May 25, 2021 - As has been communicated by Real Madrid and confirmed by the Croatian midfielder on his social networks, Luka Modrić has renewed his Real Madrid contract and will wear white for one more season, thus completing ten years with the team in 2022.

Marca.com announced in December 2020 that the renewal agreement had already been closed and that it would become official once the season was over. Luka Modrić will continue for one more season, although without knowing who will be his last coach before the imminent departure of Zinedine Zidane from Real Madrid. The Spanish team has a renewal policy in which it can only renew its players over 30 years of age for an additional year, but this has not been an impediment to Modrić, who had previously communicated his plans to retire at Real Madrid.

The renewal agreement does not include a salary improvement (due among other things to the financial situation of the club), but Florentino Pérez considered it appropriate to retain the Croatian midfielder as he is one of the best players in the team and that, despite not achieving a title this season, he showed great performance throughout it.

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Modrić arrived in 2012, from Tottenham, and despite not having the immediate support of Madrid fans, who doubted his signing, the Croatian midfielder became a legend of the team, standing out for his dedication both in the attack when scoring and assisting in decisive goals, and in his defensive duties as well. He has won four Champions League titles with Real Madrid (2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018), two Spanish La Liga titles, among other local and European competitions.

During his time in the team, Modrić was trained by various coaches: Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Rafa Benitez, Zinedine Zidane, Julen Lopetegui and Santiago Solari. To this day, and at 35 years old, the Croatian continues to be the undisputed starter in the midfield of the Spanish team, proving not only that he still maintains his great footballing level, but that he is also in a great physical condition.

Currently, the captain of the Croatia national team has his sights set on EURO 2020, to be played in June. Today he will join the rest of those selected by Zlatko Dalić, but the Zadar-born midfielder could not hide his joy by sharing a post on his social media posing with the Real Madrid jersey and thus confirming his renewal for an additional season. ''Happy and proud to continue wearing the shirt of the best team in the world", he wrote on his social networks.

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

Mya 25, 2021 - The Zlatko Dalić press conference in Zagreb was held today ahead of the Croatia national team gathering. Tonight, the team heads to Rovinj to begin their preparations for EURO 2020. 

On Tuesday around noon, the Croatia national team gathered in Zagreb ahead of the European Championship preparations, where they will play their first game on June 13 at 3 pm against England at Wembley, reports Index.hr.

Coach Zlatko Dalić published the player list last week, and today at 11 am, he addressed the press and answered key questions before the Euros. He is now leading the national team to the base in Rovinj for the first part of the preparations.

"I can now tell you how we will do our best, die on the pitch, but it will not be enough at the Euros if Croatia is not better and more responsible. Tactically we have to look much better, and Croatia must be much better than it was in the Nations League," said coach Dalić at the beginning.

"We are opening the tournament against the national team that is the favorite for the title, they have seven players in the Champions League final, and they play at home. We must not ignore the Czechs; there are eight players from the same club in their national team, then we have Scotland, who is the host. The goal is to get out of the group."

How will Croatia play at EURO 2020?

"We will stick to what we do best tactically, but I think the best option is the one we played in Russia. Of course, it depends on the players, their health, and their form," said Dalić. 

At tonight's training in Rovinj, the coach will practice with eleven players. Pašalić and Vrsaljko will join tomorrow, and on Friday, the team should be complete. Filip Uremović is still plagued by an injury.

"We will see how he is today; he has been recovering for seven days and has an advantage because he covers the positions of the stopper and right back. But if Filip is not ready, we will not take risks. I expect Mate Kovačić, who plays in the Champions League final, on May 31, while I am waiting for the young players who are playing in the U-21 Euro in Zagreb on June 4. I want to congratulate all our players who became champions and won trophies in their clubs, as well as Mateo for placing in the Champions League final. It would be nice to have a cake during our preparations again. Because of him, I support Chelsea in the final. Lately, they have delighted me with their game, even though Manchester is the favorite," believes Dalić.

He is also worried about Ante Rebić.

"I'm worried because he always has some bad luck before the tournament. He hasn't trained for five days, and I'm cautious when it comes to him. But most of our players are in good shape, and that makes me happy. I'm not a pessimist; I just wish everyone good health. On Friday, we start with serious work," said the coach.

Aware that his national team has not looked good for a long time, Dalić announced the tactics he would practice and talked about the biggest problems.

