November 24, 2020 - In 2020, more than ever, the primordial connection between people is important, which is the guiding thought of Split Advent 2020, which will be held under the slogan 'Love unites us'.

From November 28 to January 6, Split will become a source of new hope, relying on the love that unites each person with their loved ones, even when, due to the pandemic, they are deprived of intimacy and the warm embrace of others. During the Advent period, Christmas and light installations, pine trees, and decorations will be set up in many locations throughout the city, and a varied outdoor music program has been prepared.

The concept of Split Advent 2020, 'Love unites us', is based on four Advent candles as symbols of Christmas time. In the first week of Advent, the prophet's candle is lit and brings hope and anticipation of the great celebration of Jesus' birth. With the second Bethlehem candle, we approach that day through the symbolism of peace and forgiveness. The third, shepherd's candle, brings joy and happiness, while the final angel's candle is the largest and symbolizes love. According to the themes of each candle, Split Advent will be imbued with messages of hope, peace, joy, and love, and this year's Advent logo has been appropriately enriched. On certain letters, there is a flame motif to connect it with the four candles, the Split Tourist Board announced.

Because of the epidemiological situation, visitors will be best able to express their love for their loved ones at Advent events by respecting prescribed safety measures such as mandatory protective masks or keeping a physical distance. Longtime organizers of Split Advent, the City of Split, the Split Tourist Board, and Spalatum D.M.C, place the health of citizens in the absolute first place, which is shown by committing the extremely popular holiday houses with food, drinks, and souvenirs from the entire Advent offer of the City.

Love will connect visitors to the four main locations of Split Advent 2020 on the Riva, Josip Juraj Strossmayer Park (Đardin), Marmontova, the Chapel of Holy Arnir and Gajo Bulat Square and at several other smaller, but equally attractive, locations and events:

Riva

The city waterfront will be a source of beautiful music and gorgeous light attractions. At the new, but also already traditional concerts every weekend from 11:00 am, the sounds of classical music, opera arias, and many other styles and performers will resound, which will evoke a sublime Christmas atmosphere. The youngest will be delighted by special programs to celebrate the feast of St. Nicholas and St. Lucia, as well as Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve at 10:30 am. There is also the Advent Split Gourmet Expo, an exhibition of restaurants that will awaken all the senses. Stop for a walk through this unforgettable location, see the illuminated fountain and palm trees, multimedia attractions on the sea's surface, listen to music bands and record that moment at one of the themed Christmas photo points.

Đardin

Split's favorite Advent location, Josip Juraj Strossmayer Park, better known as Đardin, will create Christmas magic with its vibrant decorations. Don't miss the lighting of the first Advent candle, one of the symbols of this year's Advent, on November 28 at 6:00 pm. The lighting of the first candle also marks the grand opening of this year's Split Advent, which will be magnified by opera soloist Franka Pleština Stanić and pianist Zoran Velić. This music duo is part of the program of the 50th anniversary of the Music Youth of Split and the 24th International Choral Festival CRO PATRIA, an event that has been successfully complemented with Advent in Split for years. In the middle of the romantic space of Đardin, you will be able to enjoy the intimate atmosphere of the ice skating rink under Advent lights and Christmas decorations.

Marmontova

Leading up to Christmas, Marmontova Street turns into a photo exhibition titled 'Turn to Love' by the Split Photo Club as a way to recall the memories of people full of joy, love, and hugs. The sponsorship of OTP banka allows you to see the exhibits from the time when we wandered carelessly through the streets of the city and celebrated Christmas, and will convince you that one day, everyone will be together again.

Museum of Fine Arts & Chapel of Holy Arnir

The main attraction within this year's Art Gallery will be the Christmas nativity scene by artist Loren Živković Kuljiš. From mid-December, all passers-by will be able to visit the Chapel of Holy Arnir and enjoy this indispensable part of the Christmas holidays.

Gajo Bulat Square

The ramparts that complete the otherwise magical Gajo Bulat Square will shine with messages of hope, peace, joy, and love, as well as attractive light installations. Leave your Christmas messages in the 'Box of good wishes', under the auspices of the Croatian Lottery. The most sincere and beautiful messages will be rewarded via social networks. A special musical treat will be street musicians, the magic of the theater square.

