May the 16th, 2021 - Exclusive Hvar weddings are being given the limelight as the summer season rapidly approaches and Croatian tourism is left vulnerable to the instability and difficulties of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic yet again.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marta Duic writes, for many years now, beautiful Hvar Town has been one of the most desirable destinations for organising weddings in all of Croatia. One of the most popular holiday destinations for many visitors from all over the world, it is an ideal place where many guests from all over the world want to tie the knot.

With an ideal climate of "2700 hours of sunshine a year", Hvar offers incredible wedding scenery, rich cultural heritage, hidden coves, terraces and a complete offer for all sorts of holidays of all guests. To complete the story, Hvar has some of the very best hotels, restaurants and famous wineries. This was recognised by the Tourist Board of Hvar Town, which supported this exclusive Hvar weddings project, within which numerous initiatives aimed at positioning Hvar in this regard have been readily launched.

One of the first steps in the exclusive Hvar weddings project process was to gather together as many partners as possible who are engaged in or participate in the organisation of weddings on the island of Hvar in order to establish regular communication and cooperation with them. In order to further improve and develop this tourist product, and brand Hvar Town as a wedding destination, the Promessi W&E and Wed our way from Split agencies, in cooperation with the group Suncani Hvar, have implemented concrete measures of cooperation and development with numerous partners from the county and from further afield.

In addition to aerial shots of various jaw-dropping locations, two stylised shoots were organised in numerous specific locations of Hvar Town, such as at the unique Fortica, the nearby islands and more. With numerous local partners and established professionals in the wedding industry from across Croatia, the goal was to show the natural resources of the island, as well as its rich cultural heritage and gastronomic offer.

"At the time of the coronavirus pandemic, when destination weddings have been most affected for two years in a row now, the joint work of many participants in this project is actively working to promote Hvar and Croatia as a wedding destination and support this product. This material will be used to promote Hvar on various wedding and tourist platforms, YouTube channels, across social media, in specialised magazines, and also to use it for the preparation of promotional materials for fairs and targeted presentations. The further plan of cooperation includes numerous activities, including creating a list of the most beautiful locations for weddings, certification, organising an inspiring round table for exchanging experiences, organising educational lectures, quality standardisation, etc,'' explained Ivana Knezovic from Promessi W&E from Split.

The exclusive Hvar weddings project participants believe that the development of wedding content such as this can significantly mitigate the effects of the pandemic on tourism, strengthen the pre- and post-season, significantly increase the income of the entire local community and promote underdeveloped tourist areas and small businesses on the island.

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May the 16th, 2021 - Makarska Riviera private accommodation owners are biting their nails in anticipation of the rapidly approaching 2021 tourist season which still has very many question marks dangling above its head despite the more favourable epidemiological situation.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, yet another coronavirus-influenced Croatian tourist season is just around the corner. The epidemiological situation across the country is fortunately becoming much more favourable, the number of new cases of infection has been declining over recent days. However, there is uncertainty among private accommodation owners as the season largely depends on measures in other countries from which tourists typically come.

We often read about the situation for Croatian tourism, primarily from the aspect of large hotel companies, while the extremely important segment of those who rent out private accommodation to foreign visitors is very rarely mentioned. Slobodna Dalmacija examined the expectations and current state of reservations and the perspectives of Makarska Riviera private accommodation owners.

"We're totally ready for the season. Taught by last season, of course we're cautious. We don't expect madness from the reservations. Booking for this year mainly consists of reservations from Poland and Slovenia. It's obvious that the German market hasn't yet been definitively defined. If and when it opens, then that'll be something,'' said Makarska Riviera private accommodation renter Eleonora Filipetti.

"It's hard to be smart when it comes to setting prices. Currently, the poorer booking is a reflection of market conditions, vaccinations and measures, and the question is whether our product is too expensive or not. We'll play with prices depending on the interest,'' she added.

Makarska Riviera private accommodation landlord Pavo Boric revealed how they're preparing for the season in beautiful Tucepi.

"According to all the reservations we've received so far, I think that this season will be like it was in 2020, with the possibility of better realisation for September compared to last year. In terms of representation, for now it's dominated by reservations from Austria and Germany, and we've got a good number of bookings from them. There are 30 percent more Slovenians compared to last year, and reservations from Bosnia and Herzegovina have also started to arrive. The prices have remained the same as they were back in 2019, with previous guests having 10 percent discounts. I think that by lowering prices we'd lose out in the long run. We're being realistic with the prices,'' he said.

