TAP Portugal Delays Flights from Lisbon to Zagreb until June
March 2, 2021 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as TAP Portugal delays flights from Lisbon to Zagreb until June.
As we previously reported, Portuguese national airline TAP will operate on the direct line Lisbon-Zagreb this year, but not as early as originally planned.
Namely, the two capitals were to be connected from the first day of the summer flight schedule (Sunday, March 28), and on a planned 94 return flights in the summer flight schedule, the airline was to offer more than 32,700 seats between the two cities.
However, Ex Yu Aviation reports that the Portuguese airline has delayed the new seasonal service until June 2.
Three flights a week have been announced, on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, with afternoon departures from Zagreb Airport. On all flights to Zagreb, A320 aircraft (previously planned and smaller A319) with a capacity of 174 passengers have been announced.
As a reminder, TAP Portugal connected Zagreb and Lisbon in the past, but the line was suspended in the spring of 2016. In the winter flight schedule, the flight between Zagreb and Lisbon had a stop in Bologna.
Returning to Zagreb in the spring of 2021, TAP Portugal wants to regain its position on the Croatian market, counting on Croatia Airlines not to resume traffic on its seasonal route between the two mentioned cities. Given that the Croatian national airline is unlikely to operate on this route in this year's summer flight schedule (as it did not operate even in the summer of 2020), TAP Portugal will not have direct competition on the route between the capitals of Portugal and Croatia.
This is a very welcome return of another large airline to Zagreb Airport, which has not been present at Croatian airports for almost 5 years. It is currently possible to buy return tickets on this line for less than 130 euros. In addition to passengers who can choose the direct line between Zagreb and Lisbon, TAP Portugal is counting on a larger number of transfer passengers, primarily from the United States, who will have an excellent connection to and from Zagreb with the introduction of this line.
For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily.
Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages.
Makarska Riviera Readies for Summer: 900 Seasonal Workers in 20 Hotels Needed
March 2, 2021 - The Makarska Riviera readies for summer with 900 seasonal workers needed in hotels from Brela to Gradac.
Slobodna Dalmacija reports that with the hope that the COVID-19 pandemic is behind us, 20 hotels from Brela to Gradac on the Makarska Riviera are looking for about 900 seasonal workers, of which 500 are in Makarska alone.
Director of the Makarska hotels Biokovo and Miramare, Drago Nosić, revealed that both hotels in the coming season would need from 30 to 50 seasonal workers, which were not needed last year, as Miramare closed after only one month of operation.
"We currently have 38 full-time employees and this summer, if all goes well, we will need 30 to 50 seasonal workers, mostly chefs, waiters, and receptionists," says Nosić, adding that Miramare will open its doors in May, and perhaps earlier, depending on the opening of borders.
"For now, there is no crazy demand for accommodation, but we should hope for the best," Nosić points out.
Given the current epidemiological situation, Hotel Romana opens on June 12, and Romana Apartments will open as the measures loosen.
According to Ines Buntić, work coordinator of Romana d.o.o., the company currently has 29 employees for an indefinite period of time. With the opening of Hotel Romana, they would need about 60 employees for an indefinite period of time.
"In the season, we plan to employ between 160 and 190 seasonal workers with a minimum net income of 5,000 to 7,500 kuna, with the fact that we offer accommodation or transportation, meals, as well as rewards for a job well done. We will soon open tenders for staff, given that within the Romana Beach Resort, there is Hotel Romana with 297 accommodation units, Romana Apartments with 111 accommodation units, wellness, nine restaurants, as well as other accompanying facilities and catering and tourist content, such as an exchange office, souvenir shop, hairdresser, and more," said Buntić, who adds that Romana will look for chefs and support staff in the kitchen, waiters, bartenders, maids, cleaners, receptionists, employees on the maintenance of outdoor areas and swimming pools, sales clerks and other necessary staff.
The Park Hotel will open its doors in April and will have 30 to 50 part-time employees, who work for 10 months a year along with 25 full-time employees. According to the Park director, Marina Josipović, the hotel will need only a few seasonal workers, maids, chefs, and waiters.
"It will not be a problem for us to find staff because more people are registered on the labor market than last year," Josipović points out.
