August 23, 2020 - Dubrovnik Mayor Mato Frankovic revealed in a live program for N1 television that, despite the coronavirus, six British planes had arrived in the city on Saturday. But how many British tourists did they carry?  

While the news certainly sounds positive at first glance, since the UK placed Croatia on its quarantine list on Thursday, let's take a closer look. 

Namely, if we look at the figures presented by Frankovic, it turns out that 352 British tourists landed in Dubrovnik, which isn't really a figure to brag about. Frankovic, however, stated that this was a positive number, and also emphasized that two more planes would arrive on Saturday night.

A brief analysis of the Croatian Aviation portal shows that 352 British tourists can't be considered good news. In fact, they call those numbers catastrophic.

"The mayor of Dubrovnik praised the media that a significant arrival of British tourists to Dubrovnik was recorded at Dubrovnik Airport on August 22 (after the mandatory self-isolation for all passengers coming from Croatia to the UK came into force). Six direct flights from Great Britain arrived with 352 passengers.

However, seven planes from Great Britain landed at Dubrovnik Airport, while the eighth will land late tonight (Saturday):

1. Jet2.com, London Stansted, 09:22h (B737-800)
2. EasyJet, London Gatwick, 09:51h (A320)
3. Jet2.com, Birmingham, 09:54h (B737-800)
4. EasyJet, Edinburgh, 10:11h (A320NEO)
5. Jet2.com, Manchester, 11:55h (B737-800)
6. British Airways, London Heathrow, 12:00h (A320)
7. EasyJet, London Gatwick, 20:12h (A320)
8. EasyJet, Manchester, 20:37h (A320NEO)
9. EasyJet, London Luton, 22.24h (A319)

As the 352 passengers on Saturday's first six flights from Great Britain to Dubrovnik have been publicly announced, we will only state the following; a total of 1,119 seats were offered on six flights in the direction of Dubrovnik. If only 352 passengers really arrived in Dubrovnik on those flights, the occupancy of the passenger cabin is only around 31%.

Given the number of seats offered and direct flights, the number of arrivals of British tourists is not good, but catastrophic."

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.

August 23, 2020 - Croatian tennis player Borna Coric kicked off the Western & Southern Open in New York with a win! This was his first official match after a six-month break due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In the first round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament, which was traditionally held in Cincinnati, but this year is hosted in New York because of the pandemic, Coric competed against the Frenchman Benoit Paire, who surrendered the match after losing seven games in a row.

The young Croatian tennis player won the first set 6-0 after only half an hour of play, and after winning the first game of the second set, the Frenchman surrendered the match.

In the next round, Coric will face Belgian player David Goffin, who was free in the first round. It will be their fifth meeting, and Goffin won the previous four. However, the last time they played was in 2016.

The only female Croatian representative at the WTA Western & Southern Open tournament, Donna Vekic, was defeated in the first round by Belarusian Viktoria Azarenka 2-6, 3-6.

It was their third meeting and the first victory of the Belarusian tennis player.

Marin Cilic was eliminated by Canadian Denis Shapovalov, the 12th seed and 16th best tennis player in the world, with a score of 6:3, 6:3.

The Canadian won the first set after the break in the sixth game, and in the second, he took Marin's serve in the third and ninth games. Cilic reached one break-point during the whole match (at 2:2 in the first set), which he did not use, scoring two aces with a first-serve percentage of 65%.

This was their fourth meeting and Shapovalov's third victory.

Source: HTS

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.

August 23, 2020 - Moving to a new country comes with a world of challenges, and the potential language barrier isn't the only thing you'll have to overcome. Meet Rent A Local, a new online platform launched in Split to facilitate all of your expat needs. 

Croatia is a dream for foreigners thanks to the sun, sparkling Adriatic Sea, untouched nature, UNESCO heritage and laidback lifestyle. For many, it is heaven on earth, that is, until you have to face the beast that is Croatian bureaucracy.

But what if we told you that these obstacles can now be overcome with the help of a new online platform that is here to serve you and all of your expat needs, from hiring a translator or lawyer to having your hand held through the long and painful residency or citizenship process?

And that's not all. 

"We're a group of local experts helping foreign citizens. Rent a local and let him help you with your every need. Whether it is a lawyer, a plumber, to schedule a trip or anything else. Enjoy the best things in Croatia - we'll handle the stressful ones!" 

