As Croatian Tourism Sector Cautiously Awakens, Tourism Minister Optimistic
The global (and ongoing) coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on the world's tourism and Croatian tourism, which is the country's strongest economic branch, hasn't been immune from the beating it has been given. The economic consequences are harsh in their nature, and for the sector that makes up 20 percent of Croatia's GDP, is there any light at the end of the tunnel for 2020's season?
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 15th of June, 2020, the Croatian tourism sector is slowly beginning to wake up once again. Four and five-star hotels, as well as holiday homes and camps of a higher class are currently the best filled.
"The announcements are good, we're optimistic, there are more and more reservations being made every day, new guests are arriving every day, so we're hoping that everything will be fine," said Ilija Turic, the director of a hotel in Opatija.
"The announcements are very good, the rate of booking has been very good. We could expect 80 percent of the realisation of last year's traffic for July and August,'' the owner of the camp Biserka Komadina stated in a clearly optimistic manner.
Currently, the Slovenes and the Germans are the most numerous campers in Croatia giving the Croatian tourism sector a much needed spring in its step, however cautious that step might be.
"There's no fear, we're well acquainted with the epidemiological picture in Croatia and we came without even thinking about it, we also know the situation with the camp, it has been checked," said Franc, a guest from Slovenia.
"Everything is clean, you can always see the staff cleaning and washing the toilets, the environment... that's very good," said Michael, another guest from Switzerland.
The Croatian Tourism Minister, Gari Cappelli, also appeared very optimistic in front of gathered journalists in the coastal town of Opatija today.
"I'm sure at the moment, according to these first indicators, that in some counties, such as Primorje-Gorski Kotar and Istria, the results may be at the level of 40 percent," said the minister.
The first party called "Let the party begin/Neka party počne" was held on the famous Zrće beach, and the toll on the Krk bridge will be abolished from midnight onwards. On top of that, the popular Dalmatian city of Zadar is also slowly filling up.
“It’s not very far away from Germany and there’s no coronavirus here,” said Rebecca, a guest from Germany.
In Istria, many halved their prices this weekend.
"The attendance is excellent, I can tell you that we were visited by a lot of foreign tourists, as well as domestic ones," said Romina Celija from the House of Istrian Olive Oil.
Due to their locations, the Dubrovnik and Split areas generally depend on guests arriving by air. This is especially true for Dubrovnik and the extreme south of Dalmatia, which is cut off from the rest of the country by a small section of coastline owned by neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina - Neum. This involves crossing a non-EU border and re-entering Croatia once again shortly after.
Minister Cappelli predicts that stronger traffic, especially towards Dubrovnik and Split, will start up again at the tail end of this month. Whether the optimistic expectations of the minister will be fulfilled will be seen as early as the beginning of July.
For more on Croatian tourism, follow our dedicated travel page.
200 Brodosplit Employees to Construct Part of Peljesac Bridge
As Morski writes on the 14th of June, 2020, Brodosplit has made a contract with the Greek company Avax for the construction of a steel structure for the Ston bridge and the Prapratno viaduct, facilities on the Ston bypass route, which is part of the project of connecting the extreme south of Croatia and the access roads to the long awaited Peljesac Bridge.
This is the first big job for one of the Croatian companies in the entire road connection project of the south of Croatia with the rest of the country, a project worth three billion kuna. The value of the contract with Avax hasn't yet been disclosed by Brodosplit, but a large number of its employees, as many of 200 of them, will be engaged in doing that job, according to a report from Vecernji list.
Thus, the Split-based company stated that in addition to the construction of the steel structure for the Ston bridge and the Prapratno viaduct, they also contracted transport to the construction site, installation, joining and anti-corrosion protection.
The works that will be undertaken by Brodosplit employees involves a massive 2580 tonnes of steel construction, and as stated, around 200 workers from the aforementioned shipyard will be engaged in that work - they say from Brodosplit. Avax will construct the Ston bypass, ie the sub-sections Sparagovici - Prapratno and Prapratno - Doli, with a total length of eighteen kilometres, and the contracted value of the works stands at an enormous 511.5 million kuna (excluding VAT).
The construction of the Ston bridge will be a very demanding construction project because there will be tunnels on both sides of the bridge. The Ston bridge will be 485 metres long, on one side there will be the Polakovica tunnel, which is 1242 metres long, and on the other side, the Supava tunnel, which is 1290 metres long. The Prapratno viaduct, at the ninth kilometre of this particular section, will be 223 metres long. Avax was introduced to the construction of the Sparagovici - Doli section back in early December last year, but serious work hasn't yet begun, partly due to the coronavirus crisis.