Hotel Osejava will also open its doors to the first guests at the beginning of April. If it's anything like 2019, it will need 15 seasonal workers who will work with 20 full-time employees, which was confirmed by the director Ivana Pivac Ivandić.
"We need cleaners, maids, waiters, and bartenders, and the salary of seasonal workers is from 5,000 kuna and up, with the offer of accommodation and food," Ivandić emphasizes, adding that a group of foreign guests will arrive on April 1. They also had reservations for March 1, but there are more and more cancellations by Germans, Austrians, and Scandinavians.
Hotels Valamar Meteor, Dalmatia, and Riviera will most likely need about 200 seasonal workers. According to Joško Lelas, a member of the Imperial Riviera Management Board and director of the "Hotels Makarska" Makarska Branch for Tourism, Meteor should be open in April, while the opening of Dalmatia and Riviera is still in question.
"It is too early to talk about seasonal workers, but in 2019 we had about 200 of them, as well as 100 permanent employees," said Lelas.
Hotels in Baška Voda, Slavija, and Horizont, will need about 100 seasonal workers who will work with 100 employees registered indefinitely. As the President of the Management Board Jakša Medić revealed, Baškovo hotels have about 30 permanent seasonal workers.
"We act like our season will be great, although the announcements for April and May are not very good. Of the seasonal workers, we will need chefs and waiters the most, and we plan to open the Slavija Hotel on March 26, when a group of Slovak cyclists arrives, while we plan to open the Horizont on May 1," said Medić.
One-hundred-seventy-five seasonal jobs are currently open in four Brela hotels and five in Tučepi's Bluesun hotel. According to long-term practice, it is expected that this year at least three-quarters of that number will be permanent seasonal workers, returning from season to season and working with 320 employees employed indefinitely.
According to Stanislava Čulin, Bluesun's head of public relations, the needs have remained the same.
"We are looking for waiters, assistant waiters, bartenders, chefs, and kitchen helpers. In addition to the salary, the seasonal workers are provided with accommodation in a hotel for employees in Zadvarje. They have organized transport to the hotel and back several times a day.
They are also provided with meals at the hotels where they work, their travel expenses to and from are covered, and if they live more than a 15-minute walk away from work, they are also provided with transportation. They are paid on time, accurately, and for all overtime hours worked, either monthly or through a redistribution model of hours," says Kristina Radha Milinković, from Bluesun's Human Resources Department. The opening of the first Bluesun hotels in Tučepi and Brela and each destination is planned for the beginning of April, just before the Easter holidays, while other hotels will open around the May holidays when demand is traditionally higher.
According to Stjepko Šošić, director of revenue management at Bluesun Hotels & Resorts, this year's pre-season is greatly influenced by the current epidemiological situation and will be adjusted to further development.
"We are in daily contact with partners and guests, interest in travel is great, but it all depends on the epidemiological situation in the main markets, the degree and dynamics of vaccination, and measures to cross borders," says Šošić.
Furthermore, Medora Hotels and Resorts Podgora will need 130 seasonal workers according to current projections.
As Vladimir Miklić, head of revenue management and direct and online sales said, there are currently 72 full-time employees in Medora hotels. In terms of seasonal workers, the most needed are housekeepers and in the food and beverage department.
"In addition to the salary, we provide all our employees with comfortable accommodation near the workplace, food, and the opportunity for further training and career development, as well as a motivating work environment with a competitive salary," said Miklić, adding that the Medora Orbis camp plans to open in early April and the hotel Medora Auri in late April.
For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily.
Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages.
Public Sector Invested More than HRK 5 bn in Island Development in 2018 and 2019
ZAGREB, 2 March 2021 - Parliament will debate seven bills this week including a report on investments in island development during 2018 and 2019, a topic which will be on the agenda on Wednesday.
In 2018 and 2019 the state and public sector invested more than five billion kuna for the development of islands, mostly in grants, notes the report on the results of implementing the Islands Act in 2018 and 2019.
More and more money is being invested for island development and in 2018 more than HRK 2 billion was invested which is 20% more than in 2017. In 2019, almost HRK 900 million more was invested than in 2017.
In both the years concerned, the majority of money was channeled through the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds, totalling HRK 1.3 billion.
The recorder in the number of projects implemented in 2018 was Korčula Island with as many as 70 projects.
