in point. But there are other heroes in much smaller destinations, such as Stari Grad on Hvar which is one of the great tourism transformation success stories. And even my beloved Jelsa, where my fierce criticism of the tourist board back in 2015 first shot TCN to national attention. Even though I have no relationship with the Jelsa Tourist Board today, I am the first to acknowledge the excellent job the new director is doing. 

Such tourist board directors have nothing to fear from the new law. 

But in addition to the number of tourist board directors who cannot speak another language, I have met others who have been in the job 25 years and yet do not have their tourist board website in English. Others who have been in the job for over 20 years, having started straight from college, with no tourism or world experience whatsoever. 

There is so much life, and so much dead wood, in the official tourist board system, that a shake-up like this can only be a good thing. Of course, this being Croatia, the four-year term has the potential to be politicised, the position given as a thank you by the local mayor. Safeguards against that would be more than advisable. But anything is surely better than the current system. 

And I like the fact that non-tourism experts can also apply, provided that they have double the experience. A sharp mind, experience in other fields, and the right mindset are infinitely more important and relevant than those offered by some of the current 'qualified' directors. 

Hell, I might just apply myself. If elected, my first move might be to ban the practice of SLAPP lawsuits to silence annoying fat bloggers - as fine a use of public promotion money as I have seen in my time in Croatia. 

A great initiative, congratulations to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, and something TCN will follow with interest.  And now... 

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes on the 28th of December, 2021 - In the implementation of the new Law on Tourist Boards, the Ministry of Tourism decided on an unexpected move - in the first days of 2022, new tenders must be announced for the selection of all 300 directors of tourist boards in the country, including the director of the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ).

After those in their current positions resign, all of the directors can enter into a new tender/contest should they want to. In addition to that, the new directors' employment status will be changing significantly. Instead of the indefinite contracts that everyone now has, fixed-term contracts will now be concluded for a four-year term.

These are some of the details that stand in the interpretation of the part of the Law that has been in force since the beginning of last year, ie the part of it that regulates the work of the director of the Tourist Board. All tourist boards received a document with an interpretation from the Ministry of Tourism last Friday, Poslovni Dnevnik has learned.

They did not expect such a procedure, and this interpretation has therefore created a great level of confusion within the system of tourist boards, and some of them have already hired lawyers to look into possible violations of Croatian labour laws. Poslovni's interlocutors consider this move of the Ministry harmful.

The new criteria for hiring new directors of the Tourist Board, which are proposed in the new Ordinance, which was in public discussion until yesterday, are also controversial, and the key news is that the directors will be able to be people who have no experience whatsoever in the field of tourism. The Ministry of Tourism doesn't see anything controversial or new in this, because with these changes, all tourist boards will harmonise their activities with the Law, as they should have harmonised their acts and structure so far.

Poslovni's interlocutors from the tourism industry also don't see a big issue here. If the law prescribes that mandates be introduced, which is a good tool for quality control and work results, it should be applied somehow. However, they aren't sure whether the part that encroaches on labour rights is skilfully executed, and how people without experience in tourism will manage to do the job.

"There are a number of illogicalities in the interpretation of the Law related to the election of the director of the Tourist Board, which we received at the last minute after many months of waiting. We believe that we have grounds in the first place to delay the implementation of this Law, and we're working on changes to the implementation that violate a number of labour rights. What is being done is certainly not the reorganisation of the Tourist Board system, but the collapse of quality and additional politicisation. Employment conditions now make it easier. We're at risk of being left without the best people in the system, who will either be replaced or will not have a motive to apply for a fixed-term employment tender,'' say Poslovno's interlocutors from within the Tourist Board system.

The new Law on Tourist Boards was passed back in May 2019, with effect from the 1st of January 2020, while the provision on the introduction of four-year terms of office for directors should be introduced from the 1st January 2022.

All of this said, this new Law doesn't elaborate the procedure, and it doesn't say anywhere when re-election contests should be held. Article 22 of the Law only says that the director of a tourist board is appointed by the tourist council for a period of four years, it states the powers of the director, including the fact that the director is the one to announce public competitions and tenders for jobs within the tourist board.

“Given that the provision of Article 22, which states that the director of a tourist board is appointed by the tourist council for a term of four years, enters into force on the 1st of January 2022, the legal conditions for announcing a competition/tender for the director(s) of tourist boards have all been met. All tourist boards are expected to act in accordance with the provisions of the Law,'' the Ministry explained in response to a request for futher information. They also noted that the previous directors of tourist offices didn't have a mandate, so it cannot even expire.

They also clarified that with the entry into force of this Law, the position of director of a tourist office for which no mandate has been prescribed ceases to exist, which means that it is necessary to announce a competition/tender for all directors.

What about after the election? The one who is re-elected gets a fixed-term contract, and the one who is not elected will be offered another job in the office. If there is no space or nothing ends up being offered, cancellation is also an option. The Ministry explained that the employment of the director is regulated by the Labour Law, and the employer, in this case the tourist board, is responsible for its implementation.

As has since been found out, in this process, termination with the offer of an amended contract from Article 115 of the ZOR (Labour Law/Zakon o Radu) will be applied for the current directors. As stated there, the provisions of the Law relating to dismissal also apply to the case in which the employer themselves terminates a contract and at the same time proposes to the employee to conclude an employment contract under other, amended conditions.

However, according to Article 107, an employer may terminate an employment contract if they have a justifiable reason to do so, including dismissal in the event that the need to perform a certain job ceases due to economic, technical or organisational reasons (a business-related dismissal).

