ZAGREB, 28 April 2022 - Since the start of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, a total of 15,879 displaced persons have entered Croatia, including 215 unaccompanied children, state secretaries told a thematic meeting of the parliamentary Gender Equality Committee on Thursday.

The meeting dealt with the reception, needs and treatment of Ukrainian refugees, most of whom are women and children as exceptionally vulnerable groups with specific needs. Croatia has the capacity to receive more refugees and displaced persons from Ukraine than the initial estimate of 20,000, it was said.

The state secretary for immigration, citizenship and administration at the Ministry of the Interior (MUP), Žarko Katić, recalled that MUP was resolving the status of Ukrainian refugees and approving temporary protection. The Civil Protection Directorate has provided accommodation for refugees in 40 accommodation units and three reception centres in Varaždin, Osijek and Gospić, he said.

A total of 1,766 people are staying in collective accommodation throughout Croatia. MUP has engaged about ten interpreters to assist police.

About 600 people have registered to provide accommodation for displaced Ukrainians and their premises have been examined and determined as appropriate and safe for these people to prevent any possible wrongdoing to their detriment, said Katić.

MUP: No incidents of people smuggling reported as yet

Katić said that MUP has not identified any case of people smuggling or sexual abuse or abuse of children among Ukrainian refugees. He underscored that inspections are being conducted regularly at places where refugees are received and accommodated, particularly those providing accommodation for vulnerable groups, and that MUP acts on any possible reports.

"The most vulnerable are unaccompanied minors who have been accommodated in hotels in Zagreb and Split, where about 90 young Ukrainian football players from the Shakhtar club have been accommodated as have young yachting competitors while about 24 minors have been placed in a dormitory in Zadar, " he said.

He added that to date ID cards have been issued to 10,016 displaced persons from Ukraine while the others are still considering whether they wish to apply for temporary protection, which enables them to exercise all rights in Croatia, including employment.

So far 600 Ukrainian citizens have found jobs through HZZ

The state secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy, Dragan Jelić, recalled that all displaced persons are eligible for a one-off allowance of up to HRK 3,500 per family and up to 2,500 for singles and that so far 1,400 such allowances have been paid out. Unemployed displaced persons are entitled to HRK 1,000 a month, Jelić recalled.

Currently, we have 215 children without a parental legal representative in the system and most of them have come with trusted people who are being checked by social welfare centres which also appoint guardians for unaccompanied children. Persons with disabilities have been provided with accommodation as well, he recalled.

Jelić said that 650 Ukrainian nationals had found jobs through the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ) and about 500 requests have been registered from employers seeking workers.

He added that 545 Ukrainian citizens are currently looking for work and more than half of them have university qualifications.

1,291 Ukrainian students included in the Croatian education system

The state secretary at the Ministry of Science and Education, Tomislav Paljak, said that since the war started in Ukraine 1,291 students from Ukraine have been included in Croatia's education system in 434 schools.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 28 April 2022 - Croatia Airlines generated a loss of HRK 114.9 million in the first quarter of 2022, which is 19% more than in the same period of 2021, mostly due to the rise in fuel prices, the national flag carrier said a financial statement on Thursday.

Total revenue reached HRK 213 million, increasing by 88% from Q1 2021, while expenditure rose by 56% to HRK 328 million.

Compared with Q1 2021, the company flew 200,721 passengers, which is an increase of 178%. The number of flights rose by 113% and the number of passengers went up by 122% in domestic transport and by 214% in international transport. The passenger load factor increased by 6.6 percentage points to 51.4%.

Sales tripled compared with Q1 2021, and booking for May to October was 2.3 times the figures recorded last year, but still 54% below booking for the summer of 2019.

This summer, Croatia Airlines will connect Croatia with 22 European airports and will operate 41 international routes. The summer flight schedule will be expanded to include five more international routes from Split to Amsterdam, Bucharest, Dublin, Milan and Stockholm.

For more, check out our business section.

ZAGREB, 28 April 2022 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković issued a message on the occasion of Holocaust Remembrance Day, Yom HaShoah, on Thursday.

"On the occasion of Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day we show our respect for the victims of the Holocaust and the Ustasha regime. We are not forgetting, we must not forget," Plenković said in a Twitter post.

"By promoting a culture of remembrance we are building a future in which tolerance and respect will be the foundation of peace," the PM said.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 28 April 2022 - Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday that Hungary and Croatia pursued their minority policies based on the principle of protection of ethnic minorities and that they could serve as an example to the whole of the EU.