"We will stick to what was best, the 4-2-3-1 or 4-1-4-1 system. We depend a lot on the central striker. We have 4-4-2 and 4-3-2-1 variants with two midfielders; we will also play that. We have nine training sessions, and we will focus exclusively on tactics. Set plays are a huge problem, and I am asking for more responsibility from individuals who keep opponents from scoring a goal. My players here have to be much more responsible and tell themselves that they will not allow their players to jump and score a goal. We used to defend man-on-man set plays, and there would always be someone to run away from us, and now we’re going to cross the zone, we’re going to pay attention to that. Yet, the greatest responsibility is of individuals is covering their opponents. Desire is key," Dalić said.

The question is who will play the right-wing because most wingers in Croatia prefer the left side.

"We can't allow everyone to play the position they play at their club. I don't think there are any problems in that position, and it's not that our players don't want to play; it's that they don't play the ideal football on the right wing. But we saw as Ante Rebić played at the World Cup, we have Perišić, Ivanušec and I am not afraid at all," claims Dalić and continues:

"The long season is behind us; the players are tired. We have to work carefully with a lot of emotion, we will certainly not follow a strict plan, but we will behave as needed, day by day. We will refresh ourselves and go to work on a tactical plan. We will work together because it is important for the result, which is crucial for the atmosphere. We lack time and the right atmosphere, which is very important for Croatia. We will talk a lot; I will try to reach every player."

Today, a dozen players are coming to the gathering: HNL players Petković, Škorić, Oršić, Kalinić, Livaković, and players who have no more obligations with their clubs. Sluga, Juranović, Vlašić, and Barišić are also expected.

Tonight at 7 pm is the first training, and the complete team is expected on May 28. Dalić has agreed with U21 national team coach Igor Bišćan on the status of players they share in the national teams. Thus, Joško Gvardiol, Domagoj Bradarić, and Luka Ivanušić will start preparations with the U21 team for the historic Euro quarterfinal match on May 31 in Maribor. After that, Dalić expects them at the Croatian base in St. Andrews in Scotland.

EURO 2020 Player List

Goalkeepers: Dominik Livaković - Dinamo, Lovre Kalinić - Hajduk, Simon Sluga - Luton; call-up: Ivica Ivušić

Defenders: Šime Vrsaljko - Atletico Madrid, Borna Barišić - Rangers, Domagoj Vida - Bešiktaš, Josip Juranović - Legia, Dejan Lovren - Zenit, Duje Ćaleta-Car - Marseille, Domagoj Bradarić - Lille, Mile Škorić - Osijek, Joško Gvardiol - Dinamo; call-ups Uremović and Pongračić

Midfielders: Luka Modrić - Real Madrid, Marcelo Brozović - Inter, Milan Badelj - Genoa, Mateo Kovačić - Chelsea, Nikola Vlašić - CSKA Moskva, Mario Pašalić - Atalanta, Luka Ivanušec; call-ups: Moro, Majer and Bašić.

Strikers: Bruno Petković - Dinamo, Ivan Perišić - Inter, Andrej Kramarić - Hoffenheim, Josip Brekalo - Wolfsburg, Ante Rebić - Milan, Mislav Oršić - Dinamo, Ante Budimir - Osasuna; call-ups: Lovrić and Livaja.

KEY DATES

25.5. National team gathers in Zagreb and departs to Rovinj
25.5. - 31.5. Preparations in Rovinj
1.6. Player registration deadline for UEFA EURO 2020 (until 23:59)
8.6. Arrival at the base camp in St. Andrews

MATCH SCHEDULE

1.6. friendly: Croatia - Armenia (Velika Gorica)
6.6. friendly: Belgium - Croatia (Bruxelles)
13.6. EURO 2020: England - Croatia (London)
18.6. EURO 2020: Croatia - Czech Republic (Glasgow)
22.6. EURO 2020: Croatia - Scotland (Glasgow)

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

To get more news about sports in Croatia, CLICK HERE.

ZAGREB, 24 May, 2021 - Croatia hopes its entry to the Schengen area of passport-free travel could be put on the agenda during Slovenia's EU presidency in the second half of this year, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Monday.

"I believe it is possible. We have excellent overall relations with Slovenia and it would be great if that happened during Slovenia's presidency of the Council of the EU," Plenković told reporters.

Plenković discussed Croatia's accession to the Schengen area and the euro area with European Council President Charles Michel and Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson.

