4 April 2022 - Croatia's ministry of tourism and sport will earmark HRK 1.5 million to co-fund the hiring of additional medical teams in tourist destinations in the seven Adriatic counties to raise the level of healthcare services during the summer season.

Tourism Minister Nikolina Brnjac was quoted as saying in a press release that the ministry co-finances medial teams, as well as the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service and the Red Cross, and also cooperates with the interior ministry in the "Safe Tourist Destination" project.

The project of making financial contributions to the hiring of additional medical teams was launched in 2008 and since then HRK 23.4 million (€3.12 million) has been earmarked for that purpose.

April 4, 2022 - The 29th round of the Croatian First League was played from April 2 to 4, 2022. This round featured the highly anticipated derby between Osijek and Hajduk, while Dinamo and Rijeka recorded routine wins against Istra and Dragovoljac. Here is our HNL round 29 recap. 

Šibenik v. Gorica (0:1)

Šibenik and Gorica opened the 29th round on Friday, April 2, 2022, in Šibenik in front of 487 fans. 

The only goal of the match came at the end of the first half when Stojanovksi scored for 0:1. 

Šibenik is currently in 8th place with 26 points, while Gorica is in 6th with 39. 

Istra 1961 v. Rijeka (0:2)

Istra and Rijeka met on Saturday, April 3, 2022, in Pula in front of 2,170 fans. 

Vuckic scored Rijeka's first goal in the 29th minute for 0:1 at halftime. Vuckic scored his second goal of the match in the 87th minute for the final 0:2. 

Istra is currently in 9th place with 25 points, while Rijeka is in 3rd with 55. 

Dinamo v. Dragovoljac (2:0)

Dinamo and Dragovoljac met at Maksimir Stadium on Sunday, April 3, 2022, in front of 2,029 fans. 

While the first half went without goals, Andrić scored Dinamo's first in the 46th minute. A Smolčić own goal made it 2:0, which was the final score. 

Dinamo sits in 1st place with 60 points and a game in hand, while Dragovoljac is in last place with 14 points. 

Osijek v. Hajduk (0:0)

Osijek and Hajduk met for the highly anticipated derby of the 29th round on Sunday, April 3, 2022, at City Garden Stadium in front of 7,181 fans. 

It was an exciting first half which included a penalty awarded then taken back for Hajduk, a red card called and taken back for Osijek, a missed penalty for Osijek by former Hajduk player Mijo Caktaš, and a 5-minute wait for referee Jović to sort out his technical equipment. The second half, however, was much less exciting, and neither side was able to find the back of the net. 

Osijek is currently in 2nd place with 58 points, while Hajduk is in 4th with 53 points and a game in hand. 

Lokomotiva v. Slaven Belupo (3:1)

Lokomotiva and Slaven Belupo closed out the 29th round on Monday, April 4, 2022, in Zagreb.

Crnac scored in the 1st minute of stoppage time for the Belupo lead at halftime. Dabro equalized in the 48th minute before the same player put Lokomotiva in the lead in the 76th minute for 2:1. Ibrahim scored for 3:1 in the 91st minute for the final result. 

Lokomotiva is currently in 5th place with 29 points, while Belupo is in 7th with 30. 

You can see the full HNL table HERE. 

To read more about sports in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

4 April 2022 - Croatia and the United States will sign an agreement today on Croatia's entry to the Global Entry programme which will allow some Croatian citizens privileged entry to the US, Under Secretary of Commerce Marisa Lago said on Monday.

As of October 2021, Croatian citizens can travel to the US without a visa for tourist and business trips lasting up to 90 days.

Speaking at a US-Croatia Forum in Zagreb, Lago announced another step in the removal of barriers to bilateral trade.

Global Entry, a programme of the US Department of Homeland Security, allows pre-approved expedited clearance upon arrival into the US. The US has signed such an agreement with only three European countries, Germany, UK and Switzerland, and Croatia will now be the fourth.

Speaking at the forum, Lago said the US and Croatia had been registering similar economic and political successes in bilateral relation for decades, citing Croatia's recent entry to the Visa Waiver Program and the completion of negotiations on a double taxation avoidance  agreement.

Speaking of the war in Ukraine, she said the horrible scenes were a reminder of the suffering Croatia went through during its 1991-95 Homeland War. The US stood by Croatia in those difficult times, she added.