Speaking to reporters after meeting with representatives of the Democratic Union of Hungarians of Croatia (DZMH), Szijjártó said that the Hungarian community in Baranja enjoyed steady and constantly growing support by the Croatian government and that the Hungarian government was doing the same with regard to the Croat community in Hungary.

Mutual respect between our nations and minorities makes it possible to deal with occasional difficult issues on the basis of mutual respect, and the DZMH and its president and MP Robert Jankovics have a major role in that regard, said Szijjártó.

He said that at the recent parliamentary election, Hungarians were choosing between war and peace and that they clearly opted for peace and security.

"We did not and will not make any decisions that would risk Hungary's involvement in the war in our neighbourhood," the Hungarian minister said.

Szijjártó said that 318,000 Hungarian expatriates, including those in Croatia, had taken part in the Hungarian election and that the Hungarian government wanted to enable all members of the Hungarian people to participate in making important decisions, which, he said, was something the left challenged for Hungarian expatriates.

He said that the Hungarians in Croatia could count on the support of their mother country in culture, religious life and economy.

Asked about the reception of Ukrainian refugees, Szijjártó said that it was the biggest humanitarian operation in Hungary's history and that so far Hungary had taken in 640,000 refugees from Ukraine.

Asked about the completion of the Hungarian section of the Vc international road corridor, Szijjártó said that the spring of 2024 was when the M6 highway should be connected to the Croatian highway section on the Hungarian border.

I hope the issue of Croatia's entry to the Schengen area will be resolved by then because if that does not happen, we will have to build a border crossing, which costs and is a waste of time. We hope we will not have to do it and we fully support Croatia's accession to Schengen, he said.

Jankovics thanked the Hungarian government for its help to Croatia during the 1990s war, coronavirus pandemic and earthquakes, as well as for its support to Croatia's bid to join the Schengen area of passport-free movement.

He noted that the result of the recent parliamentary election in Hungary meant that Croatian Hungarians would be able to continue their cooperation with the Hungarian government.

Our situation is a fortunate one because we can be loyal to our nation and be good citizens of Croatia, Jankovics said.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 28 April 2022 - The president of the Croatian Catholic charity Caritas and Varaždin Bishop, Bože Radoš, announced on Thursday that the Vatican's Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, would visit Croatia on 10-12 May.

The Croatian Bishops Conference (HBK) in August 2021 invited Cardinal Parolin to visit Croatia on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the ratification of agreements signed between the Holy See and Croatia, and the 30th anniversary of Croatia's recognition.

Speaking at a news conference after the 64th plenary session of the HBK, Radoš said that Parolin's visit had been confirmed by the Apostolic Nunciature in Croatia.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 28 April 2022 - Croatia has registered 850 new coronavirus cases and nine COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team reported on Thursday.

Currently, 425 infected persons are being treated in hospitals, including 20 placed on ventilators, while 3,512 persons are self-isolating.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 1,120,766 people have been registered as having contracted the SARS-CoV-2 virus, of whom 15,817 have died.

A total of 4,780,298 people have tested for COVID-19 to date, including 3,956 in the last 24 hours.

By Wednesday, 5,242,249 vaccine doses had been administered, with 59.48 per cent of the total population, or 70.75 per cent of adults, having been vaccinated. A total of 2,313,013 people had received at least one dose and 2,241,598 of them had been fully vaccinated, which is 68.68 per cent of the adult population.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section and select your preferred language if it isn't English.

April 28, 2022 - Imagine you worked in a global startup and had never met your colleagues but had worked together for over a year. And then you won a 7-day luxury workation in the Pearl of the Adriartic at Sun Gardens Dubrovnik. Congratulations NaviSavi! 

They are flying in from Nebraska, Costa Rica, Stockholm and Mumbai. Most have never met, even though they have been working intensely together for well over a year. And now, a 7-day luxury stay at the award-winning Sun Gardens Dubrovnik resort awaits. 

As part of next week's Work. Place. Culture. conference in Dubrovnik, Sun Gardens Dubrovnik generously agreed to host a 7-day workation package for the successful applicants of the conference 'Win a Workation' package. Travel app startup NaviSavi won the prize (you can see their video entry above).

CEO Sally Bunnell was more than happy to talk to TCN about what it means to finally meet some of her senior team in the flesh, as well as a fifth visit to Dubrovnik: 

1. Congratulations on winning the Sun Gardens Dubrovnik Workation competition. A week by the pool on the Adriatic coast. How did you hear about the competition, and why did you decide to apply?

I don’t know if the universe was listening, but I had just said to myself recently, "I need just one week (literally) to sit still at a pool or a beach, unwind, and preferably somewhere warm!"

