May 29, 2020 - Animal lovers - rejoice! The Croatian capital has something new for your four-legged friends. Introducing Pas Palace in Zagreb. 

There are various reasons why you might need someone else to care for your dog temporarily, so why not do it in style?

As the most modern boutique hotel for dogs in the region, Pas Palace opened just a few weeks ago in the Croatian capital, spreading across an area of 750 m2. It Zagreb's luxurious new spot for your favorite furry friends to relax and have fun.

"Our goal is to provide clients with top service, attractive accommodation and a safe and sanitary impeccable environment. Through comprehensive services of overnight stays, day playrooms, beautification and relaxation (SPA treatments), we also provide individual walking services to dogs-clients.

Our unique and highly designed resort is designed to give the impression of a dog town, which consists of houses that are adapted in size, decoration and designed for the client - the dog. We have paid special attention to the choice of materials, colors and size of the apartment and the architectural solution is characterized by originality and high aesthetics.

Pas Palace’s dedicated and professional staff ensures safety, care and love for all pets, and provides owners with irreplaceable peace and freedom," reads the Pas Palace Facebook description. 

Pas Palace is the first certified member of IBPSA (International Boarding & Pet Services Association) in Croatia, which allows for quality education of staff, and connection to all luxury hotels in the world, so they can exchange news and advice and thus keep pace with the latest trends in this industry.

"Paspalace wants to stand out with its excellence, distinctiveness and top luxury services," concludes the new pet-friendly hotel. 

Pas Palace is located at the entrance to Zagreb, next to the new Zagreb roundabout, 5 minutes from the highway, and is well connected to all parts of the city.

Will you be sending your dog away for a spa day or more? You can learn all about Pas Palace HERE.

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 29, 2020 - After the National Civil Protection Headquarters lifted the ban on gatherings of up to 40 people in Croatia, on Thursday, the Croatian Institute of Public Health (CNIPH) specified the maximum numbers.

Therefore, Jutarnji List reports that, based on the recommendations of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, 300 people are allowed indoors, while outdoors, that number has risen to 500. 

Of course, as explained earlier this week, this is due to the favorable epidemiological situation and the small number of active cases, and the minimal or no number of new cases.

Regarding the recommendations, the CNIPH provided brief guidance. Thus, a distance of one and a half meters is recommended, except for people who live in the same household or otherwise socialize. Also, four square meters of space should be counted per person.

Among other recommendations, the CNIPH states that the mouth, nose and eyes should not be touched with the hands, hand disinfection is not mentioned, but indoors, mouth and nose masks should be worn by people who think they could develop more severe forms of the disease if they become infected with COVID-19.

It is not specified which categories of people these are, but considering the previous warnings, this should refer to the elderly, and people with a weaker immune system, i.e., the chronically ill.

Another big announcement on Thursday was that the borders have been fully reopened by Croatia to citizens of no less than ten countries. 

Citizens of Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, and Germany can enter Croatia without restriction. 

“According to our comparative analysis of the epidemiological situation, those are the countries with either similar progress as Croatia or the trends are such that we can adopt such a decision and enable the arrival of those countries’ citizens during the tourist season, with the appropriate epidemiological recommendations and the special application that has already been made,” Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told his cabinet.

To read more about news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 29, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik. 

Slobodna Dalmacija reports that Spanish airlines Iberia and Vueling announced on Thursday that they would return some flights from Madrid and Barcelona to foreign destinations, including Dubrovnik and Split, from July 1, after those flights were suspended due to the coronavirus.

Since the state of emergency was declared in Spain on March 14, Iberia has only operated foreign flights to London and Paris so that passengers can reach their destinations in an emergency. Tourist travel is banned, and border police check the documents and certificates of those rare foreign passengers at airports.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

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But after the Spanish government announced on Monday that it would allow foreign tourists to arrive in the country from July 1, Iberia and Vueling announced the gradual return of their flights.

In July, Iberia will fly between Madrid and Dubrovnik, which will be one of its 15 foreign destinations. It will introduce an additional 28 destinations in Europe and North Africa in August.

"In order to restore customer confidence, we will not charge penalties for changing tickets purchased from today until June 30, for flights until December 31," Iberia said in a statement posted on its website on Thursday.

