Travel

November 11, 2021 - The latest flight news to Croatia with the announcement of Finnair Helsinki-Zagreb flights and new Condor flights to Rijeka and Dubrovnik.  Finnish national airline Finnair (Oneworld alliance member) announced its 2022 summer schedule, and Zagreb is on the list of new destinations, reports Croatian Aviation. Finnair will operate regularly between Helsinki and Zagreb next summer, and the Helsinki - Zagreb - Helsinki line will be introduced on May 1, 2022. Flights will run three times a week, every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. A319 aircraft with a capacity of 144 seats have been announced on the route,…

November 10, 2021 - As Croatia experiences record COVID-19 cases, an unlikely late-season hit - Russian vaccine tourism.  Imagine the following: A tourism country embarks on a major campaign under the slogan, Stay Safe in Destination. The shiny campaign looked very nice, but there were a couple of flaws in the campaign. Firstly, the measures - such as they were - were openly flouted in many areas, with visitors arriving expressing surprise at just how relaxed things were.  And one might have thought that a high vaccination rate would have been a pre-requisite for a Stay Safe campaign to attract…

Wednesday, 10 November 2021 - We can’t say enough about the amazing hospitality, divine local cuisine, wines, prosciutto, and bread that we experienced at Peškafondo and Big Game Fishing Competition held on the 5-7 November 2021. It is definitely an experience we look forward to attending again in the future, telling others about it and shouting it out to the world, in our endeavour to promote Croatia as an all-year-round destination. Celebrations What was also apparent over the weekend was the willingness for all to contribute to the success of this post-season event and to draw more attention to Croatia…

November 10, 2021 - A press conference was held at the Pula Tourist Board to present the activities and new promotional materials created within the Pula Fort Center project as a unique cultural and tourist product. HRTurizam reports that this project aims to activate the vast potential of the cultural heritage of Pula and, through investment in sustainable use of cultural assets, increase the offer of cultural and educational content and events to benefit all residents of Pula and beyond, indirectly affecting the sustainable development of economy and tourism. As part of the project, two completely separate spaces - the…

Tuesday, November 9, 2021 - After a COVID-19 instigated break last year, the much-acclaimed Peškafondo 2021 was back to celebrate its 10th year as an international fishing and tourism event.  365 GARIFUL HVAR Organised by the “365 Gariful Hvar” association, 48 teams entered and competed in the waters of Hvar. Each team was comprised of four members, and registration was 500 kuna for each member. There was also an ongoing opportunity to donate in order to partake of the non-fishing festivities, money that will go to a local charity as chosen by the “365 Gariful Hvar” association. Read more here where…

November 9, 2021 - It is more than 5 years since European Coastal Airlines stopped its seaplane service in Croatia. Will ACI Air succeed where others have failed? It was really great when it lasted, with the potential (ah, the P word again) to transform not only tourism, but also business and life in Croatia. The story of European Coastal Airlines has been well-documented, but I will never forget one incredible day when I left my apartment in Jelsa at 08:45, took off from Jelsa harbour to 09:00, had time for a meeting and a quick beer at Resnik (by…

November 9, 2021 - Split in November - a tourist destination or a ghost town? I must confess that my inbox is livelier than ever.  And opinions are as divided as ever - I am still searching for a positive answer to the question I posed a few years ago - Could Croats Ever Unite If They Were Not Under Attack? The subject of winter tourism is one which has been with me for years. As an island survivor of 13 winters in Jelsa, I am perhaps more invested in the topic than most, but this interview with a UK tour…

November 08, 2021 - From today, fully vaccinated Croats will be able to travel to the United States again. They'll need to present their vaccination status and a pre-departure negative viral test from a sample taken within three days of travel to the United States before boarding. As announced by the U.S. Embassy in Croatia, starting on November 8, foreign national air travelers to the United States will be required to be fully vaccinated and to provide proof of vaccination status prior to boarding an airplane to fly to the United States, with only limited exceptions. The Biden Administration announced a…

ZAGREB, 8 Nov, 2021 - In September 2021 there were 49 foreign cruises in the Croatian part of the Adriatic, almost ten times more than in September 2020 and the most in a single month since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, show data from the national statistical office. The visiting cruise ships stayed 135 days as against 41 days in September 2020, and the number of passengers was 51,600 as against 155 in September 2020. Compared to August 2021, the increase in the number of cruises continued in September, with 13 more visits. The trend started in June, when there were 15…

November 8, 2021 - Arguably the leading health tourism conference in the region exceeds expectations once again, and the opportunities are numerous for Kvarner Full of Health at CIHT 2021. Full disclosure - I love everything about the Crikvenica International Health Tourism (CIHT) conference, and I rate it as the very best of all the (many) conferences I have attended in Croatia over the years. Medical tourism is not a niche I would normally associate myself with. In fact, until the dynamo that is Ognjen Bagatin of the award-winning Bagatin Clinic introduced me to the sector a few years ago,…