From Croatian roads (Hrvatske ceste), however, they expect that these works will be completed within the previously agreed period of 28 months. In addition to the work on the access roads, Brodosplit could also get another ''slice of the cake'' in terms of being engaged in the works on Peljecac Bridge, and this is something that is currently being negotiated with the Chinese contractor China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC).
Namely, due to the coronavirus crisis, specialised workers, such as welders and fitters of the steel load-bearing structure of the bridge - can't come to Peljesac Bridge's construction site from China. The first 29 of a total of 165 steel structure segments from China arrived at the construction site back in late February this year. There has been no desire expressed by Brodosplit in terms of wanting to talk about putting their welders to work on Peljesac Bridge as there have been no negotiations with the CRBC on the matter yet.
"Given that negotiations on our engagement and cooperation are still ongoing, it wouldn't be in accordance with good business practice to go public with the details of those negotiations," a statement from Brodosplit said. The CRBC said that currently, Chinese welders, are already working on the construction site.
"Now we're trying in all possible ways to get various workers to the construction site from China as soon as possible" they claimed from the CRBC, adding that they will perform all the work in accordance with the contract.
However, they noted that, given the significant impact the coronavirus pandemic has had and continues to have on the project, they, as the contractor, together with the client and the supervising engineers, will assess this impact and try to find a solution.
To briefly recall, the CRBC contracted the construction of Peljesac Bridge for an enormous price tag of 2.08 billion kuna, and it should be completed by July the 31st, 2021. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Chinese announced a possible delay in terms of those deadlines, but they failed to state just how long it could be instead.
Croatian roads still believe that it's still possible for the bridge to be completed within the agreed deadline. Works on the second part of the access roads are being performed by Strabag. These works worth 478.3 million kuna (excluding VAT) should be completed within 33 months from the date of the introduction of the contractor to the works, and that took place back in mid-November last year.
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Think Green on Peljesac: Divers Remove Over 400 Bags of Waste Near Trstenik
As Morski writes on the 14th of June, 2020, the Think Green ecological action on Peljesac close to Trstenik came to an end after a couple of days of demanding work. There were nineteen clean up actions in a row and the main organisers of it all, as well as the holders of the Think Green project, are as follows: Diving Club Roniti se Mora, National Geographic Croatia, Mares, Hrvatske Vode, Jamnica, Garmin, ESET NOD32, Zagrebačke pekarne Klara, Pivovara Medvedgrad, Edivo, Grgić Vina, Konoba Vitaceae, Fast Food Z, Bezek, DC Blue Planet, OPG Branko Džajić, D'Oro Grill, Caffe bar Felix, Stijena, Pizzeria Riva, Poljanić, Septem pontes, Pons, Postir and Scubalife.
The seabed in Trstenik and Zaglavak on Peljesac was cleaned up by as many as 40 divers and several volunteers, who were joined by the locals from Trstenik. Incredibly, over 400 bags of plastic waste, dozens of car tyres and batteries, parts from boats, a plastic pipe which was over two metres in length, one hundred metres of steel cables, old pots and chairs were taken out of the sea, which were then properly disposed of by the employees of the Bilan utility company. Approximately five tonnes of waste was collected in bags in total.
Diving parachutes, hooks and even boats were used to extract large debris. Mines and other explosives were found under the water, as well as a significant amount of medical waste lying around on the beach. After such actions, no one expects the seabed to be completely cleaned, but the educational effect is immeasurable.
Several tonnes of removed waste and garbage aren't negligible, but the real goal of such eco-actions is not only the cleaning and removal of the waste itself but also educating of local citizens, encouraging more responsible behaviour and pointing out the growing danger of pollution. The real goal is raise general awareness and as such, reduce pollution overall. This action on Peljesac achieved both goals in the right way.
Perhaps the biggest undertaking of this particular action on Peljesac was done on Zaglavak beach, which was covered with garbage, which mostly comes up from Albania, carried by the currents of the Adriatic sea.
For more, follow Total Eco Croatia.
Croatia, a Land of Little Promotion Where the Police Answer Tourist Emails
June 15, 2020 - Although tourism accounts for 20% of Croatia's GDP, it is a land of little promotion where the police answer tourist emails. It is time to abolish the Croatian National Tourist Board and start again.
