April 8, 2020 - More signs that perhaps it is time to say Goodbye Season 2020, as American Airlines and Qatar Airways shelve all plans for Dubrovnik this year. 

One of the most bizarre things in my world at the moment (and with so much weird stuff going down, it has to be bizarre to even get a mention at the moment) is the lack of understanding in some quarters that things have changed, perhaps (or more likely, probably) forever. 

Less than 2 weeks ago, on March 25, 2020, I wrote an article called Hope v Reality: Will There Be a 2020 Tourist Season in Croatia? The article got a lot of attention, and it was also carried by leading Croatian portal Index.hr (thank you! - you can see the Croatian version here).

One of the points I made in that was that people were on different stages of understanding around the globe about the pandemic, with people demanding I tell them if their flights were going to be ok in April. As if I run the airlines. 

That was then, and the world has changed several times since March 25. But still the questions fill my inbox. Will Ryanair be flying in May? Is my Jet2 flight in June going to be ok?

I have no idea if and when this pandemic will pass, and how the world will look from the other side. Optimists (and I include myself among them) hope there will be a late season, even if the summer is lost. Here is what the airlines think - this from ExYuAviation:

American Airlines has cut its international summer schedule by 60% to match a sharp drop in demand due to the coronavirus Covid-19 outbreak. The carrier’s seasonal service between Philadelphia and Dubrovnik, which was to run between June and October on a daily basis, has been suspended for the entire summer season. “Nobody is booking travel”, Vasu Raja, American’s Senior Vice President for Network Strategy said. “If we can reduce our capacity this summer, we can reduce our expenses”, he added. In total, American is suspending 25 summer seasonal flights until 2021. It will focus on services into London Heathrow and Madrid, where passengers can connect to flights on its partners British Airways and Iberia, respectively.

In the same article, ExYuAviation also reports that Qatar Airways has also postponed its planned Doha to Dubrovnik route until May 17, 2021, and Air Baltic similarly from Vilnius. And the news from Germany is hardly encouraging either...

The ever-reliable ch-aviation portal, whose main subsidiary office is in Zagreb (see TCN feature story last year), talked about the reduction of capacity of another important player in the Croatian low-cost market - Eurowings - in Lufthansa Group confirms Germanwings closure yesterday.

In tandem with its capacity rationalisation, Eurowings' headcount is also expected to be reduced in line with the reshaping of its network to focus on short- and medium-haul routes. As such, Eurowings will reduce the overall number of aircraft it contracts. In the short-haul segment, an additional ten A320-200s are planned to be phased out while its long-haul business, which is run under the commercial responsibility of Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt Int'l), will also be reduced.

It should be noted that it is not all doom and gloom from the budget airlines with flights to the region, as Wizzair plans to restart operations in three locations in former Yugoslavia (although not Croatia at this point) in May, pending government approval. 

Minister of Tourism Gari Capelli, who is fond of talking numbers and percentage increases at every turn, was a little more downbeat in his assessment of how things will pan out - read more in Tourism Minister Predicts Revenue Plunge, Regardless of Summer Season.

So is it Goodbye Season 2020, or is there still some hope?  Most people will be much further along the path of understanding of the current realities than they were two weeks ago, but here are the main factors to consider when assessing if there will still be a season:

• Even if all this is over by June, so many people will have lost their jobs that the market of tourists is going to be much smaller. 
• Competition from countries like Italy, Greece, Egypt and Turkey will be INSANE - and Croatia never does well on price. 
• There will be much fewer flights, even for those who are happy to jump on a plane and mix with others. 
• Not so many people will have holiday time anyway, as many have been forced to take their holidays now as companies rationalise their losses. 
• There will be big patriotic campaigns from governments (including Croatia) to holiday at home and support domestic tourism - the French in France, the Italians in Italy etc.
• SO many tourism businesses in Croatia and elsewhere will go bankrupt that there will be an inevitable disruption in the tourism infrastrucure. For example, a hotel group going under would leave a destination without hotels. 

I really wish things looked brighter, but when the big airlines are taking decisions in early April to postpone all until next year, perhaps we should all start to face up to the reality of Goodbye Season 2020.

