News

May 31st, 2021 - The digital market in Croatia is not fully mature, and Croatia belongs to a set of countries that could be termed "lagging fast movers," the World Bank says in a final report on the subject, as the fast internet is too expensive for Croatian Wages.  In analyzing the ICT sector, the World Bank focused on the internet (fixed and mobile), telephony (fixed and mobile), and pay TV markets. The World Bank explains Croatia's insufficient maturity because most revenues still come from telephony, not internet services. In terms of the Digital Economy and Society Index, Croatia is below the EU average in terms of…

May 31st, 2021 - Zagreb's new mayor Tomislav Tomašević said in his first address as mayor-elect on Sunday that residents of Zagreb had put trust in his ability to run the city, calling on them to participate in decision-making on the city's development. "Thank you, Zagreb! Thank you for your trust, hope, your belief that a true change is possible. Thank you for a clear mandate for a real change. Thank you for believing in me, in yourselves, and all of us," Tomašević said in the address at his campaign headquarters at the Museum of Contemporary Art. "We will do our best…

May 31st, 2021 - The new mayor of Split is Ivica Puljak of the Centre party, who by 10.30 p.m. won 35,565 votes, according to data released by the State Electoral Commission (DIP). Addressing the public in his campaign headquarters, Puljak told citizens that all of them had won, both those who had voted for him and those who hadn't and that he would do everything to justify their trust. He told them to stand by them as they had before and congratulated his opponent Vice Mihanović (HDZ), who had previously congratulated Puljak on his victory. Speaking about the campaign, he…

May 31st, 2021 - Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Sunday evening that his party was the absolute winner of the local elections after the outcome of both rounds of voting showed that the HDZ won in 15 out of the 20 counties and in three out of the six biggest cities. Addressing the press in the HDZ campaign headquarters after the second round of the elections on Sunday evening, Plenković said that the unanimous opinion of the HDZ leadership was that "the HDZ is the absolute, colossal winner of these local elections." "We won 15 out of the…

May 31, 2021 - Aaron Antwine of Hurricane Hostel in Split on the realities of opening a business as a foreigner in Croatia.  To be upfront, if I had known that the combination of Covid and the Croatian government would screw my wife and me over so hard, I would have moved to any other country.  My wife and I opened our hostel at the start of March 2020. A few weeks after opening, we closed our doors due to quarantine. Officially, accommodations were not required to close, but with so little information about Covid and a terrible amount of…

May 31, 2021 - The inaugural Dubrovnik Digital Nomad-in-Residence (DNIR) program ended with a commitment from Dubrovnik's mayor to implement some of the recommendations. TCN caught up with some of the resident nomads prior to their departure for exit interviews (with thanks to 45 Degrees Sailing for the video)  It was the first of its kind in the world. Bring in ten digital nomads with different skills, backgrounds and lifestyles from all over the world. Give them free accommodation for 4 weeks, as well as a social and tour program and attendance at some design thinking workshops. And then work…

May 31, 2021 - Corpus Christi holiday bookings in Croatia are growing, and Croatian hoteliers are looking forward to bookings picking up even more after June 3.  HRT reports that hoteliers are more optimistic before the beginning of June than a few weeks ago because the epidemiological situation and the state of reservations and sales are better than last year. More tourists are expected around Corpus Christi, which will mark the beginning of the season. "The epidemiological situation is improving, the framework of the border crossing regime has been defined, bilateral agreements are being worked on, and the vaccination rate…

ZAGREB, 30 May, 2021 - Marko Filipović of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) will be Rijeka mayor for the next four years, according to first unofficial results of the runoff. With ballots from 94% of polling stations counted, the candidate of the SDP-HSU-IDS-HSS coalition won about 55% of the vote, while his opponent, independent candidate Davor Štimac, received 45%. Filipović expressed his satisfaction with the results and said that "Rijeka has proved that social democracy lives in Rijeka, that it has lived and that it will live for the next four years". Asked whether he offered any changes compared to…

ZAGREB, 30 May, 2021 - The HDZ's candidate for Osijek Mayor, Ivan Radić, who on Sunday won runoff elections in that eastern Croatian city, said that his victory was a convincing one but that there was no room for euphoria and that he would get down to work and project implementation immediately after taking office. Preliminary results, collected from all 117 city polling stations, show that Radić won 15,526 votes and his rival, independent candidate Berislav Mlinarević, backed by the Homeland Movement and Bridge, 9,241 votes. "I have talked to (outgoing) Mayor Ivica Vrkić, the transfer of duties will be performed as…

ZAGREB, 30 May, 2021 - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) on Sunday evening said that the HDZ won the elections in 15 out of the 20 counties. After the State Election Commission (DIP) started publishing incomplete results after the second round of the local elections, Jandroković said that the outcome of both rounds of the elections showed that the HDZ had county prefects in 15 counties. He expressed satisfaction with the results showing that the HDZ candidates for county prefects defeated the incumbents in Varaždin and Bjelovar Counties as well as in Lika County. He elaborated that…