Both the previous and current European Commission have confirmed that Croatia has met all technical criteria to enter the Schengen area and it is now up to the member-states, that is, the Council of the EU, to make a political decision on the matter.

Asked if he expected problems from some member-states, Plenković said that Croatia had succeeded in showing its partners through dialogue that it had met all criteria.

"I believe that we are heading towards a positive decision by the Council," he said.

The EC has said that on 2 June it will announce a new strategy for the Schengen area and two bills on changes to the Schengen evaluation mechanism and the Schengen Information System.

As for Croatia's other strategic goal, entry to the euro area, Plenković said that talks were underway with Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis and that Croatia could soon achieve that goal as well.

"I believe that we will manage to join the euro area in the next two years," said Plenković.

The Croatian PM and European Council President Michel discussed also the situation in Southeast Europe, notably Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Plenković said that Croatia supported its neighbours' European ambitions, underlining the need to amend Bosnia and Herzegovina's election law so that it could enable parliamentary elections in 2022 and be fair for all constituent peoples and other citizens.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 25, 2021 - The new issue of the Polish National Geographic Traveler magazine is entirely dedicated to Croatia as a tourist destination.

HRTurizam reports, the new issue, "Croatia - 23 journeys of life,"  brings texts, photos, and useful information of Polish journalists and travel writers who wrote about the beauties and peculiarities of Croatian destinations on 116 pages. 

"A special issue of the magazine is already on sale, so many Poles will have an additional opportunity to get to know Croatia even better, which is positioned in this market as one of the favorite foreign tourist destinations. Excellent pictures and tempting texts will be an additional inspiration for Poles to visit Croatian destinations this year," said Agnieszka Puszczewicz, Director of the CNTB Representation in Poland.

A special edition of the National Geographic Traveler represents all Croatian regions and thematically includes numerous attractions that Croatia offers in its tourist offer.

Ideas for an ideal vacation can be found by lovers of adrenaline and active holidays and lovers of enjoying the sun and the sea and the untouched nature of Croatian national parks. You can find ideas for city break holidays like Zagreb, Split, or Dubrovnik in the magazine.

The journalistic-editorial team that prepared the special issue about Croatia included the editor-in-chief of National Geographic Poland and National Geographic Traveler Poland Agnieszka Załęska-Franus. "A lot of Poles adore Croatia, as is evident by the fact that Croatia has been one of their favorite summer destinations for years. This is how the idea was created to dedicate a special issue of the magazine completely to Croatia and its beauties, small and large cities, delicious cuisine, excellent wines, and beautiful nature," Załęska-Franus pointed out, thanking for the professional cooperation, engagement, and help in creating a magazine's special issue.

Poland is one of the most important markets for Croatian tourism, which last year took a high third place in terms of tourist traffic. Last year, Polish tourists accounted for about 4.6 million overnight stays, and a strong contribution from this market is expected this year.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

To read more about Croatia in your own language, CLICK HERE. 

May 25, 2021 - The Croatia handball player list for two June meetings against Spain in the EHF EURO Cup and a friendly against Egypt have been announced. 

The Croatian men's team coach Hrvoje Horvat has published the list of players he is counting on for the remaining EHF EURO Cup match against Spain and the friendly match against Egypt. There are 18 players on the list, along with seven more on the reserve list, if one of the invitees gets injured.

The national team will gather in Poreč on June 21 at 11:00 and will stay there until June 26 when it leaves for Spain. As it is known, the weekend before, Poreč will host the finals of the Men's Cup, so some of the players will already be there.

The remaining EHF EURO Cup 3rd round match between Spain and Croatia was originally planned before the World Cup, on January 9, 2021, but was canceled due to a snowstorm in Madrid.

The new date is June 27. A day later, the national team will play a friendly match against Egypt, which is preparing for the Olympic Games in Spain. The Spanish Handball Federation has yet to confirm where the match will be played. 

Hrvoje Horvat, men's senior national team coach: 
"The list includes most of the players who recently played against Slovakia and Hungary, but also some new names that we also want to check out. We have secured second place in the EHF EURO Cup, so the match against the European champions does not have any special competitive nature, but we want to see how these young players can cope with the handball giants. On the other hand, Egypt is waiting for us, which was fourth at the 2021 World Cup. It is a great opportunity to see players against a physically very powerful team that plays handball a little differently. It is important to note that both matches are played outside the so-called 'national team week,' i.e., the official calendar of the EHF, so we had to rely on players from domestic clubs or leagues that have finished their competitions."

