July 30, 2020 - Continuing our look at Dubrovnik tourism in the corona era, an interview with Ayhan Basci, General Manager of luxury Rixos Premium Dubrovnik.  

Last week, I accepted a couple of invitations to visit Dubrovnik to see how the Pearl of the Adriatic is faring in the corona era. My first host was the recently renovated luxury Rixos Premium Dubrovnik (you can read my impressions here). 

I took the opportunity to interview the Rixos Premium General Manager, Ayhan Basci, to learn more about the challenges of running a big hotel in these difficult times. 

Season 2020 is the most challenging in recent memory for the hospitality industry all over the world. How are things going?

This was unpredıctable and ıt can happen once ın a lıfe tıme. All types of ındustrıes have been affected, but we are the ones hıt by the pandemic the most. However, we have now completed our renovatıon and kept all staff possıble. As of today, we are receıvıng even more reservatıons. We are stıll thinking posıtıvely that we wıll make a good end of year.

Some hotels in Dubrovnik did not open at all, others cut staff. What has the Rixos approach been?

We are open all year. We wıll always keep doors open. It ıs other group hotels are closıng some of theır propertıes. We do understand that. We didn’t cut staff due to Covıd-19.

How does a general manager of a 310-room hotel prepare for the season this year with so much uncertainty?

I do not have a recommendatıon to anyone at all. Things are changıng on a daily basis, even from the mornıng to the afternoon. I am grateful to all suppliers, staff, and partners that they all understand the sıtuatıon. All partıes have contrıbuted their utmost to make the best of this chaotic situation.

You reopened a few months ago after a 20 million euro facelift. What are the main highlights of the new look?

We wanted to create an atmosphere that was Fresh, Natural, Healthy, Luxury. The maın aım ıs make the guests comfortable and to entertaın them. There are so many new additions with this renovation. 

The hotel has nine multifunctional meeting rooms with an offer of advanced technologies and due to its exceptional location, ie -its close proximity to the city centre of Dubrovnik, in a natural bay overlooking the nearby island of Lokrum, it is "ideal for business guests".It has nine multifunctional meeting rooms with an offer of advanced technologies and due to its exceptional location, ie -its close proximity to the city centre of Dubrovnik, in a natural bay overlooking the nearby island of Lokrum, it is "ideal for business guests".

A novelty in the offer is the Umi Teppanyaki Japanese restaurant, located next to the Libertas Lounge bar, where chefs with rich international experience prepare the most beautiful delicacies of Japanese cuisine with show cooking on the spot in front of the guests. Numerous delicacies are offered to guests on the menus of the Turquoise Restaurant, Sport Bar and Libertas Fish Restaurant located on the beach.

Three things struck me during my stay at Rixos Premium - the greenery, the space, and the wide range of activities. Tell us a little more about all three.

The vısıon of the archıtect was to create Dubrovnık gardens lıke those you can find around the old town or at the old summer resıdences. To connect the guests wıth nature even when they are ınsıde. The hotel ıtself ıs very spacıous, we have the largest lobby and publıc spaces so close to the old town. It gıves you a feelıng of space and freedom. In terms of actıvıtıes, we wıll have smart sport lıve, whıch ıs a weekly program wıth Domagoj Hum, Nordic walking, tennis, table tennis, billiards, qıgong. Besıde that we have aır hockey tables, table soccer, a large fıtness center and an amazıng spa.

Rixos has been active in the Dubrovnik market since 2007. How has that experience been so far?

To be honest, ıt has not always been easy, partıcularly wıth the paperwork etc. Stıll, we made ıt. We have an extraordınary product and we are lookıng forward to be one of the best Croatıan Hotels.

Last year, the biggest word associated with Dubrovnik was 'overtourism', something which is not mentioned in 2020. Is there a silver lining for Dubrovnik with the corona crisis? Time for a reset? What is your vision of the best way forward for Dubrovnik tourism?