For those looking for direction on planning for post-corona tourism and how that might even look like, I highly recommend the excellent recent series by Zoran Pejovic from Paradox Hospitality on post-corona tourism. 

April 8, 2020 — A golf course, villas and a hotel next to Prokljansko Lake have been a dream for over 15 years, outlasting several economic booms and two potential investors. The Croatian government waited instead until a global pandemic collapsed the tourism industry and caused a painful recession to attract investors, according to Jutarnji List.

A binding tender for the long-awaited project "Prukljan in Skradin" opened on April 1, (with little irony). It offered interested investors 54 hectares of land for sale, and an additional 150 hectares in a concession to realize the €300 million project.

The Ministry of State Property announced a non-binding tender for Prukljan in March 2018, answered by two investment funds, one from Germany and one based in the Netherlands.

The Ministry announced at the time that a binding tender, given the interest of investors, should be announced as soon as possible The whole matter was extended so the state’s bureaucracies and administrative obstacles disappeared. Two years later…

Croatia’s on-again, off-again relationship with the luxury tourism market — especially golf — has been a hobby horse for Total Croatia News. The list of 30 - yes, 30 - proposed and unrealized golf projects has been languishing for seven years. Then, a pandemic hit.

"Better now than never," Skradin’s Mayor Antonijo Brajkovic told Jutarnji when asked if timing was aggravating.

“Look, certainly other circumstances would be better for the realization of the project,” he reportedly said. “If it is well-conceived, prepared, and the money is secured for it, then I do not see why investors would not respond.”

Brajkovic didn’t know why it took two years between announcing a non-binding and binding tender. The project originated during former Mayor Nediljko Dujic term in 2006, and was the put on hold until 2018. It was included in the catalog of state investment projects.

According to the tender, the investor will buy 30 hectares of land within tourist zones to build a hotel complex with a maximum of 1,500 beds. Another 136 hectares of land will be included in a concession for the investor, slated to become an 18-hole golf course. An additional 24 hectares are also for sale for the construction of tourist villas.

In addition, the project also envisages a concession over the maritime domain and the construction of a nautical tourism port, as well as the construction of two beaches for hotel guests.

The deadline for completion of the construction of the project is five years from the signing of the contract, within which the investor must obtain all necessary permits and start construction.

April 8, 2020 - Every two weeks, Dario Jurican will teach us the tricks of stealing in Croatia in his new YouTube series titled 'Idemo Krast!' The king of exposing Croatian corruption released the first episode today, featuring Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandic.

24 Sata reports that the 2019 presidential candidate, who is famous for changing his name to that of the Zagreb mayor, chose none other than Milan Bandic to be the star of his first episode, which was posted on YouTube on Tuesday called #Bundekfest.

Namely, Jurican has released the first episode of his new series ‘Idemo Krast’ or ‘Let’s Steal’ in English, which looks into USKOK's indictments against Milan Bandic and his men. The episodes in Jurican's new series will be released every two weeks.

The first episode focuses on the organization of Bundekfest. Part of the material will be an integral part of the feature film "Kumek", which Jurican has been working on for more than three years. The episodes are short, the first lasting just over seven minutes. 

“In these difficult times, one must prepare for those happy times to come - the blessed times of theft and corruption! Every two weeks, I will present educational films to the people with instructions on how to steal,” Jurican published.

"The first episode of IDEMO KRAST! is called #Bundekfest and thematizes Uskok's indictment into Bundekfest 2014 and Advent 2013. The series aims to further educate the corrupt little man on how to steal! I dedicate the first episode to the Europa Cinema in Zagreb, which was closed without a real plan by Milan Bandic, the biggest pest in the city of Zagreb, with partners who support him - HDZ and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic,” wrote Jurican.

You can see the first episode below.

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

April 8, 2020 - Do foreigners in Croatia feel more or less safe sitting out COVID-19 here than in their home country, and what are their experiences? A new series on Total Croatia News, with Johann David Go from the Philippines/USA in Zagreb as the 33rd contributor.