For more, follow our dedicated travel section.

May 16, 2021 - Croatian Railways has launched a sale on train ticket prices from Zagreb to coastal cities in Croatia!

HRTurizam reports that Croatian Railways Passenger Transport (HŽPP) has announced special prices for travel on direct routes from Zagreb to the coast.

Prices refer to one-way trips on direct routes in the 1st and 2nd class of passenger, high-speed, and IR trains for which tickets are purchased at the box office and on the train. Also, HŽ stated that the prices of tickets purchased through online sales and smartphone applications had been further reduced, and train tickets can also be purchased at Tisak kiosks.

Train ticket prices from Zagreb

Zagreb GK - Rijeka / Rijeka - Zagreb GK 65 kn
Zagreb GK - Zadar / Zadar - Zagreb GK 100 kn
Zagreb GK - Šibenik / Šibenik - Zagreb GK 100 kn
Zagreb GK - Split / Split - Zagreb GK 110 kn
Zagreb GK - Pula / Pula - Zagreb GK 80 kn

The offer is valid until June 30, 2021, and the return of partially or completely unused tickets is not possible.

2021 is the European Year of Railways

The European Commission's (EC) initiative highlights the benefits of rail as a sustainable, smart, and safe means of transport. In 2021, various activities will bring rail to the forefront across the continent, encourage citizens and businesses to use rail, and contribute to the goal of the European Green Plan, according to which the EU should become climate neutral by 2050.

One of the key elements of the Plan is the introduction of cleaner and healthier means of transport, given that the transport sector is currently responsible for around 25% of EU greenhouse gas emissions. The European Green Plan calls for a 90% reduction in traffic emissions by 2050.

To achieve this goal and ensure that transport continues to play a role during the transition to a clean, digital and innovative EU economy, the EC adopted a Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy in December 2020. It paves the way for more sustainable, smarter, and resilient mobility and includes milestones towards doubling rail freight by 2050 and tripling high-speed rail connections by 2050. In 2021, the EC will present an action plan to strengthen rail passenger transport, which follows the strategy to improve capacity and simplify the system of ticket sales for various modes of transport to increase the attractiveness of rail further.

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

May 16, 2021 -  The latest flight news to Croatia as Croatian ETF Airways reveals their launch plans for this year.

As previously announced, ETF Airways, a new Croatian start-up registered in November last year, has plans to launch operations in 2021 with charter flights from the Adriatic coast to destinations around Europe. 

Ex Yu Aviation reports that ETF Airways plans to take over its first aircraft next week (189-seat Boeing 737-800), and a second soon after. ETF ultimately plans to operate five aircraft, with one based in Dubrovnik for charter flights and others wet-leased to other airlines. Ex Yu Aviation reports that tour operators are interested, but no deals have been signed yet. 

The company’s CEO, Stjepan Bedić, has no doubt that ETF will help Croatian tourism. 

“Thinking that we are world-famous in tourism and that everyone will come to us is counterproductive. Antalya has thirty million passengers per year. All of Croatia’s coastal airports combined have fewer passengers than Ibiza. What we have are peanuts. We are talking about basing one aircraft in Dubrovnik. By bringing a guest to Dubrovnik everyone will be able to profit from it - hotels, the city, tourist attractions," he said for Ex Yu Aviation. 

ETF will focus mainly on servicing the competitive Croatian coast during the summer months, with a network of destinations, including Dubrovnik, Pula, Split, and Zadar, to airports in France, Germany, and the UK.

ETF is currently looking for partners, companies, and brokers for Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance (wet-lease) and charter opportunities to keep their aircraft on the Croatian coast.

The new start-up has been well received in Croatia thus far, with private investors and investment funds in the country supporting the airline. 

ETF investor, Deputy President of the Supervisory Board, and economic analyst Velimir Šonje said: 

“ETF does not aim to become a big scheduled carrier. Our main goal is to utilize the opportunities which we expect in the coming years through charters and similar arrangement, primarily on the EU market, through flexible and reliable service”.

He added that there will be many opportunities in the post-COVID world.

You can find more about ETF Airways here. 

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 16, 2021 - The first post-Covid wedding pilot party in Croatia was held on Saturday in Zagreb with 130 maskless guests.

Jutarnji List reports that on Saturday night, after more than a year, wedding guests hugged, danced, kissed, and enjoyed fine food and drinks with the hope that in one week, they will all test negative and thus prove that such celebrations can take place without any problems.