CROATIA HANDBALL PLAYER LIST

1. MORENO CAR – RK NEXE

2. DINO SLAVIĆ – ABANCA ADEMAR LEON

3. MARIN JELINIĆ – RK NEXE

4. VALENTINO RAVNIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB

5. KARLO GODEC – RK DUBRAVA

6. VLADO MATANOVIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB

7. FRAN MILETA – RK NEXE

8. LEON ŠUŠNJA – ORLEN WISLA PLOCK

9. NIKOLA GRAHOVAC – RK PPD ZAGREB

10. VERON NAČINOVIĆ – RK CELJE PIVOVARNA LAŠKO

11. HALIL JAGANJAC – RK NEXE

12. ANTE IVANKOVIĆ – RK DUBRAVA

13. TIN LUČIN – ABANCA ADEMAR LEON

14. FILIP VISTOROP – RK PPD ZAGREB

15. ZVONIMIR SRNA – RK PPD ZAGREB

16. LUKA LOVRE KLARICA – RK PPD ZAGREB

17. LUKA ŠEBETIĆ – TREMBLAY EN FRANCE HANDBALL

18. TOMISLAV SEVEREC – RK NEXE

RESERVE PLAYERS:

1. MATEJ HRSTIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB

2. BORNA MANCI MIČEVIĆ – RK NEXE

3. FILIP PERIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB

4. GIANFRANCO PRIBETIĆ – RK NEXE

5. DAVOR ČAVAR – RK PPD ZAGREB

6. SANDRO MEŠTRIĆ – PAUC HANDBALL

7. IVAN BUDALIĆ – MOSER MEDIKAL UHK KREMS

COACHING STAFF:

1. HRVOJE HORVAT, COACH

2. IVANO BALIĆ, TRAINER

3. NINOSLAV PAVELIĆ, GOALKEEPER TRAINER

4. MILJENKO RAK, CONDITIONING TRAINER

Source: HRS

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

To get more news about sports in Croatia, CLICK HERE.

May 25, 2021 - NK Osijek celebrates their historic second-place finish in the Croatian First League (HNL). 

Osijek won in the last round of their historic HNL season and proudly ended their Croatian championship story in 2nd place. 

Slobodan Kadic

Osijek said goodbye to its memorable club season with a familiar result over the last ten months - a victory. Although the points were not as imperative, given that Osijek already secured the second-place spot in the league before the final match, it was the cherry on top of a brilliant season. Osijek ended the Croatian championship by defeating Istra 1961 2:1 at City Garden.

Slobodan Kadic

"Both this game and what happened, in the end, is another picture of everything we have achieved this season. Despite all the problems we had, we did not highlight them, only the positive ones. We believed in these guys, in each one individually. Congratulations to everyone on a great season, not only to the players and coaches but to all who work in the Club, as well as those who were here before us and contributed to the formation of such a team," said coach Nenad Bjelica.

Slobodan Kadic

"The awards we received from the Club for the historic second place, as well as this contact with the fans, further embellished the whole story. I hope that next season we will be able to make this symbiosis supreme, and I believe that such synergy will lead us to new victories."

Slobodan Kadic

Osijek said goodbye to four of its players who will not be in their ranks next season. Just before the match with Istra 1961, Ivica Kulešević, assistant sports director of Osijek and the club manager, handed out framed jerseys and paintings that will always remind Dmytro Lopa, Gutieri Tomelin, Ivan Santini, and Adam Gyurcso of the time spent at City Garden.

Slobodan Kadic

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

To get more news about sports in Croatia, CLICK HERE.

May 25, 2021 - The latest flight news to Croatia as Iberia flights to Split and Zagreb return next month, while the Dubrovnik line will increase to four flights a week! 

Croatian Aviation reports that Spanish national airline, Iberia, will resume traffic to two Croatian airports - Zagreb and Split - from the beginning of June.

Iberia is running again to Zagreb and Split from the beginning of June! Since March, the Spanish national airline has been operating on a regular route between Madrid and Dubrovnik and will reintroduce routes to Split and Zagreb next month. 

