October 14, 2020 - The Croatian National Tourist Board has launched a new promotional campaign, "Discover The Colours of Croatia," in seven European markets, namely Germany, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy and the United Kingdom.

HTZ announced that this autumn campaign especially promotes natural beauty, culture, nautical and eno-gastronomy, and will be carried out until the second half of November through thematic articles on online portals, print ads and advertising on social networks with the hashtag #DiscoverTheColoursOfCroatia.

"Although the current epidemiological situation in Europe, as well as the current restrictions for travel that vary from country to country, do not allow the greater realization of tourist traffic, in this part of the year it is very important to maintain Croatia's visibility in our most important European markets. It is with this goal that we launched this campaign in which we want to further position our country as a safe destination with a rich, quality, and attractive offer in the post-season period. Our goal is for Croatia to be positioned in the minds of many as a destination that guarantees safety and quality vacation with numerous activities and facilities," said the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board Kristjan Staničić, reminding that the action Vacation-Worthy Week is starting soon, through which domestic and all foreign guests who find themselves in Croatia will be able to use numerous tourist services in the country at 50 percent lower prices.

Activities within the "Discover The Colors Of Croatia" campaign will be carried out through the social networks Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, through the placement of articles on the most read and most famous portals in certain markets such as oe24.at, DerStandard.at and Krone.at in Austria, Gazeta .pl in Poland and novinky.cz in the Czech Republic, as well as on the specialized portals MarcoPolo.de and Holidaycheck.de in Germany, within which special HUBs, i.e., micro-websites with content dedicated exclusively to Croatia, have been created. All promotional materials created for advertising are linguistically adapted for all seven markets.

The campaign is also implemented through print advertising, and cooperation has been launched with the travel platforms Lonely Planet and National Geographic, through which all tourist products included in the autumn campaign will be promoted and visible to millions of their users and followers on social networks.

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October 14, 2020 - On Tuesday, the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, led by Nikolina Brnjac held a working meeting with representatives of county tourist boards. Along with the Minister, the meeting was also attended by State Secretary Sandra Herman and the Director of the Croatian Tourist Board Kristjan Staničić.

HRTurizam reports that Minister Brnjac thanked those present for their work so far and pointed out that such coordination will be held more often in order to better implement strategic and operational plans.

"You are the backbone of our system. I believe that through open dialogue and timely exchange of information, we can contribute to a better and more systematic solution to the challenges in the coming period," said Minister Brnjac.

Representatives of regional tourist boards presented concrete problems to the ministers and associates and suggested proposals in order to better adapt to the COVID situation, expressing satisfaction with this form of cooperation.

Minister Nikolina Brnjac pointed out that now is the opportunity for a strategic turn, both in the organization of the tourism sector and in finding the best solutions for the coming period.

"We have started the initial administrative steps for the development of a long-term sectoral strategy called the Strategy for the Development of Sustainable Tourism until 2030. For the first time, we are in the process of preparing an Environmental Impact Study. These are documents on which it is important to reach an agreement between the private and public sectors because they will determine the further direction of tourism development," added Minister Brnjac and called on the representatives of tourist boards to cooperate and proactively communicate.

All participants in the meeting agree that the opportunity for development certainly lies in the use of EU funds, but also in the harmonization of the Ordinance and timely guidelines for the implementation of work and programs as well as the exchange of experience and knowledge.

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October 14, 2020 - The Croatian Institute of Public Health has published new recommendations for weddings in Croatia, which were announced on Tuesday. 

During the entire time spent in all areas, including arrival and departure, a physical distance of 1.5 meters is recommended. This rule does not have to apply among members of the same household or persons who are otherwise in close contact.

Each person at the wedding must have at least 4 square meters of space. In case there are more than 50 guests, Covid guards will also take part in weddings.

Records of all participants must be kept.

There must also be no standing places or high tables at weddings where only standing guests are possible.

Seats must be pre-marked and spaced one and a half meters apart, and there must be a distance of 3 meters between the tables. The maximum number of people at one table is eight.

The guests enter the space where the wedding is being held so that they do not linger or gather in groups and should immediately sit at their table. It is recommended that people from the same household sit at the same table, as well as that the seating arrangement does not change during the wedding.

Only newlyweds are allowed to dance

Only newlyweds and their parents or close family members are allowed to dance, and only at the beginning of the celebration. After that, dancing is not allowed.