TCN met up with Andela Prnjak, the brains behind Rent A Local, to find out more. 

"A few years ago, I came up with this entire idea and the name. I mean, Rent A Local is such a simple and cool name that already tells you everything you need to know. I have a lot of friends who are expats, as well as my boyfriend, and I know the troubles they have to go through. After I went through a lot of the processes with my boyfriend, I learned very quickly that this was anything but easy for expats to do alone. 

I am a producer here with 10 years of experience, and I have worked on a lot of documentaries, movies, commercials and series in Croatia, mostly with international companies, which also gave me a lot of knowledge in this field. I have to work through Croatian bureaucracy often, and if I don't know the answer to something, I find people who do. Now, I have an enormous group of people here that I can trust and will get things done," said Prnjak, who added that she could even hire magicians or helicopters for you, should you require such a service. 

"Because my job always required me to push my boundaries, I am now able to take on most of the challenges in Croatia."

When Croatia went on lockdown back in March because of the coronavirus pandemic, Prnjak realized she had a bit more time on her hands - and it was the ideal time to launch Rent A Local. 

"And now, anything you need, from planning a wedding to hiring a boat, or getting your residence permit, we can do. We will link you up with the expert in their field to help you with whatever you need. We won't just set you up with someone doing this for the first time. We have collected experts that we trust, and we promise you won't experience any trouble or encounter any problems," Prnjak added. 

"Everyone we work with is mostly Croatian, though we also know some expats here that are qualified to help you as well. In our first year, we are only going to focus on Croatia, but we plan to expand into other countries in the region. While we are now mostly promoting this service for people in Croatia, because I have worked as a producer in the entire Balkan region, we can potentially help you with your needs in Bosnia or Serbia, too."

Rent A Local will offer a variety of agreements. Whether you want someone to hold your hand through the entire residency process, or just need to consult a lawyer for advice, anything is possible with Rent A Local. 

"Whatever your problem is, you tell us, and we will handle it how we think best!"

Apartment hunting is always a challenging process for expats. If you're clueless about where to live or are worried the landlord will take advantage of you, there is a lot more you'll have to consider than the price. 

"At Rent A Local, our experts will help you find the apartment, our lawyers will look at the contract, and we will protect you in every way we can."

So, what is the craziest thing they'll do for you?

"For now, all of our inquiries have been for one person that has one specific need, but I am really excited about taking on a group that has a lot of specific needs. And we are talking about something even more challenging than Croatian bureaucracy!" Prnjak says with enthusiasm. 

To conclude, Prnjak sends a message to the expats of Croatia.

"What I have to say to expats is that Croatia is a beautiful country with a great quality of life, but there are just some things that are not worth your stress. So, we are here to help you with that! We want you to take the best of Croatia - and don't worry about the rest."

Whether your an expat in Croatia or a local who doesn't want to go through some of these painful processes, Rent A Local is ready to take on your needs. 

You can learn more about Rent A Local on their official website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram! 

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.

August 23, 2020 - If Croatia strictly adheres to measures over the next ten days, can September tourism be saved? A look at the situation in Split.

Slobodna Dalmacija writes that maybe this is not the end, but only a short break in this year's tourist season, because if Croatia manages to reverse the trends in the number of cases in the next 10 days, most of September's tourist traffic can be saved by working and behaving differently. 

This is what Croatian tourism workers and their partners from abroad have said after the UK, Germany and Slovenia placed Croatia, or its regions, on the list of high-risk countries.

This means that after returning from Croatia, their citizens must undergo mandatory self-isolation for 14 days and/or test negative for the coronavirus.

Although some public officials were shocked by the decisions of these countries, from which Croatia received the most guests this summer, no one is seriously surprised by the restrictions because, well, they weren't decided overnight.

This summer, everyone abroad was amazed by the leisure with which Croatia lives and entertains tourists, without fear, without masks, restrictions, or distance. Everything that was banned in Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria, in the post-corona era, was allowed in Croatia. And while we interpreted it with our charm and spontaneity, Europe perceived it as - irresponsible.

They monitored, watched, counted and tested citizens on their return from Croatia, and in the end, Croatia arrived in the red. Exclusively and only thanks to too much relaxation and endless tolerance in the name of tourism, weddings, cross-border entries from third countries (BiH, Serbia, Kosovo) and nightclubs were the biggest culprits.