Iberia also had flights between Madrid and Zagreb and Zadar, but it is unknown at this time what will happen with them. The company did not respond to the inquiry until the news was published.

Iberia's operations in July and August will be at 21 percent of capacity compared to previously forecast this summer, and in the event of increased demand, capacity could increase to 35 percent.

Flights between Madrid and Split can also be booked via Iberia's website from July 1, and passengers will be transported by Vueling Airlines.

Iberia and Vueling, in fact, have a joint owner, the company International Airlines Group.

"We can confirm that we will gradually return flights from Barcelona to Dubrovnik and Split from July," said Vueling's spokesman Xabier Martinez Serrano.

Flights from Spain to other continents have been suspended until further notice.

"We also plan to return long-haul flights to distant destinations when the situation allows it and when quarantine and travel restrictions are lifted," Iberia said.

Spain, one of Europe's most affected countries by the coronavirus, currently has closed borders, so only foreign cross-border workers, aircrew, truck drivers, healthcare professionals and patients ordered for surgery or people with a certificate of emergency entry are allowed to enter the country.

The Spanish government is easing measures of limited population movement through four phases (0 to 3) and trying to bring the country to a "new normal" by the end of June.

The largest and hardest hit cities Madrid and Barcelona are in phase 1 and most of the territories are in phase 2.

Iberia will also increase the number of domestic flights in Spain from July 1, because now its planes fly from Madrid only to the Canary and Balearic Islands, Barcelona, Bilbao and the northern provinces of Asturias and Galicia.

Furthermore, Croatian Aviation announced that Austrian Airlines announced the relaunch of international routes, after all the company's planes were grounded for almost 90 days.

The establishment of international flights is expected from June 15, and in the first week of operations, Dubrovnik Airport is among the destinations.

Austrian Airlines will fly from June 21 on the Vienna-Dubrovnik route twice a week (Wednesdays and Sundays). An A321 aircraft with a capacity of 200 passengers has been announced.

As of June 24, Austrian is introducing the Vienna-Split route, which will run 4 times a week (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays). A321 aircraft have also been announced on this route.

In a recent statement, the company announced that it would initially operate its routes with smaller capacity aircraft (Embraer 195 / DashQ400), so a change of aircraft type to Dubrovnik and Split is still possible.

Austrian Airlines is currently preparing a flight schedule for July and will be announced soon, it is expected that the company will return the Zagreb-Vienna route in July.

Finally, Croatian Aviation announced that it is re-establishing another international route. From Monday, June 8, Croatia Airlines will fly between Zagreb and Zurich.

From that date, Zagreb and Zurich will be connected four times a week (Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays) with a DashQ400 aircraft with a capacity of 76 passengers. As of June 15, daily flights between the largest cities in Switzerland and Croatia are on sale.

The plane will depart from Zagreb at 09:10, the expected arrival in Zurich is at 10:45. The return flight will take off from Zurich at 11:45, and the expected landing in Zagreb is at 13:10.

After June 15, the introduction of several international lines to Croatia is expected, given that the borders of many countries should be opened from that date.

From June 8, Croatia Airlines will operate on international routes from Zagreb to Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Zurich, along with domestic routes to Split and Dubrovnik.

As Zvjezdana Blazic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 29th of May, 2020, agriculture and the food industry among the key sectors in times of crisis, especially crises on the scale this one is.

When we talk about agriculture and the accompanying agri-food industry in this day and age, the first thing that we need to clear up is that despite Slavonia once being the bread basket of the region, is that now - Croatia is a country dependent on food imports.

We all have to ask ourselves why a country with so much natural potential, quality agricultural land, plenty of water and a very diverse climate and landscape can't grow and produce enough food for its own needs, despite the fact that it has all of the necessary resources to do so? Why does Croatia import food worth 3.5 billion euros?

Every year, Croatia spends more and more money from European Union funds and the state budget, which is allocated for various types of payments, so-called incentives for agricultural production that is either falling or stagnant. There is a large disproportion between the aid invested and the actual output that is achieved.

