May 20, 2020 - A first visit to post-earthquake Zagreb, and a big surprise - never have I enjoyed visiting the Croatian capital more. Zagreb is magnificent right now. 

It is almost two months since the devastating March 22 earthquakes in Zagreb. Like everyone else, I watched the tragic images with heartache. Corona travel restrictions meant that I could not visit, and I had to keep in touch with my friends and TCN colleagues from distance. 

With all the yearning for travel, Zagreb was the only place I wanted to visit, to walk its streets, share its pain, empathise with its people. 

I was actually nervous as we entered the city. What awaited me? And how would greeting friends be in this new lesser-contact world? I also felt a little guilty that while they had been confined to apartments, I had had the freedom of one of the most beautiful islands in the world on Hvar. 

What I actually discovered stunned me. For I can genuinely say that I have never found Zagreb more beautiful, more peaceful to roam its streets and parks, or more at peace with itself. Perhaps the little cross on the top of one of the cathedral's spires, a recent addition, was a symbol of that. 

I arrived on Sunday, a non-working day in Croatia with elections approaching, and the ruling government reaching out to its conservative base, and so the centre was emptier than usual. Less humans, more birds. 

I found myself walking down the middle of the street at times, as there was so little traffic (it was a Sunday, remember). And on Zrinjevac, some new parking spaces. After the earthquakes, residents move them away from the buildings to lessen the risk of damage from another earthquake. I wonder how long this arrangement will last.  

The streets were emptier, the air was noticeably cleaner, Mother Nature was enjoying a relaxing weekend, and the sun was shining. It was divine.  

No doubt the shops being shut had a big effect on the lack of people about, but it certainly added to the enjoyment. But one thing I noticed about the people who were out. They were happier, much happier, than the normal faces one sees on the street. I was curious to see how my friends would be after this intense period of their lives. And they were all much more relaxed, calmer and more reflective on what they had been through and the new realities of life. Corona has wreaked havoc and destruction, but it has also contirbuted much to a mindset reset for many people, and they may yet bring great benefits.  

Daily life continuing. A family playing table tennis in the park.  

I was expecting to see a lot more devastation around the city. It has been cleaned up extremely well (never have I seen it cleaner) and the rubble which remains has been swept into piles in parking spots.  

Some streets are closed, and the cranes are out.  

I was expecting a lot more disruption, a lot more cranes. They were there, but there were not a major feature. The major feautures for me were nature, calm, happier people. It was a wonderful thing to experience after months of being at home.  

The shops might be shut, but the cranes were working.  

Most cafes were shut (not sure if this was standard for the moment, or due to Sunday), but those that were open were less crowded, more relaxed, fun to chill out in.  

Less people and more time to enjoy the magnificent architecture of the city.  

And its nature. 

And Zagreb by night was a joy. Just as it felt that I had the island of Hvar to myself during lockdown, so too the city centre of the capital by night. 

If you are travelling at the moment and Zagreb is on your radar, visit now, while this magical period of Mother Nature partially controlling the city still exists, as it will almost certainly change when the humans are allowed out to play. 

You can learn more about Zagreb in our Virtual Croatia series - Tourism in the Corona Age: 10 Virtual Tools to Discover Zagreb.

If you've ever been to Dubrovnik, and the chances are that if you've visited Croatia at all then you have, you'll have more than likely thought ''How much!?'' (or perhaps even said it out loud) when confronted with the ticket price to walk the city's famous Medieval walls.

While for some foreign tourists the price tag to walk along these magnificent, ancient walls isn't much, for many domestic tourists that price simply isn't justifiable - and with good reason.

Dubrovnik's walls are among the most impressive preserved Medieval structures in the world, and the UNESCO city protected by them sends many a foreign visitor up onto them for the couple of hour walk around them. One thing that has come up for many years is the extortionate price which for a time just kept on rising and rising. 

The appearance of the coronavirus pandemic, the economic crisis that ensued and the need to change many things to encourage tourists, both domestic and foreign, to pump some money back into the economy requires changes. It seems that it has taken an invisible virus and the threat of economic collapse to make the City of Dubrovnik, known for its hefty price tags, finally lower the city wall ticket price.

