ZAGREB, 29 April (2022) - The Night of Fortresses, a cultural event promoting fortification architecture and monument heritage in Europe, will be held on 29 and 30 April at seven venues of the cultural and tourism project "The Routes of the Frankopans".

The event is taking place as part of the European project "Fortitude" with the aim of attracting visitors to heritage localities, with interpretive walks and tours.

Admission is free to programmes to be organised at Trsat Castle, Grobnik Castle, Bakar Castle, Nova Kraljevica Castle, Bribir Castle, Zrinski Castle in Čabar and Zrinski Castle at Brod na Kupi.

The organisers - Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, local government units and tourism boards and museums, said that 30 April marks the death of Croatian noblemen Petar Zrinski and Fran Krsto Frankopan, calling on visitors to attend the Night of the Fortresses event.

The project "The Routes of the Frankopans", promoting the heritage of the Frankopan family, was launched by Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in 2005 with the aim of restoring, protecting and ensuring the sustainable use of that noble family's tangible and non-tangible heritage.

The project covers 17 castles and three sacral buildings located in the area from Krk via Vinodol to Gorski Kotar.

The Routes of the Frankopans is the biggest cultural project in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, worth more than HRK 67 million. Since 2017 it has been co-financed by the EU.

A hiking trail with 41 control points will be launched on Saturday at Kaštel Gradec on Krk island, where the Frankopan family hails from.

 For more news about Croatia, click here.

ZAGREB, 29 April (2022) - The Festival of Science, the most important and most comprehensive science popularisation event in Croatia, will be held in 37 cities across the country from 2 to 7 May, the organisers said on Thursday. 

This year the event will again be held live, its central theme being "Life".

The theme has been chosen as relevant due to the coronavirus pandemic that has raised many questions, among others, about the fragility of life, life values, and how science impacts the quality of life and how it can make it longer and better.

In Zagreb, most of the festival events will be taking place at the Nikola Tesla Technical Museum, where the opening ceremony will be held, as well as at seven other venues.

The Festival of Science has been organised by the universities of Split, Zagreb, Rijeka, Zadar and Osijek in cooperation with the Nikola Tesla Technical Museum and the British Council.

For more news about Croatia, click here.

April 30, 2022 - Collaboration is getting stronger, as a number of remote work destinations are heading to Dubrovnik next week for the Work. Place. Culture. conference from May 5-7.  

Around 18 months ago, few people had ever mentioned the words 'Dubrovnik' and 'digital nomads' in the same sentence. How times change... Croatia's first-ever dedicated conference for nomads, Dubrovnik for Digital Nomads, followed by the award-winning Dubrovnik Digital Nomads-in-Residence program, changed all that, and the city has been quietly implementing its strategy to attract more remote workers. 

A sign of the progress Dubrovnik has made in the global DN story will be reflected in the very global attendee list next week as Dubrovnik's latest conference in the sector, Work. Place. Culture, which takes place from May 5-7. 

In addition to leading remote companies eager to join - including VP People at Remote.com, CEO Butter and our keynote speakers (Gartner, RoRemote, Growmotely, Make The Leap Digital) and presenters from the ABC Travel Network, The Remote Life Podcast, a number of destinations at various  stages of their own DN journeys will be heading to Dubrovnik (either remotely or in person) to take place in a conference which will bring together a diverse and collaborative community of remote work professionals for 3 days of presentations, networking and socialising. Confirmed attendees include 3 leaders in digital nomad hubs: Bansko, Estonia and Sun & Co Coliving Spain. The conference will also feature initiatives from destinations looking to position themselves to the DN market - such as Scotland, Mostar, BiH, Venice, Central Istria, Croatia and Tirana, Albania.

Just as Dubrovnik hsa been pioneering in its efforts, so too Croatia is an early mover on certain initiatives. Only the second country in Europe after Estonia to initiate a digital nomad visa, Croatia was the first in the world to found a Digital Nomad Association. The initiative has beeen well received elsewhere, and there will be representatives of no less than 4 DNAs at the conference. 