Oxford University recently published some research on government responses to coronavirus which showed that Croatia currently has the strictest measures in the world. While inconvenient, this is a good thing in terms of reducing the spread of the virus, and I am certainly not alone in my admiration of the official Croatian handling of this crisis in recent weeks, both in terms of action and communication. 

But what do other expats here think? And how does it compare with the response in their home country? Would they rather sit this one out here or there? A new series on TCN, we will be featuring expats from all over the world to see what their views are on life in corona Croatia rather than back home. So far we have heard from expats in Croatia from Romania, USA, Ireland, UK, Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Singapore, Holland, Canada, India, Hong Kong, Venezuela, Latvia, China, Honduras, Hungary, Moldova, South Korea, Japan and Germany. Next up, Johann David Go from the Philippines/USA.

If you would like to contribute to this series, full details are below Johann's interview.

Hi I'm Johann Go from USA/Philippines. I have been living here in Croatia for the past almost 4 years. Many people ask me why I would come here to live and work when the US has so many opportunities. My answer is because I know this is where God has me for now and the summers I get to work at a camp and school years working with young people are far more fulfilling than anything. 

Firstly, how are you? Are you alone/with someone? Tell us a little about your situation and sanity levels.

I am actually doing really well. After 3 weeks of being mostly at home, I have finally some sort of rhythm in my life. Not ideal but it works. The best part was I recently got a roommate from the UK and so that has been a blessing to have someone to experience this with. Constantly being at home isn't easy and the constant thoughts of how family is doing in the US and in the Philippines isn't easy, knowing that if something does happen, I may not be able to just hop on a plane and go. Being an extroverted-introvert, quarantine life hasn't been all that hard. I enjoy the more relaxed-not-rushing-into-the-next-thing lifestyle. The hard part was getting to the recognition stage where this is what life will look like for now. In order to keep sane, I and at times with my roommate, we prepare for our summer bods(pray for our downstairs neighbors...), catch up on Pandemic:How to Prepare for an Outbreak (Netflix if you didn't catch that), read books that I have started since 2018, trying to be the next Martha Stewart (keyword... TRY), and try new things, etc. 

When did you realize that corona was going to be a big issue?

Right off the bat (pun not intended), when China's numbers were growing. I knew something was not right and with my distrust towards China news... I was kind of not too optimistic about it. When the numbers went up in Italy, we all knew at that time that it was something more serious than just a China problem. 

What is your impression of the way Croatia is dealing with the crisis? How safe do you feel?

Funny thing was a good Croatian friend just asked me about this, this morning. The situation is terrible but I am grateful. In the beginning when Italy's numbers went up, I was really frustrated with the Croatian government because of the slow reaction to adding measures to the country. But as time went on, I became more and more satisfied and now to a point of really impressed with how the government of Croatia has handled it. There was a week or so when I was in a crisis mode as well of whether I should stay or go back home. I drove expat friends to the airport and each time, that made me question my decision to stay. I don't judge other people's choices because each one had their reasons and I respected that but I kept asking myself why I am staying.  My family lives in the big cities of New York City and Manila in which the virus can spread quickly with how dense it is. We know how New York City is the epicenter of it all and being far from family has been hard. I am writing to you now here in my apartment in Zagreb. I don't feel safe all the time but I know this was the safest place to be to ride out the virus. 

Now compare that to your home country and how they are handling it. What is Croatia doing better/worse?

In light of what I am about to say, I would just like to point out that it is easier for us to sit and complain about what we think should/should not happen based on our expectations. It is not easy for governments, health workers, companies, or individuals to make decisions that have long-term impacts in a time like this. So I am grateful for those who step up and make those calls for us and also give grace to them. 

Compared to the US and the Philippines, what is Croatia doing right... in my eyes, as I have said, I am very satisfied in terms of measure with what is in place. But considering the economic impact, that I have not much to say other than to help and support one another in a time like this. I heard friends frustrated with the government because of the long-term consequences. It is easy to blame authorities for not looking out for the little ones but my prayer is that the ones in power would be really selfless in a time like this because the nation is really running when the people are functioning well. I believe Croatia has done well thus far and has prepared the health system to have beds, ventilators, etc ready for a spike in cases, quarantine is being enforced as much as they can, and the information flow has been consistent and constant. Svaka cast! 