As Morski writes on the 19th of May, 2020, the ticket price to enter and walk along Dubrovnik's imposing city walls is now just fifty kuna, being dragged down from an eyebrow-raising 200 kuna. The decision made by the Society of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquities, which manages the upkeep and care of the walls, is in force until June the 30th, 2020.

This information was confirmed for local portal Dubrovacki dnevnik by the president of the aforementioned sciety, Niko Kapetanić.

''Due to the coronavirus crisis, a ticket price of fifty kuna will be applied as of Wednesday for all visitors to the walls, both domestic and foreign visitors. The decision according to which the inhabitants of Dubrovnik-Neretva County can visit and walk the walls free of charge is still in force.

''Additionally, the price of a ticket to the walls in nearby Ston and to Sokol tower down in Konavle has been lowered from 70 kuna down to a mere 30 kuna, which was formerly the price of a children's ticket,'' said Kapetanić for Dubrovacki dnevnik.

It's worth mentioning that the Association of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquities, which manages this valuable resource, earned more than 150 million kuna from the sale of tickets alone last year. Despite having raked in so much money, they lost that solid income due to the coronavirus outbreak back in March, so they sought and received the payment of salaries from the state for 71 workers.

They didn't want to comment on the fact that they kept the price of 200 kuna per ticket to walk Dubrovnik's city walls for all this time, even when they had no visitors whatsoever. Instead, the reply was that "all ticket prices for facilities managed by the society are a matter of business policy."

For more, follow our travel page.

As Novac/Matea Grbac writes on the 19th of May, 2020, although the domestic and world economies are gradually opening up again, and people's lives are returning to a slightly altered sort of normalcy, the Croatian economy is still far from out of the woods. Kutjevo has set job preservation as one of its main strategic goals in these strange times.

In these moments of crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, preserving jobs has become the biggest challenge for each and every employer. Day by day, we're witnessing the devastating statistics on the growth in the number of unemployed people, of which there are currently just over 160,000 in terms of the Croatian labour market.

In addition to those who simply lost their jobs practically overnight, more and more workers are on the state-guaranteed minimum wage introduced by the Croatian Government in a package of economic measures designed to keep the Croatian economy's proverbial head above the water. Despite the uncertainty and the fact that it is already clear that the plans for this year are one thing, and their actual implementation is something else, one of the most important agricultural producers in Croatia, Kutjevo, has set job preservation as one of the main strategic short-term and long-term business goals. It is for this reason that the Kutjevo winery has no intentions of encroaching on the rights of 622 employees.

''We have 593 full-time employees and 29 part-time ones. Preserving their jobs while also preserving financial stability and uninterrupted production processes is our business priority because the main seasonal work and preparations for harvest that awaits us at the end of August take place on arable land and on vineyards,'' explained Kutjevo Management Board member, Dino Galić.

He pointed out that for now, they have applied only for job preservation measures and that workers' salaries have not been adjusted, but kept at the level they were at before the coronavirus pandemic hit the country, in order to preserve their standards and the respective household budgets of Kutjevo's employees, a move they're extremely (and rightfully) proud of.

''So far, we haven't utilised any of the other measures offered by the Croatian Government to businesses. We believe that as a large system, we have a responsibility to all public and private institutions to fulfill all of our obligations on time. Of course, as long as the financial construction of the business allows that to happen. We're actively monitoring the development of the situation and we're being informed and consulting with all of the relevant institutions regarding possible frameworks and support on a daily basis,'' he emphasised.

In addition to its workers, Kutjevo also takes care of a large subcontracting base within which it has contracted cooperation with as many as 242 farms that take care of a massive 370 hectares of vineyards. Therefore, this well known Croatian company is constantly trying to make consumers aware of the importance of buying and consuming domestic products above all, thus indirectly providing support to the survival of Croatia's many producers.

Kutjevo has stated that even during these economically trying times, they still worked at full capacity and that due to the nature of the work, most of their employees still came to work physically as normal.