You can read other measures for weddings in Croatia below:

https://www.scribd.com/document/479907241/Preporuke-svadbe-ver-3-11-10-2020

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October 14, 2020 – The biggest surprise of the Croatian tourist season 2020, the municipality of Vir on the island of the same name, is planning new large investments. The opening of the first hotel and marina on Vir is planned for 2023.

As Večernji.hr reports, Vir is this year's Croatian record holder in the number of tourist overnight stays, and only about 10 percent less revenue was recorded than last year. Vir's tourism was less affected by the coronavirus pandemic than in the rest of the Adriatic. However, there is still no hotel on Vir.

This tourist destination, which many remember by excavators and the demolition of illegally built houses, has two thousand private renters and about 9,000-holiday homes. Approximately half of them are owned by foreigners (from Budapest, Vienna, Bratislava, Ljubljana), who often come to Vir now, during October, on weekends.

On Vir, there is still more tourist traffic in October than in much more famous Adriatic places. However, this change did not happen in one season, but Vir has been patiently building its new tourist destiny for more than a decade.

The island of Vir has so far invested around 300 million kuna in water supply, sewerage, public lighting, roads, decoration of beaches, and green areas. So, all the long-term stake returns to Vir through the season.

"Not everyone here is still aware of the change that has taken place in Vir. But that's why Germans, Hungarians, Austrians, Poles, and Swiss know very well that Vir has become a great tourist destination," said Mayor Kristijan Kapović.

Seventy percent of Vir is covered with Mediterranean greenery, and only one-third of land can be used for building on Vir.

"We plan to build a hotel with about a hundred rooms, a marina, and a camp. All at the level of five stars, and it should be done in 2023. It is an investment of a total of 30 million euros, and we have the financial potential to do that," reveals Kapović, who believes that many 'weekend tourists' are a great advantage, not a lack of Vir tourism.

Vir has been the first in Zadar County in terms of the number of tourist nights, and during the last three seasons in the summer it is among the top three destinations in Croatia. By the end of September, there were just over 101,000 guests, and 2.1 million overnight stays were realized this year, which is a respectable 86 percent of last year's number.

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October the 14th, 2020 - When it comes to online service in Croatia, such as online shopping, we're lagging behind a little bit, much like it does in terms of digitalisation in general. The coronavirus pandemic has been ''beneficial'' in some warped way, as it has forced digitalisation to be the only option for many, speeding up the process of Croatia finally catching up with the rest of the EU in terms of a more modern approach.

As Novac writes on the 13th, of October, 2020, the ever-popular DM has launched an online service in Croatia. More precisely, it is an online shop that has been available on its official website as of Monday this week, making it the very first drugstore in all of Croatia to offer its customers the opportunity to purchase products online.

DM's new online shop is open for orders seven days a week, 24 hours a day. In the new online service in Croatia, DM's customers can count on the same prices as seen in stores, while the delivery price is a mere 30 kuna. Customers who register and create a "My DM" account are entitled to free delivery for orders over 390 kuna and, in addition to regular points, have the opportunity to collect multiple points as part of the loyalty programme DM active beauty.

"By launching the new DM online shop, we've achieved the long-standing goal of making our products and services available to the inhabitants of the whole of Croatia. We're especially happy that with the new online shop, all our fellow citizens will have the opportunity to get better acquainted with the quality and prices of our brand. This is an important milestone in our business because by offering online shopping opportunities, we're adapt even better to the individual needs and lifestyle of our customers,'' said Gordana Picek, procurator and head of procurement and marketing at DM.

Customers have the option of paying with selected credit and debit cards, with the possibility of payment through a bank account or cash on delivery. The store's delivery service is provided in cooperation with DPD, and with the option of delivery to any selected address, customers can come and pick up their purchased products in stores or, in agreement with the DPD delivery service, redirect the order to the selected DPD Pickup location, including INA fuel stations.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik/Sergej Novosel Vuckovic writes on the 13th of October, 2020, the Medjimurje-based brewery Lepi Decki has officially opened a new plant in Mihovljan in Cakovec, from which as much as 50,000 litres of beer will be able to be produced per month, almost nine times more than the previous capacity of the brand that first conquered the north of Croatia on the craft beer scene.

The company Aggero has invested approximately nine million kuna into Lepi Decki's brand new space covering 6000 square metres (of which 1200 will be the production plant, and 2000 the warehouse).