What about official communications from the authorities, compared to your home country?

This is one I believe the US needs work on. Not having a united front as to what the government's stance is on the virus brings distrust and misinformation to the general public. Croatia early on gave power to the crisis management team and that allowed communications to be clear. Whether the government is united or not, it gives the people confidence that the information is coming from one source and that is what we follow! Thank you Bozinovic, Beros, Capak, Markotic, and many others! 

What's the one thing you wish you had taken with you into self-isolation?

Home workout equipment. 

One thing you have learned about yourself, and one thing you have learned about others during this crisis.

To take things one day at a time. We often worry too much about what the future may hold and what we would like to see ourselves to be in 10 years but I realized that we are not guaranteed more than the present. To entrust it to God and live a life that displays that.

We are all approaching this virus for the first time and many of us have never lived through this big of an epidemic. Because of that, people react to crisis in different ways. We need to extend grace to one another in times like this. To the government, neighbors, employers, employees, friends, families, and to ourselves. 

Thanks, Johann. Stay safe and see you on the other side.  

TCN is starting a new feature series on foreign experiences of sitting out COVID-19 here in Croatia compared to their home country. If you would like to contribute, the questions are below. Please also include a para about yourself and where you are from, and a link to your website if you would like. Please also send 3-4 photos minimum to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Subject Corona Foreigner

If you would be interested to record a video version for our partners www.rplus.video please let us know in the email. Thanks and stay safe. 

Foreigners Self-Isolating in Croatia: Do You Feel Safer Than in Your Home Country?

Firstly, how are you? Are you alone/with someone? Tell us a little about your situation and sanity levels.

What do you think about the economic measures the government is taking, are they helping your business? (PLEASE IGNORE IF THIS DOES NOT AFFECT YOU)

When did you realise that corona was going to be a big issue? 

What is your impression of the way Croatia is dealing with the crisis? How safe do you feel?

Now compare that to your home country and how they are handling it. What is Croatia doing better/worse?

What about official communications from the authorities, compared to your home country?

What's the one thing you wish you had taken with you into self-isolation.

One thing you have learned about yourself, and one thing you have learned about others during this crisis. 

TCN has recently become a partner in Robert Tomic Zuber's new R+ video channel, initially telling stories about corona experiences. You can see the first TCN contribution from this morning, my video from Jelsa talking about the realities of running a news portal in the corona era below. If you would like to also submit a video interview, please find Robert's guidelines below 

VIDEO RECORDING GUIDE

The video footage should be recorded so that the cell phone is turned horizontally (landscape mode).

There are several rules for television and video news:- length is not a virtue- a picture speaks more than a thousand words

In short, this would mean that your story should not last more than 90 seconds and that everything you say in the report should be shown by video (for example, if you talk about empty streets, we should see those empty streets, etc.).

How to do it with your cell phone? First, use a selfie camera to record yourself telling your story for about a minute and a half. Ideally, it would be taken in the exterior, except in situations where you are reporting on things in the interior (quarantine, hospital, self-isolation, etc.). Also, when shooting, move freely, make sure everything is not static.

After you have recorded your report, you should capture footage that will tell your story with a picture, such as an earlier example with empty streets.

One of the basic rules of TV journalism is that the story is told in the same way as a journalist with his text. Therefore, we ask you for additional effort. Because we work in a very specific situation, sometimes you may not be able to capture footage for each sentence of the report. In this case, record the details on the streets: people walking, the main features of the city where you live, inscriptions on the windows related to the virus, etc.

The same rules apply if you are shooting a story from your apartment, self-isolation, quarantine. We also need you to capture footage that describes your story.

When shooting frames to cover your reports, it is important that you change the angle of the shot (in other words, shoot that empty street from several angles). Also, when shooting a detail, count at least five seconds before removing the camera to another detail.

The material should be about 5 minutes long (90 seconds of your report + frames to cover your story).