I thınk ıt ıs a good tıme for everybody to reset. To fıgure out true values and where Dubrovnık tourısm should go. Absolutely not ın the mass tourısm dırectıon. Definitely, we should lımıt daıly vısıtors from outsıde the cıty. To prevent traffıc jams, so that guests staying ın Dubrovnık can easıly move around. As well, ıt should be a favorable place to lıve for locals. We need to strıve ın the luxury dırectıon but wıth an approprıate offer. Authorıtıes should be receptive new ıdeas. Rıcher guests have dıfferent expectatıons ın terms of offers and services, and we need to create what we do not have at thıs poınt. Thıs cıty ıs very beautıful and hıstorıcally sıgnıfıcant. Let’s not destroy ıt!

Three things about Dubrovnik you recommend to your guests that may not be the first thing in the guidebook?

It ıs hard to have a secret here, as all spots are quıet known. But my recommendatıons would be: Walk up the Srdj mountaın ıf you are a sports lover, vısıt Lokrum for a daytrıp and have a swım ın the seawater lake, followed by a nıce drınk watchıng peacocks and rabbıts runnıng around, visit the old town before ıt gets dark, walk around the narrow streets away from Stradun. Fınd a little bar or café and enjoy the beauty.

And finally, your favourite spot in Dubrovnik, and why?

Of course, thıs hotel and the Lıbertas Lobby Terrace. We are so close to the old town, but ın a quıet bay wıth a unıque vıew to Lokrum and Dance monastery.

Learn more about Rixos Premium Dubrovnik on the official website. 

Paul Bradbury was a guest of Rixos Premium Dubrovnik in July 2020.

As many as 14,000 households in the area of ​​Velika Gorica near the City of Zagreb will have the possibility of the use of ultra-fast Internet with speeds over 100 Mbit/s, and in the future these speeds will exceed 1 Gbit/s thanks to a large investment from Croatian Telecom.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 29th of July, 2020, Croatian Telecom/Hrvatski Telekom, the largest private investor in the Republic of Croatia, has started implementing the most modern optical infrastructure in the area of ​​Velika Gorica which is situated close to the capital, the move will provide Velika Gorica's citizens with gigabit speeds and the best experience possible when using Croatian Telecom's telecommunications services.

The project worth around 29 million kuna will enable the connection of as many as 14,000 households to ultra-fast Internet with speeds over 100 Mbit/s, and in the future these speeds will exceed 1 Gbit/s. In addition to the superior experience of home internet connection, which is necessary for working from home, holding distance learning and enjoying entertainment such as gaming, the implementation of this project will improve the use of advanced digital products and services such as e-Citizens, e-schools, e -health, e-parking and other projects in the domain of smart cities, and the use of which requires high access speeds.

"Optical networks to households undoubtedly provide the highest quality and fastest access to the Internet and are an integral part of the digitalisation of society, increasing economic competitiveness and quality of life. We're very pleased that Velika Gorica is part of our optical investments, which will provide a large number of citizens with an advanced user experience through the enjoyment of ultra-fast connectivity. This year, in a challenging business environment, Croatian Telecom is continuing with its investment plans, as evidenced by the record 60 percent growth in covering Croatian households with optics, which we plan to realise this year,'' said Croatian Telecom's Boris Drilo.

"Nowadays, modern high-speed communication infrastructure is one of the most important preconditions for economic development and investment attraction, but it's also important in all other spheres of social activity, especially when it comes to education. In the City of Velika Gorica, in recent years we've been continuously working on the improvement of the communication infrastructure, from the development of a broadband internet development plan to the establishment of numerous access points for free wireless internet access. The planned investment from Croatian Telecom in the form of the optical infrastructure in the area of ​​Velika Gorica is the most significant development project of this type so far, which is equally important for economic entities and institutions, as well as for households,'' said the Mayor of Velika Gorica, Drazen Barisic.

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July the 30th, 2020 - Eurospin, a popular Italian store which sells everything from food to clothes and household appliances at more than reasonable prices, is on its way to doing business in Croatia, and it will more than likely go down a storm with the majority.

When it comes to shopping options in Croatia, there aren't as many as you might find in other European countries. When compared to the likes of the United Kingdom and Germany, there isn't a great deal of lower cost possibilities to choose from, which often comes as a surprise to many given the huge average wage differences between Western European countries and that which is typical of Croatia.