Return to Zagreb

These lines were not in operation in the summer of 2020, and the airline only had reduced traffic to Dubrovnik Airport. Still, in the summer of 2021, Iberia will operate to the Croatian capital, Split, and later to Zadar, which will restore traffic on all lines Iberia had in the summer season of 2019, before the pandemic.

The Madrid - Zagreb - Madrid line was announced on Friday, June 4. Initially, Iberia aircraft will operate on this route three times a week, on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Three flights a week have been announced throughout June, and A320 aircraft will operate on the route.

Iberia will offer a total of 4,104 seats between Zagreb and Madrid in June.

Madrid - Split - Madrid from June 1

In addition to Zagreb, Iberia will return to Split Airport as of June 1. In the first half of the month, two flights a week are announced, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and from mid-June, flights on Saturdays and Sundays are added.

As early as the end of June, Iberia will operate between Madrid and Split five times a week, every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Currently, 16 rotations have been announced on this line in June, with 5,472 seats available for sale between the two mentioned cities.

More flights to Dubrovnik

As we mentioned earlier, Dubrovnik is the only Croatian airport to which Iberia operated in the summer of 2020 and is also the company's first destination in Croatia this summer season.

So far, two flights a week have been available on this route, and as many as four have been announced since the beginning of June (from Friday to Monday).

From Friday, June 18, Iberia plans to operate daily between Dubrovnik and Madrid, with A320 aircraft, so that the Spanish company will offer the largest number of seats to Dubrovnik. There are currently as many as 7,182 seats on sale.

Zadar from July!

Regular flights on the route between Madrid and Zadar are currently postponed to the beginning of July (from July 3). Two flights a week have been announced on this route, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, but given that the start date of operations is still quite far, there is no need to hurry with booking because the airline could continue to cancel flights on this route.

In June, Iberia will have three lines to Croatia with a total of 15 weekly operations. Between Madrid, Zagreb, Split, and Dubrovnik, there are as many as 16,755 seats on offer.

Follow the latest on flights to Croatia HERE and the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 25, 2021 - TCN CEO Paul Bradbury was interviewed by Lider Media last week. The full interview went online yesterday - an English verstion of the original interview.

In the highest peak of pandemic you launched a new project - Total Croatia portal, which represents tips&tricks welcome door to Croatia. Although it mainly refers to tourism offer, there are some information for people who want to live, work, study here. And it is not only ‘milk and honey’ (you mention corruption index and system flaws). Have you faced some disagreement with your objectiveness?

The new Total Croatia national tourism portal (www.total-croatia.com) is the culmination of 10 years of my experience writing about tourism in your country. I have tried many things in my time here, but what I feel is really lacking is a quality website written objectively based on personal experience of someone who has lived and travelled extensively in Croatia for 18 years.

The article about my experiences of living in Croatia (Croatian version here) is absolutely an extension of promoting tourism in this country. The future of work is changing, and there are MANY people who are considering Croatia as a new remote home, due to its safety, authentic experiences and lifestyle. What is missing – at least in my opinion – is detailed information and experiences about what living here is really like for a foreigner. Saying everything is perfect would be irresponsible. Pointing out the good, the bad, and the ugly, with a conclusion that it is a great place to be, despite its flaws, is an honest and positive message. Especially when you serve them the information in their own language.

It has certainly resonated. After our Croatian travel update, it is the most popular article on the Total Croatia website. The Polish version has already been viewed more than 10,000 times, for example. I think there is huge demand for this kind of information. If you give people great info, they will make a decision and come. If you give them nothing, then of course they will not come.

Is this the right time for tourism projects? How did you monetize your online publishing projects, how do you live from it and feed your employees?

It is absolutely the best time for such a tourism project. People are desperate to travel, and the hunger to travel is heightened. Feed them quality information and that interest may not manifest itself in travel next week, but the feeling and interest will remain.

Just look at the US market and Croatia. When we brought ABC News to Dubrovnik last year, which resulted in 6 feature stories including one on Good Morning America watched by 12.5 million people, people were skeptical about promoting international travel to the American market. My eye was always on 2021 and beyond. And look at the flight news recently. After almost no direct flights to Croatia from the USA, now suddenly we have United and Delta from New York to Dubrovnik, as well as Pragusa announcing direct flights from New York and LA.

Promoting tourism does not need to be solely aimed at results tomorrow. Sometimes a longer-term plan can also provide dividends.

