January 14, 2021 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as Israeli Airline Sundor plans to connect Tel Aviv with Zagreb and Dubrovnik this year.  

Croatian Aviation reports that Israeli leisure airline Sundor Airlines plans to establish a direct route between Tel Aviv and Zagreb with the start of the summer flight schedule.

Namely, Sundor plans to bring back the direct line between Zagreb and Tel Aviv with the start of the 2021 summer flight schedule.

The Israeli carrier has been operating on this route for years, which is mainly used by tourists from Israel, and Croatia Airlines also operates on the same route in the summer flight schedule, which is the only night flight in the summer flight schedule (departure from Zagreb airport around midnight). Croatia Airlines did not operate on this route in the summer flight schedule in 2020, while Sundor performed only a few rotations on this route in during the crisis in 2020.

Sundor will establish regular operations on this line from March 30, 2021, with one flight per week, every Tuesday.

From May 10, the number of weekly flights will increase to three, every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, with B737-800 aircraft that has a capacity of 185 seats in the fleet of this airline.

Sundor plans to return to Dubrovnik Airport, too. The Tel Aviv-Dubrovnik line should start with traffic a little later than the Zagreb line, or from May 11. The airline plans to operate on this line only once a week, every Tuesday. B737-800 aircraft is also planned on the route to Dubrovnik.

Tickets for the two mentioned lines are already on sale on the official websites of Sundor and partner El Al Airlines.

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.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

January 14, 2021 - The Croatia handball team will open the World Championships on Friday against Japan for their first step to the gold medal. 

While some national teams already had to cancel their appearance at the World Championships in Egypt and the World Handball Federation (IHF) scrambles to find replacements, the Croatia handball team is waiting for the start of the competition. A new round of testing has shown that Croatia has no reason to worry. The complete delegation is negative on both tests that were conducted upon arrival in Egypt.

Coach Lino Cervar has one special task until the first match against Japan on January 15 - to mentally prepare the players for what awaits them in Egypt, first at Borg El Arab hall in Alexandria, and hopefully later in the second and final round in Cairo. It is essential that everyone stays healthy and follows the strict instructions of the doctors, but also the hosts. The experiences of other national teams show that only one infected person can bring unrest to the entire team and destroy everything they have been carefully building for months.

The Croatia handball team stays at the Tolip North Hotel, about 80 kilometers from Alexandria, or the hall where they will play. This hotel hosts all national teams and journalists who follow the competition in groups C (Croatia, Japan, Angola, Qatar) and H (Slovenia, Russia, Belarus, and Korea). It is a bubble that can only be left when going to matches, and only with special transport and escort of the competition organizers.

But unlike a similar bubble at the European Handball Championships recently in Denmark, there is room to walk here; you can even get to the sea, especially if temperatures remain around 17 degrees. Unlike Korea, Japan, and Belarus, Croatia is located in the annexes/villas of Hotel Tolip. There are three players per accommodation, which is approximately 120 square meters.

On Wednesday, Croatia held their first training session in the hall where they will play. They had their last real training on Monday night. 

Marin Sego, member of the Croatia national team:

"Impressions are good, the accommodation is good, the temperature is fine, it's not too warm. We had two tests yesterday, settled into a room until the results came, and thank God, we were all negative. This morning we had breakfast, a walk and stretching and in the afternoon we go to the gym for training. We can take a walk in the fresh air within the resort. We already watched the video of Japan; they are fast and quite dangerous. We have to be focused on our game, and I don't think there should be any big problems."

Ivan Cupic, member of the Croatia national team:

"The most important thing is that all the results are negative, that is what we hoped for, and why we are satisfied, that is the first step. We are isolated here in the accommodation and hang out with each other. We will spend two days before the match analyzing Japan, talking to each other, and welcoming the opening of the World Championships with maximum concentration. We are all experienced and collected enough; we know it is a long tournament. There will certainly be a bit of positive nervousness, but I believe we will take that first step already against Japan. Because of the whole situation that is happening in Croatia, in all these troubles, our thoughts are there as well, and I hope that we can help people forget about the problems for two to three hours and try to make them a little happy."

Source: HRS

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

January 2021 - A look at what we can expect from the Croatia national team in 2021.

Gol.hr reports that 2020 was a challenging year for all European national teams, including Croatia. Namely, our 'Vatreni' played six games in the Nations League in two months alone, and that's not to mention the friendly matches. Overall, Croatia recorded two wins, one draw, and five defeats.