In the period from 2005 to 2017, 44 billion kuna was invested in agriculture, an average of 3.2 billion kuna annually, and the value of Croatia's agricultural output has been falling or stagnating for years. It is now close to 17 billion kuna, and before joining the EU it stood at 21 billion kuna. Croatia is burdened with problems when it comes to its agriculture sector that have remained unsolved for years:

Croatia doesn't have a clear vision of what it wants to get out of its own agricultural production, nor what the future of the country's many rural areas is

As a result of the demographic crisis, there has been huge depopulation in Croatia's rural areas

There is inadequate management of land as the main resource for agricultural production, so Croatian estates remain small and fragmented. For the structure of Croatia's agricultural production in which cereals predominate, the average size of agricultural holdings of 11.6 hectares is inadequate

The land is undeveloped and the plots are small and fragmented

The vertical value chain between farmers, the processing industry and retail is broken (except in the case of large integrated systems), and the food processing industry relies heavily on imported raw materials

There is low productivity, and in some sectors Croatia remains the worst in the EU, but there are still relatively high labour costs

Croatia has outdated technology, and there are high costs that come with introducing food quality and safety standards

The resistance of agricultural producers to associations that are too small to enter the market, they are poorly technologically equipped, and the situation is plagued by unfavourable age and qualification structures

Poor public infrastructure, eg irrigation, storage capacity, cold storage, logistics

There is a low level of cooperation with scientific research institutions and the academic community

Poor credit availability remains problematic, as do high tax burdens

There is weak, slow and ineffective administrative support in solving problems in agriculture

Croatia's agriculture sector, much like an array of other sectors, is overwhelmed by draconian bureaucratic regulations, laws, ordinances and instructions on how farmers should produce. The state has burdened them so much with various administrative obligations that they do not have enough time to invest in their actual production.

Owing to the coronavirus pandemic, Croatia is now at a pivotal moment in terms of determining the further development of its agricultural policy. We're waiting for the revision of the payment system for agriculture from EU funds in the new programming period and changes to the Common Agricultural Policy.

European Union member states have not yet agreed on a new programming period, primarily being stuck on on financial envelopes and on new rules.

Given the significant changes that have taken place globally in agriculture, as a result of the outbreak of the new coronavirus, we believe that green payments and the protection of rural areas, among an array of other factors, will be more seriously reconsidered.

Experts believe that Croatia must start from production, provide food for its own population, ensure food security in case of any threats like the one we have experienced and is still ongoing, as this is an issue of self-sufficiency and national security. Croatia has the conditions for production and we should be obliged to properly use them.

For more, follow our lifestyle page.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 28th of May, 2020, all of us have become caught up in a whole new era. New rules, reduced economic trends, cancelled orders. But some saw the crisis as an opportunity. Here's the story of the Croatian company Mihokovic Metal Solutions as an example of excellent adaptation to the new situation.

The Croatian company, a metal producer called Mihokovic Metal Solutions is currently positioned as one of the leaders in the industry of metal processing and wholesale production of metal products in the Republic of Croatia. It supports various industries: transformer production, the IT and automotive industries, the marketing and fashion industries, interior and exterior furnishing, and for the last year they have been working for the needs of robotics, medicine and even the military.

The business has been growing concretely over the past 25 years, and short deadlines, many orders, and little time to develop non-profit metallurgy products have kept it away from products like the one it has now turned to amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis. The crisis that hit the whole world also made doing business difficult for this Croatian company.

''Almost 45% of our production stopped overnight. The primary focus was on the company’s survival and on job preservation. The direction in which we thought was: what can we produce in the short term that isn't currently being covered and for which there is an obvious need in the market?’ explained Marina Mihokovic, director of marketing and sales in the company.

The answer was interesting: Metal racks for disinfectants.

With the new regulations introduced by the National Civil Protection Headquarters, all branches and premises with a large flow of people at the entrance must install disinfectants. But how exactly is up to them. This primarily regards banks, hotels, bakeries, supermarkets, cafes, and all those who want to maintain a high standard of protection for everyone present.

''We receive the largest orders from distributors and manufacturers of disinfectants and large clients who have multiple branches. We started with two key models: one you mount on the wall and one that is self standing. Through numerous collaborations, we've developed several models with useful accessories: we have a model with holders for masks and gloves, a model that is adapted to various sizes of antiseptic bottles, a model with a people counter and one with a temperature reader,'' added Mihokovic.

Production soon boomed in Croatia, but the first orders from abroad only started recently.

''From the moment we produced the first line of racks, inquiries started coming in to us from all sides. It was clear that we needed to instantly expand the capacity of that part of production to more shifts. We're now well-established, and we approach each client individually, adapting to their needs, their business context and the premises in which they operate,'' concluded Mihokovic.