The president of the Independent Association of Caterers, Žaklina Troskot, opened the "wedding ceremony" on Saturday night at the Riverside Golf Club in Zagreb. It is an experimental gathering organized by the association in cooperation with the Croatian Institute of Public Health and the National Civil Protection Headquarters.

Emica Elvedji / PIXSELL

About 130 participants gathered for the ceremony. Ladies wore formal gowns, men donned suits, and the band “Prava Stvar” dusted off famous hits. As the organizers said, everything was done to simulate a real wedding ceremony as we were used to in the time before the coronavirus pandemic. There were no masks, no social distancing, or any measures, but the rules for entering the most anticipated “wedding” of the year were rigorous. Only those who have been vaccinated with both doses, have recovered from the coronavirus, or have a recent negative test for coronavirus could enter the wedding hall. Journalists also had to take the test to maintain maximum safety.

Emica Elvedji / PIXSELL

The wedding menu was also festive. Guests were served Dalmatian prosciutto as an appetizer, accompanied by a selection of homemade cheeses and salamis, smoked tuna salad, spring rolls, and sushi. This was followed by gorgonzola with marinated peaches, pears, nuts, baby octopus salad with vegetables, Istrian olives and cheese, a selection of salads, rump steak, and homemade baked štruklji. Among the main dishes were pork rolls stuffed with bacon, forest fruit sauce with homemade gnocchi, chicken medallions in panko crumbs with risotto, and roasted veal "ala peka" with potatoes and vegetables all finished with desserts.

Emica Elvedji / PIXSELL

Among the guests was a prominent Zagreb doctor Dr. sc. Damir Eljuga, who has recovered from the coronavirus. He expressed hope that this is just one “pilot event” that gives us all hope that we will return to normal life. Of course, he said, provided we all get vaccinated to “beat this unfortunate disease.”

A member of the band "Prava Stvar" also addressed the press, saying that he was delighted that the band could perform at a wedding like this after a long time.

"Prava Stvar has not performed since September 2020, but if we take into account that the corona has been going on for more than a year, we are talking about fifty canceled weddings and other events. This resulted in a large financial loss and a drop in revenue of about 80%, which is not reflected only in the band's six members, so we are talking about twenty people who were greatly affected by the coronavirus and inability to play. I must mention that some of us are only engaged in this business and have no other income, so they had to start doing other jobs to survive. When I talk about these fifty lost opportunities/gigs, I also mean abroad, such as Austria, Germany. In Slovenia, too, we were supposed to be engaged in several wedding ceremonies. To add that this band has been performing for twenty years, it’s our anniversary soon. We all love it very much, we love music, it fulfills us, and that is our way of life. We really miss gigs, and we can't wait for everything to return to normal so that we can start living, working, and functioning as we used to. I am very proud that our band Prava Stvar was chosen for this pilot project and that we have the opportunity to participate in it, it means a lot to us, and I hope that we will return to the old way soon," he said.

The organizers hope the project will be successful. This will be evidenced by negative tests after a week, given that all participants in both events, as they agreed, will be tested for the coronavirus. If everyone is negative, they hope that this kind of study will open the door to a return to wedding halls, banquets, and the way of life we are all used to.

The president of the Troskot Association said she was extremely pleased with the project.

"After a very successful first pilot project held on Thursday, which more than 80 people attended, tonight was the second pilot project to show that wedding ceremonies are safe. Three groups of guests are present: those who have recovered, have been vaccinated, and have been tested. Tonight, this is a simulation of a real wedding only without the bride and groom, but with a rich dinner and the performance of a live band," she said in conclusion.

For all, you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel, border, and quarantine rules, as well as the locations of vaccination points and testing centers up and down the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and choose your preferred language.

May 15, 2021 - An 84:64 (39:35) away game victory for Split brings the decisive final ABA relegation game back to Gripe. 

The relegation series between the Yellows from Split and Spars Sarajevo remains undecided. After the surprise loss at home on Wednesday, KK Split kept its chances alive to play in the first division of the ABA League again next season.

Many news agencies did not hold back with negative reports when KK Split, with one of the biggest purses, if not with the biggest budget in the Croatian league, failed to decide the first game at Gripe in its favor. Having club legend Toni Kukoč witness the loss in one of his rare visits to his former home gym was called a disgrace or even a slap in the face. 