After recording everything, send us to Zagreb, preferably via WeTransfer to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 8th of April, 2020, in addition to the much loved Dolac market located in the very heart of Zagreb, the markets in Kvatrić, Trešnjevka, Špansko, Prečko, Jarun, Gajnice and Utrina will also be opened.

Zagreb's popular Dolac market has begun operations today, with all the measures required to reduce the spread of coronavirus firmly in place. Ten ''cottages'' have been set up on Dolac market from which Croatian OPGs are selling their fresh local products, and benches are set up, which have been placed five metres apart.

Customers can then come and buy what they need from the sellers in limited numbers with mandatory hand disinfection in place, with a maximum of one hundred people being allowed to be there, writes Vecernji list.

As previously mentioned, in addition to Dolac market, there will also be other popular Zagreb markets open in Kvatrić, Trešnjevka, Špansko, Prečko, Jarun, Gajnice and Utrina. The new cottages from which Croatian producers will sell their products will be open from 08:00 to 13:00, where the marketplaces are operating outside, while closed markets will allow for sales to take place from the benches.

On Kvatrić market, OPGs will sell their products from six cottages, on Trešnjevka market, from five cottages, and in Špansko, from two cottages, and everything will be done under the principle of cottage - one OPG.

The Green Market is becoming a drive-in. Vertical and horizontal signage has been installed, cars will enter through the carriageway, and sellers will be to the left and to the right. In front of them will be a ''showroom'' of sorts with their products on display already packed, and in each box will be what they have pre-prepared, that is, what they currently have in their gardens.

When the buyer chooses a product or products he wishes to purchase, he will turn off from the lane, and the seller, who will be three metres away from the buyer at all times, will pack the package into the boot or place it on the back seat of the buyer's car.

Make sure to follow our dedicated section for more on coronavirus in Croatia.

April 8, 2020 - Do foreigners in Croatia feel more or less safe sitting out COVID-19 here than in their home country, and what are their experiences? A new series on Total Croatia News, with Sara Dyson from Texas but currently holed up in Split, as the 32nd contributor.

Oxford University recently published some research on government responses to coronavirus which showed that Croatia currently has the strictest measures in the world. While inconvenient, this is a good thing in terms of reducing the spread of the virus, and I am certainly not alone in my admiration of the official Croatian handling of this crisis in recent weeks, both in terms of action and communication. 

But what do other expats here think? And how does it compare with the response in their home country? Would they rather sit this one out here or there? A new series on TCN, we will be featuring expats from all over the world to see what their views are on life in corona Croatia rather than back home. So far we have heard from expats in Croatia from Romania, USA, Ireland, UK, Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Singapore, Holland, Canada, India, Hong Kong, Venezuela, Latvia, China, Honduras, Hungary, Moldova, South Korea, Japan and Germany. Next up, Sara Dyson from Texas in Split. 

If you would like to contribute to this series, full details are below Sara's interview.

Hey, I’m Sara from Texas. I’m currently (and usually) working from home in Split. This has been my home since 2012. I like margaritas and getting caught in the sun.

I do a few things:

• Advise people on how to move to Croatia, particularly as it relates to immigration, citizenship and healthcare
• Build websites for small businesses
• Operate a Game of Thrones Tour (currently very quiet)

You can reach me on Facebook or on my site expatincroatia.com

Firstly, how are you? Are you alone/with someone? Tell us a little about your situation and sanity levels.

It’s touch and go, every day is different. Some days I feel like I’ve accepted this new reality and am excited about using this time productively, and on others days I find myself still stuck in the 5 stages of grief.

Some days I look forward to the innovation and new ideas that will birth from this strangely quiet, distraction-free environment. Other days, I hope if I click my heels three times, I’ll return to Kansas. Not Kansas, Kansas, but the world before the virus tornado carried us away. I keep toggling between denial and acceptance, with a dash of anger and bargaining sprinkled in.

I usually work from home and have been called a hermit on a number of occasions, so this “should” be the same old, same old for me. It isn’t. I miss hugs and human contact and having sunny coffees and conversations without the risk of someone’s face freezing.