TCN reached out to some of the conference participants and destinations ahead of Work. Place. Culture. conference (you can see the programme and buy ticktets here). 

DNA Croatia - one of the many achievements in the early Croatian DN story was the founding of the world's first Digital Nomad Association. Why do you think countries need such an association, and what have you achieved so far?

Michael Freer, DNA Croatia

For countries like Croatia, an association can complement public efforts in trying to promote the country as a destination. It also has the luxury of working with both private and public bodies, without necessarily having to go through the red tape that public bodies do, nor have to focus on digital nomads as a customer like the private sector has to. Finally it can act as a neutral friend of digital nomads, looking to support, connect and inspire them before, during and after their experience in that country.

On the other hand, you have DNA America, which is very much about supporting DNs from the US outside of the US, rather than attracting DNs to the US (although this could also be part of their later mission). In this way they can also connect the community, and act as a digital nomad embassy providing US specific support around certain subjects like taxation or immigration when needed.

Whether a sending or receiving DNA, they are both vital for the ecosystem and building that momentum, vision and representation of DNs worldwide. 

In terms of our achievements, we're right at the beginning of our journey, and have learnt a lot and gained so much experience in the last 18 months as an association. We think DNA Croatia, along with those we collaborate with, like TCN and Saltwater, to name but a few, have to be proud of how Croatia is perceived outside of Croatia. We've created and most definitely earned an impressive global reputation. 

On a more local scale, we think it's an achievement to see all of us collaborators working together, from all three sectors, pushing forward with the same vision - to make the whole of Croatia a digital-nomad friendly and slow travel destination all year round.

DNA Croatia, DNA Italy - two countries and neighbours with a rich history and much in common on the Mediterranean. How can we synergise to develop a Mediterranean Nomad Trail for the benefit of all?

Giovanni Filippi, DNA Italy

Digital nomadism is a global, transversal and conscious movement, in exponential growth and continuous evolution, involving people of all ages, with very different personal, professional and cultural backgrounds. People free to live and work anywhere generally choose to move to those destinations where the quality of life is better, especially seaside, in close contact with nature and with a favorable climate.

The Mediterranean coasts would be an ideal destination for many of them: encouraging synergies between the various Mediterranean countries in order to attract digital nomads represents an opportunity for Europe to foster cohesion among its members and attract people with skills useful to improve the economies of its territories.

The Associations of Italy and Croatia, and of all the others that want to be involved, could start to collaborate in the organization of a series of online and offline activities involving digital nomads and local communities to let them encounter and interact with each other, co-designing together territorial and extraterritorial events and projects that can be collected in a Mediterranean Nomad Trail.

Bulgaria is home to one of Europe's most dynamic nomad destinations and festivals in Bansko. How is the scene developing nationwide, and how can we integrate it more into a Balkan Nomad Trail? 

Martina Mihneva, DNA Bulgaria

Digital Nomads Association of Bulgaria (https://www.linkedin.com/company/digitalnomads-bulgaria/) was officially established in February 2022 with the aim to work together with the Bulgarian government and create the right environment for the digital nomads who are choosing to spend part of their life in Bulgaria. We want to create the needed regulatory conditions that will make Bulgaria easily accessible for digital nomads from all around the world and to offer these people the right places for co-working and co-living, entertainment and learning about Bulgarian culture in several locations on the territory of Bulgaria. 

Currently, we are working on creating a proposal to the government for a Digital Nomad Visa that will ease the process of  getting permission to stay for a year in Bulgaria for digital nomads and their families. Also, we are creating an online platform that will gather the digital nomads community in Bulgaria, will include all the information needed for a digital nomad to plan a stay in Bulgaria, do the needed paperworks and will offer complete information for accommodation and co-living spaces, co-working spaces, tourist destinations and events. We are planning to create weekly meetings for digital nomads where they can meet and know each other, exchange ideas and make plans for cooperation, share stories from their journey as a digital nomad, as well as present different destinations and cultures they have visited. 

DNA USA - the first digital nomad association outside Europe! Tell us why you founded it, who are your members, and what your vision is for the association?

