March 17, 2021 - Sveti Martin na Muri has become the first Safe Stay destination in Croatia!

HRTurizam writes that Sveti Martin na Muri has become the first destination where all tourist facilities apply health and safety protocols to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus as part of the "Safe stay in Croatia" label. 

This means that all participants in tourism at the destination level have met the requirements for this safety label.

“The prescribed protocols cover all accommodation facilities in which catering activities are performed or provide tourist services and all catering facilities in the Sveti Martin na Muri destination. Compactness, synergy, and cooperation at the destination level have once again proved to be vital in achieving results. See you at Safe Stay Sveti Martin na Muri," said David Novinščak, director of TZO Sveti Martin na Muri.

After registering and receiving a notification that you are included in the list of those carrying the Croatian safety label, at the same time, you will receive a notification that the physical label can be picked up at the local tourist board operating in the area where the entity is located, i.e., where it provides tourism services. The physical form of these labels are distributed to regional tourist boards, which carry out further distribution to local tourist boards.

In addition to the labels available in physical form, label holders will also receive a vector logo of the certificate, which should be promoted through all posts, communication, and visuals. 

The application of safety and health protocols and the perception of safety and communication will play another crucial role this year.

According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports' official information, a total of 10,205 applications have been received to date. Nine thousand nine hundred five subjects were processed, of which 8,650 subjects have already received the safety label.

You can apply HERE.

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March 17, 2021 - Croatia basketball will compete at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Split, to be held at Spaladium Arena from June 29 to July 4, 2021. 

As part of organizing the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, which takes place from June 29 to July 4 at the Spaladium Arena in Split, the Croatian Basketball Federation (HKS) delegation consisting of President Stojko Vranković, Vice President Nikola Rukavina, and Secretary-General Josip Vranković held meetings in Split-Dalmatia County and the City of Split. Prefect Blaženko Boban, accompanied by the county head for social activities, sports, and culture Tomislav Đonlić, made all county resources available to organize it.

Ivica Čavka/HKS

"From Split to Tokyo, let that be the motto of our meeting. This is a demanding project, the biggest sporting event this year, and we are happy that it is being held in Split," said Boban.

Ivica Čavka/HKS

HKS President Stojko Vranković added: “Thank you for the hospitality of the County, thank you to the Government of the Republic of Croatia and Prime Minister Plenković for their support in organizing this tournament. We at HKS believe that a real Croatian basketball festival will take place in Split.”

Mayor Andre Krstulović-Opara is also happy that the Croatia national team will play in Split.

“I support the organization of the tournament with great passion and participation. When the tournament takes place, there will be another mayor, but the size of this event is significant for the City of Split and Croatia. I regret that there will probably be no fans; I’m sure the atmosphere would be fiery. The arrival of the national team in our city is a great thing. You can see from our KK Split that basketball is taking big steps forward, that is, returning to where it was," said Krstulović-Opara, who received the HKS delegation together with the head of social activities Mato Omazić, head of the sports service Igor Maretić and president of the Supervisory Board of BC Split Domagoj Maroević.

Ivica Čavka/HKS

HKS Secretary Josip Vranković presented several ideas to present Croatia basketball during the tournament.

"There will be a lot of accompanying content, which will also depend on epidemiological measures, and as an overture to this great event, we will organize the preparations of the women's national team for the European Championship and the tournament to be played at Gripe," said Vranković.

Source: HKS

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March the 17th, 2021 - The Zagreb Dok-Ing company has expanded its production to as far away as China, and as such is expecting growth of above ten percent despite the ongoing economic woes plaguing the world.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes, along with here at home in Europe and in the Middle East, the increasingly pronounced market for the strategic expansion of the Zagreb Dok-Ing company´s business is the vast continent of Asia. They have recently been present in South Korea, and it seems that they will soon enter the demanding Chinese market.

If the plans to expand into the Chinese market do end up materialising for this Croatian company, as an enormous challenge due to high demand, where the 'law' of large numbers reigns and where the economy is very much protected from the arrival of foreign investors, the upcoming period for this company owned by Vjekoslav Majetic will bring business growth with estimates of at least ten percent.