Broken down by counties, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Split-Dalmatia, Dubrovnik-Neretva and Zadar counties received the most funding for island projects in those two years. Investments were made in capital projects, incentives for public road transport on the islands, and in water supply projects as well as investments in the enterprise sector.
Parliament will also discuss legislative amendments that will enable digital nomads who have been granted temporary residence, to obtain health insurance benefits.
Croatia's Coronavirus Update: 394 New Cases, 11 Deaths, 382 Recoveries
ZAGREB, 2 March 2021 - In the last 24 hours, Croatia has conducted 7,245 coronavirus tests, and 394, that is 5.4%, have returned positive, the country's COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Tuesday.
In the said period, there have been 11 deaths linked to COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 5,548.
Currently, Croatia has 2,893 active cases of whom 770 are hospitalised patients, including 65 COVID patients placed on ventilators.
Since 25 February 2020 when Croatia recorded its first case of infection with coronavirus, 1,354,191 tests have been performed, showing that 243,458 people have contracted the virus. Of them, 235,017 have recovered, including 382 recoveries in the last 24 hours.
There are now 13,382 people self-isolating in the country.
Croatia Agricultural Product Prices Up 0.5% in 2020
ZAGREB, 2 March 2021 - Prices of agricultural products in Croatia increased 0.5% in 2020 from 2019, the national statistical office (DZS) has reported.
The prices of plant products rose 0.4% and the prices of livestock and animal products went up 0.6% on the year.
The increase in prices of plant products "was influenced primarily by the increase in the prices of industrial plants, of 15.7%, fruits, of 9.5%, and olive oil, of 7.9%," the DZS says adding that the prices in all other groups decreased. For instance, prices of cereals went down by 0.4% and of vegetables by 6.2%, while the price of potatoes (including seeds) tumbled by 14.1%.
When it comes to livestock and poultry, the cattle price increased 1.9%, and milk price also went up 1.9%, while poultry price increased 1.4% and consumer eggs' price rose 2%.
Adria Business Network 15: Digitalizing Agriculture - The Future
March 2, 2021 - Adria Business Network 15, organized by successful entrepreneurs Željka Barišić, owner of Forca Digital Agency (www.forcadigitalagency.com), and Kristina Krstinić, owner of MIKRIS Project Management (www.mikris.eu), will be held on March 31, 2021, at 6 pm, at the new location, Aspira High School, Heinzelova 62a, Zagreb.
In the first part of the event, the guest is Matija Žulj, founder and director of AGRIVI - a global agro-technological company with a vision to change the way food is produced and positively affect a billion people. AGRIVI software serves farmers to help achieve sustainable and profitable production. Matija himself became a farmer and planted a blueberry plantation to determine what challenges a farmer faces in everyday production.
Today, Matija is a recognized entrepreneur and leader in the industry, where through various lectures and participation in conferences in Croatia and around the world, he popularizes the importance of agriculture digitalization. The passion for combining technology, agriculture, and positive influence in the world have set high standards for a company that is today one of the key companies in the agricultural software industry.
The second part of the event is followed by one-minute pitches from all participants.
Finally, in an informal gathering with quality wine sponsors, everyone present will have the opportunity to share experiences with other participants.
The number of places is limited, and you can secure your place on time by registering HERE.
The diamond partner of the event is A1. The silver sponsor is ManpowerGroup. The event is sponsored by the Bagatin Polyclinic and Aspira High School.
Partners are Vladimir Abicic Photography, Aero Print, Bornstein Wine Shop, Kupinovo vino - Kupilek, Valenta wines, Planet Art Theater, and Croatian Choco Concept.
Media partners of the event are magazine and portal Poduzetnik, magazine and portal Zaposlena, Netokracija, She.hr, Zagrebonline.hr, Rep.hr, Glas Istre, Flash.hr, Moja Domovina, Total Croatia News, Fama, ZgExpress, Akademija Art and Radio 92 FM.
To read more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
Fundraising Tennis Tournament to be Held in Osijek in April
ZAGREB, 2 March 2021 - Croatia's professional tennis player Donna Vekić on Monday announced a humanitarian tennis tournament in Osijek for 6-7 April, and the proceeds will be collected for building public tennis courts in Osijek-Baranja County.