Erkan Munishi, DNA USA

The Americans are the largest group of digital nomads in the world and the pandemic has given a different perspective to everyone in the US and around the globe on their freedom and priorities when it comes to working remotely. The Digital Nomad Association USA (DNA USA) was founded with the goal of bringing the American digital nomads together to support each other, and sharing their stories and skills with many other Americans who are hoping to go remote. It is the only digital nomad association that is both origin-based and destination-based. We also promote destinations within the United States that cater to digital nomads and we work on growing the number of destinations that improve their infrastructure focusing on creating a better work and life environment for remote workers.

Croatia may be attracting a lot of the nomad headlines in the region, but once can definitely feel the emergence of a Balkan Nomad Trail. How is the scene in Mostar, and where does Mostar fit into this new Balkan Trail?

Ana Bogdanovic, INTERA Technology Park, Mostar 

Mostar and Herzegovina have a lot to offer to digital nomads. Less than hour far from the border with Croatia, Mostar should be the next stop for digital nomads. Geographical position, beauty of nature, hospitality of people, gastronomy, safety, low living costs and great coworking space are some of the advantages of this area. When you add development of web platform for digital nomads and educational programs for key stakeholders which we plan to implement in the next few months, Mostar imposes oneself as an obvious digital nomad destination. 

Scotland - with sterotypes of noamds on laptops at the beach, Scotland can appear at first to be a little off the beaten path when it comes to the nomad lifestyle. What kinds of nomads are coming to stay, and what are the main Scottish competitive advantages?

Jemma Reid, JR Event Sales

Scotland, with its rugged landscapes, dark skies and temperamental weather, may appear off the beaten path when it comes to the typical digital nomad / workcation lifestyle. However there is a fantastic opportunity to work with and engage with likeminded people that work internationally within the food and drink sector, to consider Scotland as a workcation destination. A place to escape, a place to think, a place to taste and experience exceptional food and drink – a new place to work. We are really looking forward to attending the conference to hear from those looking for a new adventure, scenery like no other, peace, tranquillity and ensuring Scotland can be considered as the new go to place to be a remote working/ workcation destination.

And a final word from Ukraine, which will also be represented at the conference: 

Orest Zub, Ukraine

Ukraine will emerge from this war stronger and more progressive than before. The entire world has united around Ukraine embracing us into the global community. It is not the war between Ukraine and Russia only. It is a war between good and bad, between light and evil. Rarely in history the red line was so clearly visible... Currently we stand for ideal liberal values many of which have been forgotten in the West. So once the war is over we are waiting everyone who wants to join rebuilding Ukraine :-)

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

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

April 30, 2022 - A number of movers and shakers in the global remote work industry will be heading to Dubrovnik next week - meet the full programme.

It is almost exactly 18 months since the first-ever digital nomad conference in Croatia, Dubrovnik for Digital Nomads. The Pearl of the Adriatic followed this up with the award-winner Dubrovnik Nomads-in-Residence programme in April 2021. Dubrovnik's determination to establish itself as a digital nomad destination continues with the latest initiative bringing influential players and destinations in the remote work space to Dubrovnik for next week's Work. Place. Culture. conference, from May 5-7.  The conference is part of the continued collaboration between the City of Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik Tourist Board, Saltwater Nomads, Digital Nomad Association Croatia, and Total Croatia News. 

Some of the highlights:

• There will be 50 presenters over 2 days, with over 20+ virtual, the rest in person.
• Leading remote companies have been eager to join - including VP People at Remote.com, CEO Butter and our keynote speakers (Gartner, RoRemote, Growmotely, Make The Leap Digital) and presenters from the ABC Travel Network, The Remote Life Podcast, Expat in Croatia, DNA Croatia and more.
• 3 leaders in digital nomad hubs: Bansko, Estonia and Sun & Co Coliving Spain.
• Initiatives from destinations looking to position themselves to the DN market - such as Scotland, Mostar, BiH, Venice, Central Istria, Croatia and Tirana, Albania.
• The speakers includes on of last year's Dubrovnik Nomads-in-Residence (and baby DNIR) joining remotely from Hvar to moderate a panel. 

