ZAGREB, 2 June, 2021 - Every entrepreneur should have one opportunity to have their debt forgiven during their entrepreneurial life and to be able to do business without hindrance, Večernji List daily said on Wednesday.

This is provided for by the Directive on preventive restructuring frameworks and second chance from 2019, which EU member states have to introduce into their legislation by mid-2021, that is in a month.

The Croatian Ministry of Justice has also announced that it will initiate amendments to the Bankruptcy Act and the Consumer Bankruptcy Act to adapt them to the Directive, but a bill of amendments has not been presented yet so it remains unclear whether Croatia will additionally regulate discharge of business debts.

In Croatia, there are currently about 16,000 entrepreneurs with blocked accounts, and about 8,000 of them are companies, while the second half are craftsmen and other entrepreneurs who keep business books. The total debt of all entrepreneurs amounts to about HRK 6 billion.

The situation is much more difficult for nearly 240,000 citizens with blocked accounts, whose debt principal totals about HRK 17 billion.

So far, the state has twice written off debts of citizens with blocked accounts as part of special campaigns, but that has not significantly affected the overall situation.

Debt write-offs for entrepreneurs were the most common in pre-bankruptcy settlements established by former finance minister Slavko Linić during Zoran Milanović's term as prime minister. Later, the law changed and debt write-offs are now less frequent.

The EU Directive does not address citizens' debts directly, but it proposes that states apply the principle for debt forgiveness for entrepreneurs to over-indebted citizens.

Under the Directive, everyone should have the opportunity to have their debt written off in a procedure that should last no longer than three years, Večernji List said.

For more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 2 June, 2021 - Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 432 new cases of the coronavirus infection and eight related deaths, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Wednesday.

The number of active cases stands at 1,991, and there are 709 patients in hospitals, 81 of whom are on ventilators.

Since the first registered case of the coronavirus infection in Croatia on 25 February 2020, a total of 356,829 people have been registered as having contracted coronavirus, 8,042 have died, and 346,796 have recovered, including 276 in the last 24 hours.

There are currently 9,065 people in self-isolation.

To date, 2,026,151 people have been tested, 5,657 of whom over the past 24 hours.

As at 1 June, 1,803,557 vaccine doses have been used, and 1,293,847 people have received at least one dose, while 509,710 of them have received both doses.

For more about Covid-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

:June 2, 2021 - A new month begins and the Plitvice Lakes in June will have special prices and offers for those who wish to visit the national park in the first weeks of summer

Plitvice Lakes National Park continues to offer reduced ticket prices in June, reports turistickeprice.hr. This time the price of a single ticket for adults is 150 kuna, which is, considering the usual June ticket price, a 50% discount. The individual price for students is 70 instead of 200 kuna, and for children from 7 to 18 years 35 instead of 120 kuna.

Plitvice Lakes (Photo: Mario Romulić)

Two-day ticket prices have also been reduced. For adults, they amount to 230 kuna in June, for students 110 kuna, and for children from 7 to 18 years, 60 kuna.

For those visiting Plitvice Lakes in June, until the end of the month, Hotel Jezero offers packages of two or three nights with half board service, a ticket to the Park, and an hour of renting a rowing boat to explore the corners of Plitvice's largest lake Kozjak. The June offer also includes two or three nights in the bungalows of the Korana camp, with BB or HB service and a ticket to the Plitvice Lakes National Park.

In addition, there are discounts on an hour of renting a rowing boat on Lake Kozjak, riding tours on the Terra ranch, the services of the Adrenaline Park Plitvice, and discounts on lunch or dinner in the restaurant of Camp Korana, if you choose bed and breakfast. For all of you who decide to stay for three nights, with all the above discounts, the package includes a ticket to Barać's caves, while an hour of renting a rowing boat on Lake Kozjak and renting Nordic walking poles are free.

The rich gastronomic offer of the Park is even richer than on May 28, when the restaurant Lička kuća was reopened, which offers autochthonous dishes in an autochthonous ambiance. There is also the Vučnica bistro, which is located two kilometers from the southern entrance to the National Park. Let's say that the restaurant of the Jezero hotel is offering menus at promo prices until the end of June.

The offer for Plitvice Lakes in June, which also includes discounts for Croatian Tourist Card owners, the entire gastronomic offer of the Park, and an overview of everything you can visit near the Plitvice Lakes National Park can be found on the official website of the Park.

For more on what to do and how to get to Plitvice, check out our dedicated Total Croatia page HERE. Also, visit our 2021 guide on all Croatian National and Natural Parks HERE. Both now in your language!

Follow the latest on flights to Croatia HERE and the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

June 2, 2021 - On May 23, the Nikola Tesla EV Rally started in Istria, and after eight days, ten cities, five national and natural parks and a lot of adrenaline, the quietest rally in the world concluded in Zagreb.