The biggest impact on my sanity has been the lack of pazar. Usually, I’m shopping every couple days on the pazar near my house, chatting with my favorite vendors and ending it with a coffee at my local spot. The supermarket is not a substitute as their produce is often rotten. I really miss fresh produce, but I’m starting to see farms setting up delivery options. Just today, I noticed a new produce stand pop up in a retail space that has been vacant for 2+ years. Truly excited to see how local farms adapt to this pazar-less era.

I am keeping pretty busy these days. Between writing for ‘Expat in Croatia’ and building websites, I’m neck-deep Monday through Friday. My only free time is on the weekends, which is when I go full analogue. With the phone on airplane mode, I work on a garden in my lođa with the help of a robot from Latvia. It’s not really a robot, but it does help cancel out my tendency to kill plants. I’ve got cherry tomatoes, cucumbers (hopefully), dill, oregano, green leaf lettuce, basil, jalapenos, cilantro and even rhubarb. Radishes are my next hurdle.

I’m also doing a lot of magazine reading, like in the good ol’ days. I bought a lifetime subscription to Rolling Stone magazine when I was 16-years-old. Whenever I’m in the States, I pick up 2 years-worth at the PO box, bring them over the ocean where they proceed to collect dust. Now, there is finally time to catch up on what Radiohead was doing in 2017.

What do you think about the economic measures the government is taking, are they helping your business?

I think the government is doing a decent job of implementing of a variety of economic and tax relief measures quickly. It is proof that government can function and be effective.

The measures don’t apply to me, but I have seen them help businesses owned by friends and partners, which is good.

However, it’s not all about the measures. They are going to help in the short term, but Croatia has a long-term economic disaster on its hands. For too long, Croatia has viewed tourism as its golden goose with a solitary mission of bleeding tourists dry. That short-term vision of gimme, gimme, gimme and unnecessarily high taxes are why things are so critical now.

A country cannot sustain on one industry alone. The biggest problem with tourism in Croatia is that it unnaturally increases the cost of living for Croatians, while not serving the Croatian community at all. The most successful businesses are the ones that operate year-round and are supported by locals as well as tourists.

I hope that the pandemic inspires change within the government and among residents to create new opportunities, technologies and businesses that serve Croatians and that can be exported to other parts of the world.

When did you realize that corona was going to be a big issue? 

On March 9, I heard from a reader who thought we should do a post called “Should I cancel my trip to Croatia due to coronavirus?”. At the time, there were only 12 cases and the government seemed to be doing a decent job of delaying the impact here so it seemed reasonable. Croatia had barely been touched.

Within 3 days, things had changed dramatically so I took the post down and washed my hands of it (see what I did there). Just a month later, we are in a new world.

What is your impression of the way Croatia is dealing with the crisis? How safe do you feel?

I am impressed with how the government is handling this crisis. In particular, I’m glad they launched koronavirus.hr, which has all the latest information and everything we could possibly need to know about it.

As far as the people, there are still too many still not staying at home. I’m not referring to those going to work or those that have a purpose for being outside or those just taking a walk or those that need space from an abusive family. I’m talking about the clusters of twenty-something Splićani acting like it’s just a snow day. For the safety of your parents and your baba, please go inside, or at least fan out. Dva metara!

Now compare that to your home country and how they are handling it. What is Croatia doing better/worse?

It is night and day. My motherland America is FUBAR. The US government is led by the most unqualified person to ever be in office (I say that fully aware that there is currently a town in Texas with a goat as a mayor).

While most countries in the world including Croatia have one centralized government leading them through this crisis, America does not. The US has a decentralized government, which gives significant power to the 50 states. The president “could” make a national policy of how to combat the pandemic, but he chooses not to. The president is only concerned about his poll numbers and blaming Obama, so he’s leaving it up to the individual states to decide what to do about the virus.

The 50 states are all doing different things, because they all have different beliefs on the basic facts about the virus and how to handle prevention, spread and treatment. Last week, the governor of Georgia said he just found out that people can transmit the virus without having symptoms. FACE PALM.