That, however, might all be about to alter as a promotional campaign has been intensified across social networks and in the media on the occasion of the opening of the first Eurospin store in the country, as Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 29th of July, 2020.

"Customers who are familiar with Eurospin stores in Italy and Slovenia, welcomed the news of the arrival of a new Croatian chain of stores with its Italian roots. Under the motto Smart Shopping, the doors of the first Croatian Eurospin store will open in Zadar, on August the 13th,'' reads the Eurospin announcement.

''With more than 2,500 items of its own brands, Eurospin offers a full range of food and non-food products: from proven quality meat products in the butcher's department, delicious delicacies, fresh bakery products, fruits and vegetables, to clothing, household appliances and other everyday items,'' the statement reads, adding that the specificity of their stores is to sell Eurospin brands exclusively, but they also announced that they will readily provide space for the sale of Croatian products on their shelves.

For more on shopping and businesses operating in Croatia, follow our lifestyle page.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes on the 29th of July, 2020, an intensified campaign on the UK market will be carried out intensively until August the 10th, and a special article about Croatia in the Daily Mail was excellent promotion for Croatia, but there needs to be a resolution to the issues with another European country for HTZ to succeed further...

As soon as the United Kingdom put Spain on the red list of countries from which the British must enter into a fourteen-day quarantine upon their return to their country, the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ/CNTB) decided to step up promotional activities on that market.

As confirmed by HTZ, an intensified online campaign on social networks, the Google search engine and through native articles has been active since July the 27th, which also provides all relevant information for a safe arrival and stay in the country.

The intensified campaign will be carried out intensively over the next two weeks, more precisely until August the 10th. Promotion on the Dutch market is continuing at the same pace as before, although the Netherlands put Croatia "on the orange list" last week, HTZ added.

If we were to ask the tourism sector alone, the Dutch issue is perhaps more important for Croatia at this time, because the British were almost given up on this year due to a number of reasons, despite the fact that the UK is perhaps the most important European country when it comes to tourism in Croatia. The announcements from the Dutch market were decent, and it is a generous camping emitting market that is more accessible than the British market is this year due to a lack of flights.

"We started implementing intensive promotional campaigns on the British market in early July, from the moment the British put us on the list of safe countries. In addition to advertising and invitation campaigns and informative messages about travelling to Croatia, it's great that a special on Croatia was published in the Daily Mail (on July the 24th), which presented Croatia's tourist offer, and showcased Croatia as safe,'' they stated from HTZ.

It has since been discovered that the Daily Mail's glossy ''Croatia special'' wasn't a paid contribution, but it was created upon a decision made by the editorial board that Croatia is attractive and safe enough for British guests. Croatia expects stronger traffic from the British market in August, given that airlines have started with operations from London, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Birmingham, Bristol and other areas of the country.

This is especially important for destinations in the central and southern parts of Dalmatia, where British tourists most often come to stay. So far in July, there have been around 20,000 arrivals and almost 90,000 overnight stays from the UK market, and there are currently around 7,000 British tourists staying in the country.

While the Spaniards are struggling since the British authorities issued a mandatory fourteen-day quarantine for British tourists returning from that country, for Croatia, the biggest problem remains the Dutch decision to introduce the same measure for Dutch passengers arriving back in the Netherlands from Croatia.

The decision which was made a week ago is still in force, despite numerous actions to try to withdraw it, be it through politics or civic initiatives and petitions.

Despite the issues, about 17,000 Dutch tourists are currently staying in Croatia, which shows that the number of guests who left Croatia due to the Dutch Government's recommendation isn't at all significant, as there were about 23,000 at the beginning of last week. There were 56,350 arrivals from that market in July, and since the moment Croatia was put on the orange list by the Netherlands, over 6,000 guests from that country have come to Croatia.

HTZ hopes that Croatia, given the fact that the Dutch list is revised every fourteen days, will soon return to the list of safe and stable destinations. However, if the decision of the Dutch Government is not withdrawn, Croatia will lose significant traffic during the season, was was pointed out by the director of the Croatian Tourism Association, Veljko Ostojic.

