Travel

November 10, 2019  Nestled between the Učka mountain range and the Adriatic, Opatija has long been a tourist drawcard. Each year, thousands of visitors stay in the Habsburg-era hotels that line its main streets, enjoying a variety of restaurants and cafes, as well as museums, concerts and other attractions. Indeed, the good life seems to be ingrained in the town’s DNA. But there’s more to the pearl of the Kvarner Gulf than most people realise. The Longest Riva in Croatia Visitors to Croatia’s coastal towns will be familiar with the riva many of them have—a pedestrian promenade where locals chat…

CIHT 2019, the seventh edition of the Crikvenica International Health Tourism conference concluded on November 8, 2019. Outstanding from start to finish, did it contain a watershed transformation from potential to the beginnings of realisation for the Croatian medical tourism industry?  Full disclosure - this has been the best week in the history of TCN. Two new writers hired, our first intern programme with the University of Zagreb agreed, two big contracts signed, agreement with exciting partners to start our first EU-funded project, and two outstanding conferences. G2.5, the diaspora conference in Zagreb at the beginning of the week was…

November 9, 2019 - Rijeka 2020, the European Capital of Culture, is only a few months away. A timely English-language overview of the 1,000 events planned, introduced by the man who translated the brochure.  The official programme for next year’s European Capital of Culture was launched at the end of October with a special promotional party in the city of Rijeka, attended by the media, sponsors, partners and special guests. The programme’s 268-page brochure printed in separate Croatian and English editions outlines all the programmes, main exhibitions, artistic interventions, festivals, music, theatre and dance events as well community programmes, building…

November 9, 2019 - TCN is delighted to welcome Forrest Stilin to the team, with his first article on the historic Louisiana Road (Lujzijana Cesta, or Ljuzinska and Luzijanska) from Karlovac to Rijeka.   A new addition to the TCN team, Forrest was one of the successful applicants from our recent job posting for new writers. It is always nice to learn something new from a writer applying for the job, and I must confess that I personally had never heard of the Louisiana Road (Lujzijana Cesta) before.  Welcome, Number 142! If you would like to write about the Croatia, Montenegro…

As Glas Istre/Borka Petrovic writes on the 8th of November, 2019, the biggest news of this year's "December in Pula" program is the ice skating rink that will move from King Tomislav Square on Veruda to the very city centre. Mayor Boris Miletić justified the moving of the skating rink by claiming that it better adheres to the wishes of local kids and their parents, but also to the desire to bring all activities together in one place and stimulate additional liveliness in the city centre. The installation of the ice skating rink, measuring 30 times 20 metres, will begin…

November 9, 2019 - One of the top travel speakers in the world was in Croatia this week at CIHT 2019 in Selce near Crikvenica, talking Pizza Hut, Starbucks, and successful tourism.  One of the things I love most about my 'job' is the sheer diversity of opportunity it gives me to see so many different aspects of this beautiful country. And while I cover a wide range of subjects and destinations with my travel around the country, it is almost always the case that a new situation will lead me off in an altogether different and totally random direction. …

November 9, 2019 - Croatian holiday homes in Dragoslavec and Prigradica won the Best European Holiday Home (BEHH) awards, organized by the European Holiday Home Association for the fifth consecutive year.  Dalmacija Danas reports that at the awards ceremony held on Friday in Barcelona, the best family holiday home was awarded to the Gran Vista from Dragoslavec near Cakovec, while the Villa Palma from Prigradica on the island of Korcula won the best wellness holiday home. This year, there were competitors in eight categories, with as many as 64 finalists from 17 countries as many as 11 Croatian holiday homes. “I…

November 9, 2019 -  A new measure could see Dubrovnik ban all new restaurants in the Old Town for five years.  “It has so far fought overtourism by limiting the number of cruise ships that dock in its ports, banning four in five souvenir stalls, and cutting the number of tables and chairs outside restaurants by 20%. And now the Croatian port of Dubrovnik has suggested an even more stringent measure: an effective ban of all new restaurants,” wrote CNN on November 5th about the potential of a five-year ban for new restaurants in the city. The Dubrovnik Council will…

ZAGREB, November 8, 2019 - Croatia has recorded over 20 million tourist arrivals and 107 million nights in one year for the first time, the Tourism Ministry said on Friday. According to the eVisitor system, which records the tourism turnover in commercial and non-commercial facilities and the nautical charter, 20.1 million arrivals and 107.03 million nights have been registered as of today, up 5% and 2% on the year respectively. "This historic result, this challenging year for tourism... is proof and confirmation of the quality of the synergy of the public and private sectors, without which such results would not…

The respected travel portal Condé Nast Traveler rarely has a bad word to say about Croatia, and they've kept this trend going with praise being showered over the gorgeous island of Hvar, known since long as Croatia's premier island. As Novac/Jozo Vrdoljak/Privredni.hr writes on the 7th of November, 2019, leading world travel magazine Condé Nast Traveler has published the results of the Readers' Choice Awards and has given the Amfora Hvar Hotel the prestigious title of one of the top thirty resorts in all of Europe. Hotel Amfora is situated in a quiet bay near the very centre of Hvar…