A preliminary agreement regarding the launch of demining robot production there for the Chinese Government and the Chinese Army can be said to have been reached, so the determinants of potential activities in China through the establishment of a joint venture with a Chinese partner are now known.

However, in order to establish cooperation and joint venture investment, a little more time is needed. A concrete outcome in the form of a contract can be expected most likely by the summer. As things stand after six months of negotiations, the current phase still seems to presuppose the conclusion of all of the the final details.

the Zagreb Dok-Ing company owner, noting that the time is not yet ready for any deeper comments, stated that the head of business development and sales of Dok-ing, Gordan Pesic, travelled to China this week.

Unlike Dok-ing's export placement, which is a world leader in demining robot production with a very impressive share of over 50 percent, the model concerning China assumes a joint investment in a factory with a Chinese state-owned company in the production of cranes and industrial machinery.

This requires the legal definition of positions in the field of intellectual property rights. The total investment stands at approximately 100 million kuna in shares, with investments in the form of business premises of a Chinese partner and the rights of a Croatian company in the field of intellectual property and consulting services.

For more, follow our business section.

March the 17th, 2021 - The Central Istria Tourist Board has outdone itself with its fascinating promotional video, winning two prestigious international awards and attracting a lot of attention to this truly beautiful part of the country.

As Barbara Ban/Novac writes, the promotional film of the Central Istria Tourist Board has won two awards at prestigious international tourist film festivals. Great recognition came to the film from the 21st Golden City Gate 2021 International Tourism Film Festival - Tourism Multimedia Award, where it won second place in the Regions category. The film festival is part of the prestigious ITB Berlin tourism fair, the largest in the world, which was held online due to the pandemic. The second award for the same film came not long after from Russia, where the film won the commercial film category at the TRAVEL FILM International Film Festival.

The film was produced by the Labin-based company Level 52 back during the middle of last year. The authors moved away from their usual postcard-style videos, using the popular storytelling element instead. The destination is presented through the revival of legends, magical creatures, as well as by showcasing the actual residents of Central Istria and local products. Different stories are connected through the Central Istria Tourist Board´s promotional film with a unique narration and original music. Showing the known, but also the hidden, and highlighting multiple often overlooked destinations in this part of Istria makes this film stand out among the rest.

Authors Sanel Isanovic and Goran Nacinovic pointed out that this is a really important recognition for their hard work and that such awards encourage further work. Client trust and creative freedom allowed them to do something different, which was ultimately very well received.

The director of the Central Istria Tourist Board, Sanja Kantaruti, emphasised that this recognition is an enormous success, which they are extremely proud of, and that such promotion at international festivals is an immeasurable advertisement for Central Istria as a tourist destination. She emphasised that the plan is to continue this form of audiovisual promotion and numerous other projects aimed at promotion for tourism.

This bold and unconventional approach from the author's team, said the director of the Istria County Tourist Board, Denis Ivosevic, proved to be a winning tourist story.

Istria County is ready to look forward to the new season ahead of us, and these awards will certainly contribute to another successful season in Central Istria. So far, the film has been screened in the selection of the Amargos Tourism Film Festival and the Travel FilmFest International Festival. However, the award from Berlin is undoubtedly the most significant recognition that the film could receive, given that it is the world's leading fair, it is also worth noting that Germany is the main emitting tourist market for Istria.

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March the 17th, 2021 - The beautiful green heart of Croatia, Lika, and charming Mali Losinj have both been listed among the top 100 global green destinations for the year 2020.

As Morski writes, the Green Destinations Story Awards jury commission divided the top 100 green destinations in 2020 into a total of six categories and, according to the submitted material, selected the most innovative and sustainable, and one of the important criteria was the possibility of applying examples of good practice in other destinations across the world.

The Lika Destination Cluster won third prize in the category Islands & Seaside with the story Local products in the function of destination development, and Mali Losinj was included among the top six finalists in the category Communities & Culture, with the story Integrated quality management in the destination.

The truly beautiful and emerald green area of Lika is unique in many ways because it combines a beautiful continental part of the country, the Velebit mountain massif as a unique biosphere park and the coastal part that leaves nobody feeling indifferent. It is an area that includes three gorgeous national parks, a nature park, a cave park and a number of other natural phenomena. Most of this area is a unique example of rich biodiversity, which is an excellent prerequisite for the production of premium food that is placed under the unique brand Lika Quality and it is thanks to this project that the destination Lika won this highly commendable award.