Today coach Mile Karakaš was able to motivate his team to strike back and leave no doubt that this mini-series is not over yet and has shown clearly why it was the favored team, to begin with. 

Spars Sarajevo was merely able to compete with the Yellows in the first quarter. At the end of ten minutes, they were up by 18:17 before Split shifted gears and pulled away to 39:35 at half time and then increased the lead to 58:51 by the end of the third quarter.

Sarajevo was not able to find any way to counter and was shown its place by Split. The guest team outscored the hosts with 26:13 in the last ten minutes to tie the mini-series at 1 victory each. 

Pavle Marčinković was able to play again for Split after missing the last game due to injury, and Marin Marić was able to show his importance under the basket. Spars' rising star Kenan Kamenjaš scored 16 points and was tied for the top scorer position with his teammate Nedim Buza and Split's Marin Marić. The decisive factor, however, was the accuracy the Yellows showed from beyond the 3-point-line. 15 of 32 attempts found their target for an impressive 46.9% success rate.

The final game to decide who gets to play ABA League 1 next season will be played at Gripe in Split on Thursday. 

Referees: Milivoje Jovčić, Radoš Arsenijević, Aleksandar Milojević

Boxscore: https://www.aba-liga.com/match/2/20/8/Overview/q1/1/home/spars-split/ 

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

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ZAGREB, 15 May 2021 - A commemoration was held at Zagreb's Mirogoj cemetery on Saturday on the occasion of the 76th anniversary of the Bleiburg and Way of the Cross tragedy, with wreaths laid by representatives of parliament and the government, the Bleiburg Guard of Honour and the City of Zagreb.

Held under the auspices of the Croatian parliament, the commemoration pays tribute to civilians and soldiers of the Nazi-allied Independent State of Croatia killed in the aftermath of World War II by Yugoslav Partisans at Bleiburg, Austria and during subsequent marches back to then Yugoslavia called the Way of the Cross.

Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković laid a joint parliament-government wreath accompanied by Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman as the prime minister's envoy.

Mass for the victims was said by military ordinary Jure Bogdan, who said Bleiburg and the Way of the Cross were a deep, unhealed wound.

"The cessation of armed conflicts, bombings, destruction and dying on front lines and in the rear was experienced by the peoples of Europe as a great relief, as the establishment of peace and freedom, which the Croatian people expected to. But the month of May 1945 is especially remembered in our country as a month of horrible slaughters of captured soldiers and civilians handed over to the Yugoslav army by Western allies," Bogdan said.

That May, unlike for other peoples, who were given back freedom and democracy, meant for us, with the arrival of the Marxist totalitarian system, a new beginning of the persecution, imprisonment and killing of innocent people, he added.

On the 76th anniversary, we honour all victims, primarily WWII victims, the victims who preceded the war on our territory and all disarmed soldiers, the large number of civilians who fled from the establishment of the communist regime, who were killed without a trial, Bogdan said.

For a long time the Bleiburg and Way of the Cross victims did not have the right to public commemoration in their country, he said, adding that every innocent victim was due equal respect.

"There must be no difference on racial, national, confessional, party or world view grounds," Bogdan said, adding that single and mass executions without a trial or proof of guilt were serious crimes always and everywhere.

A prayer for the Islamic victims was said by Mersad Kreštić, deputy chief imam in Zagreb.

The Bleiburg and Way of the Cross victims were also honoured at Loibach field near Bleiburg, Austria.

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

ZAGREB, 15 May 2021 - The APN Real Estate Agency received 4,739 applications for home loan subsidies submitted in the sixth call, the Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets Ministry said on Saturday.

Applications could be submitted from 29 March to 14 May and the sixth call saw the highest number of applications submitted to date.

The amount planned for the subsidies this year is HRK 50 million, but Minister Darko Horvat said that given the record interest, if that was not enough, additional funds would be ensured.

He said young families recognised this government measure as a good one and that in the past four years more than 17,500 subsidised home loans were approved. During that time more than 3,000 children were born, which he said made this also a demographic measure.

APN has so far processed 2,134 applications submitted this year, approving 2,066. The average amount of a subsidised loan is €76,000 and the average repayment period is 22 years.

Most of the applications approved this year so far were submitted in Zagreb.

Applications could be submitted by persons under 45 who don't own a flat or a house.

On 26 February, APN signed agreements with 14 banks on home loan subsidies. The highest interest rates offered ranged from 2.09 to 3.50% for kuna loans and from 2.15 to 3.50% for euro loans.

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