Travel

June 14, 2020 - European cultural TV channel Arte TV, in its 'Invitation to Travel' show, broadcast a series of reports on the rich cultural heritage of Istria and Southern Dalmatia. HRTurizam writes that these reports were created as a result of the cooperation and engagement of the Representative Office of the Croatian Tourist Board in France. "Such shows that reveal lesser-known cultural and historical facts of Croatian tourist destinations are our special challenge and imperative in the tourist promotion of Croatia on the French market, since cultural heritage is the main motive for 60 percent of French people to…

June 14, 2020 - Thanks to the extended weekend, tourist traffic has finally begun to pick up on the Croatian Coast. So far, the first part of June is just under 5 percent of last year's results.  Currently, 111,000 tourists are in Croatia, of which 79,000 are foreign and 32,000 domestic tourists - mostly from Germany, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria and the Czech Republic, reports HRT. Looking at the destination, most tourists are in Rovinj, Vir, Mali Lošinj, Medulin and Umag. Hotels are opening throughout central Dalmatia, and the first larger groups of guests have been announced. For the latest travel info,…

June 13, 2020 — Pag’s tourism apparatus is trying to end its party and go for a hike instead. The (in)famous island near Zadar is using the coronavirus slowdown and a government push for collaboration among tourist boards to rebrand itself from party central to an active outdoor tourism hub. All the figureheads in the islands apparatus signed an agreement to switch the island to an outdoor tourism destination, hoping to bring more peaceful, considerate crowds to a place that has become known for clubbing and drunken debauchery. The President of the Tourist Board of the City of Novalja Ante…

June 13, 2020 - It is easy to criticise the current Croatian tourism strategy, but is there a better way forward? A simple strategy for Croatian tourism 2.0.  I have been very critical of the official Croatian tourism strategy - or lack of it - in recent years, never more so than at the present time.  I have never been one to criticise for the sake of just criticism, but with the aim of identifying a problem and suggesting a better way forward . And so, while I criticise the lack of strategy, do I have a better solution to…

June 13, 2020 - Tourism has been on hold, but most of us have plenty of time. So let's look at the virtual resources available to explore Croatia virtually. We continue our new Virtual Croatia series with the tools to discover Lumbarda on Korcula. A few weeks ago I wrote that being a tourism blogger in the corona era was about as useful as being a cocktail barman in Saudi Arabia. I feel less useless now, a few weeks later, and I am encouraged by the number of Croatian tourism businesses who are contacting us wanting to start thinking of…

June 13, 2020 - Are restaurants open on Hvar? A blissful return to the 'old normal' at Me and Mrs Jones in Jelsa.   I had a meeting with Deni Ohlsen-Dukic, General Manager of Hvar's only 5-star hotel, Leading Hotels of the World member, Palace Elisabeth hvar heritage hotel in Hvar Town. We had met only briefly at the hotel opening in October and had been meaning to catch up for an extended interview. Deni kindly agreed to come to see me in Jelsa, which immediately gave me a problem; I knew he was a big foodie, so what was actually…

June 12, 2020 — Judging by the sale of train tickets, Czechs are extremely interested in spending their summer in Croatia. Four thousand tickets for RegioJet's direct line between Prague and Rijeka sold on Thursday night alone, which surprised the company itself. RegioJet spokesman Aleš Ondrůj told Jutarnji list that the Czechs' interest in this line is huge, revealing that the two lines were already sold out in July. He held out the possibility that RegioJet, if such interest remains, increases the number of lines during the summer. Sales were partially driven by, among other things, the operator’s announcement that…

June the 13th, 2020 - the Croatian Interior Ministry (MUP) has provided answers to the most commonly asked questions by those wishing to cross Croatia's borders in the confusing coronavirus era. Earlier this week I went on a truly fascinating tour of the Croatian border control system, after the Interior Ministry granted my media request to do a feature story on the whole border procedure, especially how the new entercroatia.mup.hr form was speeding up the system. It was a fascinating tour, which you can read about in full here. I was particularly interested to meet the team answering all the…

June 12, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik. Croatian Aviation reports that Air France announced today on its official website that it is re-launching international routes to numerous destinations in Europe and the world, including three in Croatia. Air France originally planned to introduce a second daily rotation between Zagreb and Paris (thus connecting the two cities as many as 14 times a week), but the plans have, of course, been disrupted by the pandemic and will not happen this year. For the latest travel info, bookmark…

As Novac writes on the 11th of June, 2020, after new concessions to the measures set out by the National Civil Protection Headquarters in regard to bus passenger transport, and in accordance with the conditions of travel within individual European countries, FlixBus is set to re-establish its international bus lines and re-connect Croatia with Slovenia, Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic and Luxembourg. In this way, travellers will once again be able to travel for either tourist, family or business purposes through one part of Europe as of (as things stand) the 18th of this month. ''Demand for international travel has…