Travel

April 8, 2020 - More signs that perhaps it is time to say Goodbye Season 2020, as American Airlines and Qatar Airways shelve all plans for Dubrovnik this year.  One of the most bizarre things in my world at the moment (and with so much weird stuff going down, it has to be bizarre to even get a mention at the moment) is the lack of understanding in some quarters that things have changed, perhaps (or more likely, probably) forever.  Less than 2 weeks ago, on March 25, 2020, I wrote an article called Hope v Reality: Will There Be…

April 8, 2020 - The Croatian Travel Agencies Association is grateful that their proposal to offer travel vouchers has been approved.  HRTurizam reports that on Tuesday in Parliament, along with a package of other measures aimed at mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, changes were also made to the Law on Emergency Tourism Services, which allowed travel agencies to issue vouchers instead of refunding passengers for package arrangements. "We are grateful to the Ministry of Tourism, the Croatian Government, and the Parliament for accepting our proposals to allow issuing vouchers for unfulfilled travel agreements that should have occurred in…

April 7, 2020 - Continuing his stimulating series look at travel in the post-corona era, Zoran Pejovic of Paradox Hospitality turns his attention to the subjects of health and safety.   The world is slowly waking up to the fact that things are not going back to pre-corona times. As days and weeks go by, I keep getting fewer funny memes in my inbox and WhatsApp messages, and more serious articles pointing to the downfall of the travel industry and the difficulties it will face once it all resumes. The question I get asked more and more is how travel will…

April 7, 2020 - The Zagreb County Tourist Board is choosing to communicate with potential travelers during the corona era - and promoting local winemakers at the same time. The Zagreb County Tourist Board, in collaboration with the renowned GRIFFIN Sparkling Wines from Plesivica, has launched a raffle on its official Facebook page where participants will have the opportunity to win a bottle of Griffin Dark Side champagne for Easter, reports HRTurizam. The promotion runs through Thursday, April 9, and for more details, visit the official Facebook page of the Zagreb County Tourist Board. In the coming days, more winemakers…

April 6, 2020 - Croatian Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli talks about what awaits Croatian tourism in 2020.  In the past few days, the eyes of hundreds of thousands of people in the country have been hooked on the Ministry of Tourism and the Croatian Government in anticipation of financial assistance and relief that will make it easier for them to survive the (non) tourist business year. Because, apart from the fact that, in Croatia, every fifth kuna comes from tourism spending, the country has about one hundred thousand employees in the sector, and another 108 thousand families engaged in family…

April 5, 2020 - The Lika Destination Cluster wants you to stay at home now so you can enjoy the region later.   March, when spring travel or defining details for summer holidays usually takes place, has suddenly turned into the toughest month, much like all of this year. The coronavirus pandemic currently affects all sectors of business and the livelihoods of people around the world, especially in the tourism sector. Just because there is no tourist activity now does not mean that you should stop communicating on social networks. The focus should be on daydreaming, exploring, and planning your travel…

 April 5, 2020 - In the latest in his series on planning for post-corona tourism, Zoran Pejovic of Paradox Hospitality on the need to think longterm and resist using hope as a business strategy.  It seems that most people are still locked in some sort of disbelief or shock over the ongoing Coronavirus crisis, even though most of the Western world has been in the lockdown for a couple of weeks now. I don’t know how else to explain such a glaring lack of strategic thinking on behalf of some, otherwise very sane and thoughtful people. Before moving on, I…

ZAGREB, April 3, 2020 - According to data from eVisitor, there were 118,200 tourists in Croatia in March, or 75% fewer on the year, while the number of overnight stays decreased by 53%, which confirms that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on tourism, says Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) director Kristjan Staničić. In the first three months of 2020, 635,000 tourists visited Croatia and generated nearly 1.9 million overnight stays, which are respective decreases of 33% and 20% compared with the same period in 2019. Of the 118,200 tourist arrivals in March, about 65,000 were foreign tourists, which…

April 3, 2020 - Don't travel now! Stay at home and see you soon!" says the Novalja Tourist Board in a new promotional video.  On Wednesday, Goran Rihelj of HRTurizam penned an article on how national tourist boards should communicate in this time of crisis.  “Now is the perfect time to plan, define new strategies, and prepare your marketing campaigns for the day after the coronavirus, to be ready and to start communicating and promoting immediately when the pandemic is over. The fact is that everyone is online now, more than ever, and some in this situation see their opportunity…

ZAGREB, April 2, 2020 - Hundreds of Croat nationals are returning home on Saturday from Portugal, Spain, Italy and Sweden at their own cost on Croatia Airlines commercial flights because operating costs of their travel have to be covered, Croatia's Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said. The majority of them are students and are coming from Spain, between 150 of the 200, fewer are coming from Portugal, and between 60 and 120 are coming from Italy, Grlić Radman explained and added that repatriation is also being considered via ferry from Ancona to Zadar. "It is our obligation…