"Back at the end of 2019, we started thinking about a larger space, so in the spring of 2020 we moved to our own plant in Cakovec. But due to the lockdown and the situation with the coronavirus pandemic, everything was quite demanding and intense. The relocation was conditioned by partners, subcontractors and everything was late,'' says Lepi Decki's owner Danijel Radek. Despite such dire circumstances and the closure of restaurants where their produce would be purchased, at the end of May something alarming happened to them - they had no beer.

"It took us several months to fix it all,'' he said. In Lepi Decki's brand new ''base'' by the end of the year, their offer will be enriched with a beer tasting room, depending on the epidemiological picture and financial possibilities.

“It would be a real ale house-type pub, a pub with food. It's interesting how many people mix the terms ale house and brewery, in essence we want to alleviate this problem for them. We'd also like to open a shop within it, and enable the purchase of beer at the place of production. It would be a great one-stop shop, brewery, pub, ale house, beer shop, which is in principle an interesting tourist aspect,'' explained Radek, adding that the plan is to launch a Free Spirit distillery, with whiskey, gin and beer liqueurs on offer. Over the years, this brewery has positioned itself as one of the leaders in the constant "thriving" market of Croatian craft beer. Their list of as many as 20 labels is impressive, and certainly lot for a team of seven employees and several external associates.

''Our concept isn't just to make different beers and try new styles. We make beer in a combination of an impossible triangle, the master brewer is Drazen Balenta, and I devise the recipes, while the marketing department, ie my colleague Kreso Biskup, devises sales and marketing placement. All three of them must create the best possible product through inputs and so far it seems that we're doing well, at least according to the reactions of customers, beer drinkers, and also new craft beer fans,'' explained Radek. They have 15 varieties in constant production, and by the end of this year they plan to present English bitter ale and dark lager. The most popular are lagers and pale ale, ie their debut Medjimurje beer and Kaj-El.

''New styles and more modern brands have done excellently and the audience loves them very much. For example there are Tria de los Muertos, lager, pilsner Cakovecko, Waitapu Blond Ale, XO as West Coast IPA. One of the more popular summer beers we made is St. Martin’s, kolsch style ale, in collaboration with Lifeclass Spa Sv. Martin. Cooperation with them means a lot to us as a brand because they recognised the quality and our effort and work,'' noted Kreso Biskup. Lepi Decki are also not giving up the concept of production in large bottles, all but two styles with more alcohol are in the volume of 0.5 litres, which is a rarity among crafters.

"Craft beer in itself is more expensive, we have the impression that the customer today has no problem setting aside a few kuna more for a premium, higher quality product, but at the end of the day they at least want it to be a real, big beer, not just two sips. We also offer cans of 0.33 as well as 0.5 in certain styles. They're the future of production because they're completely recyclable, they're easier and more compact for transport, and the beer is also of the highest quality,'' stated Biskup.

Until the coronavirus pandemic struck, 95% of Lepi Decki's beer was sold in the HoReCa channel from Medjimurje to Dubrovnik, in retail stores and in specialised stores, as well as several times a year in the popular Lidl chain. This year, in which the coronavirus has been dominant, was challenging in terms of sales, so they started with online sales through their webshop and through the channels of their partners and distributors.

"This has enabled us to develop in a more robust and sustainable way,'' they concluded from Medjimurje's Lepi Decki.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik/Lucija Spiljak writes on the 13th of October, 2020, Matija Zulj, the director of the Croatian agro-technological company Agrivi, which has developed one of the most successful applications for agricultural production management, recently presented his innovation in business and stressed the importance of the digitisation of Croatian agriculture, its production and the increase of food safety.

Agrivi, whose software in the agtech industry is today among the top 10 solutions in the world and the top three in all of Europe, cooperates with more than 500 clients across Croatia, and Zulj revealed that they also successfully cooperate with the Ministry of Agriculture, which educates on digitalisation.

"On their part, there's great interest in the benefits that digitalisation can bring to Croatian agriculture and as such to the entire economy. The benefits are abundant because investing in digitisation pays off quickly; by implementing the solution alone, earnings grow by 50 and 100 percent, thus ensuring the necessary investments.

It gives consumers a detailed insight into production, allows room for greater and better choice and increases food safety. The digitisation of agriculture can be a solution to significantly increase the competitiveness of domestic agriculture and the Ministry of Agriculture has an understanding of this,'' said Agrivi's Marija Zulj, who believes that Croatia should use part of the available 22 billion euros of European Union funds for the digitalisation of agriculture, which has proven to be important across the world.