People can drive or fly into other cities, counties and states whenever they want. Without one cohesive direction for the entire country, the US will continue to rack up infections and deaths. America now has more cases of any country in the world with a significant lead, nearly 5X what China has alone. We’re #1! We’re #1!

It’s concerning. My entire family and many of my friends live in the US. Some live in states taking it seriously (California, New York) and others live in states that are still debating basic facts (Texas, Florida). I feel safe here, but they are definitely not safe there and there is not a single thing I can do about it. Many aren’t even taking it that seriously because they don’t know they need to. Why would they when their governments aren’t treating it like a big deal?

So yes, Croatia is a doing a much better job. There is one national policy that applies to everyone and it is paying off. Non-essential businesses are closed, people can’t gather in groups of more than 5, we are constantly reminded to keep a distance of 2 meters, and there is no intercity travel. These are all things the US is not actively doing at the national level.

What about official communications from the authorities, compared to your home country?

The Croatian president makes clear, focused statements about what the government is doing to protect the nation. Updates are made to koronavirus.hr multiple times a day.

The US president dementia rambles until he grows tired of yelling at reporters. The web site the US government launched is pathetic in comparison to Croatia’s. The site barely has any content and most links just go to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) web site. The CDC, a national agency, only just started recommending people wear masks at the end of last week.

What's the one thing you wish you had taken with you into self-isolation.

Freshly sharpened knives.

One thing you have learned about yourself, and one thing you have learned about others during this crisis. 

WHAT I’VE LEARNED

At this moment, I feel very lucky that my income is diversified. On more than many occasions in the past year, I’ve actively sought to consolidate and only have one job instead of three. Right now, I am super grateful that I didn’t consolidate. This job variety is keeping the lights on, considering my tour business just issues refunds these days. These weird circumstances changed the perception of spreading myself a bit thin from being a negative into a silver lining.

WHAT I’VE LEARNED ABOUT OTHERS

People are extremely capable of adapting to new circumstances, even when those circumstances are unimaginable. Because the whole world has been affected by the pandemic, it can be easy to think it is the only thing happening and that life has stopped, but that is not true, not for everybody at least.

Real life has continued. People are still working. Babies are being born. New ideas are being thought up. People are passing away for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with coronavirus. Recently, the mother of a client of mine passed away due to natural causes. Because of the pandemic, most of the family couldn’t come to the funeral so they Facetime-d it out to relatives across the country. They adapted. We are all adapting in our own way.

Thanks, Sara. Stay safe and see you on the other side.  

TCN is starting a new feature series on foreign experiences of sitting out COVID-19 here in Croatia compared to their home country. If you would like to contribute, the questions are below. Please also include a para about yourself and where you are from, and a link to your website if you would like. Please also send 3-4 photos minimum to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Subject Corona Foreigner

If you would be interested to record a video version for our partners www.rplus.video please let us know in the email. Thanks and stay safe. 

Foreigners Self-Isolating in Croatia: Do You Feel Safer Than in Your Home Country?

Firstly, how are you? Are you alone/with someone? Tell us a little about your situation and sanity levels.

What do you think about the economic measures the government is taking, are they helping your business? (PLEASE IGNORE IF THIS DOES NOT AFFECT YOU)

When did you realise that corona was going to be a big issue? 

What is your impression of the way Croatia is dealing with the crisis? How safe do you feel?

Now compare that to your home country and how they are handling it. What is Croatia doing better/worse?

What about official communications from the authorities, compared to your home country?

What's the one thing you wish you had taken with you into self-isolation.

One thing you have learned about yourself, and one thing you have learned about others during this crisis. 

TCN has recently become a partner in Robert Tomic Zuber's new R+ video channel, initially telling stories about corona experiences. You can see the first TCN contribution from this morning, my video from Jelsa talking about the realities of running a news portal in the corona era below. If you would like to also submit a video interview, please find Robert's guidelines below 

VIDEO RECORDING GUIDE

The video footage should be recorded so that the cell phone is turned horizontally (landscape mode).

There are several rules for television and video news:- length is not a virtue- a picture speaks more than a thousand words

In short, this would mean that your story should not last more than 90 seconds and that everything you say in the report should be shown by video (for example, if you talk about empty streets, we should see those empty streets, etc.).