As reported by hrturizam.hr today, the race next to the National and University Library in Zagreb ended the eighth edition of the most beautiful and quietest rally in the world "Nikola Tesla EV Rally Croatia 2021".

The rally, which is a kind of tourist-technological promotion of Croatia, started on May 23 in Istria, and during eight days 1251 kilometers were driven on routes from Rovinj, Opatija through Zadar, Smiljan to Zagreb, the host city that has supported the project since 2014.

Teams from all over Europe cruised the panoramic roads through six counties, visited ten cities and five national parks, and nature parks. Participants enjoyed a dose of adrenaline through races at two locations and a superb eno-gastro experience at each stop location.

Nikola Tesla EV Rally Official Facebook (Photo: Dinko Samardzic)

"Nikola Tesla EV Rally Croatia" is a unique project that combines e-mobility and tourism, creating a new "niche" in the premium tourist offer. It promotes the use of electric vehicles, as well as the natural beauty of Croatia and green technology.

Gathered at all stopping locations, they could see various e-vehicles such as all Tesla models, Škoda Enyaq IV, WV ID-3, e-Twingo, Opel Mokka, e-Smart, and Jaguar I-Pace, a vehicle sponsored by the British Embassy in Zagreb, whose representatives actively participated in the rally by driving the section Zadar - MC Nikola Tesla - Plitvice - Zagreb.

Nikola Tesla EV Rally Official Facebook (Photo: Dinko Samardzic)

The end of the event was marked by a solemn ceremony of announcing the winners and handing over the trophies, which were presented to the winners by the Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Andrew Stuart Dalgleish. The first three places were won by Franz Maier from Germany, Manuel Strohmeier from Austria, and Elisa (Alexander) Goldberg from Germany.

From year to year, with the support of partners such as the Fund for Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency (EPEEF), this event promotes awareness of e-mobility, the importance of obtaining energy from renewable sources, and Croatia as an "e-mobility friendly" tourist destination. 97% of participants have never been to Croatia and the rally is actually their first contact with Croatia, after which almost everyone announced their return in private.

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

To learn more about sport in Croatia, CLICK HERE. 

June 2nd, 2021 - This week, Zagreb got its own gin park in Rougemarin Park! 

As Journal.hr reports, after winning over many visitors with a great chef’s offer, a new hit spot in the city, Rougemarin Park, from this week brings a whole new menu and new treats for all gin lovers. An extremely aromatic drink, which was initially used as a medicine and sold in pharmacies, is today one of the most popular drinks combined with refreshing tonics and numerous spices. In anticipation of World Gin Day, Rougemarin hosts the Gin Park, an offer and menu of drinks and food designed based on the characteristics and ingredients of famous gins.

As the basis of gin are pines with the addition of spices, all visitors will be able to enjoy gins that differ in flavors, aromas, and spices, and will be presented by top gin connoisseurs such as Marko Benković, who creates drinks with completely new and refreshing flavors. Gin is usually drunk in combination with tonics and spices, which leaves countless creative possibilities. Chef Marin Medak in Gin Park has designed a special offer of specialties that go well with many gin combinations.

With each combination, you will choose foods that will further enhance the flavors and raise the entire gastronomic experience to a new level of enjoyment with special aromas, spices, and flavors. Spices play a special role in the story of gin. If you have ever wondered what specialties go with this aromatic drink, in Rougemarin Park, you will find an offer created especially for this occasion: beef skewer sprinkled with a mixture of spices made of coriander, pine, chili, and lemon zest, served on a salad of bulgur, cucumber, and tomato.

Rougemarin Park | Rougemarin Park Facebook

Pulled pork also comes in a new edition spiced with lime zest, cardamom, fennel seeds, cayenne pepper, and coriander seeds, and a great snack with your favorite gin is samosa stuffed with beef with carrots, ginger, lemongrass, pine nuts, and curry with peanut sauce and miso paste. 

In Gin Park, until June 10, the flavors, aromas, and combinations of your favorite summer drink will be celebrated, and special gin-based cocktails will also be on offer. In the atmosphere of a beautiful park, arranged to enjoy long warm days and evenings outdoors, this will be a real spring festival of flavors. Gin Park also offers the inevitable Rougemarin classics prepared in a modern street variant.

A detailed schedule and program of events are available on the official Rougemarin Park website. Working hours are from 3 pm to 11 pm on weekdays and on Saturdays from 11 am to 11 pm, and on Sundays from 11 am to 8 pm.

For more, follow our lifestyle section. 

To find out more information about Zagreb, CLICK HERE. 

June 2, 2021 - Meet GO Adventure, your go-to private tour specialist ensuring your exclusive experience of Croatia is as authentic as possible. 