Before the forum, she and the US president's special envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, met with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković for talks on reducing energy dependence, stimulating investment, increasing trade, and the completion of negotiations on the double taxation avoidance agreement.

Plenković said the Russian invasion of Ukraine threatened international peace and security, and that in such circumstances it was necessary to strengthen the unity of the EU and the US as well as to continue to help Ukraine.

With Escobar, Plenković discussed the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the importance of its political parties reaching an agreement to change the election law, the government said in a press release.

4 April 2022 - Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said on Monday that he could not confirm that a joint fishing zone had been agreed by Croatia and Slovenia but that he could confirm that they found "agreement on enhancing cooperation with a positive outcome".

After a trilateral meeting which he held with his counterparts, Anže Logar of Slovenia and Luigi Di Maio of Italy, in Zaprešić, west of Zagreb, Grlić Radman said that Croatia and Slovenia were trying to find "a model that will include everybody, both Slovenian and Croatian fishermen."

"I think we are on the right course."

Both Grlić Radman and Slovenia's minister Logar agree that it is necessary to find a solution that will make it easier for local fishermen to do business in Savudrijska Vala Bay that is in Piran Bay.

Last Monday, Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and his Slovenian counterpart Janez Janša discussed this topic and after their meeting in Zagreb, Plenković announced a transitional solution.

According to the Slovenian media reports, Slovenian fishermen and Opposition politicians seemed to be against a transitional solution that will include the establishment of a joint fisheries zone in the bay.

The two PMs also agreed that the solution should include the annulment of fines imposed on local fishermen when they trespassed the borderline which is not yet defined.

4 April 2022 - The U.S. market represents a big opportunity for the Croatian economy and the areas in which cooperation can increase include IT, tourism, and energy, it was said on Monday at a panel on trade, business and investment ties between the two countries.

The panel was held as part of the U.S.-Croatia Forum, organised by the U.S. Embassy on the occasion of 30 years of diplomatic relations between the United States and Croatia.

Croatia must find niches, five to ten products in which it can compete globally, and they can be sought in tourism and IT, said Mihael Furjan, CEO of the Pliva pharmaceutical company and president of the Croatian Employers Association.

Given the LNG terminal, there is also energy, he added, noting that Pliva is Croatia's biggest exporter to the U.S. and that HS Produkt is a major gun exporter.

The U.S. and Croatian governments must find areas in which we can cooperate. We must focus more, be creative, he said, adding that Croatia should learn from the U.S. where it is most successful, in innovation and business education.

U.S. business schools are among the best in the world and U.S. companies are the most innovative globally, Furjan said. 

Double taxation avoidance and visa-free travel

AmCham executive director Andrea Doko Jelušić said that Croatia, although a small country, had things to offer to the U.S. market. It's necessary to focus on high-added-value industries in which one can be competitive, not selling oneself cheaply but expensively, she added.

Many U.S. companies doing business in Croatia do so via a European centre, the Netherlands or Ireland for example, as a result of which official statistics don't show the real extent of their presence on the Croatian market, she said.

The Croatian and U.S. ministries of finance are still negotiating a double taxation avoidance agreement, whose adoption will make it much easier for small Croatian companies to enter the U.S. market, she said and underlined the importance of visa-free travel as of last October.

Končar exporting much more to US

Končar CEO Gordan Kolak said the company was exporting to the U.S. recently much more than before and that the U.S. was its main market for transformers.

He said increased investment in renewables would create new needs for electricity equipment and solutions for solar and hydroelectric power plants as well as wind parks. Emphasis will also be on digitalisation and grid modernisation as well as on more efficient energy management as consumers also become producers, he added.

Končar will invest much more in software development and smart grid management solutions, Kolak said.

Importance of U.S. investors in Infobip

Infobip is a global IT and communication company providing cloud mobile communication services for business clients. It also cooperates with WhatsApp, Snapchat, Google, and Microsoft.

It is the first Croatian company whose value exceeds $1 billion and in the last 18 months it has made four acquisitions on the U.S. market. Some U.S. investment funds have invested in it.

Infobip CEO Silvio Kutić underlined the importance of US investors. Speaking of enhancing U.S.-Croatia business cooperation, he underlined the importance of education and the need for an investment protection system.

Education for labour market

Coca-Cola HBC Adria general manager Ruža Tomić Fontana, too, underlined the importance of education, saying the education system must adapt to market needs in order to create a workforce with the necessary skills.