¨At the recent selection for the global top 100 green destinations across the world, Lika won for the first time, but the recognition doesn´t stop there, within that same list, it was selected among the top fifteen," said a proud Petra Kovacevic, the leader of the Lika Destination Cluster.

The island of Losinj, known as the island of vitality, is a brand that has been striving for sustainable and responsible tourism since way back in 2006, and is considered one of the leaders in sustainable development in the Republic of Croatia.

¨Were glad that Losinj has once again been recognised as one of the best green destinations. Sustainability is the key advantage of the island of vitality. Through many years of measuring things up and comparing data, we´ve detected strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities in order to constantly improve the destination's sustainability strategy. With integrated cooperation with its residents and visitors, we have come to a solution on how to develop, but at the same time preserve a permanent quality destination for coexistence and the pleasant stay of our guests,¨ said the director of the Tourist Board of Mali Losinj, Dalibor Cvitkovic.

The competition for 100 sustainable destinations is organised to highlight relevant and true stories of sustainable and responsible tourism across the globe, which serve as inspiration for other destinations, tour operators and of course travellers and tourists.

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March the 17th, 2021 - Ivan Anusic has stated that the future of the Croatian east, the former bread basket of the entire region, lies in ecological production. Could moving more towards that lead to the revival of overlooked Slavonia?

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marta Duic writes, in cooperation with the Croatian Association of Counties, Poslovni dnevnik to see how various Croatian counties stand after the pandemic year, and the first interlocutor among many was Ivan Anusic, the prefect of Osijek-Baranja County.

"The situation isn't ideal, the large projects for which we've provided funds have been slowed down and the realisation has not started at the pace we'd initially planned. However, we found secondary ways of financing and started out with them, but the pandemic left its mark on us, as it has on the whole world,” said Ivan Anusic.

According to Ivan Anusic, this eastern Croatian county was looking for a balance between the economy and the situation with public health, and they wanted at least a part of the economy to function in the given conditions, despite the difficulties involved. Although the large economic systems that can hold up their own weight haven't really been deprived, the catering and hospitality sectors were certainly deprived.

"Slavonia is important for food production and we saw that back in early March (2020) when we were greeted by the first lockdown. Then, we came to the conclusion that food production must be self-sufficient for us who live in Croatia, and later that we must place these products on foreign markets. That must be the priority of our government," believes Anusic.

When they heard that Meggle was leaving, says Anusic, they had to act urgently. Too much politics infecting everything in this part of Croatia let it go down the drain, maybe Osijek isn't our biggest city, but it did have the biggest industry. By shutting down Meggle, we not only lost our jobs but also our tradition and we're glad that we managed to arrange everything with Belje. Unfortunately, there wasn't so much luck for the sugar factory," explained Ivan Anusic, noting that the future of Slavonia should be agriculture.

As he claims, Slavonia cannot build a future on tourism, although intensive work is being done on continental tourism, this area was created for agricultural production, and Anusic sees the future of Slavonia in ecological production. The construction of the Distribution Centre for Fruits and Vegetables has started, and it is a project worth a massive 101 million kuna that will include small farmers and they will be able to store, dry, pack, sort and create added products from their hard work.

"The defeat of every government happens when young people have to leave to get their bread. Slavonia has been communicating this sort of negative story out to the world for many years now, and it was also communicated by those who made it so. We don't need any special help, we just need to be allowed to develop our resources and have those resources in our own hands. Perceptions are slowly changing, European Union (EU) funds are there for us and we have a chance to rise like other Croatian cities and build a story of our own,'' concluded Osijek-Baranja Prefect Ivan Anusic.

For more on Slavonia, follow our lifestyle page.

March 17, 2021 - As the final arrangements are being finalized to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day one more year in several countries around the globe, here is everything you need to know about how one of the world’s most popular holidays will be celebrated in Croatia.

Each 17th of March, the Irish population and the Irish diaspora around the world commemorate the death of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity there. The holiday has evolved over time to become a worldwide display and celebration of Irish culture, through colorful parades, special foods, dancing, drinking, and very importantly, a whole lot of GREEN.