Because of these results, it is only logical to expect that Croatia would experience a drop in the official FIFA rankings. At about this time last year, Croatia was the 6th national team in the world, and little by little, they finished 2020 outside the top 10, in 11th.

However, it should be emphasized again that Croatia played in the most challenging group of the Nations League, which included the world champions France, the European champion Portugal, the 5th team in the world in terms of value, and the quality Sweden.

Croatia introduced many new and promising players last year, which we should expect to make a difference in 2021.

Filip Uremović confirmed himself in a short time as a good solution on the right back and an even better future opportunity - in the stopper position.

Duje Ćaleta-Car is not a new name, but in 2020 he confirmed himself as the central defender of the future and the present.

Many had been waiting for Domagoj Bradarić to be seen in the A national team. When he finally got his chance, he showed massive potential in the attack, and when he plays in the left-back position, there is no doubt he will confirm how well he does defensively. 

In the offense, Ante Budimir certainly stands out and should continue in the national team.

It should be clearly emphasized that the leaders of the young talents, Nikola Vlašić, Josip Brekalo, and Mario Pašalić, have additionally confirmed their quality this year.

Nikola Vlašić, after a fantastic job in the Euro qualifiers, was brilliant this year. A new step forward was made by the great dribbler Josip Brekalo. Mario Pašalić, with goals in friendly matches against Switzerland and Turkey, also strengthened his national team status.

We can only hope that the goals and excellent overall game of Mate Kovačić in the last match against Portugal are a precursor to what we can expect this year. 

In addition to these young stars, the seniors of the national team were also quality. This refers primarily to the inimitable captain Modrić, who plays for both Real and Croatia at 35 years old.

Next to him is Marcelo Brozović, whose physical and playing qualities are almost as crucial for the national team as Modrić's.

Furthermore, Dejan Lovren is in much better form, thanks to his move to Zenit, where he has maximum minutes.

In the end, Ivan Perišić should be singled out, who, despite his minutes at Inter, is again playing well for the national team. The fourth-best scorer in the national team's history may not always be in top form, but when Croatia needs him the most, he always comes through. 

Croatia's biggest problem was... injuries. Kramarić was off the pitch for much of 2020, and we can only hope he stays healthy in 2021. The situation was even worse with the nation's favorite Šime Vrsaljko. 

Dinamo's Bruno Petković is a footballer whose physical readiness, or rather unpreparedness, was negatively commented on by coach Zlatko Dalić this year. In eight games, he collected only 18 minutes and scored one goal.

Let's not forget that in 2020, national team legend Ivan Rakitic said goodbye to Croatia. With his departure, Croatia was left without a real alternative in the delicate position of the last midfielder when there is no Marcelo Brozović. Perhaps Toma Basic is the solution?

In 2021, Croatia is expected to play their World Cup qualifiers, which begin already in March. They will also try to get a good result at the European Championships this summer. 

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

January 14, 2021 - Croatian hoteliers on the coast are readying for a new year and are optimistic about the new tourist season, even though it is still uncertain, given the current epidemiological situation. 

Jutarnji List reports that although it is still early for any predictions of the 2021 tourist season, mainly because we do not know how and under what conditions travel will happen this year, tourism workers cannot afford to wait.

One example is hotel Romana in Makarska, which plans to open its doors for Easter and employ up to 250 workers, if the epidemiological picture allows, showing optimism and expectation that the season will be successful. The management of other hotels on the Riviera shares the same optimism. Valamar plans to open all hotels in Makarska this summer, and the Meteor hotel is currently in the final phase of renovation. Everything should be finished in the coming days. 

Tonči Andrijašević, director of the Quercus Hotel in Drvenik, says that if there are no changes, they will open on May 1, and more serious work is expected in mid-May.

"We have published the program in the Czech Republic, Poland, France, and Slovenia. It’s a plan that is subject to change, but it definitely has activities, even in the Chinese market for October, through a Compass partnership. As for partners, a lot is happening, it’s alive, but we can’t talk about the numbers yet. I am an optimist, but this is a mildly moderate optimism. I hope that through vaccination, the situation will be brought under control a bit, so, all in all, I still expect a much better year than 2020, although still not close to the results from 2019," says Andrijašević.

Drago Nosić, director of Sol tourism, says that both facilities, hotels Miramare and Biokovo, will open on May 1.

