Travel

ZAGREB, March 26, 2019 - The tourism economy expects an increase of 7% in earnings this year compared to 2018 however, an 8.6% increase in labour costs will reduce the profit by 5%, which leads to a 20% decline in tourism investments, the Croatian Tourism Association (HUT) said on Tuesday. Therefore, having in mind a deceleration in bookings and uncertainties, repeating last year's results will not mean failure, the association said. HUT president Veljko Ostojić commented on the forecasts for this year's tourism at a presentation of a quarterly publication on tourism results in Q1 2019 prepared by the HD…

The local politicians (county councilors) of Split-Dalmatia County have analyzed the past tourist season and discussed preparations for the season ahead. All in all, they are happy with the number of arrivals and overnight stays, but warn against the negative side of sudden tourist development, reports Dalmacija Danas on March 26, 2019.  “In Dalmatia, we have a growth in tourism, increasing demand for local food, and people are leaving us from Zagora, Slavonia. Sinj is the center of Dalmatia, connecting it to the highway would be important, and therefore Split-Dalmatia County must insist on traffic verticals. We have to make…

As many of you are aware, Split revealed the master plan for the revitalization of the East Coast and Kopilica. After the public presentation and a series of workshops with the media, councilors, architects and private landowners, one of the project's authors, Christof Schremmer from the Austrian Institute for Spatial Planning, spoke in detail with Dalmatinski Portal on March 25, 2019.  On the example of Vienna, Schremmer showed that he had similarly implemented this idea, that is, create an entire urban neighborhood around a station which was previously avoided by inhabitants.  Vienna is an optimistic example, but on the other hand, for…

In Switzerland, at the Grand Hotel Kempinski along Lake Geneva, the European Hotel Awards 2019 ceremony was held, where awards were given in ten categories. Among the laureates is the luxury Zagreb Esplanade hotel which was recognized as the ‘Historic Hotel of 2019’, reports HRTurizam on March 25, 2019.  Hotel Esplanade has stunned since 1925 with its luxurious interior, impressive architecture and contemporary amenities, even attracting travelers of the famous Orient Express. Today, on the foundations of top service, timeless charm and decoration, and cultural and historical importance, the Esplanade continues to enchant guests in Zagreb every day, said Ivica Max…

Last year, Dalmatinska Zagora (Dalmatian Hinterland) received several important tourist awards, and the tourist statistics from Vrlika to Vrgorac are getting better with each passing year. The town with the highest number of visitors and overnights is Dugopolje, reports Dalmacija Danas on March 25, 2019. Ahead of the new tourist season, Dalmacija Danas spoke with Tomislav Bralić, the director of the Dugopolje Tourist Board. Directors of local tourist board recently met and discussed the preparations for the new tourist season. We divided the topics into clusters, geographical areas: the Split Riviera, islands, Zagora and the Makarska Riviera. We mainly discussed…

As Croatia gears up for the highly anticipated American Airlines flight between Philadelphia and Dubrovnik this year, the country also has plans to be connected to the United States for longer than the summer months, and namely from Croatia’s capital.  As Ex-Yu Aviation reports on March 25, 2019, the newly formed organization VisitUSA Croatia hopes to expand operations between Croatia and the US.  "We are primarily looking to secure services between Zagreb and New York as this route would fuel travel between the two countries, however, at this point, we do not have any concrete announcements for a new year-round…

Preparations for the upcoming season are already nearing completion, and despite the media insights and announcements of a worse season due to last-minute bookings and Brexit, but also the new boom of Spain and Greece who are daring to offer competitive prices, Split tourist workers are optimistic, reports Splitski Dnevnik on March 25, 2019.  Anyone who has already placed their apartments in the queue can breathe a sigh of relief, for yet another fruitful summer awaits us. This optimism is certainly given by the Split Tourist Board data, which shows that in the first two months of 2019, the city…

March 25, 2019 - TCN in the Croatian media, as Goran Rihelj of leading tourism portal HR Turizam interviews TCN owner Paul Bradbury on life in Varazdin after Hvar, running a Balkan media business as a foreigner, and why Nikola Tesla would be a great Minister of Tourism. You can read the original article in Croatian on HR Turizam. 1. Firstly, for readers who perhaps do not know you, can you introduce yourself quickly? I am a fat Brit who moved to Hvar from Somaliland in 2002 after seeing a Croatian National Tourist Board advert on CNN. I started a…

Total Croatia News has previously reported on the immense number of tourist boards existing in Croatia: while tourism is and will be the most lucrative industry in Croatia, many others have also wondered if it's really necessary for every single municipality in Croatia to have their own tourist board. And, these days, from two quite distant and different part of Croatia similar news have arrived, as municipalities in Međimurje and a part of Dalmatia have decided to create joint tourist boards! First of those stories from Međimurje is brought by hrturizam.hr, which reports that the municipalities of Lower Međimurje (Sveta…

Last week, a meeting of the Tourist Board directors of Split-Dalmatia County was held, which saw the director of the Split Tourist Board, Alijana Vukšić, also take part. Vukšić commented on the hot topic of weaker bookings for the upcoming tourist season, and what we should expect this year, reports Dalmacija Danas on March 24, 2019.  “If judged by the results of the Split Tourist Board, in the first two months we recorded a 25 percent increase in arrivals and overnights. The reason for this may be the many events in the city during the winter months because we must…