Such a scenario is realistic for small tourist boards, where there will be no space or budget for another employee. Who will be the new directors of the Tourist Board? According to people from the system, the ordinance on special conditions that must be met by employees in tourist boards is moving towards the degradation of the profession.

In addition to the fact that no one needs to have experience in tourism to take on this role, in addition to formal education, the criteria are knowledge of one foreign language (for regional directors, and for the CNTB, knowledge of yet another) and computer skills. Today, these are the basics of literacy and aren't special skills, according to Poslovni's interlocutors, who find it inconceivable that people who have nothing to do with tourism can come to such important positions.

The Ministry claims that the special conditions for the employment of directors in tourist boards have not been relaxed.

You can read more on the irrelevance of the Croatian National Tourist Board in Ever Been to a Party Where the Host is Suing You?

ZAGREB, 28 December, 2021 - Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević said at a news conference on Tuesday that the city administration would be overhauled in 2022, and as a result, the number of city departments would be cut from 27 to 16.

Those 16 departments will be led by acting directors until vacancies are advertised, the mayor told a news conference.

He announced a public call for applications for the head of the office for city asset management and for the spokesperson for the city administration.

Tomašević highlighted the fact that the four-member management board of the Zagrebački Holding multi-utility conglomerate had been selected following a public call for the first time.

The mayor expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of post-quake reconstruction in the city, notably of private properties.

He added that the city administration had demanded amendment of the relevant legislation and that the law on post-quake reconstruction had been changed.

There is no longer any excuse for the state not to start making the relevant decisions, the mayor added.

ZAGREB, 28 December, 2021 - Croatia has registered 4,139 new coronavirus cases and 50 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team reported on Tuesday.

The number of active cases in the country currently stands at 18,341. Among them are 1,851 infected persons receiving hospital treatment, including 238 who are on ventilators, and 14,332 persons are self-isolating.

A total of 3,715,396 people have been tested for the SARS-CoV-2 virus to date, including 11,475 in the last 24 hours.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in the country, 697,952 people have been registered as having contracted the new virus, of whom 12,425 have died and 667,186 have recovered, including 2,499 in the last 24 hours.

As of 27 December, 4,662,872 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered, with 55.52 per cent of the total population, or 66.16 per cent of the adult population, having been vaccinated. A total of 2,253,137 people have received at least one dose and 2,124,416 of them have been fully vaccinated, which is 62.54 per cent of the adult population.

December 28, 2021 - Zagreb Digital Nomad Ambassador for December Anna Maria Kochanska on life in the Croatian capital in its most festive month. 

Six months, six different monthly ambassadors (as well as Special Guest Ambassador Steve Tsentserensky), and a very active ambassador to finish the very successful Zagreb Digital Nomad Week & Ambassador program, which runs from June 21 to December. 

After ambassadors and partners from USA, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Israel and Singapore, Anna Maria Kochanska from Poland arrived to take up ambassadorial duties for the month of December. 

And she has been everywhere, enjoying Advent in Zagreb to the full, as well as organising several meetups in between her public speaking and media appearances. 

Each month has been very different, but I think it is fair to say that December has been by far the most active month in terms of ambassadorial activity, as Steve and Anna Maria have explored more of the city in a month than I manage in a year.

I caught up with Anna Maria just before Christmas at Canopy by Hilton, which hosted the press conference and opening day of Zagreb Digital Nomad Week back in June. I was initially a little worried at how our December ambassador would spend the last week of the year, as it is very much a family time of year.  

But I need not have worried, for I think Anna Maria had a lot more company and fun over the festive period than most of us.

Here she is interviewed at Canopy a few days ago, reflecting on her month in Zagreb so far and her plans for the festive period. 

Stay tuned for more information about Zagreb Digital Nomad Week 2022 - more details will be announced shortly. 

For more news and features about digital nomads in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section. 

December 28, 2021 - Croatia has won the prestigious 2021 Stars Awards in the category of the most attractive destination, awarded by the specialized Chinese travel and lifestyle magazine Traveling Scope.

As reported by Turističke Priče, Croatia has been recognized by the Traveling Scope magazine as the most attractive destination in China, raising its status in that market and promoting the arrival of Chinese tourists in the coming seasons. The award was presented by Sunny Zhang, general manager of the magazine, and Lily Liang, producer and deputy editor-in-chief of this popular magazine, which is published in a monthly circulation of 700,000 copies.

Franka Gulin, director of the Croatian Tourism Board office in China, received the award. Photo: Croatia National Tourist Board

Winning the Stars Awards could provide Croatia with additional visibility in the large Chinese market, expects Franka Gulin, director of the Croatia National Tourist Board office in China, and so it was in 2019 when the same magazine awarded our country the award for the destination with the best cultural and historical heritage.

China is a large and demanding market, especially in the circumstances of the pandemic that has significantly slowed tourist flows between China and Europe in general, but according to the expectations of the director of the Croatian Tourist Board Kristjan Stanicic, in the future, our country is expected to be one of the Chinese travel destinations. Optimism is given by the feedback from partners and numerous awards and recognitions that Croatia has won in China.

The award was given by Traveling Scope magazine. Photo: Croatia National Tourist Board

Let's add that Traveling Scope magazine has been published since 1980, and it is the first Chinese magazine dedicated exclusively to tourism and travel. In addition to print editions, the magazine is also available on digital channels where they achieve multimillion-dollar coverage.

For more, check out our dedicated travel section.