"We are preparing for the season as if it will be more intense than last year, but if it were a normal year, at the beginning of January, we would already have some more concrete indications. Anyway, we have to do everything as if it will be normal. Here, today we are inspecting the rooms to see what we have to adjust," says Nosić, who agrees that the vaccine is positive news, but that we still do not know the dynamics of vaccination or conditions for travel.

"It is good that all partners are more or less interested in starting as soon as possible, but I do not know how tour operators and airlines will solve this. Also, to prepare, you have to invest; if you invest, you expect to earn something, and at the same time, you do not have solid or clear indicators that you will succeed because there are many unknown factors. We are, therefore, guided more by optimism and hope than by logic. In general, everyone is cautious, and we see that the number of flights has decreased by 20 percent compared to 2019. However, it is a good thing that none of our partners is in trouble," says Nosić, who says that demand will certainly be considered when the criteria are clearer. But if the restrictions continue, it will be a problem.

Currently, the biggest problem regarding investment is not investing in hotels because they are relatively new, but the workforce needs to be addressed for the season.

"If it is 70 percent from 2019, we will be satisfied. Anything beyond that is a bonus. It would be unrealistic to expect that 2020 will happen again because now we still have some tools," Nosić emphasizes.

Marko Luketina, director of the Morenia resort in Podaca, says that they are preparing as if everything will be normal, with full capacity and employment, believing that the results will be at the level of 2019, or even better. They open on April 10 and close on October 31, if all goes according to plan.

"We will even extend the cooperation agreements compared to 2019, and we expect 55 to 60 thousand arrivals. This is our plan according to realistic settings; without that, you can't even plan. If there is not enough vaccination, it will affect us to achieve less, but we should expect a plus-minus of 5 percent compared to what was expected by all accounts. I do not believe that there will be major deviations," Luketina is extremely optimistic and assesses the German government's reaction to the situation with TUI, which is crucial for the Croatian market. The problem is aviation tourism, without which the hotel industry cannot work, and that area is still unclear.

"These are all real issues, flights, the issue of conditions related to vaccination, and we know little about it. But there is no choice; we have to act and be prepared as if nothing happened and as if we will have a normal season," concludes Luketina, who added that Morenia achieved extraordinary numbers in 2020 as well.

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.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

January the 14th, 2021 - Dr Alemka Markotic, a professor and director of Zagreb's ''Dr Fran Mihaljevic'' Clinic for Infectious Diseases has issued a warning and an appeal to those who have contracted the novel coronavirus and are now enduring the symptoms of the disease.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Dr Alemka Markotic has stated that some coronavirus patients have a tendency to come to the hospital to seek treatment when it is too late, and when providing relief and treatment for them becomes much more challenging.

''Some patients sometimes come to the hospital too late and then the treatment is much more difficult to administer. I'm issuing a warning and an appeal to all those, especially those who have underlying chronic diseases, to definitely contact their doctor or hospital if they have more pronounced symptoms of the disease,'' Dr Alemka Markotic stated clearly.

"After coronavirus runs its course, there can be more different consequences, one study was published in Lancet, which is the study that covered the longest period and dealt with the most respondents. They followed about 1,733 patients for six months. This is the longest follow-up time with the largest number of respondents. Worryingly, 76 percent of the patients monitored had at least one of some symptoms that affected their quality of life and health. I must mention that females reported more symptoms than men did. What has been most commonly reported so far is that one is very pronounced fatigue and muscle weakness, in 63 percent of patients. 26 percent of them had problems with sleeping, and 23 percent had certain psychological problems, such as depression, anxiety.

If you look at the lung function in a significant percentage of people, things weren't running as adequately as they do in healthy people,'' added Dr Alemka Markotic, warning once again that patients who have any underlying health issues must make medics aware of their infection as soon as possible in order to make their chances of getting the proper treatment for their symptoms higher.

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.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

January the 14th, 2021 - When it comes to getting the economy moving again, things are going slowly. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic and in Croatia's case, being hit with multiple devastating earthquakes has certainly thrown a spanner in the works, but in certain areas of the country - things are starting up. The construction of an aircraft parts factory in the Jakovlje North 2 zone has begun.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the construction of an aircraft parts factory in the Jakovlje North 2 has now begun, in which 450 employees will be employed in the first phase. This information was confirmed by the mayor of Jakovlje, Sanja Borovec, adding that two more new investors in this zone are expected in the near future.