I am part of a digital nomad group called the Wi-Fi Tribe and we have a very strong community in person and online. Someone from the Tribe posted about this opportunity in our Slack Channel and I thought, I would love to win that! I had it on my agenda to apply, but I’ve been so busy, I had completely forgotten. When I went back to check it out more, I noticed it was just an hour before the submission deadline! Since we were all spread out in time zones (and it was Friday evening!) I quickly applied on behalf of my entire team. So, I think this was the universe responding, when we found out we had been chosen! 

2. According to your application video, you have never met most of your colleagues, and your team is spread across the USA, Costa Rica, India, England and Stockholm. For those of us from older generations, take us through the process of starting a company remotely and working for over a year with colleagues you have never met?

Well, I never intended to start a remote company!  I have always worked ‘semi-remote’ and traveled for my professions in the music and entertainment industry, but it was all kind of by luck. I was supposed to release NaviSavi, April 1, 2020, and guess what hit just a few weeks previous…. The Pandemic! 

I wasn’t happy with the current development team and since we decided to not release the app during COVID, I thought it was time to look elsewhere for help. I called up an old music industry friend, David Pears, from the UK, who had recently transitioned into Tech, and asked him for some ‘advice.’ Before I knew it, he and his two developer friends from coding school in Edinburg, were building me a brand-new app from scratch. 

We were all a bit new to this app building process, but during lockdowns we had the time and technology, in which we could all connect, and build a strong founding team. I then began hiring interns via Zoom interviews for the 2020 Summer and had eight great candidates that helped me prepare research, social media and well, try out my own leadership skills. You’d be surprised, 20-year old’s can be quick intimidating when they all sit there with their mics off! 

From there, I expanded the next Fall/Springs Semester 2020/2021 intern teams and at one point we had nearly 40 people working on NaviSavi! I had only met ONE of them in person. I had ‘interns’ who were VPs at Capital One Bank, getting master’s in business, finance, marketing, all working on NaviSavi, as everyone was stuck at home! Some of those have even stayed on and complete our C-Level team!

We even met most of our content creators and influencers at virtual conferences, where we got them signed on to help us populate the app with video content. None of them were able to travel and yet were sitting on thousands of great videos from their past travels and their own cities. 

The pandemic was the best thing that happened to NaviSavi. I’m sure not many travel companies can say that. 

A year later, I finally got the chance for meet about 10 of the interns and a handful of creators in person, and yet, still many I’ve only seen from a screen. Everyone who works with us is forever a part of our NaviSavi family. NaviSavi was built by a community of people who gave their time, energy, and hearts because they too believed in the idea.

3. How do you encourage things such as teambuilding in such a remote environment?

I always lead with my ‘4H’s’ - Honestly, Humble, Hustle, Have Fun. 

You lead a team by being the example you want them to follow. 

Honesty - I always give it to them real. We are a startup, there is NO BUDGET for that. :) 

Humble - You are never too big or too small in this company. I may be the CEO, but I still will 'sweep the floors' so we can get a job done. Also, if you are in the wrong, acknowledge it and apologize. I do it all the time. 

Hustle - I always encourage my team to charge and take a chance, versus hesitate. It hard to find ‘drive’ and ‘dedication’ but when you do, you never want to stifle that ambition.

Have FUN - Don’t take ourselves too seriously. We are only a video travel app! It’s ok if something goes wrong. Also, it means, Happy Hours! Even on zoom call we play ’NaviSavi Bingo’ or “Caption This” parties in which we all come up with fun social media post captions. I keep doing random, crazy stuff that keeps the team wondering 'what is Rally Sally going to do next!' 

4. You have visited 96 countries so far. Do they include Croatia? What is your experience of Croatia and Dubrovnik so far?

I’ve been to Croatia six times! Four of those times I spent several nights each in Dubrovnik! It is one of my favorite cities in the world. Amazing history, a mix of cultures, and the FOOD! I’ve been sailing up and down the coasts, parties in Hvar, and even the beautiful Plitvice Lakes national Park!

It was an absolute dream to be welcomed back with this opportunity and to be able to now share this amazing country with my own team! 

5. Is this your first workcation? How do you envision the week from a work and play perspective? And how to get that balance right?

Technically, as a full-time digital nomad, I’m always on ‘workcation’ - but most people usually only really see it as one big vacation! 

I have spoken many times to my team about getting a ‘weeklong house’ where we can all work together somewhere amazing. This now just happens now to be the first honorary “NaviSavi Retreat Week” in Dubrovnik! What a way to start!  