The first edition of the fundraising Premier Tennis Show was held in Osijek last year at the height of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vekić, who is currently recovering in Geneva from a knee surgery, addressed a new conference in Zagreb via video link and tennis player Borna Ćorić also joined the video meeting from Rotterdam.
Donna Vekić's father Igor Vekić said that the best Croatian tennis players were expected to participate in that fundraising event.
Vinkovci Supports Hospitality Workers with HRK 2,000, Plans to Cancel Consumption Tax
March 2, 2021 - Great news from Slavonia, as the City of Vinkovci supports hospitality workers with HRK 2,000 and plans to cancel the consumption tax.
HRTurizam writes that catering, as one of the hardest-hit sectors of the economy, will welcome any aid at the moment. Epidemiological measures and restrictions have left an indelible mark on the numerous lives of employees in the hospitality industry.
To overcome this difficult period, the City of Vinkovci has announced support for catering facilities. The first aid refers to one-time assistance of HRK 2,000 to employees in the hospitality industry, while the city will also cancel consumption tax.
“Caterers are an important part of entrepreneurship in our city, and any job that depends on them is also invaluable. Therefore, we have decided to help our caterers, and HRK 800,000 have been provided for this purpose, and the funds will be distributed so that applicants will receive HRK 2,000 per employee. We hope that this measure of ours, with state aid, will be enough to overcome this situation they are in, against their will," said the mayor of Vinkovci Ivan Bosančić, and added that caterers would continue to pay only one kuna for renting public space, which should make it easier for them to do business during the summer.
Furthermore, the mayor of Vinkovci announced that they had plans to cancel the city consumption tax. It is a proposal that will go to the City Council, and the decision should be applied from the beginning of next year. Until now, the consumption tax rate in Vinkovci was 3%, and the City of Vinkovci had an annual income of around HRK 900,000.
This news comes after the mayor of Sveta Nedelja, Dario Zurovec, announced on his Facebook profile that all owners of catering facilities and gyms in the city area would receive one-time assistance of HRK 1,500.
"One-time assistance of the Sveta Nedelja City to cafes, restaurants, gyms, and fitness centers in the amount of 1,500 kuna will at least somewhat alleviate the difficult situation in which our fellow citizens find themselves, whose right to work is limited due to epidemiological measures. Vision, ambition, development, and responsible management have resulted in our city setting standards for the whole of Croatia in recent years. I want us to continue to be that – an example for others city," wrote Mayor Dario Zurović on his Facebook page.
To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
Coral Croatia Opens First Two Shell Petrol Stations in Country
March the 2nd, 2021 - Coral Croatia has opened the very first two Shell petrol stations in Croatia, with more such fuel stations planned across the country in the future.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Coral Croatia, which is majority owned by Greek company Coral S.A. and is a licensed Shell partner, has officially opened the very first two Shell petrol stations in the Republic of Croatia, located in Sesvete and Rugvica, close to central Zagreb. The new petrol stations have a wide range of Shell V-Power fuels, and additional services such as a shop, bistro, car wash and jetwash are available to customers.
To briefly recall, he Greek Coral company, which until 2010 was simply named Shell, took over the independent Croatian operator of petroleum products, APIOS, with its 26 petrol stations earlier this year.
With that acquisition, APIOS changed its name to Coral Croatia, while the APIOS brand was replaced by the Shell brand. After the rebranding, they continued to expand across Croatia through the opening of petrol stations in city centres and along main highways.
"I'm excited and proud that together with Coral we're opening Shell petrol stations here in Croatia as well. With Coral, we've achieved numerous successes in the surrounding markets, and we are pleased to continue our joint growth here in Croatia as well. This long-term agreement with Coral will bring high-quality fuels and motor oils to the Croatian market, as well as excellent services and a wide range of benefits designed to meet the modern needs of drivers and other customers,'' said Kai-Uwe Witterstein, CEO of Shell Licensed Markets.
Coral Croatia have also announced that they intend to open two more Shell petrol stations in beautiful Istria during the month of March.
For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily.
Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages.
Will Lower Income Tax Rates Really Attract Croatian Emigrants Home?
March the 2nd, 2021 - Croatia has lowered its income tax rate and there are hopes that the move might attract a few Croatian emigrants home from Ireland. Just how realistic is such a hope? To some - it's even laughable.