"What is there, is there. You can't go back now. The United Kingdom, Slovenia and Germany have clearly communicated their criteria for putting us on the red list and there are no questions. They also made it clear to us that they would remove us from that list of high-risk countries as soon as the epidemiological situation improved and the number of those infected decreased. So, again, everything depends only on us. Here, the Slovenes removed Portugal and Austria from that list yesterday because their data on the number of patients is much lower. So, we can do that and be on the list of countries again without restrictions for tourists, but only if in the next 10 days we do literally everything we can to make that happen. All these countries have left the door open for us to be quickly removed from the red list if we make the situation better ourselves," says Veljko Ostojic, director of the Croatian Tourism Association.

Mandatory self-isolation and coronavirus testing, which the UK has demanded from its citizens on holiday in Croatia since their return since Saturday, have led to a large number of Britons leaving the Adriatic. There were around 20,000 in the country. The most affected by the UK's decision is certainly Split and Split-Dalmatia County, which welcomes several planes a day on flights from the UK, whose citizens are the most numerous guests in Split.

"Split is certainly the most affected by the decisions of Great Britain and Germany because we welcomed the most guests from those two countries in August, and the announcements and reservations for September were above the planned and expected. But we do not want to talk about the end of the season in any way because we have not given up on tourism even in more complex situations and times. We continue to be present in all markets important to us, primarily those with which Split is connected with about 60 airlines. We hope and will do everything to make the epidemiological situation better and that this is the reason for the arrival of guests who planned to spend September in our city," said Alijana Vuksic, director of the Split Tourist Board.

And it is the air connections with Europe, which have been heading to Split since July, that have brought Split to the very top of traffic in Croatia in August. Thus, Split, as in the best tourist years, was in third place in terms of tourist visits in August, just behind Rovinj and Porec. Airlines to Split have been confirmed for the whole of September with excellent aircraft occupancy, so the question remains whether the new situation will change those plans.

At Split's Resnik Airport, the two largest markets in terms of the number of passengers are those from Germany and Great Britain, from where there are a dozen daily flights to Split from several airlines. In August, instead of the planned about 150 thousand passengers, 250 thousand of them arrived in Split, while for September, about 130 thousand passengers were planned to land at Resnik.

However, as both Germany and the United Kingdom update their list of high-risk countries every seven to 10 days, if the situation in Croatia improves in the coming days, tourist traffic in September and already made reservations can still be achieved.

Slovenia also stated that it is ready to react quickly and put Croatia back in the yellow travel zone if the figures confirm it.

"There are currently about 100,000 Slovenes in Croatia and they should return in the next three days. Slovenia wanted to bring the epidemiological situation under control before the start of the school year, now that 80 percent of Slovenes were already on the Adriatic. We in Slovenia really hope that in the coming days, the numbers of cases in Croatia will start to drop and that September will be the most beautiful month of vacation for Slovenes on the Adriatic. There are a lot of older Slovenes and those with preschool children who come to Croatia in September and I believe that will be the case. Now it is like this; we hope that this is a temporary closure and that the unhindered arrival of Slovenes in Croatia will continue again soon. Our government updates the list every week and as soon as Croatia has better numbers, it will be removed for sure. No one is interested in this situation and we hope that it will change quickly," said Primoz Longyka, editor of the Slovenian tourist magazine "Fokus Plus", a good connoisseur of Croatian tourism.

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.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 21st of August, 2020, the director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, Krunoslav Capak, called on young people who have been in nightclubs to avoid contact with the elderly when they returned home.

''We’ve introduced a few measures in regard to clubs, and we have news from the field that says they're good. But there are also young people who go on to cafes and restaurants after clubs, which can be in operation for longer, which isn't good,'' said Krunoslav Capak.

He warned that some weddings are being moved and organised in Herzegovina due to the measures placed on weddings in Croatia, and that that must absolutely be avoided at all costs.

''Weddings there are cheaper in big salons. This should be avoided. We intend to gather the heads of local headquarters together and come to an agreement in which they adopt those measures issued by the National Civil Protection Headquarters in terms of restricting the work of some facilities and restricting family gatherings,'' explained Krunoslav Capak.

He believes that a good balance has been struck between the anti-epidemic measures and tourism. He expects the season to continue for a few more weeks. "The measures are good and most tourists feel safe," Capak said.