"The decision to place Croatia on the orange list by the Dutch Government came just when people were planning their summer holidays, and many people could be deterred from coming to Croatia because of that decision. We are witnessing the decisions of some countries about travel becoming more political and less epidemiological. Therefore, there's no relaxation, and at all levels, from us in this sector to politics, we must manage the situation every day and inform our guests as much as possible that Croatia is safe to travel to and that all stakeholders in tourism are following the recommendations of epidemiologists,'' said Ostojic.

In addition to its weekly newsletter reporting on the situation in Croatia, HUT launched the Corona Region Tracker portal www.croatiacovid19.info last week, which monitors the epidemiological situation in four regions, the North Coast (Istria and Kvarner), the South Coast, Central Croatia and Eastern Croatia.

HTZ has pointed out that, in addition to classic marketing and advertising campaigns, they're working on special PR projects and activities, primarily with foreign journalists who can personally come and see how safe Croatia is for themselves.

"HZ is proactively communicating and monitoring announcements made on key markets, and is reacting in the event of inaccurate information about Croatia, which has recently been available, especially in the German and Austrian markets. We're delivering corrections and placing accurate information through our representative offices. In addition, we're communicating very intensively with the competent institutions, especially diplomacy, in order to react in a timely manner to certain situations in certain countries,'' they concluded.

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Update, August 12: For the latest developments regarding the UK's coronavirus travel restrictions, please follow this article, which is being regularly updated. 

July the 30th, 2020 - When it comes to Croatia's most important tourist markets, Western European nations such as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany are of enormous significance. Nationals of these rich European countries have been coming to spend their holidays in Croatia in their droves for many years and often have deep pockets. Coronavirus, however, has flipped all of that on its head.

The appearance of the new coronavirus has wreaked havoc in the travel and tourism industry across the globe. For countries like Croatia, which relies heavily on tourism as it makes up as much as 20 percent of the country's GDP, 2020 has been somewhat of an economic disaster so far, with some fearing that the worst is yet to come. With lockdown over and with travel restrictions easing all the time, the disease has begun to take hold again, and now the United Kingdom, one of the most powerful countries in Europe, is looking at the possibility of reintroducing mandatory self-isolation measures for British tourists returning to the UK from Croatia.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 29th of July, 2020, there is now a possibility that mandatory quarantine measures could be reintroduced for travellers returning to the United Kingdom from nearby Belgium, Luxembourg and the Republic of Croatia. It is a decision that will be made over the next two days by the British authorities, according to a report from The Guardian.

As stated, British authorities are currently keeping a very close eye on the jump in the number of infected people in Belgium, Luxembourg and Croatia, which is an extremely popular destination for British tourists. This could deliver a major shock to the Croatian economy which was hanging onto making up for as much losses as possible during August, and with the British market being among the most important in all of Europe.

Knowing its level of significance, the Croatian National Tourist Board threw itself at the British market, but for Croatia, the biggest problem is still the decisions of other European countries.

A mandatory fourteen-day quarantine was rapidly introduced last weekend for British tourists returning to the United Kingdom from Spain, which is perhaps traditionally the most popular destination for British tourists on the hunt for some summer sunshine, and which, much like the UK, was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

A decision on whether the British will need quarantine upon return from Croatia could be made on Thursday the 30th of July when a government committee dealing with issues surrounding the new coronavirus is due to meet.

For more on travel to, from and within Croatia during the coronavirus pandemic, follow our travel section.

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July 30, 2020 - The head of the National Civil Protection Headquarters and Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said on Wednesday that they were considering adopting new measures daily and called on event organizers to adhere to existing measures because that was the only way to decrease the number of cases.

"Every day, the Headquarters considers and takes into account all relevant data. We call on the organizers of events to adhere to the measures prescribed by the CNIPH; we call for responsibility," said Bozinovic, as reported by Slobodna Dalmacija.

Commenting on President Milanovic's repeated accusations that the National Headquarters is unconstitutional, Bozinovic reminded that the Headquarters was established in 2015, during the government of Prime Minister Milanovic.