As Novac/Ivan Zilic writes, there are fewer and fewer people in Croatia. According to demographers' estimates, up to 10 percent fewer people can be expected in the new census than in the 2011 census, a dramatic drop for an already very small country. If, by any chance, we lost 10 percent of Croatian territory in 10 years, and not 10 percent of the people, the alarm would likely have been louder, but in Croatia, land has a price, but people don't.
At the same time, even from a narrow-minded economic perspective, people are the most valuable resource any country has. Without people there is nobody to create, produce, spend, fill the budget, pay pensions, without people there can be no economy. This is something that has placed such a spotlight on Croatian emigrants as the country's demographic picture worsens.
Although demographic decline is a deeply layered problem, one of the important factors of Croatian depopulation is emigration, especially after the country joined the European Union back in 2013, when whole families headed off abroad in search of a better life. According to official data, in the seven years since joining the European Union, over 100,000 more people emigrated from Croatia than immigrated to it, but that number is actually higher, because official statistics fail to fully cover the scale of emigration.
Youth unemployment
Often when analysing the causes of migration, economists talk about the factors that encourage migration from a person's home country and the factors that attract migration to their destination country (push and pull factors). Analysing the causes of migration, the European Parliament's report Exploring migration causes - why people migrate, lists three basic groups of push and pull factors - socio-political, demographic-economic and environmental.
In the case of Croatian emigrants, these factors are often reduced down to the labour market, which gives migration an economic connotation. Indeed, looking only at the basic indicators of employment opportunities in Croatia and the countries to which Croats have emigrated in the last decade - Germany, Austria and Ireland - it's clear how unattractive Croatian economic optics are. For example, according to Eurostat data for 2019, the average annual net income in Germany, Austria and Ireland is more than three times higher than it is in Croatia, while youth unemployment (15-24 years) in Croatia is almost three times higher than in the aforementioned countries.
In addition to the labour market, a poor political economy also contributes to Croatian emigrants making the decision to jump ship. According to the Corruption Perceptions Index, Croatia is at the very bottom of the European Union, while when it comes to the Democracy Index, calculated by The Economist, the country has been falling in recent years. But perhaps the most important indicator of the poor state of the political economy and the general lack of perspective are the results of the Life in Transition survey, conducted by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The results suggest that people in Croatia, but also in the entire former Yugoslavia, have record low beliefs that a decent life can be achieved through hard work and effort, and that political ties are a much more important factor.
Economic migration
It should be borne in mind that in the survey, Croatia is compared with post-transition countries and yet it still ranks low. By joining the European Union, the powers that be thought Croatia would become more powerful economically, but nobody counted on young, working age people going off to Ireland and Germany far more easily. They instead thought that Croatia would instead become as developed as Ireland and Germany. Not so.
Croatia's institutional and economic convergence with the European Union is a slow process, so emigration should be seen as a democratic act of "voting by foot". However, the emigration wave after Croatia's accession to the EU is a given situation. People who have left live in better and more responsible systems, and their return can be an opportunity to create the potential for social and economic change. Observing emigration to the Western Balkans, Ivlevs and King in their 2017 paper conclude that people who have a family member who emigrated have a lower propensity for corruption, and that emigration often causes the transfer of cultural norms from the place of emigration to the home country.
Additionally, there is evidence that the human capital that people acquire in migration in the event of return can have a positive impact on the economy. In a 2017 paper, Bahar and his co-workers looked at where refugees from the wars in the former Yugoslavia worked in Germany, and conclude that when these same people return to their countries, the sectors in which they worked begin to export more. Although the episode of war migration is different from the economic migration we're currently witnessing, some patterns can be revealed - people who have gone to more developed countries carry considerable human, financial and social capital, and an attempt should be made to bring them back.
Political will
Will many Croatian emigrants happily jump on a plane and return home from Ireland just because of a slightly lower income tax rate? In order to significantly eliminate the initial pressure on people to emigrate, Croatia needs to converge institutionally and economically with the European Union, and this requires more fundamental changes than changes in tax rates. We need to tackle the problems. Otherwise, existing worrying emigration and demographic trends will continue, and each new census will only bring worse news.
For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily.
Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages.