''Since we're a company whose primary activity is agricultural production, we worked at full capacity, of course, in compliance with all of the prescribed measures of the National Civil Protection Headquarters in order to protect the health of our employees at the maximum level. I must also point out the contribution of all of our colleagues who, through their efforts and hard work, ensured that work taking place with field crops and in vineyards was done within the given deadlines,'' he emphasised, adding that like many other companies across the country, office work and work related to sales and marketing was organised in a way so that people could work from home.

The closure of the HoReCa system, the plethora of coronavirus-induced economic issues, the rise in excise duties on alcohol and tobacco products - all these represent challenges that the wine industry has faced this year, and we're only in May. In addition to all of these troubles, Galić stated that according to information from the sales index, the growth of wine sales in retail chains is visible, but this data still doesn't go in favour of domestic winemakers. Namely, although the growth is visible, it is more related to imported wines which come in lower price categories, and the sales of top wines from Croatian wineries are unfortunately continuing to decline.

Despite the less than encouraging numbers, they still see something positive in everything. It is precisely the growth of online sales that has flourished in the last two months. Along with the growth of e-commerce, a positive shift, he added, is also visible in the gradual change in the habits of local consumers who seem to be beginning to appreciate quality domestic products more.

''Changes in consumer habits have been visible for a long time. Croats are becoming more and more educated about wines, as well as in pairing that drink with certain meals, thus raising the bar for local winemakers. This is an excellent indicator for us because, in line with this trend, we're constantly investing in production processes in order to achieve better quality,'' explained Galić.

Kutjevo winery, known for its "queen of the cellar", Graševina, sells sixty percent of its wines on the domestic market through hotels and restaurants, which is why it views the reopening of the HoReCa system positively. For example, last year alone, they sold a little more than five million litres of wine through this sales channel on both domestic and foreign markets alone.

''Without caterers and hoteliers, the viticulture sector has no chance to sell wine and maintain the current dynamics. Wine is mostly consumed at gatherings such as celebrations, concerts, weddings and other occasions. We're currently making additional efforts to prepare for the season ahead, despite a large number of questions and unknowns hanging over our heads. We're obliged to deliver the top level of quality to our partners and consumers, regardless of the economic situation through our wine assortment and our service, which we're extremely proud of,'' concluded Kutjevo's Galić.

For more, follow our business and Made in Croatia pages.

May 19, 2020 — Fires, murder, drugs, and general embarrassment did not slow the pulsating club scene at Pag’s Zrće Beach. Then came the coronavirus. 

The pandemic may halt the annual flock of thousands of party-goers streaming to the Zrće’s clubs, spending about €120 a day while renting accommodations in the nearby town of Novalja, according to locals. The partiers spend close to €100 million annually, helping make it the richest town per capita in the country.

“This was supposed to be a record tourist season, but we are now aware that it will be one of the most demanding,” said Marina Šćiran Rizner, director of the local tourism board.

She predicted a 75 percent drop in overall activity.  The 1.7 million overnight stays from 2019 are a mythical memory. The town’s events list is empty. For now.

Some locals see a chance to step away from Zrće’s homogeneous club tourism niche, which disturbs life in Novalja as much as it fills wallets.

The lack of visitors could wipe out about 1,500 jobs in the clubs alone, as well as employees at ancillary businesses, according to Boris Šuljić, owner of the club Kalypso. He predicted a 90 to 100 percent drop in party-centric guests.

Yet it seems a worst-case scenario is inevitable. Zrće’s club-dependent model, from top to bottom, reads like an epidemiologist’s worst nightmare. Bodies flying in from all corners of the world, invading personal space for prolonged periods of time while consuming a host of chemicals which may weaken the immune system. It reads like the coronavirus’s ideal vacation.

Battling the pandemic requires social distancing, anathema to a business model built upon grinding up in close quarters, invading personal space while waiting for the beat to drop.

Many of the party mecca’s guests will likely remain marooned at home, with travel restrictions and fewer cheap flights connecting nearby Zadar to the rest of Europe. 

Those seeking an alternative to Ibiza can immediately look elsewhere. The large festivals which helped develop Zrće’s reputation… Hideout, Fresh Island, Spring Break, and Sonus? Canceled. Canceled. Canceled. And canceled. All rescheduled to 2021, assuming researchers will find some solution for the pandemic.