This year, the Bethlehem Light, organized by the Split Scout Choir, will arrive at the Saint Domnious Cathedral, while holiday tastes will be emphasized by the well-known Gastroadvent event by Olja Martinić. Every Sunday, Split restaurants will show their culinary skills with the festive lighting of Advent candles and the flavors of Mediterranean fish. The programs Advent on Pjaca, Advent on Obrov, Advent on Marmontova, and Advent in the Park should not be missed.

For the first time, this year, as many as three culinary events are also included in the Advent program in Split. At the Split Gourmet Expo 2020, the 15th Pearl of the Sea & the 6th Grand Gourmet, organized by the Chefs of the Mediterranean and European Regions (ŠKMER), you can follow the bartender competition, the presentation of top gastronomy, and the restaurant exhibition. The Advent cultural program in Split will be held in cooperation with museums and theaters, while the Croatian National Theater, the City Puppet Theater, the City Youth Theater, and the Golden Gate Cinema will have a special Advent program, too.

Source: Dalmatinski Portal

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.

November the 24th, 2020 - Professor Markotic has become a household face and name ever since the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 penetrated Croatia's first lines of defence back in spring. The director of Zagreb's ''Dr. Fran Mihaljevic'' Clinic for Infectious Diseases has always had a calming presence, but even she is growing alarmed by the situation in Croatia.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the director of the Croatian Institute for Public Health, Krunoslav Capak, said that we have an incidence of 886 cases per 100,000 inhabitants and thus we are in 24th place in terms of EU countries.

"We're in 13th place in terms of mortality. Mortality is growing all over the world, including in Europe,'' said Krunoslav Capak, adding that Croatia's share of positives in those tested currently stands at 29 percent.

"The situation at Dubrava Hospital is stable. There are respirators available, if necessary, new ones will be obtained,'' assured Vera Katalinic-Jankovic, Minister Beros' assistant.

When it comes to the now rather tiresome topic of wearing protective masks and the ones which were recently found to be faulty, the microbiologist says that “there has always been a discussion about masks - how much they protect us, how much they don’t. We're now exposed to various products and declarations. Those masks proved inappropriate and the inspection responded. When those shortcomings are removed, they will return to the market", said Katalinic-Jankovic.

''We have 26 patients on respirators. Across Europe and around the world, the number of coronavirus patients is extremely high, their clinical picture is more severe than it was back in the spring, and many more people have pneumonia. The situation is under control, but everyone is following the situation with concern. Two or three winter months are now ahead of us, it will be difficult to keep everything under control. The responsibility is on all of us,'' said Professor Markotic when discussing the situation at the Dr. Fran Mihaljevic clinic.

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.

November the 24th, 2020 - The words ''Amazon in Croatia'' are about as foreign to anyone living here who has tried to order something from the global giant as someone speaking to them in Klingon, but could it finally be happening? Although there has been no official confirmation as yet, it seems things could be moving forward on the until now almost unthinkable ''Amazon in Croatia'' front.

As Darko Bicak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, and as Poslovni Dnevnik initially reported last year, in the middle of this month Amazon started an exclusive cooperation with Croatian on the delivery of packages for the Croatian market with the perspective of covering the markets of Croatia's neighbouring countries, primarily Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. However, for the time being, neither Croatian Post (HP) nor Amazon wants to comment officially on this business partnership.

"We can't reveal the names of our business partners, but yes, HP has become a partner to large web retailers recently and a significant increase in the number of processed shipments is expected," the Croatian company stated. However, it has also been found out that HP has recently started cooperating with the multinational online store About You, which has had a major marketing campaign on the Croatian market in recent weeks.

Amazon's technical experts visited Croatia last summer, taking the time to go and view the newly built HP sorting centre worth 350 million kuna in Velika Gorica near Zagreb. The initial deadline for opening up the sorting plant was postponed for several months to meet all of the deadlines and conditions of technical inspection from Amazon.

Just what would this cooperation mean for the HP itself and, of course, Croatian customers with the chance of an ''Amazon in Croatia'' carrot being dangled in front of them? In any case, HP will strengthen its market position and brand, and Croats will certainly be able to buy more products from Amazon's offer and get them delivered in a shorter time.

Despite the fact that Croatia been part of the single market of the European Union and all EU directives governing free trade for more than seven years now, our customers are mostly deprived of cheaper purchases through Amazon, which doesn't deliver a good part of its goods to Croatia. The main reason for this is in the fact that only about 50% of its own goods are sold through Amazon, and the other half falls on original brands and stores and where Amazon merely acts as an intermediary.