I have been very critical of Croatia's tourism chiefs in recent times, and I make no apology for that. With so many people depending on tourism for their daily survival, Croatian tourism bodies need to deliver more than ever before, or more people will lose jobs, businesses will close, and more rental properties will be at the mercy of bank repossessions.
So how is the Croatian National Tourist Board doing. And WHAT exactly are they doing? As I will demonstrate below, and despite having a staff of over 70 people, the answer appears to be not very much.
I want to explore a few topics to demonstrate the lack of the need for the national tourist board, at least in its current format. I will look at four things - its promotional activities, response to tourist enquiries on COVID-19, efforts to see facts about Croatia represented accurately in the global media, and how they respond to a private tourism promotion initiative they claim to like.
Greece recently came out with a very clear statement that is was open for tourism on June 15. There was a timeline infographic, as well as a media blitz which saw Greek tourism on the front page of the BBC, featured in The Guardian, and all over the international travel media. About Croatia, there was only confusion, all the more so when Croatia opened its borders to 10 EU countries but not the others.
I was curious about how much promotion Croatia was doing internationally, so I posted some questions on my Facebook page, asking people in other countries to let me know what they were seeing, and which countries were doing the most.
There was almost no promotion whatsoever.
Curious, I sent the following media request to the national tourism board - here it is, complete with the answer:
Which are the main target markets for this season - am sure you have been forced to readjust? How many campaigns have you conducted so far, and where? What were they called?
The markets on which we are currently focused, primarily due to the epidemiological situation and their proximity, are Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia and Poland. Since the start of the pandemic, the CNTB has launched and promoted 3 campaigns. In April the new communication platform #CroatiaLongDistanceLove was created with the key message „Welcome Croatia to your home”, developed for the millions of followers on the social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Subsequently we launched the campaign The Vacation You Deserve Is Closer Than You Think on neighbouring markets within a relatively short driving distance, which as mentioned include Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia and Poland. Whereas, once the necessary prerequisites are met, this campaign is also planned for the markets of Italy, France and the Netherlands. In addition, a new communication EnjoyTheViewFromCroatia was recently launched. This is an online platform, focused on user-generated content supplied by the tourism sector in Croatia, as well as individuals, namely for all those wanting to supply content and promote their destination within Croatia. This campaign primarily targets key markets, that are not likely to be traveling to Croatia in the short-term, such as the long-haul markets like the USA, China and South Korea.
For additional information you please see the accompanying press releases on http://www.htz.hr/en-GB/press/press-releases
Seven countries.
20% of our GDP dependent on those 7 countries.
I can of course understand that there is little point advertising in the USA, China or South Korea at the moment, but Switzerland, Serbia, BiH and - maybe even within Croatia itself?
Switzerland is a great market (actually the fourth biggest - yes, small numbers - on Hvar at the moment) with high-spending tourists, and yet totally ignored.
One of the people who answered my Facebook call was a Croatian living in Switzerland, who said Italy, Spain and Greece were catching the eye in terms of advertising:
Hi Paddy,
What Kind of Blow will Coronavirus Pandemic Deal Croatian Banks?
When talking about the economic consequences of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, could Croatian banks be worse off when compared to other banks operating within the country's immediate region?
As Tomislav Pili/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 15th of June, 2020, small and medium-sized companies in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe (CESEE) will face much stricter criteria in terms of being granted loans from banks this year, is one of the main conclusions of a study by the European Investment Bank (EIB).
In addition, the share of non-performing loans will start growing again, for the very first time since back in 2015. According to the research conducted, banks in the CESEE region will face the worst business environment since the 2007 and 2008 financial crises due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In the last six months alone, banks in Croatia's immediate region have witnessed a solid demand for loans, while providing somewhat looser lending terms. However, the EIB's survey of as many as 90 banks concluded that lenders expect a sharp decline in demand for financing, as well as a significant tightening-up of approval conditions and, accordingly, a decline in the rate of approved loans.
Banks expect that it will be primarily households who will first reduce their demand for credit/loans, and not so much the corporate sector. 64 percent of banks in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe expect an increase in the rate of non-performing loans in the second half of 2020.
However, the existing loan portfolio as it currently stands is expected to begin to deteriorate once again, with 64 percent of banks expecting a rise in the rate of ''bad credit'' during the second half of this year.