Now, more than ever, the promise of privacy is paramount. The appeal of small crowds and taking control of your holiday has taken precedence among travelers from all over the world. From tailor-made tours to off-the-beaten-path excursions, being in the power of your private tour is number one - and GO Adventure is there to make it happen. 

A team of 40 highly skilled individuals makes up GO Adventure, from guides with over 1000 hours on active excursions, drivers, logistics, and support to sales, office staff, and management.

Guided by a mission to create value for their guests, partners, and co-workers, GO Adventure shares a passion for nature, adventure, and unexplored gems, heightened by top service to ensure your Croatia holiday is marked in your memory bank. 

With post-pandemic times on the horizon, GO Adventure's private tours are the perfect way to spend a multi-day active vacation in Dalmatia. 

So, how does it work?

GO Adventure wants to get to know you, first. Based on your wishes, the team will craft a unique itinerary tailored to the type of traveler you are. You will then get to personalize your outing, from modifying the schedule to altering the activities. Your private tour is in your hands. 

You get to decide if you want to explore popular destinations like the Blue Cave or Pakleni Islands, hop on an adrenaline-packed cycling or kayaking adventure, explore the sea on a secret fishing tour or head off the tourist tracks to hidden locations that even locals are hard-pressed to find.

You could even swim away from the crowds on an unparalleled boat tour around Croatia's lighthouses, visit volcanic islands, and enhance the afternoon by preparing a fish lunch with the fish you catch yourselves out at sea, or set off on a sunset rafting outing crowned with a campfire dinner under the stars. One thing is certain - nothing is out of reach. 

Each tour takes into consideration your age group and group factors, like if you're traveling with children, friends, or older couples, guaranteeing the comfort of each guest. 

GO Adventure tours also promote local suppliers, family farms, and Croatian products, assuring the authenticity of each destination for your memorable Mediterranean vacation. 

What does your private tour offer?

Depending on the tour, guests are promised a tailor-made itinerary, driver, and transfers to all desired locations. All boat trips include a skipper, adventure tours come with a specialized guide, and national park trips guarantee tickets and a front-of-the-line pass. You can even opt for a more luxurious boat on your island-hopping adventure, request VIP access, or ask that lunches and dinners be organized. Any extras will be tagged on your tour price. 

And that's not all. 

Each tour has a touch of luxury, too, as Mercedes V-class vehicles escort you from one destination to the next. At the same time, the accommodation offer is designed for your desires, from a variety of hotel types and categories, luxury rooms and apartments to villas with swimming pools and holiday homes. You can even choose camps or take the road less traveled for a night in the forest! 

In an effort to save time while planning your holiday and enjoy the guarantee of a carefree Croatia experience, GO Adventure is on-call as your personal tour guide. You can explore GO Adventure's private tours HERE. 

And if you’re not interested in a private tour? No worries! GO Adventure also offers one-day private or group tours and ready-made multi-day tours! 

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

June the 2nd, 2021 - Croatian Premium Ice Cream will bring together a company from Lika and one from Samobor in a joint venture.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marta Duic writes, Vedrine, a small family cheese factory located in the middle of the green heart of Lika, presented a novelty - Medenko loves Vedrine ice cream. This is the result of their cooperation with the Samobor-based company Medenko, which produces homemade ice cream and a cheese factory that produces traditional Lika dairy products.

As Milana Mileusnic from the Vedrine cheese factory explains, the collaboration began back in January, and the process lasted until the recipes were adjusted because the ice cream wasn't made from dairy components but from finished products such as liquid yoghurts.

"The farm, ie the dairy farm, is a natural and true environment for ice cream, and the milk from Vedrine took me back to my childhood with the very first sip. When I created Medenko, I was proud to have created an original product from exclusively Croatian milk during a big crisis for the Croatian dairy industry.

Today, I'm proud that during the time of emigration from rural Croatian areas, we're creating a product with people who have returned to the countryside by their own choice and who are proving by their own example that it's very possible. There were a number of challenges in designing the products, from making the recipes, which I had to adjust to the quality of the milk, to the packaging where two visually very different brands had to be merged.

We produce the Croatian Premium ice cream in our small factory in Samobor, and diligent people from the Vedrine cheese factory take care of the distribution and sales. In creating and choosing the flavours, we tried to cover all of the basic taste groups: basic, chocolate, fruit, nuts… ", explained Ivana Bakovic, the owner of Medenko.

They "launched" six flavours on the market - Varenika a la Splitska torta (Split cake), sour with cherries and chocolate, chocolate yogurt with raspberries, Varenika with hazelnuts and chocolate, Liquid yogurt with strawberries and Yuzu basa (citrus).