“The only changes that have taken place are given this situation with the pandemic, which no one could have foreseen, neither then nor in 2019 when the law underwent certain amendments, and thus the headquarters was given the authority to make decisions related to the implementation of measures determined in cooperation with the CNIPH and the Ministry of Health, all under the supervision of the Government," the Minister pointed out.

He added that they had spoken with Education Minister Radovan Fuchs about the start of the school year in the autumn.

"We have agreed that within the Ministry of Education, there will be a special working group that will propose, and in some way support, the epidemiological service, and which will itself have an expert epidemiologist, given the whole range of issues and situations that should be anticipated given the risk of spreading the virus in school institutions," announced Bozinovic.

He added that there was no repression or tendency in the activities of the headquarters to diminish anyone's rights.

"This is a body that deals, based on knowledge and epidemiological recommendations and science, with finding a balance to maintain these activities, so that the economy and tourism do not stop," Bozinovic said.

He believes that the Parliament could not make a good decision, primarily due to lengthy debates, and change the same decision in less than 24 hours.

When asked by a journalist that the Association of Music Managers complained that they were unable to work and that they received a decision from only one county headquarters to allow gatherings of more than 1,000 people, the Minister said that there were already recommendations that cultural events and concerts could be organized in these circumstances, but with strict adherence to epidemiological measures.

"Some things are not possible in such epidemic conditions; concerts are not possible where a large number of people would gather as it used to be, and which would not maintain a physical distance between them. Concerts for 2020 and 2021 were practically canceled more or less throughout Europe, and in the USA until 2022. We must all find ways to organize ourselves in order for this activity to survive, and we can only do that through conversation, a rational approach," Bozinovic emphasized.

Minister of Health Vili Beros said that he had signed a pre-agreement for a million and a half doses of vaccine and that we had not paid anything yet because the signed contracts and agreements only regulate the procurement of vaccines in the future, emphasizing that Croatia is part of the European Commission initiative.

He added that the EU Commission is considering the modality of financing and the possibility for funding from EU structural and investment funds.

The director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, Krunoslav Capak, emphasized that the numbers in Croatia these days vary due to hotspots in Split-Dalmatia County and are related to new patients from weddings in Hrvace, and funerals in Imotski. In Vukovar-Srijem County, new patients are associated with a bachelor party in Cerna and a wedding that moved to Nasice.

He added that large numbers are associated with large gatherings and that this is the main source of infection at the moment. He confirmed that several people were infected at the Ministry of European and Foreign Affairs.

"In one organizational unit of the ministry, it is true that there are four sick people, none of the officials or close associates of Minister Grlic Radman is in self-isolation. Four sick people and several people from one organizational unit are in self-isolation," Capak said.

Asked if the opposition was once again calling for his removal because of the case of HSLS president Dari Hrebak, Capak stressed that he did not think a mistake had been made in the case.

"Hrebak, before receiving the prescribed measure of self-isolation, requested a test at his own expense, and after that when he received a negative test, he asked for an interpretation. The epidemiological opinion I wrote states that he is non-infectious in the next 36-48 hours because of the negative swab. In medicine, situations are not black or white, and it would be very good to let epidemiologists decide whether someone needs self-isolation or not," Capak concluded.

Ministers Beros and Bozinovic and Director Capak confirmed to reporters that they had installed a new application for monitoring infected "Stop COVID-19" on their mobile phones.

The Interior Minister and head of the National Civil Protection Headquarters also wrote several posts on Twitter after the press conference:

"From 0 to 24, the Headquarters monitors the situation and the epidemiological picture every day. This means quick decision-making and involvement of all departments that need to say something about it. 

We are constantly trying to find a balance between economic activities and recommendations for curbing the epidemic and we are communicating all this with Croatian citizens. That is why Croatia is the champion of tourism in Europe."

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

July 30, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Split Airport.

Croatian Aviation reports that from the beginning of August, Split Airport will be connected to Munich as many as 13 times a week, which is a larger number of flights compared to July this year.

At the beginning of August, Split Airport will have 13 weekly direct flights to Munich Airport, and Lufthansa and Croatia Airlines will continue to operate on the routes.