As for Croatia, the EIB pointed out that on the eve of the coronavirus pandemic, the Croatian banking market could boast of solid profitability, given that in the last six months more than half of foreign banking groups have reported higher returns on capital.
Given that the overall impact of the pandemic still remains quite unclear, in the next six months, Croatian banks unfortunately expect their market dynamics to fall even below regional trends. This is in line with forecasts that Croatia will experience one of the deepest recessions in the entire region, with a worrying nine percent drop in GDP.
While retail lending will be strongly negatively affected by sinking personal consumption, higher demand may come from the extraordinary liquidity needs of companies that had to shut down during the pandemic, backed by fiscal stimulus as well.
In order for banks in the CESEE region to return to pre-crisis levels and to be able to finance the domestic economy, support through instruments such as the European Guarantee Fund will be crucial, according to EIB economist Debora Revoltella.
For more on Croatian banks, follow our lifestyle page.
HNL Round 28 Recap: Dinamo Falls to Lokomotiva, Hajduk Back in 2nd Place
June 15, 2020 - The 28th round of the Croatian First League was played from June 11 to 13, 2020. This round saw Dinamo lose to Lokomotiva, draws for Rijeka and Osijek, and a win for Hajduk against Istra.
Inter Zapresic v. Gorica (0:3)
Inter and Gorica opened the 28th round on Thursday, June 11, 2020, in Zagreb.
While the first half went without goals, Lovric scored in the 53rd minute for the Gorica lead, and Mundrinski scored in the 78th and 84th for the final score of 0:3.
Inter is currently in the last place with 17 points, while Gorica is in 6th with 39.
Istra 1961 v. Hajduk (0:1)
Istra and Hajduk met in Pula on Thursday, June 11, 2020.
Hajduk scored early thanks to a Caktas header in the 6th minute for 0:1, which was the final score of the game.
Istra is currently in 8th place with 19 points, while Hajduk has moved back into 2nd place with 51.
Varazdin v. Rijeka (0:0)
Varazdin and Rijeka met at NK Varteks Stadium on Friday, June 12, 2020.
Neither team was able to score, and the game remained 0:0.
Varazdin is currently in 9th place with 18 points, while Rijeka has dropped to 3rd place with 51.
Lokomotiva v. Dinamo Zagreb (1:0)
Lokomotiva and Dinamo met at Kranjceviceva Street Stadium on Friday, June 12, 2020.
The game remained without goals until the 90th minute, after Nikola Moro received a red card and Lokomotiva a penalty, which Tolic scored for 1:0 and the victory.
Lokomotiva is currently in 4th place with 49 points, while Dinamo is in first with 68.
Slaven Belupo v. Osijek (0:0)
Belupo and Osijek met in Koprivnica to close out the 28th round on Saturday, June 13, 2020.
It was yet another game in this round that went without goals and ended 0:0.
Belupo is currently in 7th place with 28 points, while Osijek is in 5th with 46.
You can see the full HNL table here.
To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
3,000 Passengers Expected at Split Airport this Weekend
June 15, 2020 - Life after corona is slowly normalizing in Split, and traffic is increasing day by day at Split Airport, where the first significant increase in air traffic and 3,000 passengers is expected this weekend.
"Next weekend, June 20 and 21, according to previous announcements, about 30 planes are expected to arrive in both directions, which will be the first significant increase in traffic at Split Airport after the epidemic," said the head of the Reception and Dispatch Service at Split Airport on Sunday, Mate Melvan, for Index.hr.
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He added that the last weekend in June also expects traffic of around 3,000 passengers.
Melvan reminded that this year, 60 airlines were registered at Split Airport, though most of them canceled their services due to the coronavirus epidemic. However, nine airlines resumed traffic in June. “Already in early July, we expect continued growth in airline engagement,” he added.
According to him, the largest passenger traffic at Split Airport this year is expected in the second half of July and early August.
Recall, just last week, KLM announced its return to Split, and from July 4, the Amsterdam - Split line will be introduced, operating daily, and on Sundays even twice a day.
Furthermore, Wizz Air announced the launch of three routes to Croatia, specifically from Poland (from June 20) and the UK (from June 15) to Split.
Air France also announced their return to Split and will resume on the Paris - Split line from July 13, 4 times a week (Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays), while from July, Ryanair will operate from Dublin and Stuttgart, and Luxair from Luxembourg.
Croatia Airlines will also introduce five international routes from Split, four to destinations in Germany and one to Switzerland.
As of June 24, the Split-Frankfurt route will be introduced with two weeks of departure, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, of the A319 aircraft.