And I have to say that I am hugely encouraged by the massive interest from some of the bigger names in the Croatian tourism private sector. We have confirmed destination partners already for many key destinations, such as Hilton for Zagreb, Sun Gardens for Dubrovnik, Falkensteiner Punta Skala for Zadar, and Suncani Hvar for Hvar Town. We will also announce several other big names in the coming days.

This portal is also about promoting authentic tourism and the little guy. If any Croatian tourism business run by your viewers wants to work with us, we will offer a discount off our rates for any interested registered by May 15. If interested, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Subject Lider/Destination/Sector, eg Lider/Trogir/Restaurant

How much did you invest in your business in Croatia and have you brought some start capital from UK?

I started Total Hvar back in 2011 with 100 euro in my bank account. I invested no capital from the UK. My total investment in the new Total Croatia portal has been 5,000 euro. 

How big is your global audience on both of your projects? Can you compare it with Croatia Tourist Board reach?

You can check these things online.

Google Analytics tells me that we have up to 620,000 unique visitors a month for TCN, with 78% international traffic. The main sources are USA, UK, Germany, Canada, Australia, Poland, France, Italy, Austria and Norway. The new TC site is obviously must smaller, but in time it will be much more popular than TCN, as it is based on searches for the info that people are seeking. And we are already ranking very well on all keywords. Soon after we moved our Croatian Travel Update from TCN to TC, we were getting 1,200 Google searches a day for that page alone.

Croatians mainly recognize you through your battles with this institution. This battle recently brought your case in Croatian Parliament, where Marijana Puljak demanded that membership in CTB has to be voluntarily. Could you write more about some other par fiscal institutions such as HGK and HOK, so you could help speed up the same process?

I am very grateful to Marijana for raising my case, as well as Vanja Juric for helping with my legal defence against the SLAPP lawsuits from the Croatian National Tourist Board. Both are magnificent humans, and people like them give me hope for a better Croatia.

But, haha, no I don't plan to write that much about other institutions. It seems to be an expensive hobby... And I said all I needed to say about HGK a few years ago in Welcome to Uhljebistan: the Croatian Chamber of Economy, Beyond Useless.

The lawsuits which led to finalising the Total Croatia project actually set me free. My intention is to focus mostly on TC, before taking the concept in other countries. We have already had offers to replicate it in the USA and Egypt. And we only launched a few days ago.

In which phase are currently your court cases with HTZ? Did you have to pay some slander fees already?

There are two court cases. In the first, I am being sued for 50,000 kuna for defamation. My alleged crime was being quoted in an article written by someone else on a portal that is not mine. There was no request to remove the article. Neither the author, nor the portal has been sued. The article is still online. 

The first hearing should have been on May 3 at 09:40, but 3 days before, the HTZ law firm asked for it to be delayed, as their lawyer asked for a delay as he had another case at the same time. Even though there are apparently 50 lawyers in the firm, nobody else must have been available. We replied that we wanted to proceed, but the court ruled that the case would be delayed until May 31.

The second case was actually heard first, in early April. Another 50,000 for my satirical use of the HTZ logo, Croatia, Full of Life. The hearing lasted 3 minutes and was adjourned until July because their lawyer filed a last-minute motion which not even my lawyer saw prior to the hearing. Apparently, he had been in hospital for a week, hence the late deposition. All of the other alleged 49 lawyers in the firm must have been busy.

You wrote many articles about tourism system gaps. Could you point out three key weak links and how to strengthen them as soon as possible?

No strategy, poor information, little understanding of modern tourism trends and needs.

All three are easy to fix. Make a strategy, provide quality information, and engage people who understand modern tourism trends and needs.

Do you share the opinion that Croatia needs more big foreign investments and position in luxury tourism?

Croatia has almost no position in the luxury tourism market. Last month, the Croatian media picked up on a story I did on Charlize Theron saying the happiest time of her life was on holiday in Hvar and Dubrovnik. 

I know one of the people who worked on her trip. She was looking for a hotel of Aman quality, and ended up going to one apparently. Not in Croatia, as Aman is one of many quality brands that are in places like Montenegro (and check out the number of top hotel names in Rwanda, for example), but not Croatia.

Yes, we do need to massively improve the luxury tourism offer to match the destination. Everyone talks about exclusive Hvar, for example. But it was only two years ago that it got its first 5-star hotel. Now compare how many 5-star hotels there are on Croatian islands versus Greek islands.