Although there will be no mass parades and celebrations this year due to the COVID-19 situation, Tourism Ireland is ensuring that this important day can be celebrated safely all around the world. As a matter of fact, they’re proud to announce that a record has been set in their 12th annual ‘‘Global Greening’’ initiative here in Croatia, both in municipalities and the number of sites participating. Thus elevating the number of municipalities to nine (9), and the sites across the country to fourteen (14). Next, we will share the details of the celebrations that will be held in each of them:

• Zagreb: the Croatian capital is going ‘‘green’’ for the fifth time this year. Among the sites that will change their colors will be the Zagreb fountains, the Museum of Contemporary Arts, the Klović Palace Gallery, and the Meštrović Pavilion.

• Rijeka: also remains a strong supporter of the ‘‘Global Greening’’: Trsat Castle, the ‘‘Molo Longo’’ port cranes, and the fountain in the Adriatic Square will once again link Croatia and Ireland.

• Split: the Dalmatian city will light up its fountain in front of Prokurative.

• Dubrovnik: for the very first time, the ‘‘Pearl of the Adriatic’’ will include the Small Onofrio Fountain in the celebration.

• Zadar: this year, its ‘‘greening’’ will be moved to the ‘‘Greetings to the Sun’’ installation.

• Pula: the Istrian city is also changing its contribution this year - the roundabout at the entrance to the city will show its citizens and visitors that the city celebrates its Irish link.

• Varaždin: the northern city is back for a second time, as the Croatian National Theatre will be the city’s ‘‘green representative’’ this year.

• Hvar: it is one of the two Croatian newcomers to the initiative, and its Fortica will be quite a sight in their first year celebrating St. Patrick's Day.

• Oriovac: the other first-time participant and the only Slavonian municipality taking part, will green its Turkish fountain.

When will you be able to witness the greenings of the fourteen sites across the country? On St. Patrick’s Day, Wednesday, 17 March at 19:00! Be sure to be there at nightfall with your camera, and the right company!

More information on the 12th annual Global Greening initiative can be found at Tourism Ireland’s site. 
For additional information regarding the Global Greening in Croatia, feel free to contact Bernard Vrban, Public Affairs Officer, at +385 (0)91 627 8934 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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ZAGREB, 16 March, 2021 - The refurbished building housing Rijeka's Maritime Crisis Centre for Faster Response to Any Disaster off Croatia’s Coastline was officially opened on Tuesday.

The investment into the upgrade of this offshore emergency response centre in the biggest Croatian seaport totalled US$ 480,000, and the lion's share of the investment was provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

During the ceremony, the state secretary of the Croatian Sea, Transport and Infrastructure ministry, Josip Bilaver, thanked the U.S. administration and military as well as the US Embassy in Zagreb for this donation in the amount of HRK 3.2 million.

The ministry has invested a million kuna, while the local county authorities provided 100,000 kuna for the project.

"The U.S.-Croatia partnership at sea is essential to the two countries’ NATO military cooperation and shared security. That is why the United States, through the U.S. Military’s European Command (EUCOM), provided assistance to the Croatian Ministry of Sea, Transportation and Infrastructure and the Rijeka Harbor Master’s office to advance training and emergency-response capabilities at sea," the embassy said on its website.

The U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Victoria Taylor, who today joined State Secretary Bilaver for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, expressed satisfaction with the completion of this project.

Over the last decade, the USA has set aside HRK 4.5 billion to support numerous civilian and military projects in Croatia, she said.

The Rijeka centre is described as a a renewed facility that will become "the central point for planning, training, and management in response to emergencies at sea, from supporting persons and vessels in need to addressing maritime accidents and oil pollution."

"The upgraded center will therefore play a critical role in maintaining the safety and environmental stewardship of Croatian coastal waters, ensuring quick action in response to a potential environmental disaster. Protection of the environment is a key priority for both Croatia and the United States, and joint capacity to mitigate against incidents and accidents at sea can make all the difference in a crisis."

The embassy recalls that "Rijeka is already a hub for U.S.-Croatia cooperation, with the port city benefiting economically from nearly 900 million kuna in contracted services by the U.S. Navy for ship maintenance and support since 2011."

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