Journalists were interested in how many cases of infection are associated with the feast of the Assumption and Alka in Sinj.

"I was told from local headquarters that there are two infected people in the continental part of the country who don't know where they got infected, and they were at Alka in Sinj," Krunoslav Capak said.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said that the decision on the tourist season was political. Journalists asked Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic what other politically motivated decisions were made by the National Civil Protection Headquarters.

''There are no such decisions. Tourism is an important branch in Croatia, but we opened on the basis of scientific data that the virus isn't so dangerous in the summer, which is reflected in the clinical picture of patients. It was an epidemiological assessment that it was possible to open up. When you have low numbers for days and tourism as the main economic branch, then it's only logical,'' said Bozinovic.

For more on coronavirus in Croatia, follow our dedicated section.

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.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has seen many a planned investment grind to a halt or even be flushed down the proverbial toilet, but Pevex (formerly Pevec) is steaming ahead with its investment plans for autumn, regardless of the economic threat the pandemic continues to pose.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes on the 21st of August, 2020, Pevex has big plans for the cooler months, and the virus isn't going to get in its way.

''The coronavirus pandemic has taught us that we need to act quickly, so we're stepping up the momentum in which we're continuing one of our main business determinants - investing in expanding the retail network with two new sales centres per year in places with more than 15,000 inhabitants, but we're not going to just stop there,'' said Jurica Lovrincevic, the President of the Management Board of Pevex in conversation with Poslovni dnevnik.

In order to be more accessible to an even larger number of consumers at no additional cost, they are launching, he added, a business model with delivery centres modeled on those of the wildly popular Ikea, which involves some leased space at Pevex's centre in Pula. However, Pevex’s model is different, and developed solely for its needs.

Two such centres are planned to open by the end of the year - one will cover up to to 500 m2 and the other will cover up to 1000 m2, and the others will open throughout 2021 in a number of Croatian cities. Gospic, Ogulin, Otocac, Zabok, Krapina and Knin are the first announced locations in which Pevex looking for landlords, but other locations are also possible, according to the main man of Pevex.

Due to such and similar investment activities, regardless of the ongoing coronavirus crisis, Pevex's new projects are welcomed across all local communities and among potential partners with whom they're negotiating. It could therefore be concluded that many want Pevex as an investor to come to them in one way or another with any type of centre and develop a business at their location, pay local taxes and most importantly - employ local people.

In this sense, the project that Lovrincevic says is considered the crown of the new development phase of Pevex - a large logistics and distribution centre near Zagreb, stands out.

He says that many mayors and other such individuals in the Zagreb area want to attract this mega investment. As things stand, strong competition in the background is evolving in the real estate market, apparently further fueled by reduced demand due to the coronavirus crisis, which Pevex didn't expect.

"We received about 20 calls in a week from a number of local self-government units, as well as from private investors. All of them are offering us space for the construction of a unique logistics centre which will cover more than 60,000 m2, the investment value of which is 300 million kuna, while for the total realisation, we're looking for land covering 200,000 m2.

The investment study was made by Deloitte and shows how construction within the 30-kilometre ring in Zagreb is possible, provided it is connected to the motorway network,'' explained Lovrincevic, adding that the best offer will be selected by the end of the year.

The number of centres where Pevex operates has already grown significantly when compared to the situation when financial and ownership restructuring was carried out. With 8 centres before bankruptcy, and with a new one set to open in Vinkovci, the number rose to 26 centres, and this data confirms that the coronavirus, as well as the significant loss of revenue of about 100 million kuna they suffered during lockdown, failed to slow down Pevex's investments, nor did it manage to reshape the company's investment plans.

The expansion plan on both the continent and on the Adriatic includes two new centres next year - in Pozega and Porec, and the company is benefiting from a special circumstance in which they have developed their own capacities to quickly implement new projects.

"Two new projects that we've realised this year in regard to property actually owned by us are the centres in Vinkovci and Slavonski Brod. We'll organise the opening of the Vinkovci centre in the first week of September, while in Slavonski Brod, where we're leaving the leased space and opening a new centre in our own property, we'll open exactly a month later,'' announced Lovrincevic.