In such cases, the seller, not the intermediary, decides where they want to send the goods and where they don't - mostly for market and logistical reasons. Those who really wanted to buy something through Amazon had to, at an additional cost, rent mailbox services in Germany to which Amazon sent them the original shipment, which would then be repackaged and shipped onward to Croatia. A rather ridiculous action to have to take indeed.

Amazon is one of the most famous global brands that doesn't need to be presented or promoted in any way, but it's worth repeating that it is an online store that is twice as large as all other online stores in the world, according to specialised portals. Their revenue stood at an incredible 280 billion US dollars last year and they employ more than a million people. To compare, Alibaba had revenues of 72 billion dollars at the same time, and Wish had 1.9 billion dollars in revenue.

That sort of mind boggling data, perhaps even now outdated, speaks volumes about what kind of giant Amazon truly is, that five million companies offer their goods through this service. Last year, the founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos, became the richest man in the world, whose wealth in mid-2019 was estimated at more than 160 billion US dollars, and today reaches 83.6 billion US dollars, according to Forbes.

Although the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has brought major problems to the entire global economy, courier companies and online stores have seen significant growth. In particular, Amazon had about 650,000 employees in the middle of last year, and a year later that climbed to more than a million.

Although these are much smaller numbers, HP also profited from the pandemic. "In the postal world, we've seen changes in recent years and all the trends have indicated that the circumstances are changing. The pandemic has accelerated the trends we expected - the decline in revenue we experienced in core business, especially the decline in the number of letters hasn't yet been replaced by package revenue, but these volumes are growing strongly. This is where our investment in Paket24 pays off. HP will end this year with a positive result and an extremely stable financial picture. Almost 100 million euros of losses from previous periods have been closed and the same amount has been invested,'' HP explained.

They added that before the virus struck, their online orders, and thus courier deliveries, grew by 15-20% every year. With the introduction of lockdown, their turnover increased by 30% when compared to the same period last year. They especially emphasise that HP connected small family farms with customers through Yellow Click/Zuti Klik.

Although HP has expressed no desire to talk about concrete partners, they emphasised that their current position on the market is a confirmation of a multi-year investment cycle under the auspices of the Pošta2022 Development Strategy.

"Over recent years, HP has strongly turned to its core business and the development of its logistics capacity. The construction of the new sorting centre, as one of the most modern logistics centres in this part of Europe, has positioned the post office as an important logistics partner in this part of the European Union and the region. Modern infrastructure is crucial,'' they emphasised from HP, which will soon start installing the first parcel machines, an infrastructure that will enable users to easily pick up their packages, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The first 150 will be placed in accessible locations in the coming months, and users who choose to receive a package through this channel will be able to pick up their shipment when it suits them.

As for the prospect of Amazon in Croatia and many tight lips, the result of Amazon adn HP's ''flirting'' is yet to be seen.

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/Jozo Vrdoljak writes on the 23rd of November, 2020, back in mid-October, Spacva, an Eastern Croatian company from Vinkovci, received a letter from Quaestus Private Equity Capital. The latter is the owner of four million shares, which is a 75.81 percent stake in Drvna industrija Spacva, and the letter stated that this was to be the last year of the fund's participation and that actions regarding the exit from ownership and the sale of Spacva's shares had begun.

Davor Doric, a member of the Management Board of Quaestus Private Equity, didn't want to comment on the process of exiting the fund because, as he says, these are sensitive processes.

''Quaestus has invested in Spacva on two occasions, once in 2013 and then again back 2017. Just before the first investment, in 2013, Spacva entered into a pre-bankruptcy settlement with its creditors. All obligations from the settlement were properly settled within the agreed deadline. Since Quaestus joined Spacva, revenue has increased significantly to around 250 million kuna, and the number of employees has increased from 570 to 850. In the meantime, investments in technology have been made in excess of 150 million kuna, which has enabled the company to grow significantly and raise its operational efficiencies. Spacva fulfilled the plans and expectations of the fund and is a good example of achieving the role of funds when engaged in economic cooperation,'' said Davor Doric.

It's worth noting that the investors in the fund are the Croatian Government itself, with a share of 50 percent through HBOR, pension funds and other institutional investors, which make up the remaining 50 percent. Spacva was founded back in 1956 under its original name - SEC Slavonian Oak. The main activity of this Eastern Croatian company is wood processing and production of wood products. Spacva also engages in several additional activities such as furniture production, the wholesale of furniture, wooden, wicker and cork products, and among them are construction and trade intermediation. Basically, over the coming months, Quaestus Private Equity Capital II needs to find a new investor for Spacva, reportedly before the end of February 2021.