Can we take Hvar for example? There is a disorder in the mix of three totally different products – luxury yachting, party life and family tourism. Can those three products live in peace or should it be just one product to promote globally?

Actually, I think things on Hvar are changing finally, and very much for the better. Things are slowly being repivoted in Hvar Town away from the party and towards higher-quality tourism. Suncani Hvar Hotels and the Hvar Tourist Board have never worked better together in the last 10 years, and the merging of the island tourist boards into one marketing entity can only be a good thing.

But also, watch out for Stari Grad, which is quietly emerging as a really top quality and authentic destination. It has a huge future, and it will open up higher-class tourism to central Hvar. I am actually very optimistic about the future of tourism on my adopted island.

You know many foreign entrepreneurs living and investing in Croatia. Do they share your opinion that entrepreneurship is a ‘dirty’ word in Croatia, as you often say? 

One of the best things I saw at a presentation was from an Australian-Croatian returnee, who showed the definition of an entrepreneur in Australia and Croatia. There were like chalk and cheese.

To be honest, I love hanging out with entrepreneurs. They tend to be very positive people who are more interested in doing things than complaining. Croatia needs more entrepreneurial mindset to move forward.

You obviously don’t have very nice experience in cooperation with Croatian institutions. How about private sector? How would you compare Croatian with western entrepreneurial mindset? (example)

Actually, I would like to correct you there a little if I may. I have a very poor experience with SOME Croatian institutions, but outstanding experiences with others. The cooperation with MUP last summer with our Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community (which won the International Grand Prix award for crisis communication from HUOJ)  was outstanding. What they did to help the tourism season was unreal. Full respect to MUP and many thanks to Marina Mandic for an outstanding cooperation.

Just because I am critical of HTZ does not mean the same is true of every tourism board, some of whom I work with, some not. I have never worked with TZ Rogoznica, for example, but I think they do an excellent job. Our cooperation with Dubrovnik on the digital nomads projects has been the best I have experienced with any city or tourist board here. And I am very excited by the partnership with Zagreb Tourist Board for Zagreb Digital Nomad Week from June 21-27.

But there are also great tourist boards in smaller destinations. I am really enjoying working with Ludbreg on some innovative projects you will hear about soon, and TZ Stari Grad on Hvar is doing wonders on a small budget.

After so many people offered you donations for court defence, you came up with an idea of crowdfunding campaign for tourism promotion which would be much more effective than present. Do you thing this idea could be feasible in Croatia?

Perhaps, but you don't need money always to promote tourism. You need passion.

ABC News and Good Morning America watched by 12.5 million people, delivered for zero kuna by Kresimir Macan, Nikolina Vicelic and our Viber commmunity.

Jan de Jong and the digital nomad permit. Zero kuna.

Mate Rimac and his fantastic living and working in Croatia video.

Nenad Bakic and his viral Twitter videos. Zero kuna.

And many thousands of others who promote Croatia. What do they all have in common? Passion, and an understanding of the methods required to communicate and share in the 21^st century. The Croatian Ministry of Tourism was still advertising its fax machine number as the primary means of communication this time last year until I politely pointed out that we had moved on a generation.

You worked as a humanitarian aid worker in Somalia, Georgia, Rwanda, Siberia. How that experience changed you and how do you look at it from Hvar’s deep shade today?

It gave me a different perspective for sure. Although they are very different cases, it is hard for me sometimes not to compare Croatia with Rwanda, where I worked in 1994 in emergency relief 2 weeks after the genocide finished.

800,000, or 12% of the population, murdered in just 100 days, two tribes against each other, one of the poorest countries in the world. Today, plastic bags are illegal in the country, emergency blood gets delivered by drone anywhere in the country, and where luxury hotels such as One & Only opened (also in Montenegro, but not in Croatia).

A poor country which no history of football success, or any Rwandese national in the English Premier League, and yet they are the first tourism country to partner with a Premier League football club. You can read about their partnership with Arsenal here in Lessons from Rwanda: Promoting Tourism Through Football, African-Style.

And Croatia, the land of Modric? Ah, Hrvatska...

More and more foreigners buy real estate in Croatia and find it as a cozy place to live. Do you believe there can be a coexistence of Croatian and foreign mindset ten years from now?

Yes, I believe that very strongly. The Mighty State of Uhljebistan is starting to wobble, and the twin viruses of transparency and technology will be too strong, I think. I am always optimistic, but about this, I am very optimistic.

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