From June 27, the Split - Dusseldorf route will be introduced, once a week, on Saturdays, by A319 aircraft.
From the same date, the Split - Berlin route will be introduced, also once a week (Saturdays), by A319 aircraft.
As of June 26, the Split - Munich route will be introduced with two weeks of departure, on Fridays and Saturdays, for the 76-seat DashQ400 aircraft.
From the same date, the Split - Zurich line will be introduced, also with two weeks of departure (Friday and Saturday) by DashQ400 aircraft.
From June 24, the Croatian national airline will operate on five international routes from Split, and one domestic, between Split and Zagreb.
Split Airport currently has the most announcements of airlines in the summer flight schedule.
International Media Confusion (Again) as Croatia Opens Its Borders to EU Citizens
June 15, 2020 - As Europe opens many of its internal borders, more international media confusion about the situation on Croatia's borders.
The day has finally arrived.
June 15, 2020, the day we have all been waiting for. The day when the EU was planning to announce it is reopening its internal borders.
I have a busy day of meetings, so I decided to wake up early to publish the official confirmation, as well as update the TCN daily travel update, which is also available in 24 languages.
Incredibly, I can't find an official confirmation anywhere, and I have looked really hard.
The international media confusion continues as a result, with many outlets reporting that most EU borders are now open, and Austria will be from tomorrow, leaving the drive across Europe to Croatia now relatively free. My impression is that Croatia's borders are now completely open to EU citizens, which is also the understanding of some, but not all of the international media. Here is a selection:
Croatia
Croatia will reopen its borders to all EU citizens, including from the UK, on June 15, with no obligation to quarantine.
Croatia opened its borders in mid-May without restriction to nationals from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, Germany and Slovakia.
Other visitors from the EU/EEA, and the UK, could also visit from May 11, though restrictions were in place, including quarantine and proof of accommodation.
Croatia
The country opened its borders in mid-May without restriction to nationals from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, Germany and Slovakia.
Croatia will reopen to the rest of the E.U. and to U.K. citizens on June 15, with no obligation to quarantine. All arrivals should fill out a form online in advance and proof of a tourist accommodation booking is required on entry.
Parks, beaches, shops, museums, hotels and outdoor restaurants and bars are open, public transport is operating as well, as are some international and domestic flights. International flights are expected to increase throughout June.
(TCN comment - Although I respect Forbes very much, this does not make a lot of sense. Croatia has been open to EU citizens with proof of paid accommodation for weeks, with no quarantine requirement. If Croatia reopens its border to the rest of the EU and UK, that means that the borders are open, with no need for proof of paid accommodation. It is not the fault of Forbes here, just the astounding lack of clear communication from the tourism chiefs).
Croatia
Are the borders open? Yes. In an effort to get the tourism sector moving again, travelers from Austria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia are allowed in without conditions, though the government says it will collect contact data. Nationals of other EU countries will have to show they have a good reason, although an accommodation booking will be sufficient.
Do arrivals have to quarantine? No, unless they have symptoms.
(TCN comment - Again, if the borders are fully open to all 31 EU/EEA countries, there should be no need for proof of accommodation. The situation described by Politico is the situation last week, and if this is the situation today, this means nothing has changed).
Interestingly, the New York Times wrote a comprehensive article on EU borders reopening, looking at a dozen individual countries, but did not mention Croatia at all. Presumably it was too hard to fact check the situation with no official information.
I expect the situation to be clarified today, but my current advice would be to have proof of paid accommodation and fill in the entercroatia.mup.hr form.
07:00 Update - I checked with an official at the ministry who told me that the National Civil Protection Headquarters would make the decision today.
So who is flying? Again, it is hard to find the information, so I checked with the airport arrivals pages of Croatia's main airports, as well as this month's schedule of Croatia Airlines.
Zagreb is the busiest airport, with Croatia Airlines connecting the Croatian capital with a number of European cities.
More flights tomorrow, including a direct flight from Dublin, as well as Air Serbia from Belgrade.
Dubrovnik is fairly quiet, with Riga the only advertised international connection in the next two days on the arrivals board.
Zadar is welcoming domestic flights only it seems.
And Pula has just the one flight from Zagreb today.
Not so many flights to Split either, but something of a surprise - a direct flight to the UK with Wizzair from London Luton.
I went to the Wizzair site to see if it was really happening, and it appears to be. With tickets still available. So if you feel like spending the night in Split tonight, book your ticket and come.