The interest of Darko Pervan, owner of Pervan Invest in Sweden and the company Bjelin, which was created after he took over Tehno drvo with plants in Bjelovar and Ogulin, where he also had large investments, as well as the Otok Veneer Factory in Croatia, has since been confirmed. Pervan's interest was confirmed by the President of the Management Board of Bjelin, Stjepan Vojnic.

''At this moment in time, it's difficult for me to say whether we will go and make an offer to take over Spacva or not. There's a lot of dilemmas there, from how to fit Spacva's production programme into our production programme and our business, and how to maintain high employment within Spacva. We're still in the testing phase because it isn't easy to take over such a company. Every entrepreneurial venture, and such is every takeover of a company in a situation where the coronavirus pandemic continues to reign, is difficult and uncertain. We're interested, but there are still a lot of ambiguities that we have to resolve in order to make a decision. Spacva's biggest advantage is the quality raw material base, ie its contract with Croatian Forests. I believe that there are also more interested investors,'' Vojnic pointed out.

Business results

Reliable sources show that Barlinek, a well-known Polish manufacturer and one of the largest European manufacturers of multilayer parquets, has also expressed interest. Allegedly, the representatives of this Polish company have already visited Spacva.

In the first nine months of this year, Spacva generated total revenues of 184.5 million kuna and a profit of slightly more than 9 million kuna. Sales revenues in that period amounted to 164.1 million kuna. Of the total revenue generated on the foreign market, 67.5 percent of revenue was generated. The most important export countries for this Eastern Croatian company in other areas of Europe, more specifically in Italy, Romania, France, Serbia, Germany and the United Kingdom.

''In the second half of the year, due to the opening up of key markets and the abolition of anti-epidemic measures, ie lockdown, Spacva achieved the expected revenues at the level of 2019, and in some months exceeded the planned sales revenues. We expect a successful flow of sales revenue in the last quarter if the situation from the beginning of the crisis caused by the coronavirus doesn't happen to us again. The company is working intensively to open new markets with the aim of maximising its sales revenue. The Management Board is very carefully monitoring all changes on the market and announcements related to new measures in key European markets,'' the Spacva Management Board noted.

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.

November 23, 2020 - The latest news about Croats in the NBA, as Dario Saric signs a three-year contract worth $27 million with Phoenix. 

Croatia national basketball team member Dario Saric has agreed on a new three-year contract with the Phoenix Suns, announced Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

The Sibenik native will earn $27 million in three years with the Suns.

Dario Saric has agreed to a three-year, $27M deal to stay with Phoenix, agents Jeff Schwartz and Mike Lindeman of @excelsm_bball tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 23, 2020

Saric's rookie contract, which he signed with Philadelphia in 2016, expired this year. From there, he went to Minnesota, and in July 2019, he ended up in Phoenix. He finished last season averaging 10.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game.

Saric had ups and downs with Phoenix, and his worst was in January and February this year when his minutes were reduced to below 20 per game, and thus his performance worsened (7.1 points and 4 rebounds per game). But later in the season, Saric showed his worth, averaging 18.8 points and 6.8 rebounds in March. Unfortunately, because of the coronavirus pandemic, there was a break in the NBA, which lasted until the end of July.

Recall, the end of the season and the playoffs were held in a 'bubble' in Orlando. Phoenix won all eight games in Orlando and missed the playoffs by a hair. In those eight games, Saric had an average of 14.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.

The Croatian basketball player will receive $8.3 million for the first year of the contract, $9.7 million for the second, and $9.7 million for the third.

Saric started 51 of 66 games for Phoenix with averages of 10.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 35.7% three-pointers in 24.7 minutes of play. The Suns were happy with Saric and planned to bring him back. They activated his qualifying offer and turned him into a limited free agent. This meant that Dario could negotiate with other clubs, but the Suns could equalize that offer and thus keep him on the squad.

Source: HRT

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

ZAGREB, November 23, 2020 - France is confidently expecting an assessment by a Croatian technical team of its Rafale fighter jets and hopes that in 2021 Croatia will make its final decision on which jets it will buy to replace its Air Force fleet, France's Defence Minister Florence Parly said in Zagreb on Monday.

Parly met with in Government House on Monday.