“Zrće is a tourist product that completely depends on mass gatherings and our hands are tied there because such gatherings are not allowed,” said tourism board director Šćiran Rizner.

The lack of guests will radiate to non-clubbing activities, such as sports and concerts, which were supposed to enrich an otherwise-slow shoulder season. All that is in jeopardy, Šćiran Rizner said.

Some of the larger clubs with capacity in the thousands, such as Noa, Aquarius, or Papaya debate whether to open at all.

“It depends what protection measures will be in force, and the clubs on Zrće cannot function in such a way that guests keep a distance of two meters,” Šuljić said. “Quite simply, keeping a distance and implementing other measures that are still in place, for now, does not go with that kind of lifestyle and fun.”

Zrće’s club scene has a maximum capacity of around 12,000. If border policy, epidemiological restrictions, and economic factors mean only a fraction will arrive, owners may not even bother opening, Šuljić added.

Any group of exuberant young adults which does reach Pag will discover the island’s Bura-swept moonscape surface, some livestock, cheese, quiet beaches, and a hasty attempt to replace them.

Rather than lament a potential total loss, some locals see a chance to diversify away from the party scene.

The Tourism Board Director Šćiran Rizner said Novalja’s 90,000 private accommodations mostly housed partygoers and will feel a hit. But camps may flourish, after welcoming one-third of Novalja’s overnights last year. Camp Straško, the largest in town with a capacity of 6,000, is seeing a rise in reservations from Germany and Austria as travel restrictions ease.

Guests will also stay longer.

“For years, the trend has been to visit as many destinations as possible during the holidays, with shorter periods of stay in each of them,” Šćiran Rizner said. “Now, due to the epidemic, this is no longer the case and guests book accommodation for fifteen or twenty days, where the average was eight days.”

Novalja has also made inroads into nautical tourism and pushed a stronger gastronomic offering. Mayor Ante Dabo sees this party interruption as a case for shoring up other sectors of the travel economy.

“We are working on the development of outdoor tourism, nautical tourism, gastronomic offers and all other types of tourism, because now, in this epidemic and crisis, it has been shown how dangerous this monoculture of youth tourism is,” he said.

May 19, 2020 - The next Adria Business Network will be held online on May 27, 2020. 

Everyone is invited to the fourth online version of Adria Business Network, which will take place via the Zoom platform on May 27, 2020, at 6 pm, organized by entrepreneurs Željka Barišić, owner of Forca Digital Agency and Kristina Krstinić, owner of MIKRIS Project Management.

Recall, at the first online event, Dejan Nemčić, Professor of Geography and the initiator of a different way of learning geography through the project "Live from All Continents", in cooperation with Croatian expats, was the guest, while the second event featured Hrvoje Bujas, President and Co-founder of UGP / Association Glas Poduzetnika, entrepreneur, co-owner of the companies Pravi Klik doo and Siguran Klik doo and better known for the brands - Crno Jaje, GoHome and Osiguraj.me.

The third online gathering was held on May 14, 2020, under the theme 'Returning to the New "Normal" - Restart Business', with the famed director of Bagatin Clinic, Ognjen Bagatin, as the guest.

The topic this time will be 'Business 2.0 - what to invest in?' with guest Davorin Štetner, President of the Croatian Network of Business Angels - CRANE.

The estimated duration of the event is 90 minutes, the guest will give a lecture lasting 40 minutes, and then participants will have the opportunity to join the discussion.

Participation in the event is free, and registrations can be done via the link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83115839677 (Meeting ID: 831 1583 9677).

The general sponsors of the event are the Bagatin Polyclinic, Kreativ info, and the FORUM Zagreb Congress Center. The silver sponsor is FINA - Financial Agency.

You can follow Adria Business Network through the official Facebook and Instagram pages, the YouTube channel of the same name and on the websites www.forcadigitalagency.com & www.mikris.eu

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

ZAGREB, May 19, 2020 - Some 3,500 Croatian seafarers, 800 of who are on cruise ships and whose contracts have expired, are waiting for a return to home but can't because of the COVID pandemic and the difficulties in repatriation, Neven Melvan of the Croatian Seafarers' Union (SPH) told Hina on Tuesday.