Direct flights from Split from August 1 are available every day of the week, mostly in the morning, which allows passengers from Split numerous connections via this German airport. Croatia Airlines planes depart from Split in the morning, at 7:55 am, arriving in Munich at 9:30 am. DashQ400 aircraft with a capacity of 76 passengers in the Croatia Airlines fleet will continue to operate on the route.

Also, the company offers a second flight a day every Saturday, in the evening, departing from Split at 5 pm, and arriving in Munich at 6:30 pm.

In addition to Croatia Airlines, German airline Lufthansa will continue to operate on the route through August, five times a week (every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday), which we reported earlier.

Namely, through August, Lufthansa will operate from Munich and Frankfurt to Croatia according to the following schedule:

Frankfurt - Dubrovnik, 3 times a week (every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday)

Munich - Dubrovnik, 5 times a week (every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday)

Frankfurt - Split, 4 times a week (every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday)

Munich - Split, 5 times a week (every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday)

Frankfurt - Pula, 3 times a week (every Monday, Friday and Saturday)

Munich - Pula, 2 times a week (every Saturday and Sunday)

Frankfurt - Zadar, 3 times a week (every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday)

Munich - Zadar, 1 per week (every Saturday)

Munich - Zagreb, 4 times a week (every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday).

You can check the rest of Lufthansa's August schedule for Croatia HERE.

The mentioned airlines offer two flights a day every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, one flight a day on Mondays and Wednesdays, and even three daily flights every Saturday in August.

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July 30, 2020 - The website www.croatiacovid19.info, launched by the Croatian Tourism Association (HUT) to give updated and accurate information on the number of COVID-19 cases in Croatia and its regions daily, was visited by over 30,000 unique users in the first four days of launch.

HRTurizam reports that most visitors come from Germany (30.91%), Hungary (28.15%), Croatia (13.57%), Slovenia (10.82%), Austria (6.88%), the Netherlands (2.83%) ) and the UK (2.16%). A smaller number of users come from Switzerland (1%), Italy (0.65%) and Belgium (0.61%).

"Great interest, especially from foreign guests, in the COVID-19 tracker page is another indicator that safety is a key determinant of success this season, and Croatia has been recognized as a safe destination by many foreign guests this season," said HUT.

Since the beginning of the year, almost 3.9 million tourists have visited Croatia, with over 24 million overnight stays, and in July, more than 2.2 million tourist arrivals, which is 53.2 percent of arrivals in the same period last year.

Most foreign guests are from Germany, followed by Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Austria and Poland. The number of tourist arrivals from Germany is at 92 percent of last year's result, from Slovenia at 91 percent of last year's result, while the number of guest arrivals from Poland and the Czech Republic is at 82 percent of last year's result.

Importantly, in the almost five months since the first case of imported COVID-19 infection was recorded in Croatia, there is still no official information that any of the citizens of other countries became infected in commercial accommodation in Croatia.

Thanks to the quality epidemiological situation, Germany, Slovenia and Austria have confirmed that Croatia is safe and recommends it to their citizens for summer vacation.

"Croatia continues to be the safest, closest and most acceptable holiday destination in the Mediterranean for all guests from the central EU," emphasizes the HUT.

Currently, 817 hotels and 417 campsites have been opened in Croatia, and new tourist facilities and facilities are opening daily in destinations along the coast.

The capacity of the travel company Bluesun Hotels & Resorts is currently around 80 percent, and it is expected that this will improve in the first half of August, because booking has increased significantly since mid-July, Bluesun Hotels & Resort points out.

The camp in Starigrad Paklenica has extremely good results, both due to its attractive position at the entrance to Paklenica Nature Park, and because guests in these newly created conditions - choose this type of accommodation because they feel safe.

"As air traffic has significantly decreased compared to previous seasons, most of them are still car guests from countries close to us. The good news is that our biggest partner from the Scandinavian market, Ving, started with commercial flights from Sweden on Saturday, July 25, and Scandinavian guests are traditionally tied to our hotels on the Makarska Riviera. Now we expect, and this can be seen in reservations, the return of guests from that area in the second half of August and in September," said Stjepko Sosic, Director of Revenue Management Bluesun Hotels & Resorts.

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