Travel

November 18, 2018 - 'Where is Croatia'? It was one of the huge spikes in Google Search in July during the World Cup. Is it time to brand Croatian tourism with its world-famous ambassadors? "This World Cup presented a unique opportunity to raise awareness about the country’s existence. To break the first barrier of every marketing campaign: brand recognisability." Iva Glavinic's excellent blog on the World Cup Effect and Mediatoolkit's monitoring of the surge in interest in the tiny nation which dared to dream gave a very rational breakdown in terms of date of the very irrational events of the…

November 18, 2018 - Croatia regularly features in lists as a top country to retire to for Americans, which it could be. There is just one thing stopping that reality. It is almost 15 years since I spent an afternoon with a senior writer from International Living, the American publication which focuses on the best places to retire, invest and travel to. Some island called Hvar was coming onto the international property radar (a version of Steenie Harvey's article still exists online). We both agreed that Hvar was gorgeous and that Croatia would make an excellent retirement destination for Americans. …

Just how safe is Croatia? While everyone complains about some aspect of life or another here in Croatia, the reality is that the safety levels are excellent. Your kids can easily be left to play on their own like ''back in the good old days'' in other countries, and in many aspects it's as if time has stood still. The majority of crime here is traffic crime, rarely does anything major occur. A list of the most dangerous and the safest countries across the planet has been published, and the answer to the question ''How safe is Croatia?'' has been…

A late-afternoon bura sends a cool gust cutting down Zadar's main thoroughfare, kalelarga. A handful of wanderers and two tourists roam the long, desolate stretch of cobblestone dotted by well-lit stores. Nearly all are empty. A Yamamay touting fancy undergarments with no one to sell them to. A Swarovski shop’s lonely cashiers stand idly by their registers. A new-ish watering hole called “La Bodega” holds its doors open to reveal empty bar stools. Cafes, the stoic holdouts in every Croatian town, keep their outdoor seating available for one final warm spell before Christmas. Welcome to Zadar in its post-summer hibernation,…

November 15, 2018 - More welcome promotion for eastern Croatia, as Ashley Colburn, the Californian with an Istrian address, releases her latest video on the regions of Croatia, this time from Osijek-Baranja County. Ashley Colburn, perhaps Croatia's best-known tourism promoter from the United States has been  in eastern Croatia, filming the latest episode of her video series, Ashley Colburn's Croatia, this time from Osijek-Baranja County. Colburn introduces the new video as follows: In just under a few hours from Zagreb heading east, you will reach the amazing county of Osijek-Baranja. This area of Croatia is full of wine roads, agriculture, rich…

American interest in Croatian tourism is growing. A  recent in-depth survey of perceptions of Croatian tourism in the United States by Myriad Marketing was presented to the Croatian tourism industry at the recent Days of Croatian tourism by Myriad director, Al Merschen. You can read the report on Merschen's presentation here. TCN caught up with Merschen on November 15, 2018 to learn more. 1. Many thanks for your presentation at Days of Croatian Tourism on Hvar last month. Tell us a little about American interest in Croatia. There is a growing interest in Croatia.  It seems to be one of…

ZAGREB, November 15, 2018 - The construction of an 28-kilometre-long section on the eastern branch of the Istrian Y motorway, from Rogovići to the Učka Tunnel, was inaugurated on Thursday, with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković attending. The 1.2 billion kuna project envisages the construction of 31 structures, including 11 viaducts. The works on the Istria motorway system are expected to last three years. The first section, Rogovići-Cerovlje, is 12-km-long and should be opened to traffic in two years. The contractor is the Bouygues group. Plenković said this was a very important project and that its realisation would significantly contribute to…

On Thursday, Zagreb Airport welcomed their 3 millionth passenger this year, which came 34 days earlier than last year. 

November 14, 2018 - Another busy week for the emerging Croatian medical tourism industry. Branding guru Ilan Geva gives his thoughts after his latest visit to Croatia.   It has been quite a week for the Croatian medical tourism industry. Keith Pollard, Editor in Chief of the International Medical Travel Journal, in an interview with TCN, talked about the Croatian potential, as well as assessing that the country could take 25% of the Hungarian dental market 'if Croatia got its act together'; Sherene Azli, CEO of the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council, which runs the best medical tourism in the world in…

"These photogenic National Parks give you eight more reasons to put Croatia on your 2019 travel list," writes Fodor about Croatia's National Parks.