When asked what the predictions are regarding business risks, especially taking into account the dark forecasts of the deepening economic crisis, layoffs and reduced employment, with a negative impact on the personal consumption factor, the Pevex boss responded:

"If a severe crisis comes, it will be at the expense of our profits, not at the expense of Pevex's development. We've accumulated reserves that are the basis and the answer, so we're ready for all scenarios.''

Pevex's investments this year also include an investment in the coastal town of Makarska which will take place this autumn. Pevex is moving to a leased space in a shopping centre that was owned by the former Agrokor (now Fortenova), but was sold to a Dutch fund and has been used by Konzum and Velpro so far.

For more, follow our business page.

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.

As Novac/Lidija Kiseljak/zupan.hr writes on the 21st of August, 2020 in the finals of the selection for the best county project, in the Contribution to the local community category, Lika-Senj County entered with the project of demining agricultural land, worth a total of 223 million kuna, and the third phase of the project phase amounts to 87.4 million kuna.

The project was implemented in three phases, over three years, from 2016 to 2018, and is funded by the Rural Development Programme of the Republic of Croatia, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, Submeasure 5.2. "Support for investments in the reconstruction of agricultural land and production potential damaged by natural disasters, adverse climatic events and catastrophic events", Operation "Demining of agricultural land" and funds from the Croatian Mine Action Centre (2018).

Public procurement

Back in May 2015, Lika-Senj County applied for the tender issued by the Agency for Payments in Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development for the award of support from the Rural Development Programme of the Republic of Croatia for the period 2014-2020. for a demining project of agricultural land in the county. In June 2015, the decision on the eligibility of applications for support from the agency was received, after which an open public procurement procedure was launched.

During 2016 and 2017, about 18.1 km2 of agricultural land in Lika-Senj County was demined, and the total value of the work performed amounted to a massive 130 million kuna. The works continued throughout 2018 on an area of ​​8.4 km2, and the value of the works stood at 87.4 million kuna. The project was completed back in 2019, and the implementation of this project demined a total of 26,511,141 m2 of agricultural land, or over 99 percent of  the agricultural land contaminated with mines across Lika-Senj County.

Through the EAFRD in 2016 in Lika-Senj County, support in the amount of 46,051,547.00 kuna was granted for the demining of mine-contaminated agricultural land in the municipalities of Perusic and Donji Lapac, and the towns of Otocac and Perusic, covering a total area of ​​6.8 square kilometres.

Funds in the total amount of 88,214,482.29 kuna during 2017 were directed to the demining of agricultural areas covering 11,253,465 square metres within the county in the settlements of Agabe and Canak, in the area of ​​Tromedja and Bliznica, in the settlement of Donji Vaganac, in the area of ​​Obljajac and in the settlements of Novoselija and Veljun, Barlete and Bilaj, and agricultural areas between the settlements of Licki Ribnik and Ornice.

Within the county, there is still 135 km2 of mine suspected area, which is 30 percent of the total mine suspected area in the entire territory of the Republic of Croatia. The largest part of the mine suspected area in the county, or 90 percent of it, consisted of forested areas, while agricultural areas accounted for about 10 percent of it. At the end of the project, a mere 1 percent of the area of ​​formerly mine contaminated agricultural land remained demined.

The final realisation of this project has led to the improvement of general living conditions and security in the area, as well as economic and social benefits in formerly war-affected areas, with the opening up of new opportunities for rural development and infrastructure. Given that these areas have been intact for more than 25 years, the possibility of applying organic agricultural production has been created. As Lika-Senj prefect Darko Milinovic emphasised in 2018, a total of 223 million kuna was spent on the project through three phases, and the project is important for the safety of citizens, forest exploitation, agricultural development and rural tourism.

"We expect that the completion of the Agricultural Land Demining Project, with the use of measures from the Rural Development Programme of the Republic of Croatia, will further encourage the development of agricultural production in the county,'' said Prefect Milinovic.

Today, in the part of Lika-Senj County that was included in the demining programme of the agricultural land, about 70 percent of the county's family farms are located - about 3,400 of them. It is evident that there are large natural resources in this county which should be developed. Thus, today, Lika-Senj County with its 72,500 registered sheep is the second largest county in terms of the number of sheep in the Republic of Croatia (most of the country's sheep are otherwise bred in Zadar County - 95,700 of them). In addition, in the last four years alone, a significant increase in the number of cattle, of as much as 62 percent, has been recorded, which is proof that the development of agricultural production in Lika-Senj County is based on the development of livestock.