It's also necessary to enhance the communication between the public and private sectors on the business environment and to ensure the stability and predictability of doing business, said said, pointing to the problem of a too-high tax burden.

Anita Cvetić Oreščanin, Board member at Poslovna inteligencija, said Croatian companies should learn from U.S. companies and that everyone who had the opportunity should visit to get acquainted with the U.S. market.

April 4, 2022 - Ahead of the upcoming Work.Place.Culture conference in Dubrovnik, organizer Tanja Polegubić of Saltwater Nomads shares more details about an event that continues to establish the Pearl of the Adriatic as a mecca for remote work. The sale of early bird tickets ends today at midnight.

All nomadic roads lead to Dubrovnik, and you are embarking on your third event in the Pearl of the Adriatic, after Croatia's first-ever nomad conference in October 2020, and the award-winning Dubrovnik Nomads-in-Residence program. Before we get to the event, why Dubrovnik (which was not a perceived nomad destination), and why do you keep coming back?

There’s an Instagram video by Goran Visnjic which shows exactly why I keep coming back - I even drive around twice, for double the thrill.  

Like everything, the people. It’s so easy to work with the Tourist Board and City; this can be rare in Croatia. Also - the vision to shift from over-tourism. I freely admit I avoided the city in the peak of summer, and this is part of multiple steps to address this for future generations. I’m really fortunate that I can say I played a small part in the reinvention story of such an iconic destination, as it builds in sustainable measures in tourism. Also, see video above. 

Defining tangible results in a sector where little data is collected (nobody registers as a digital nomad) are hard to quantify. That there has been a perception change about Dubrovnik is evident when comparing British media stories from 2017 (The Times using Dubrovnik as a poster child for overtourism v. The Guardian in 2021 with a Dubrovnik leading image for a feature on digital nomad visas). How else do you quantify progress?

In the original pitch to the city, there was a quote from a 2017 NomadList user saying “nice place to visit, but only for a few days” with very little mention of Dubrovnik - this review was in 2020. Fast forward to 5 years now, and for example, a Dubrovnik Digital Nomads Dubrovnik Facebook group I started nears 700 members. And we know the average number of monthly digital nomads in Dubrovnik, according to Nomad List, is several hundred - and all the graphs for Croatia have a steep upward trajectory. Following this, the way to see the rise will be in long-stay occupancy and related businesses remaining open. 

Your last event in the city a year ago, Dubrovnik Nomads-in-Residence, has already picked up a couple of international awards. Tell us a little about the impact that it has had on the city's thinking and strategy.

The Dubrovnik Digital Nomads-in-Residence program really highlighted the areas to focus on, and the City and Tourist Board are implementing these with ‘quick wins’ and longer-term goals. The workation and conference were part of those recommendations - the momentum is strong, and it’s a strategic approach.

And so to 2022. Saltwater Nomads is teaming up once again with Dubrovnik for another innovative conference called Work. Place. Culture. Tell us about the conference and what it is trying to achieve.

Following the work from home shift arising from global lockdowns, the greatest shift right now is the return to the office for millions of people - so, what does something like hybrid look like? If you don’t want to go to a physical office again - how do you champion this change internally, or as it has been popularly coined, do you join ‘The Great Resignation’? This conference brings this thinking - and leaders in their field with very close insights to share this information. It also allows destinations to open up their doors to raise awareness to the ready-to-work-from-anywhere crowd, while also learning about expectations and shaping their thinking as they craft a revamped offer- with so many countries now offering a digital nomad visa, having a digital nomad offer for tourism is going to be part of the furniture. As the name implies, it brings together work and place - with aspects of culture for both.

Who is it aimed at, and why should they come?

Those in the HR or remote space. Especially anyone interested in the latest data and trends. It’s a very interactive program design, including netwalking on the Old Town walls as part of the program, and several outdoor sessions - from nature park islands to medieval replica sailing ships. Also, any digital nomads in Croatia who ultimately want to visit Dubrovnik - this is a great opportunity to explore the city in great company, and also - anyone considering a workation.

The speakers list is being finalised, but can you give us a teaser?

We’ve now started sharing who is joining us, and we have some real ‘heavyweights’. Aaron McEwan, who was recently interviewed by TCN, will cover Radical Flexibility. We have 3 of LinkedIn’s Top 10 voices in Remote Work coming in person. Plus digital nomads and some exciting stories from destinations, which we’ll also share in coming weeks.  