"Although there have been rumors for months that nothing will come of the construction of the aircraft parts factory, the machines on the construction site show that we were on the right track. The effort we've put in over the last three years has paid off. In early December 2020, the Austrian aeronautical company FACC (Fischer Advanced Composite Components), began the construction of a factory in the Jakovlje North 2 zone that will produce parts that will be installed in the world's most famous aircraft. According to the business plan, the company will employ 450 employees in the first phase,'' said Sanja Borovec (HDZ).

She added that this investment, worth a massive 33 million euros, means providing jobs to the residents of this area, a better livelihood, but also a spring in the step of the further economic development of the Municipality of Jakovlje. The arrival of the FACC in Jakovlje began back in mid-2019, when the greenfield investment of this Austrian aeronautical company was initially announced. In the first phase alone, the plan was to invest around 30 million euros and create 600 jobs, and in the second phase, FACC planned to open another factory for the production of interior parts for aircraft with a total of one thousand employees.

Given the coronavirus crisis that hit the aviation industry hard in 2020, it is difficult to estimate the exact volume of the total FACC investment and its dynamics, and the investors themselves haven't issued any comment on that. Upon arrival in the Jakovlje North 2 zone, it was pointed out that the pool of skilled workers was the most important for choosing the location for this large investment. For almost two years, the company negotiated the best location for its factory, which was supposed to be located within the EU, and all Eastern and Central European countries except Croatia were considered. In the end, Croatia was ahead of Slovakia and Poland.

Jakovlje was not the only location in Zagreb County, but it was chosen because of good traffic connections. A plus for Croatia was a good ten years of business experience with local companies, with which it will continue to cooperate intensively after the start of production. FACC is also satisfied with energy costs and other operating costs in Croatia, as well as investment incentives. In the first phase, the production of parts for Airbus is planned, namely parts for the interior of the aircraft from the luggage compartments and ceiling panels to the entrance part of the interior.

FACC will operate in Croatia under the name FACC Solutions Croatia. FACC otherwise has more than 3,400 employees in 38 countries and with revenues of 782 million euros. It is owned by the Chinese state-owned group AVIC Cabin Systems, which has 450,000 workers worldwide and generates huge revenues of 54 billion US dollars.

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.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

January the 14th, 2021 - The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has seen many Croatian companies struggle to keep their heads above water, with small Croatian companies suffering previously unimaginable losses and the threat of total closure. A tender designed solely for small Croatian companies is now in the works.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, the Ministry of Economy is preparing an intervention aid worth 10 million kuna for small Croatian companies and craft (obrt) owners in earthquake-stricken areas for the reconstruction of machines and workshops, for which a tender will be announced in two weeks.

An important part of the wider financial package of 1.5 billion kuna, intended for capacity increase, development and digitalisation, will soon be available to all business owners there. This was announced yesterday by the Minister of Economy Tomislav Coric, who, two weeks after the earthquake hit Sisak, Petrinja and Glina, organised a conversation with representatives of the largest companies in the affected area, including ​​Petrokemija, Sherif Group HiPP, the manufacturer of plastic bags Optiplast, the manufacturer of components for microchips, Applied Ceramics, the food chain City Kebab and the Italian ABS, which took over the plants of the former Sisak ironworks.

The meeting was also attended by the Minister of Labour, Josip Aladrovic, and Sisak-Moslavina County Prefect Ivo Zinic, as well as representatives of Hamag-Bicro, HBOR, HGK, HOK and HUP. The most attention, as stated, is being paid to small Croatian companies, and Coric announced that those business owners whose facilities were destroyed in the natural disaster at the end of 2020 will be given the opportunity to continue doing business in the temporary container settlement that is being built near Petrinja.

In addition to the already taken measures of the moratorium on business loans, Coric added that in the coming months, long-term measures will be taken to revitalise the affected area, and the possibility of introducing special tax treatment is also being actively considered.

January the 14th, 2021 - The European Union's much desired and even more talked about Green Energy Transition has been at the top of the list of many countries, but with coronavirus and in Croatia's case multiple earthquakes, it might have slipped. Is Croatia lagging behind when it comes to the Green Energy Transition, and could it be losing out financially as a result?