“Our production is based on fresh products, with a shelf life of five to fifteen days, so we were forced to start producing a durable product due to market variability, especially in the summer months, when our main market - Zagreb, almost closes down. Fate somehow intervened because Ivana from Medenko contacted us just then. A small circle of people have had the opportunity to try out Croatian Premium ice cream and the feedback from that has been fantastic. We think that with our products and Medenko's knowledge we really have a premium product. But, in the end, let's let the wider audience decide on that,'' Mileusnic stated.

Croatian Premium ice cream will be marketed through specialised stores (Mrkvica, Grga Cvarak, Speceraj, Zelena baka, Duckas, Skarnicl, Grincajg in Samobor, abd Koni in Gospic) with which they are already successfully cooperating and in Vedrine's stores at the Kvatric and Tresnjevka markets in Zagreb, as well as down in Zadar. In addition, they are in negotiations with several top catering and hospitality companies and a hotel company.

"We have about 70 cows who are milked, and with the young ones, the number is always around 130. All our products, including the ice cream, are made exclusively from the milk of our cows.

We don't buy milk and we don't have any subcontractors because we believe that we're very specific in the market when it comes to our raw materials, our milk, and we want to stay that way. In addition to all that, we have complete production control: from the production of the cow feed to the finished product. The most sought after products are our fruit yogurts that come in 18 different flavors, and Varenika and Skripavacpa,'' concluded Mileusnic.

For more, follow Made in Croatia.

June the 2nd, 2021 - The popular Croatian Juicy drinks are a common sight throughout Croatia, but could they manage to crack the demanding American market? That seems to be the direction the management of that company wants to take.

As Lucija Spiljak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the largest Croatian juice producer, Stanic Beverages, has announced its entry into the US market through an acquisition.

Over recent days, American congressmen John Robert Moolenaar and Robert Aderholt visited the Croatian Juicy drinks factory in Kresevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is a return visit and the continuation of friendly relations between the owner of the Stanic Group, Svjetlan Stanic, who visited the American Congress last year, and American congressmen. As they stated, they are discussing the appearance of these popular Croatian drinks over on the American market.

A serious strategy for entering the American market

The goal of the congressman's arrival at the Juicy factory, which is owned by the Croatian company Stanic Beverages, is to continue the talks that began at a gathering last year.

"For the last six years, Stanic Beverages has focused a large part of its resources on strengthening its export strategy. Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the rest of the region are still our main markets, but we're aware that there can be no strong step forward when it comes to increasing production without entering new markets. We first turned to the Middle East as a lucrative region due to the large consumption of soft drinks there and achieved excellent results through our partners there. Then we started to strengthen our export efforts towards the European market, but we're aware of the competition and regulations that protect European brands.

We can see new potential in an appearance being made on the American market, which is the result of the continuation of talks with American congressmen and that opens up a new perspective. In the past, we've had several offers to export Croatian Juicy drinks to the USA, but it has always been a matter of specific retail outlets of an ethnic character, ie a market that is oriented exclusively to Croatian immigrants to the USA. This isn't our strategy, Juicy is an international brand that has achieved success in many foreign markets so far, and that's why we think the time has come to come up with a serious strategy for entering the American market. From conversations with American congressmen, we concluded that the most logical strategy would be to acquire a local medium-capacity factory that could produce Juicy juices for their market. In that way, we'd manage to avoid numerous logistical and regulatory challenges,'' emphasised Svjetlan Stanic, the owner and President of the Management Board of the Stanic Group.

The idea of ​​buying a local factory

According to the company, Stanic Beverages' export strategy focuses on the overall market of a certain country, the company doesn't see export growth through specialised niches in large markets such as the Croatian emigrant community in the US, but always sees what the full potential could instead be.

"Juicy is a modern brand, it follows global trends with an emphasis placed on leading a healthy lifestyle, it understands the needs of the global consumer and addresses them," they say. The American congressmen also see the brand’s international name as a big advantage in performing in the American market because there is no language barrier.

Stanic Beverages is part of the Stanic Group and also the largest juice producer in Croatia, which owns two factories. One factory is located in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina, more precisely in Kresevo, while the other factory is in Jastrebarsko here in Croatia. The total capacity of both factories is 150 million litres, which isn't enough for the needs of the American market, and accordingly the Management of Stanic Beverages sees the support of American congressmen as a key step in realising the idea of ​​buying a local factory.

More than a month ago, Stanic Beverages announced that they had invested 10.6 million kuna in the modernisation of the Croatian Juicy drinks production plant in Kresevo ​​in order to raise the quality of production according to the highest European and international standards. They also pointed out that they plan to produce 35 million litres of juice at the same location (last year they produced 28.2 million litres), announcing ambitious plans and new distributors, which they hope will significantly increase their exports.

For more, follow Made in Croatia.