I suspect all this confusion will clear up in the next 24 hours. If, as I suspect, Croatia's borders are fully open to EU/EEA citizens, then the paid accommodation requirement should no longer be valid.
Compare these flights with Athens Airport today. Greece sent a very clear message that it would be opening for tourism today. In addition to dozens of domestic flights to its islands and other destinations, Athens will be welcoming flights from Frankfurt, Liege, Paris, Bucharest (2), Doha (2), Amsterdam, Rome, Vienna (2), Munich, Larnaca (2), Sofia, Tirana, London (2), and Milan.
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Detention Set for Six Accused of Inciting to Ethnic Violence
ZAGREB, June 14, 2020 - The Zagreb Municipal Prosecutor's Office has questioned six persons accused of publicly inciting to violence and hate in a Zagreb neighbourhood on June 11 and proposed detention, which a County Court investigating judge granted, the State Prosecutor's Office said on Sunday.
Detention was set for the six young men to prevent them from repeating the crime after Zagreb police filed a criminal complaint against them and placed them in custody.
All are Croatian nationals aged 19-22. After a police investigation, they were suspected of displaying a banner that insulted and incited to ethnic violence against Serb women and children.
A photo posted on social media on Friday shows several Dinamo football club supporters holding a banner which said "We will f..k Serb women and children" and the letter "u" turned into the Ustasha symbol. The photo was posted by the Serb National Council.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic condemned it the same day and Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said police would solve any case of incitement to violence and ethnic intolerance.
The incident was roundly condemned in public as well.
115,000 Tourists Vacationing in Croatia
ZAGREB, June 14, 2020 - Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said on Sunday the number of tourists was rising by the day and that 115,000 were currently staying in Croatia, about 20% of their number at the same time last year, and that Istria, Primorje-Gorski Kotar and Zadar were the most visited counties.
Tourists are also visiting the continental counties, generating 50% of the turnover from the same time last year, Pozega-Slavonia County even 61%.
This year's tourism revenue is expected to be 30-35% of last year's, Istria and Primorje-Gorski Kotar counties expect it to be up to 40%, with the latter generating 21% of arrivals and 29% of nights year on year now.
Speaking at a press conference in Opatija, Cappelli said 188,000 tourists stayed in Croatia on June 1-13, generating a million nights, and that this year so far saw 20% of arrivals and 24% of nights in comparison with the first half of 2019.
Forty-five percent of the tourists staying in Croatia are domestic, 34% come from Slovenia, 15% from Germany, 12% from Austria, and the Czech Republic. The top destinations are Rovinj, Vir, Mali Losinj, Medulin and Krk.
Over the past 24 hours, about 20,000 tourists have entered Croatia, Cappelli said, adding that Germany was opening its borders tonight and that its nationals would not have to self-isolate after returning home.
Austria and Hungary are next, he said, adding that the most important markets in Central Europe were expected to reopen after June 15.
Bookings for July 10 and afterwards are considerably rising, there are no more cancellations, spending is rising, mostly in campsites, private accommodation and hotels, the minister said.
He said yachts worth €1 billion were currently docked in Rijeka and Mali Losinj. He explained that a large number of them were pulling out of some ports and coming to Croatia.
Cappelli said 73% of the tourists in campsites were staying in four-star ones, that 51% of those in hotels were staying in five-star hotels, and that demand for the most expensive accommodation was higher and higher.
Asked about Italian tourists, he said they were announcing their arrivals as well as entering Croatia, that those owning house or vessels in Croatia were coming, and that 2,000 Italians arrived last weekend.
The minister said air routes to Dubrovnik were being arranged, that Ryanair flights to Zadar would probably be co-financed, that flights to Krk from Duesseldorf and Hamburg would start next week, that trains from the Czech Republic would arrive three times a week, possibly four, and that 10,000 passengers had been announced.
Guests from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Israel are important too, he said, adding that the arrival of tourists from China and South Korea would be discussed in early September.
Cappelli went on to say that very few seasonal workers were being hired in tourism this year, that there were about 2,000 at the moment, and that domestic workers were being hired instead.
Asked about risks related to COVID-19, he said everything was being balanced, that good organisation was important, and that Croatia's healthcare system deserved a lot of the credit for the good epidemiological situation.
He said tourist surgeries would be opened, that there was a risk but that it was important to adhere to the protocol defined by the national COVID-19 crisis management team.