The full programme is now available and can be viewed below or on the official Work. Place. Culture. website. Some tickets are still available, and they can be obtained through the website. It promises to be a stimulating few days, and it is encouraging to see such global interest from individuals and destinations which are helping to define the future of work.

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. 

April the 29th, 2022 - The Croatian inflation wave is currently three times higher than initial government predictions ever thought it would be, which is of course an enormous cause for concern for the vast majority.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Jadranka Dozan writes, the recently updated macroeconomic projections for this year, presented by the government within the new Convergence Programme, once again did well in confirming just how much various economic forecasts have had their "shelf lives" very much shortened in the face of Croatian inflation.

This is most drastically shown in the revised estimate of the average Croatian inflation rate. The last official projection from the government, made back during the time of the adoption of the state budget for the year 2022, is barely half a year old, and compared to the then projected 2.6 percent, the expected Croatian inflation rate is now three times higher.

To be more precise, the government is currently counting on a rise in consumer prices of as much as 7.8 percent, proving to be much more cautious than the Croatian National Bank has been. The CNB's recently released new forecast of average inflation of 5.4 percent now seems actually quite optimistic.

The war in Ukraine, accompanied by additional supply chain disruptions and the ongoing energy crisis, has intensified inflationary pressures, affecting the prices of energy, transport, food, but also a number of other raw materials and industrial goods.

From next year on, inflation is thankfully expected to slow down, but having in mind the so-called the base effect of this year's large price increase, the projected slowdown to 3.7 percent next year and to 3.5 percent in 2024 certainly doesn't sound all that promising for anyone. As early as this autumn, in addition to lower price growth this year, rates of 2.3 and 2.2 percent have calculated for the first two years following Croatia's transition to the Eurozone.

Given the projections for growth in average gross wages (employees in legal entities), Croatian residents have at least two or three years of falling standards ahead of them, although government projections suggest that a slight recovery in terms of real income could finally begin next year.

According to the calculations from the Ministry of Finance, gross wages are expected to grow by an average of 6.3 percent this year (compared to a 7.8 percent rise in prices). In the first year, the euro should grow by an average of 3.8 percent or slightly above the Croatian inflation rate, and in 2024 by about 3.5 percent, which is one percentage point more than the expected price growth.

A minor surprise came from the government's revision of expected economic growth, although it is currently proving more conservative than the central bank. Instead of growth at the rate of 4.4 percent, which was estimated at GDP growth last autumn, expectations have been reduced down to three percent in real terms this year, with an acceleration forecast of 4.4 percent next year.

With the traditionally significant contribution of personal consumption in the structure of the nation's overall GDP, it remains to be noted that expectations of consumption growth compared to the original projections for this year decreased from 3.2 down to a mere 1.4 percent.

At the same time, following a package of anti-inflation economic measures, estimated at almost five billion kuna, then increased material and costs for Ukrainian refugees, and finally this week's agreement with the unions of state and public services, government spending is expected to grow more than planned for in the state budget. Instead of the then projection of just over two percent, it now counts on a 3.3 percent increase in government spending.

Although the projected growth rate of investment has now been halved (from 12 down to 5.8 percent) this year, over the next few years, public and private sector investment should be the main drivers of growth. Their contribution to Croatian GDP growth this year, at least according to the Ministry of Finance, is estimated to stand at 1.2 percentage points.

Individually, however, following the expectation of 7 percent growth in terms of the exports of goods and services (slightly less than 5 percent for goods and more than nine percent for services), the contribution of exports to Croatia's GDP should be significantly higher than that of investment (about 3.5 percentage points). However, given the rather high import dependence of the Croatian economy, Finance Minister Zdravko Maric explained that "the net contribution of net exports will be slightly positive this year, and slightly negative or neutral over the next three".

For more on Croatian inflation, check out our dedicated politics section.