This Croatian company is a true example of quality leadership and timely adaptation to market needs, even in what is currently an unenviable, extremely difficult period for business.

For more, follow Made in Croatia.

ZAGREB, May 28, 2020 - Prime Minister and HDZ party leader Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday that he would run in the July 5 parliamentary election as a candidate in Constituency No. 1 and that he believed his party would win the same number of seats as in the 2016 election.

Constituency No. 1 covers the northwestern part of Zagreb County and parts of central and west Zagreb.

"Consultations are underway, the number of candidates is much bigger than the number of places on slates. We have been in talks with county leaders and our partners, some of whom will be on our slates," Plenkovic told the HTV public broadcaster.

He said that in mid-June, once the consultations were completed, party slates would be made public and the party platform would be finished, dismissing speculation that he would run in Constituency No. 10 which covers the southern part of Split-Dalmatia County as well as Dubrovnik-Neretva County.

Plenkovic said he expected the HDZ to repeat its success in the 2016 election when it won 61 seats in the 151-seat parliament, this time "showing its achievements and clear solutions for Croatia's future."

He also said that he was glad Statehood Day would again be observed on May 30 and that the parliament had decided to accept the government's proposal that the holiday again be observed on that date instead of on 25 June, designated as Statehood Day by the Ivica Racan government 20 years ago.

Plenkovic believes that the Croatian people had never really accepted June 25 as Statehood Day, noting that May 30 was the day when the first democratic multiparty parliament was inaugurated and which in the 1990s meant a lot to everyone.

"We now want, ahead of the 30th anniversary of the parliament's inauguration after the first democratic elections, to restore the positive atmosphere and identification of the nation with the symbols of the state and its key dates," he said.

Plenkovic said he did not agree with how President Zoran Milanovic saw Statehood Day.

"One should identify with what that date means to the Croatian people, and May 30 means a lot, it is not just a holiday of one political party but of the entire Croatian people," he said.

May 28, 2020 - Croatia fully opens its borders to Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, and Germany.

Things are moving VERY quickly at the moment, with the situation changing daily. 

And a big announcement today, it would appear. Borders have been fully reopened by Croatia to citizens of no less than 10 countries. 

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

Citizens of Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, and Germany can enter Croatia without restriction. As though corona never happened.

“According to our comparative analysis of the epidemiological situation, those are the countries with either similar progress as Croatia or the trends are such that we can adopt such a decision and enable the arrival of those countries’ citizens during the tourist season, with the appropriate epidemiological recommendations and the special application that has already been made,” Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told his cabinet.

The open border does not apply in reverse in all cases, as Austria showed today. 

TCN will have a fully updated overview in the morning on the latest changes to travel to Croatia. 

May 28, 2020 - Held every year on 21 May, the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development celebrates not only the richness of the world’s cultures, but also the essential role of intercultural dialogue for achieving peace and sustainable development. The World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development is an occasion to promote culture and highlight the significance of its diversity as an agent of inclusion and positive change (https://www.un.org/en/observances/cultural-diversity-day).

The Federation of World Peace and Love (FOWPAL) hosted a virtual event last Thursday, where many promoters of peace and love were invited to present the beauties of their cultures in support of the day. Srećko Mavrek, an internationally recognized educational expert and a member of a well-known klapa Astoria, presented the beauty and uniqueness of klapa singing as a significant part of the Croatian and world cultural heritage. In honour of this remarkable tradition, UNESCO inscribed klapa singing on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2012.

Listening to Mavrek’s 3-minute video, every listener could be convinced that klapa singing is truly special, but also very complex. In the video, you can hear his own piece "Da mi je" recorded in Norway under the project Science of Music together with the top composer and arranger Kristijan Vodopivec. In the second part, klapa Astoria performs the American anthem by which they became famous last year performing it at the famous Madison Square Garden in New York during a basketball game between the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers. The video has been well noticed on social media, where it receives numerous compliments and likes.

You can see the video at the following links:

https://twitter.com/icday2020/status/1265468488753147904

https://www.facebook.com/hia.com.hr/videos/300139357662991/

https://www.facebook.com/internationalconscienceday/videos/531969097499025/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFLalVcZp4w&t=5211s