In the public procurement procedure, search and demining activities in Lika-Senj County in 2016 were awarded to the company Istrazivac d.o.o. from Nustar, which was introduced at the end of February 2016 in the search and demining business at the locations of Licki Ribnik, Ornice, Novo Selo Bilajsko and Divoselo.

A total of thirteen partner companies with 150 deminers, ten machines and five pairs of dogs were engaged at the site. The work was done throughout the duration of the project, seven days a week. In the second phase of the project, five Croatian companies were involved with their deminers and machines, and in the third phase, during 2018, a total of thirteen demining contracts were concluded with thirteen different contractors, each of which had a large number of subcontractors of their own.

For more on EU and national projects in Croatia, follow our lifestyle page.

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.

As Novac/Lidija Kiseljak/zupan.hr writes on the 21st of August, 2020, "Mala Barka 2: The preservation of the maritime heritage of the northern Adriatic" is a project from Primorje-Gorski Kotar County with which they entered the finals of the selection for the best EU county project within the Contribution to cross-border cooperation category. The project is part of the Interreg V-A Slovenia - Croatia 2014 - 2020 cooperation programme and relates to the location of the border area that includes Kvarner and Istria, as well as the Slovenian Littoral just across the border.

The project lasted from the 1st of October 2016 to the 31st of March 2019. The project holder itself is Primorje-Gorski Kotar County and the partners are the Kvarner Tourist Board, the Maritime and Historical Museum of the Croatian Littoral of Rijeka, the Association and Ecomuseum “House of Batana” Rovinj - Associazione Ecomuseo “Casa della batana” Rovigno, the Municipality of Izola - Comune di Isola, the Izola Tourist Association - Ente per il turismo Isola, the Municipality of Piran - Comune di Pirano and Maritime Museum - Museo del mare “Sergej Masera” Piran - Pirano.

The value of the project stands at an enormous 2,124,018.17 euros, of which the amount of 1,805,415.44 euros is covered by the European Regional Development Fund. The financial part related to Primorje-Gorski Kotar County stood at 540,141.41 euros and the amount of 459,120.20 euros was co-financed from the European Regional Development Fund.

Maritime heritage is a great and untapped tourist potential of the northern Adriatic and unfortunately the urbanisation and modernisation of society are erasing the traditional maritime heritage of this area, which could largely disappear irretrievably.

''Our motive, but also our challenge, was how we can find a way to permanently protect and promote the valuable and rich maritime heritage of Kvarner and this part of the Adriatic. Therefore, the main goal of the project is the preservation, protection, promotion and development of the maritime heritage of the border area through tourist valorisation and based on the principles of sustainable tourism. This project sought to maximally protect the existing tangible and intangible maritime heritage throughout the coastal part of the border area and to use it systematically through a series of measures (the setting up of interpretation centres, holding educational and demonstration events, the establishment of a virtual museum, etc)'' they say from Primorje-Gorski Kotar County.

The Mala barka (Little boat) project started back in 2015 and continued with "Mala barka 2".

''We've upgraded our maritime network by creating small floating ''open-air museums'' - restored traditional wooden boats and interpretation centres in Krk and Losinj. The biggest attraction is the floating Interpretation Centre for Maritime Heritage of the Island of Losinj, the Nerezinac camp. We also included experts in maritime heritage in this project.

Furthermore, we invited skilled masters of traditional construction who participated in the renovation processes, and passed on their knowledge to younger generations through the Academy of Maritime Crafts and Skills. They also joined the traditional interpretation events and presented their knowledge and skills to visitors and tourists. We haven't forgotten to highlight other important forms of maritime heritage, such as old ports, museums, old maritime factories, craft workshops and other smaller maritime elements. Our goal was to make it visible and recognisable,'' they say from Primorje-Gorski Kotar County.

Furthermore, a strong promotional campaign was conducted based on many traditional events, including traditional small boat regattas, exhibitions of restored old wooden boats, etc. Cross-border tourism itineraries were also developed in the name of this prokect. A virtual museum was created, which enables the availability of the entire tangible and intangible maritime heritage to all groups of society. The practice was even transferred to Italy as part of the current implementation of the Arca Adriatica project, which is implemented within the Interreg Italy-Croatia Cooperation Programme 2014-2020.

For more on EU and cross-border projects in Croatia, follow our lifestyle page.

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.