Agrivi's boss also announced that his company has implemented a solution for the traceability of food production with a company in Dubai - a QR code allows a user to obtain all of the necessary information about a product. As Zulj explained, this solution is already showing great market potential and represents a revolution in the food industry.

"The consumer gets the opportunity to get key data on the origin, cultivation and nutritional composition of the product by scanning the code, and the manufacturer gets to achieve premium quality and thus higher prices," explained Zulj, adding that they're ready to implement this solution anywhere in the world, and it would be possible to do that here in Croatia as well.

Agrivi's software is otherwise the most complete solution that, in addition to being easy to use, is also localised in fifteen languages, and is used by farmers of all sizes, food companies, agro-banks and other stakeholders in the agricultural and food industry. Users can get all the information about each stage of production, production plan and timely implementation of agro-technical measures in a mere few clicks.

They work with global leaders such as Driscoll’s, the world's largest berry producer, then Nestle, which uses Agrivi software to ensure fruit quality for its baby food factories, and Helvetas, which ensures rice traceability for more than 4,000 small farmers in Asia.

The consulting company Ernst & Young recommended Agrivi's solution as an ideal project that could have a positive impact on agriculture and the entire economy in Croatia in just two years.

Agrivi is celebrating seven years of business this year, coming from humble beginnings as a startup and growing into a technology company, globally established and present in more than 100 countries, with offices in Zagreb, Warsaw, Bucharest and London, with the aim of expanding into the European and American markets where they have a strong customer base and where additional sales offices are expected to open.

They currently have 40 employees and in the last two months they have hired eight new ones in spite of the ongoing pandemic, and at this moment in time, three more positions have been opened. Recently, Agrivi and Agroklub signed an agreement and became strategic partners, thus further positioning themselves as key leaders in digitalisation in agriculture in the Adriatic region.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik/Borivoje Dokler writes on the 13th of October, 2020, after being the co-owner and director of the Public Bicycle System company (Sustav javnih bicikala) for eight years, which is currently present in more than 30 cities in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia, Kresimir Dvorski began a new venture - Dash City.

Dash City is otherwise the first and only company in the Republic of Croatia and the region that deals with the rental of electric scooters through a fully automated sharing system at charging and rental stations. All other scooters are rented mostly without such a system, and in a more limited way - at one location. Dash City's boss received an offer to kick off this particular venture from a partner from Poland, and the first system was launched last year as a pilot project in the Dalmatian city of Zadar.

After that, Dash City's systems were launched in Crikvenica and Selce, followed by Biograd and Sibenik. Dvorski pointed out that the startup phase of business and difficult living and working conditions slowed them down in launching even more systems in cities which have shown interest.

"There just wasn't enough time this year, but we'll make up for it next year," Dvorski said, adding that they already have more than 20,000 registered users. The rental and payment procedure is done via the free mobile application called Dash, and the rental price per minute is 1.50 kuna.

By scanning the QR code, a Dash City scooter can be picked up and then be returned at any station in the city, and with just one charge, the scooter can travel for about thirty kilometres.

"On average, Dash City's systems in cities have between four and eight stations and 15 to 45 scooters, depending on the availability of station locations, the tourist potential of the destination, the climate, the topography and some socio-demographic characteristics of the city," explained Dvorski. Zagreb topographically, touristically and as an urban centre has great potential for electric scooters.

"We're taking it step by step because a new law is being prepared, which should better regulate the relationship between traffic participants and clearly define which category electric scooters belong to. At the moment, they are neither in heaven nor on earth, which doesn't suit scooter owners or us who provide services, nor does it suit the city authorities. However, a similar problem could be seen with cyclists and the problems were dealt with by the construction of cycling infrastructure, improving communication and tolerance among everyone in traffic and continuous educational campaigns, so those issues have significantly decreased,'' added Dvorski.

According to him, cities are extremely interested in this business model and he believes that they are launching a mini revolution whose result, with the adequate legislation, might bring with it a whole new wave of benefits in reducing motor vehicles, reducing CO2 emissions, noise, parking problems and reducing communal clutter. The boom in e-car rental across Europe began a mere two years ago, and now big players are starting to enter that niche.

''It's true that they appeared on the market in a big way, but there is room for everyone because everyone is targeting a niche where they can take advantage of their own competitive advantages. The big players have big appetites, and we, the little ones, are here to challenge them to be better and provide a better service, and to grow a little too,'' concluded Kresimir Dvorski.

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