As one of the pioneers of the cowork revolution in Croatia, co-organiser of the Dubrovnik events, Zagreb Digital Nomad Week, and co-founder of the Digital Nomad Association Croatia, you seem to be at the heart of many of the remote work initiatives driving Croatia forward. How do you see progress, and what are the key things missing which would help accelerate Croatia's path to become a major player in this exciting sector in the future?

Our DNA Croatia Reflection Day was a really positive way to start the year, to look back but also forward - and the uptake from all regions of Croatia is a sign of momentum and strength.

I would say budget - financial investment, is missing. When you look at places like Lisbon paying Web Summit $10million a year, per year, for a decade, you realise just how different a playing field we’re on. What we’ve done is remarkable, and the destinations are attractive - there’s not much effort needed to convince people to come- but I can only imagine what could be achieved, and also we know the numbers and average spend of nomads, so there is a case to increase investment in this area. Read: public support is missing in most places. Hopefully, this changes.

Early Bird tickets are available until today at midnight and can be booked via the official website.

You can download the full programme of the Work.Place.Culture Conference in Dubrovnik here.

Work. Place. Culture. is a collaboration between the City of Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik Tourist Board, Saltwater Nomads and TCN, with support from the Digital Nomad Association Croatia and Dubrovacka Bastina. Zagreb Digital Nomad Week is a partnership between Zagreb Tourist Board, Saltwater Nomads, and TCN. 

To learn more about magnificent Dubrovnik, check out the Total Croatia Dubrovnik in a Page guide, in partnership with Sun Gardens Dubrovnik.  

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

4 April 2022 - Croatia has recorded 97 new coronavirus cases and 18 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team reported on Monday.

The number of active cases in the country currently stands at 7,626.

Among them are 649 infected people who are being treated in hospital and 36 of them are on ventilators, while 5,631 persons are self-isolating.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 1,102,827 people have been registered as having been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, of whom 15,619 have died and 1,079,582 have recovered, including 1,399 in the last 24 hours.

A total of 4,692,868 people have tested for the novel virus, including 1,183 in the last 24 hours.

By Sunday, 5,228,006 COVID-19 vaccination doses had been administered and 59.44 per cent of the total population, or 70.70 per cent of adults, had been vaccinated. A total of 2,311,202 people had received at least one vaccine dose and 2,238,610 of them had been fully vaccinated, which is 68.59 per cent of the adult population.

4 April 2022 - Green transition and sustainable economy no longer have an alternative, and companies that acknowledge that will do business with a greater return on investments and easier access to cheaper sources of financing, it was said at a conference in Zagreb on Monday.

The event, entitled "With ESG Criteria towards Sustainable Economy - Future Perfect Business", was organised by the International Institute for Climate Action (IICA), Media Val and the Croatian Employers Association (HUP), as part of the Future Perfect Business initiative and with the partnership of the European Commission.

Its purpose is to open a broad debate on the need to raise awareness of the sustainability of the economy and society and implement new EU regulations on environmental protection.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria are a set of business standards for companies which environmentally aware investors use for potential investments.

Addressing the event, Economy and Sustainable Development Minister Tomislav Ćorić said companies in Croatia recognised sustainable, green business as the direction in which to go, confident that in a few years' time the success of firms competing on the global market would depend on business sustainability based on principles of sustainable development.

The minister said he was confident the Croatian business community would do its best to use the available funds to become globally competitive, thus enabling GDP growth and better living standards and promoting sustainable development.

IICA president Marija Pujo Tadić said that ESG criteria were one of the tools to help in the transition to a low-carbon sustainable economy and in the fight against climate change, and that their introduction would soon become obligatory for corporations and their managers.

"Businesses that recognise that, face the challenges and start implementing the necessary processes to achieve ESG goals will do business with a higher return on investments and better access to cheaper sources of financing than companies that continue to manage their resources in the traditional way," she said. 

HUP director Mihael Furjan said HUP was involved in defining legislative and regulatory frameworks related to energy efficiency, social responsibility and new sources of financing at the EU level and provided its members with education and counselling. He expressed confidence that ESG criteria were the basis for achieving greater added value, better jobs and greater competitiveness.

In that context, the HUP director mentioned the Pliva pharmaceutical company and its many initiatives aimed at making its business greener, with one of the biggest being a project to build a big solar power plant on an area of 13 hectares in Savski Marof.