April the 29th, 2022 - Croatian roads (Hrvatske ceste) is set to get credit in the amount of 870 million kuna, and the state is the one who will guarantee it all.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, several days ago, the Croatian Government approved a debt payable to Croatian roads with a state guarantee in the amount of 870 million kuna. With this massive long-term loan, the state-owned company Croatian roads will finally manage to close all of its liabilities on existing loans and secure further financing for various projects and other business plans this year.

It will settle liabilities in the amount of 66.7 million kuna on the loan provided by PBZ (Privredna banka Zagreb) and 214.4 million kuna on the loan provided by a community of banks including Erste, HPB (Hrvatska postanska banka), OTP, PBZ (Privredna banka Zagreb) and Zagrebacka banka (Zaba).

The remaining loan amount of 589 million kuna will provide liabilities for a total of sixteen different projects, the most valuable of which are the Sava bridge near Gradiska, totalling 95 million kuna, the Vukmanicki Cerovac-Mostanje and Farkasevac-Bjelovar roads, as well as the eastern bypass of Novi Marof.

For a new loan, Croatian roads received an offer from the aforementioned Erste, HPB, OTP, PBZ, RBA and Zaba banks in the public procurement procedure, at a fixed interest rate of 1.15 percentage points per year.

The term of the loan is the end of 2022, ie the current year, and the final maturity is set to take place on the twelfth anniversary of the contract being taken out. This state guarantee covers 100 percent of the loan amount to Croatian roads.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

April the 29th, 2022 - The conceptual design of the Dugopolje rehabilitation centre project, which will be funded by the European Union (EU), has been presented.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Borivoje Dokler writes, the Split Angels Association, in cooperation with Split-Dalmatia County, organised a presentation of the conceptual design of the Dugopolje rehabilitation centre at the Park Hotel in Split. In the centre, which would span over 58,000 square metres, children and adults with disabilities would come for treatment. There will be educational and rehabilitation workshops, sensory rooms, recreation halls, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, as well as a therapy area with horses, dogs and vegetable gardens. The Dugopolje rehabilitation centre would be the largest of its kind in Croatia's entire immediate region.

"After twelve years, we finally came to the presentation of the conceptual design of a large Dugopolje rehabilitation centre. We'd like to mention that this a centre for all children and people with disabilities, as well as all those who find themselves in need of rehabilitation at some point in their lives. The development of the conceptual design was financed by Split-Dalmatia County, and now it is up to the government to declare it a project of national importance, in order to apply for EU tenders and finally provide funds for the construction of this oasis,'' said Anka Djikic from the Angels Association who was the one to initiate the entire project.

Neighbouring Slovenia already has four such centres

The president of the association, Dijana Anicic, added that neighbouring Slovenia, which is smaller geographically than Croatia, already has four such rehabilitation centres, and Croatia doesn't have one.

"In this country, there is no systematic care and integration for children and people with disabilities. They can get help through associations or in private institutions, but not in one place. Let's make that history. Such individuals have the right to a dignified existence, and even a dignified departure, if it comes to that,'' concluded Dijana Anicic.

For more, make sure to check out Made in Croatia.

April the 29th, 2022 - The upcoming Omis bridge, which will cross over the Cetina river below it, should be completed by the end of this year. The move comes as part of a huge Split-Dalmatia County project and will be of enormous significance to local residents and visitors to this part of Central Dalmatia alike.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, by the end of this year, the Omis bridge which will cross over the Cetina river will be connected along the future Omis bypass, a project worth a total of 180 million kuna. By the spring of next year, that 3.5-kilometre section will be entirely completed. The Omis bridge or bypass is otherwise one of the largest infrastructure facilities in Split-Dalmatia County to date.

The Omis bridge includes two tunnels and a bridge over the Cetina river running below it, the Komorjak tunnel, which will be more than 600 metres long, and the one of Omis, which will be more than 500 metres in length, while the bridge itself will be 216 meters long.

By the year 2025, the entire section from Omis to Split will be completely constructed in different phases, and everything will be financed via non-refundable funds, the Croatian Government recently announced.

By the end of this year, a tender will be announced for the continuation of that road towards Dugi Rat, a primarily residential settlement close to Omis.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.