Travel

October 8, 2019 - Conde Nast Traveler is one of the most widely read and recognized travel magazines in the world. A mere mention of a country or destination contributes to its popularity and helps to brand it as one of the top travel hotspots around the globe. Fans of Croatia can confirm this. HRTurizam writes that each year, as part of the Readers' Choice Awards, Conde Nast readers vote through an online survey for their favorites in categories ranging from best countries and cities to islands, hotels, airlines and cruise companies. More than 600,000 readers took part in this…

October 8, 2019 - The story behind HeadOnEast, the best tourism branding project I have seen in years in Croatia. And like so much excellence in the country, a brand 100% made in Slavonia.   Not so many people know that the reason I moved to Croatia was due to the promotional activities of the Croatian National Tourist Board.  The year was 2002 and I was working as a civil society coordinator in Somaliland for an international aid agency when I saw a CNN advert which had me transfixed. Croatia, the Mediterranean as It Once Was. Having just sold my house…

As Glas Istre/Gordana Calic Sverko writes on the 7th of October, 2019, the Batana Eco-museum is one of the finalists in the category of intangible heritage, while another Istrian destination, Motovun, is a finalist in the wine tourism category along with the other two renowned European wine destinations, namely the French wine destinations - Pays d´Armagnac and the Loire Valley.  In a competition of 55 destinations from 19 European countries, Motovun, Krk and the Batana Ecomuseum from Rovinj, are among the finalists of the selection of the European Network of Cultural Tourism and partners for the best European destinations of…

October 7, 2019 - Hvar's 5 tourist boards will promote the island as one destination. A look at how that might look promoting UNESCO Hvar heritage.   It may come as a surprise to some, as it did to me, to find that the island of Hvar has five tourist boards, each tasked with the job of promoting its own part of the island. If you think that is crazy, look at Brac where there are 7 or 8... After long discussions, the 5 Hvar tourist boards have decided to come together and will promote the island as one brand and…

October 7, 2019 - What else would you expect to find in the middle of Slavonia than a British phone box in the middle of town and an English pub in the middle of nowhere? It is many years since I have had a routine, and I am not sure that I could fit back into one these days if I had to. Running TCN requires a certain amount of flexibility, and living in Croatia has taught me to take each day as it comes, and to expect the unexpected around every corner.  Some days, the unexpected is rather more…

October 7, 2019 - The strategic project connecting the Split ferry port and airport, unofficially estimated at a total of 150 million euro, got a new twist last week. As T.portal confirmed by several sources, after a disagreement that the future railways should pass through Kastela, a completely new route surfaced amid the chaos.  According to the proposal made by HŽ Infrastruktura to the Ministry of Transport, the trains would run on an overhead line that is parallel to the Split-Trogir highway, mostly on the pillars that would sit between its two lanes. “This solution is only slightly more expensive…

October 6, 2019 - As those dark winter nights approach, a look back in time to an autumn of yesteryear - Brac in 1957. Delightful! I often wonder what I would have made of living in Dalmatia 60 years ago. A lot less modern conveniences, but a lot more authenticity and unspoiled nature.  And then I see videos like this, a reminder of what a true paradise it was in terms of nature and beauty, but also how life was pretty tough for those trying to make a living off the land.  A really, really nice video of life on…

October 6, 2019 - Lots of congratulations and self-congratulations in Slavonia this week, with one notable exception. A thank you to Goran Rihelj and his determination to promote tourism in Slavonia.  I have to confess that I thought he was nuts at first.  A tourism blogger from somewhere in the east of Croatia, who signed his emails with Best regards from the oldest town in Europe. Wtf? And then when I researched, I found out that yes indeed, there was a town in Slavonia which was called Vinkovci and which had been continuously inhabited for 8,300 years. Hell, two Roman…

October 6, 2019 - Head on East - Hedonist: the new slogan for Slavonia and the east. Ten things I learned about Baranja, Slavonia and Srijem over the last few days.  Anyone who was anyone in Croatian tourism (and one fat Brit) headed on east this week, as Days of Croatian Tourism was held in continental Croatia for the first time. TCN was there the entire time, taking the opportunity to get to know this region less travelled a little better. It is a region I do not know as well as I should, and so I decided to use…

October 5, 2019 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for new flights to Croatia with updates from Dubrovnik.  Avio Radar reports that Norwegian airline Norwegian Air Shuttle has announced they will reduce traffic to Dubrovnik in their summer flight schedule next year. The airline revealed they’ll be closing their base in Madrid, which directly effects the Madrid-Dubrovnik route.  Namely, the Madrid-Dubrovnik route will cease to operate after the current summer flight schedule. Norwegian currently operates two flights per week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The service will end on October 26, 2019.  Furthermore, although it has not been officially announced that…