We are at the Croatian government's disposal for any additional questions and we are confidently waiting for the results and decision by the technical commission. I hope that in 2021 we will know the Croatian government's final decision, Parly told the press after meeting with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Defence Minister Mario Banozic.

She added that it was now up to Croatian authorities to completely independently consider not just the French proposal but all the proposals that arrived from other countries. She recalled that France had offered 12 used Rafale fighter jets that had proved themselves in numerous operations.

Banozic said that the interdepartmental commission would meet after December 12 and make its recommendation taking account of the financial nature of the bid, the technical characteristics, the foreign policy context and the "use by date" of the current MiG-21 jets.

He added that the government could make a final decision early next year.

In addition to the bid by France, Croatia has received bids from Sweden, the United States and Israel.

Parly said that regardless of which bid Croatia opted for, France wanted "to entirely strengthen our strategic partnership," including cooperation within European programmes for industrial development in the field of defence. She added that industry both in Croatia and France would benefit from that.

Parly said that France advocated a stronger European defence and greater strategic autonomy, particularly regarding the numerous challenges facing Europe, like terrorist attacks and the series of crises that have emerged on the threshold of the EU, from Libya to the Balkans and to Nagorno-Karabakh.

More than ever it is essential that Europeans are aware of the common challenge...we know that we can count on Croatia, said Parly.

This is Parly's second visit to Croatia. She visited Croatia in March and met with Prime Minister Plenkovic to discuss the problem of illegal migrants while Plenkovic informed her of his recent visit to the Greek-Turkish border and of the situation there at the time as well as of the efforts by the Croatian police to protect the border.

ZAGREB, November 23, 2020 - The Kutina industrial-logistic zone is the first smart business zone in Croatia and it offers future investors a series of benefits like digital technology, exemption from utility contributions and for waste management for a period of five years, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) said on Monday.

Presenting the project on Monday HGK said that the zone extends over 74 hectares and provides a series of benefits for future investors.

Apart from ensuring utility services, power and transport infrastructure the zone is geographically situated well and future investors will be exempt from paying utility fees for a period of five years, HGK said in a press release.

The zone will be the site of a new unique pilot programme - SMART&KIND - which is for digitising business infrastructure, including the Internet of Things among other things, a unique software to monitor business management of infrastructure and city assets which should lead to energy savings, the digitisation of essential information for investors and connecting them with citizens, it was said at the presentation.

City authorities will equip entrepreneurs at the business zone with smart modules to gauge electricity, water and gas consumption. The modules present an overview of zoning in the city and an analysis of available labour force.

Kutina Mayor Zlatko Babic said that this is a strategic project for the town and apart from attracting investors it will improve the city administration's management, open new jobs and generally upgrade living standards.

State-Secretary in the Central Office for the Development of a Digital Society, Bernard Grsic said that digital transformation is not just technology, it is changing business models and creating new values. This is a horizontal topic that impacts all spheres of society.

HGK also presented its online services which concludes the project of digitising the chamber and its activities and services.

The system encompasses eight online services (e-financing, e-public authorities, e-membership, e-legislation, e-fairs and promotions, e-launch a business, e-commerce information, and e-training). The system accelerates communication between the chamber and its members, it was said at a press conference.

ZAGREB, November 23, 2020 - The We Can! and Zagreb is Ours! political platforms on Monday filed a criminal report against Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandic for abuse of office and power and for illegal favouritism related to the construction of the Sljeme cable car.

"According to the conspirator who sent a video to all media outlets with clear evidence, DORH (Office of the Chief State Prosecutor) and the USKOK anti-corruption office should already act ex officio. However, I am filing a criminal report against Bandic for abuse of office and power, graft and conspiracy to commit crimes" Councillor and MP Tomislav Tomasevic said.

That is not only Bandic's but also Andrej Plenkovic's cable car

He filed a criminal complaint also so that institutions would report to him on what they had done, he added.

"For this 13 unlucky years, the City of Zagreb has been waiting for the repair of the old Sljeme cable car or for a new one. The HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union) even set the construction of a new cable car as a condition for forming a coalition with Milan Bandic. So this most expensive cable car in Europe is also HDZ's cable car, not only Bandic's, but also Andrej Plenkovic's cable car," he said.

Coordinator for cable car construction from Bandic's party

In addition to that, in 2016 Bandic appointed Vladimir Gruborovic, a member of the the Main Committee of Bandic's party, as the coordinator of the team for the construction of the cable car, which includes representatives of the City Administration and all city companies.

That is more than enough evidence, Tomasevic said.