Travel

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 30th of March, 2020, with the start of the summer flight schedule, which is valid from Sunday the 29th of March, 2020, Croatia Airlines' entire flight volume has been reduced to direct flights from Zagreb to just four major European cities - Frankfurt (Germany), Brussels (Belgium), Amsterdam (Netherlands) and London Heathrow (United Kingdom). The national carrier's schedule has been reduced down to flights from Zagreb to Frankfurt, Brussels, Amsterdam and London due to the coronavirus pandemic, a statement from the domestic airline read. Namely, following the decision of the Civil Protection Staff to ban…

April 1, 2020 - Don't let your four walls keep you from experiencing the beauty in Croatia all around you. Take a virtual tour of Zagreb County! At a time when self-isolation is needed, most of us have resorted to our trusty screens - and virtual walks have become a real hit. While we’ve already told you all about virtual Croatian museums, did you know you could visit destinations virtually, too? In addition to panoramic cameras, some destinations, such as Zagreb County, also offer a virtual walk through the destination via social networks, reports HRTurizam. In order to stay in…

ZAGREB, March 31, 2020 - Esplanade Zagreb Hotel, one of the oldest hotels in Zagreb, is closed due to extensive damage caused by the March 22 earthquake, exacerbating the difficult situation concerning the coronavirus, which has been adversely affecting business since January, the hotel's managing director has told Hina. "In the earthquake, the hotel suffered extensive damage, on the facade, on the floors, in public spaces, and in many rooms. Therefore, it's with a heavy heart that I decided to close Esplanade for the foreseeable future, as a precaution," revealed Ivica Max Krizmanić. He added that the last few guests…

March 31, 2020 - Tourism might be on hold right now, but there are still virtual ways to travel - meet the original Badass Women of Zagreb.  Terrible times in the Croatian capital at the moment, as it battles the triple whammy of corona on the outside, earthquake aftermath on the inside, and economic downturn everywhere.  But Zagreb and Croatia will survive, because Croatians are very resilient and full of character, and have been that way forever.  To give you some historical perspective, meet the original Badass Women of Zagreb, a wonderfully unique tour designed by Iva Silla from the…

March 29, 2020 - How will Croatian Tourism 2020 look like? Paradox Hospitality CEO Zoran Pejovic on why we should postpone the season, and what that means.  Yes, there is a possibility that the pandemic will not be over before the height of the summer. Yes, there is a possibility that it might take another 12 months to tackle this crisis. However, in case that we start defrosting sometime in June and ramping up again in July and end up having good August and September, what we are doing to mitigate some of the effects of the lost preseason, of…

March 28, 2020 - From Kings Landing overtourism to Dubrovnik undertourism - a photo tour of the Pearl of the Adriatic in the corona era.  Have you ever heard of the English word 'overtourism'? It is a word which I think entered the English language in about 2017, and it referred to lots of people from foreign countries who were inappropriately socially distanced in the same place at the same time.  As with corona there were overtourism hotspots, especially in Europe. Barcelona, Venice, Amsterdam and Dubrovnik.  Beautiful cities where tourist would come and fill the destinations in the summer months. …

March 28, 2020 - So how will post-coronavirus travel and tourism look like? Some predictions from Zoran Pejovic of Paradox Hospitality. The good news is that coronavirus pandemic will be over one day. The bad news is that we don’t know when that day will come. The neutral news is that we have no clue how life in general, but particularly travel and tourism, will look like after the pandemic is over. What we know for certain is that it will not look as it did back in 2019. I have already written on the needs for scenario planning. It…

March 28, 2020 - How do you restart tourism when it comes to a crashing halt? Former travel agent Martin Gannon, on how tourism from London to Croatia got going again after the Homeland War, and the experience and reception those first guests received. One of the strangest things about this VERY period of world history is how dated things get so very quickly. Something that seemed like a new revelation yesterday already belongs to a previous era a day later. Three days ago I wrote an article called Hope v Reality: Will There Be a 2020 Tourist Season in…

March 28, 2020 - The Croatian Tourism Association (HUT) has drafted measures that would help preserve employment and businesses in the tourism sector. Dalmacija Danas reports: "As tourist traffic is at a halt, with completely closed accommodation and catering facilities across the country, and growing uncertainty throughout the main tourist season, the largest domestic tourism companies assembled in the Croatian Tourism Association (HUT) have drafted measures that would help preserve employment and businesses in a sector that generates nearly 20 percent of Croatia's total GDP. Under these conditions, in the fight against the pandemic caused by the coronavirus, it is…

March 26, 2020 - To preserve jobs and business continuity in conditions where tourist traffic is completely suspended, Valamar has decided to launch the ‘Pause, Restart’ program, which will apply from April 1 for a minimum of 30 to 90 days, the length of the Government's measure for preserving jobs. HRTurizam reports that the Pause, Restart program will cover all Valamar employees for 30 to 90 days, which means that there will be no layoffs in Valamar. Also, about 2,800 workers employed by Valamar and Imperial Rab will benefit from Government measures. All employees who cannot work due to the…