I am a big work hard, play hard type of person, but I realize that can’t always apply to my team. The first time I meet a new group of my team members in person, I think it’s best over a casual drink. Break the ice a bit and people loosen up quick around each other. But, the next day, when I say we start at 10AM, I am all business and I expect the team to do the same. It’s a level of respect for everyone there. Have fun but show up ready to work. I know my team will great time this week; having some time to themselves, exploring, relaxing, but we walk away from the day of work, once we all feel accomplished. 

As for myself, I get a bit out of balance myself and just end up getting sick in a hotel for a few days, as there is no time to stop when I am jumping from work and events around the world. But as the CEO, I’m learning, taking care of myself is also taking care of my team in the long run. 

(The winning team will stay in 2 x 2 bedroom residences. Each bedroom has a kingsize bed and ensuite with shared living area.)

6. Tell us a little about your NaviSavi video app, and how it can be used to promote Croatian tourism. Do you have a Dubrovnik addition in your plans?

NaviSavi is simple — point, shoot, and upload, phone videos of experiences and places you love. The app is free and there are no photos, no reviews, and no bullsh*t. Just unedited and unfiltered videos, that show the exact experience in 30 seconds or less. 

We verify each clip for authenticity, so users feel like they are there in the destination with the person holding the camera. We also categorize each clip by location, price and interest so our users don’t have to do any additional research. Since there is no negativity of places, you only see the hidden gems and must do’s things people recommend. Now everyone can build and book travel itineraries with videos.

Our nomads, travel influencers, and even locals are uploading videos and building ‘playlists’ of their favorite places, so others can plan trips from their positive recommendations.

We currently have 25,000 approved videos on our app covering 144 countries, including Croatia. We even brought in one of our favorites, high profile creators, with our team to upload videos of all the must-see places, and the best hidden gems. (We need your suggestions!) In fact, the entire local community can upload and create playlists of their favorite spots, so we can help bring tourists to the small businesses in the area. 

This month we plan to officially launch Dubrovnik as our newest Featured City in our ‘Where 2 Next’ campaign for this summer, to help promote tourism and nomads to the city. 

 7. Tell us about the culture of the workation as a concept. Do you see it becoming mainstream?

There is a new generation of travelers coming, and they are coming with their laptops. The digital age of travel is here, and that means hotels, cities, and businesses need to rethink all the traditional ways of how travel and work used to be. The last two years has seen an absolute boom in digital nomads and remote workers, in additional to how the younger generation craves real experiences, slower travel, and is consuming short form video at an unprecedented rate. I think after this generation has gotten a taste of the work-cation; businesses are going to have a tough time ever getting people back into a traditional job setting. 

8. And finally, how do you plan your first evening at Sun Gardens Dubrovnik, finally meeting your team for the first time after all this time?

Well, it will start with big hugs. Even though we’ve never met some of the team in person, we have been together as a ‘work family’ through the ‘screen’ now almost two years! Then, if I know my crew well, you will see us all celebrating being together with some drinks, food, and I’m sure someone will end up in the pool! Oh, and don’t forget we will be shooting videos of the amazing hotel all night on our phones for NaviSavi! :) 

https://calendly.com/navisaviapp/30min

Check out the magical Old Town and Sun Gardens Dubrovnik video teaser above - why would you take a workation anywhere else?

Looking to attend the Work. Place. Culture. conference? More details here.

To learn more about the destination, check out the Total Croatia Dubrovnik in a Page guide, and also visit the official Sun Gardens Dubrovnik website.  

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

ZAGREB, 28 April 2022 - Three parliamentary committees on Thursday supported by majority vote Marin Piletić as the new minister of labour, pension system, family and social policy.

At a joint session of the family, youth and sport committee, the labour, pension system and social partnership committee, and the health and social welfare committee, Piletić said the priorities included the government's strategic plan goals, 100,000 new jobs by 2024, a 70% employment rate, unemployment below 5% and youth unemployment below 10%.

The goals include an average net salary of HRK 7,600, a minimum wage of HRK 4,250, 10% higher pensions, increasing the minimum guaranteed allowance to HRK 1,500 as well as accommodation capacity for older people.

"There is enough time until the end of the term to achieve that," he said.

Presenting Piletić to the committees at the start of the session, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković dismissed claims that many people refused the position of minister. "If you find someone I asked to be in Marin's place before I asked him, I'll resign at once."

The committees' opposition members asked Piletić about solving problems in social welfare, providing for older people, pension funds, fostering, and pension indexation.

"It would be totally irresponsible to promise higher pensions as of Monday or by the end of the year," he told Sabina Glasovac of the Social Democratic Party about indexing pensions with real price rises, adding that it is necessary to discuss the possibilities with the minister of finance.

For more, check out our politics section.