The union, in cooperation with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the International Transport Federation (ITF), is working on establishing a corridor for the transfer of seafarers regardless of which country they come from, the union's secretary-general Melvan said.

According to SPH there are more than 20,000 Croatian seafarers; some of whom are employed in cabotage within Croatia, while about 16,000 work abroad. There are currently about 7,000 of them sailing on international lines and about 3,500 currently cannot return home.

In order for them to be able to return, Melvan said, the country through which repatriation is to be conducted, has to permit that first. However a lot of countries have closed their borders because of the pandemic and another precondition is for airports to be open and for airlines to be flying, he added.

Some Croatian seafarers are stuck in Asia, in countries where most repatriations are being conducted; some seaman cannot return and are continuing to work. There are some who are stuck at home because of the pandemic which too is not good, Melvan assessed. He underscored that there are some people who have been at sea for more than a year.

Melvan said that a cruise ship was expected to berth in Dubrovnik on Wednesday carrying the first group of 50 Croatian seafarers who have been waiting for some time to come home as well as some seamen from other countries in the region who too are returning to their home countries.

ZAGREB, May 19, 2020 - At the end of April, there were 1.527 million employed people in Croatia, or 0.8% more than in March, and the registered unemployment rate also rose by 0.8 percentage points to 9.4%, according to figures provided by the national statistical office (DZS).

At the end of April, the number of employed Croatians rose by 1.5% compared to the end of April 2019.

The DZS says that "in April 2020, the total number of persons in paid employment in legal entities in the Republic of Croatia amounted to 1,325,632, out of which 631,442 were women."

Broken down by business activity, employment rose month on month in almost all activities, with the highest rise of 2.9% in accommodation and food service activities.

The activity section categorised as "public administration and defence; compulsory social security" saw a monthly drop in hiring of 0.4%. The only other section with fewer employees was  "Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply" with a 0.3% drop.

Unemployment rate rises to 9.4% 

The total number of unemployed persons increased by 11.0% in April 2020, as compared to March 2020. The total registered unemployment rate in April 2020 was 9.4%.

May 19, 2020 - With so much confusion on the current travel situation AFTER CROATIA OPENED BORDERS TO TOURISTS FROM EU, TCN launches a Viber community called Total Croatia Travel INFO to keep people updated with the latest info.. All you need to follow our latest updates is to download Viber application to your mobile or desktop. Join us!

My daughters are laughing at me again.

And I will confess I do look a little ridiculous.

And old. 

As the Kings of Accidental Tourism continue their strategy of waiting for tourism to happen, as our heroic minister spouts catching corona-era slogans such as Croatia Breathes Tourism, more and more people are getting confused by the lack of information officially. Simple questions such as who can cross the border, what is the procedure, where to find information about bus travel etc. A million questions. 

Six days after the Deputy Minister of Tourism invited me to send the ministry questions so that a useful info page could be produced for tourists, I am still waiting for answers.

So, time for a change of course. I have spoken to various people who are connected to the latest information, and we have all the contact details of the relevant ministries. So we have decided to launch a Viber community, Total Croatia Travel INFO, where we will be posting the latest information that we have. 

We are also opening the community up to questions, so if you have any questions, you can post them in the group. If we know the answer, we will provide it to for you. If not, we will give you the contact details of the relevant ministry or official body you need to speak to. 

Please send this link to your friends and family interested in coming to Croatia so they also can join the community.

This idea all happened very quickly after Kreso Macan took me to the Slovenian border on Sunday. 48 hours later, and I find myself in the Manjgura conference room with two VERY smart young interns learning how to build a Viber community.  

I am officially old, and I can see that I will be needing my daughters' help a lot this summer. 

Join the group, help make the information better. The group is called Total Croatia Travel INFO and it was created this morning, and it is still waiting for Verified Account status. But you can find an invitation to the group here. Please check you have Viber installed on your mobiile or desktop and here is the invitation to our Croatian travel info community. Please distribute to everybody interested.

Click here for the TCN latest Croatia Coronavirus Travel, Tourism, Flights & Borders Update.

This is the first step in the Battle of Big Data and Technology v Uhljebistan. 

Thanks for your support. Together we can make Croatia a better place.