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Mirjana Samardzic Novoselec writes, back at the end of last year, the European Union charted its already well-known path - the conversion of environmental challenges into a unique opportunity for a fair and inclusive energy transition. With its ambitious goals by 2050, the European Green Plan is an instrument for creating the first climate-neutral continent, the so-called Green Europe.

The framework plan for measures to exploit natural resources by moving to a clean circular economy, halting climate change, restoring biodiversity and reducing pollution has been quantified by the necessary investments and sources of funding. All economic sectors have been covered, especially transport, energy, agriculture, maintenance and construction of buildings, but also industries such as steel, cement, textiles and chemicals, and information and communication technologies.

With the new Multiannual Financial Framework for 2021-2027, a new generation Europe supplement, the EU is doubling its current budget in two ways: through the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism and the European Union's Regional Policy Funds. On the one hand, the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism is based on tackling the climate and environmental crisis as an opportunity for green economy development and the digital transition as a guarantee of social and economic resilience, and on the other hand, under the cohesion investment policy for 2021-2027, the EU will focus on five main objectives - promoting innovative and smart economic transformation, a greener, low-carbon Europe, strengthening ICT mobility and regional connectivity, implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights and strengthening sustainable and integrated development in urban, rural and coastal areas.

Projects in the field of energy, environment and climate change adaptation will stimulate a number of segments, most of which focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, the circular economy and green infrastructure, and the synergy of digitalisation and energy transition for smart and sustainable cities and villages. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has published a Climate Bank Investment Plan for 2021-2025 and the EIB financing of 1 trillion euros by 2030 gives a strong stamp to the European Green Plan and offers assistance in creating a European climate-neutral continent.

The plan also describes the need to channel funds to regions whose economies are still dependent on energy-intensive industries, such as coal mines or steel production. They believe that such regions will have the hardest time adapting to the new green economy, and they want to achieve a fair transition. To make this possible, in addition to social equality, the segment of investing in resources, education, job creation for people whose livelihoods are threatened by the transition to a low-carbon economy and the effects of climate change was highlighted. According to the recently presented National Development Strategy, by 2030, Croatia is seen as a competitive, innovative and secure country with a recognisable identity and culture, a country of preserved resources, quality living conditions and equal opportunities for all.

On the other hand, in the new period of 2021-2027, we can expect twice as much funding and a strong emphasis on the topics of innovation development, digitalisation and the green economy. Thus, Croatia will have 24 billion euros at its disposal in the period 2021-2027, as opposed to the 10.7 billion euros available in the period 2014-2020. Croatia also has the adoption of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan as a key document for obtaining support from the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism before it. Integrating measures from the European Green Plan into the National Recovery and Resilience Plan would stimulate economic activity, innovation and development.

Unfortunately, it is not that simple in the case of Croatia, which is quite significantly lagging behind in terms of the Green Energy Transition. There is already an obvious delay in the adoption and implementation of policies, the inconsistency of various development documents, but also insufficiently clear answers on how to achieve these and other quite ambitious goals. These challenges raise a clear question: Will the Croatian Government succeed in expressing its will to accept the goals of climate neutrality by 2050 and embrace a truly Green Croatia?

The importance of preparing well and actually doing so on time was also pointed out by the director of the European Investment Bank for the Adriatic region, Miguel Morgado, speaking at the European Recovery Plan conference in November 2020. He pointed out that for 70 percent of the funds that will be available, Croatia must commit by 2022 in order to reach them in time to withdraw. On the other hand, implementation requires expertise, political will and significant investments, including public and private ones.

Aside from the adoption of various strategies, which are ultimately just a wish list, Croatia seems to have a very low level of ambition for decarbonisation, institutional capacity to coordinate various policies is limited, and investments are not detailed. From all the above, the integration of measures into the National Recovery and Resilience Plan is a major challenge, and it remains to be seen how its implementation in terms of Croatia and the Green Energy Transition process will proceed. For the time being, Croatia isn't doing much more than merely showing a desire for the Green Energy tTansition, but without clearly defined investment priorities and available secured funds, existing strategic projects still don't really have enough of a connection with the Green Energy Transition.

Despite all the challenges lying before Croatia, it is clear that the country is now being given the opportunity to launch a green wave of investment. It must be carried out by clean energy production with special emphasis on photovoltaic technology, geothermal energy and hydrogen, the deep energy renovation of buildings to increase energy efficiency and the digitalisation process for the development of smart energy systems, networks and energy storage, as well as the concept of smart cities and villages.

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.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.