How to do it with your cell phone? First, use a selfie camera to record yourself telling your story for about a minute and a half. Ideally, it would be taken in the exterior, except in situations where you are reporting on things in the interior (quarantine, hospital, self-isolation, etc.). Also, when shooting, move freely, make sure everything is not static.

After you have recorded your report, you should capture footage that will tell your story with a picture, such as an earlier example with empty streets.

One of the basic rules of TV journalism is that the story is told in the same way as a journalist with his text. Therefore, we ask you for additional effort. Because we work in a very specific situation, sometimes you may not be able to capture footage for each sentence of the report. In this case, record the details on the streets: people walking, the main features of the city where you live, inscriptions on the windows related to the virus, etc.

The same rules apply if you are shooting a story from your apartment, self-isolation, quarantine. We also need you to capture footage that describes your story.

When shooting frames to cover your reports, it is important that you change the angle of the shot (in other words, shoot that empty street from several angles). Also, when shooting a detail, count at least five seconds before removing the camera to another detail.

The material should be about 5 minutes long (90 seconds of your report + frames to cover your story).

After recording everything, send us to Zagreb, preferably via WeTransfer to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ZAGREB, April 8, 2020 - Workers of the Strabag company on Tuesday began boring the main tube of the 2,467-metre-long Debeli Brijeg tunnel, which is part of the second section of an access road to the Pelješac Bridge, Croatian Roads (HC) said.

The section is 12.1 km long and Strabag is building 10.46 km. The rest will be built by the China Road and Bridge Corporation.

The Debeli Brijeg tunnel has a main and a maintenance tube. Construction on that section of the access road also envisages the Kamenice tunnel (499 m), the Doli viaduct (156 m) and two bridges, one of 488 m and one of 80 m.

The South Dalmatia Road Connectivity project, which encompasses the construction of Pelješac Bridge with access roads and the Ston ring road, is in full swing, its length totals 32 km and it runs from Duboka to Doli, HC said, adding that the project would bypass the Neum Corridor, which gives Bosnia and Herzegovina access to the sea.

More news about Pelješac Bridge can be found in the Business section.

ZAGREB, April 8, 2020 - Croatia's public debt at the end of 2019, expressed according to the ESA 2010 methodology, totalled HRK 293 billion or 73.2% of GDP, which is 1.6 percentage points less compared to the end of 2018, shows data from the Croatian National Bank (HNB).

The share of public debt in GDP thus dropped for the fifth consecutive year but in absolute terms, at the end of last year it was HRK 6.9 billion higher than at the end of 2018.

The factors that contributed to the relative decrease of public debt last year were the continuation of favourable fiscal trends, which reduced the state's need for borrowing, a high level of liquidity and the continuation of a period of low interest rates, say analysts of Raiffeisen Bank (RBA).

That, they say, improved borrowing terms on the domestic and international financial markets and contributed to a lowering of interest rates, which reduced interest expenses and improved the debt maturity structure.

The analysts say that the drop in the share of public debt in GDP is also the result of a solid real economic growth of 2.9%.

According to the currency structure, the external component of public debt (HRK 95.8 billion) dropped by eight billion kuna on the year or 8.6% while the internal component grew by 8.7% to HRK 197.2 billion, accounting for 67.3% of the total public debt.

Considering the coronavirus pandemic, unfavourable economic trends will not bypass Croatia either and the government's measures designed to help alleviate the slowing down or suspension of economic activity require a significant increase in the expenditure side of the budget, the analysts say.

They believe that the state will resort to new borrowing on financial markets to bridge the budget deficit, either through credit lines or on capital markets, which, they say, coupled with the decline in economic activity, will have a negative impact on the general government's public debt, both in nominal and real terms.

That is why apart from a decline in economy analysts also expect the share of the general government's debt in GDP to increase to above 80%, which was last recorded in 2016.

They say that an additional factor that will contribute to an increase in the share of the debt in GDP is the weakening of the kuna in relation to the euro.

More economic news can be found in the Business section.