ZAGREB, 16 June 2022 - Tourism and Sports Minister Nikolina Brnjac has participated in a UN Security Council meeting on the topic of women, peace and security and held several meetings, the Ministry said in a press release on Thursday.

Brnjac met with the leaders of the Economic and Social Council and the UN Office for Intergovernmental Support and Cooperation for Sustainable Development.

"At the meetings, I presented all the Ministry's activities that contribute to the realisation of UN policies and the Sustainable Development Program until 2030. Our new strategy, which is in its final phase, addresses all challenges recognised at the global level and follows sustainability trends and the green and digital transition," Brnjac was quoted as saying.

According to Minister Brnjac, Croatia, as the country chairing the UNWTO Committee on Sustainability and Tourism, aims to promote and work on strengthening the resilience of tourism and its sustainable development.

At the meetings, Brnjac underscored that Croatia has allocated a significant amount of money from European funds that will finance projects to contribute to achieving these goals.

Brnjac attended the presentation of the film "Stepinac - The Cardinal and His Conscience" at the Nikola Tavelić Croatian Centre in New York, where she met with representatives of the Croatian community.

While in New York, Brnjac will participate in the sixth annual conference organised by the Association of Croatian-American Professionals (ACAP), entitled Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability, where she will present the strategic direction of Croatia's tourism for the next decade.

She is also due to meet with American tour operators and travel agents that are important for the Croatian market, as well as with ACAP members with a special focus on health and wellness tourism, the press release said.

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ZAGREB, 16 March 2022 - The current geopolitical situation regarding the war in Ukraine, the growth of prices of energy products and inflation are affecting demand in the tourism sector to some extent, but bookings have not stopped, the Croatian Tourism and Sports Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

The ministry issued the statement following a regular online meeting held this week between Minister Nikolina Brnjac and heads of Croatian Tourism Board (HTZ) offices abroad.

Bookings for Croatian destinations have not stopped despite the current geopolitical situation, the heads of the HTZ offices said, noting that by 24 February, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine started, the booking dynamic and announcements for the peak tourist season were at the level of the record year 2019 and that in some segments they were around 10% better.

According to data from the HTZ eVisitor system, in the first two months of this year 410,000 tourists visited Croatia, generating slightly more than 1.2 million overnight stays, which are increases of 98% and 83% respectively compared to the same months of 2021.

Almost half the arrivals, 196,100, were foreign visitors, which is an increase of as much as 371.2% compared to the first two months of 2021, and they generated 721,000 overnight stays, an increase of 187%.

The most numerous foreign visitors were Slovenians, visitors from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austrians and Germans.

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ZAGREB, Aug 20, 2020 - Despite everything, Croatia is having a good tourism season this year, and we are doing our best to ensure its continuation, including constant communication with partners on foreign markets on a safe stay and the epidemiological situation, Tourism Minister Nikolina Brnjac said on Thursday.

"Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, forecasts for this tourism year indicated a fall in tourism turnover of up to 70%, nevertheless, better results have been recorded and by mid-August 52% of last year's bed nights were generated, noting that for three months, March, April, and May and even the start of June, there was no turnover at all," said the minister.

She added that in July, 62% of bed nights were generated compared to July 2019 and 69% to date in August.

Since the start of the year, 6.2 million visitors were recorded in Croatia and 41.6 million bed nights. Currently, there are about 700,000 holidaymakers in Croatia and in addition to local guests the majority of tourists are from Germany (177K), Slovenia (80K), Poland (73K), Czech Republic (54K) and Italy (32K), she said.

675,000 tourists in Croatia per day on average since reopening of borders

Since Croatia opened its border there have been 675,000 tourists in Croatia per day on average with the maximum number in one day of 850,000 being recorded in the first week of August.

The best results have been achieved by family-run farms and holiday houses, achieving 80% of last year's turnover, followed by nautical tourism with a turnover of 70% y-o-y and boat charter generating a turnover of 60% on the year as they provide accommodation with the possibility of keeping a distance.

"A record number of mega yachts have sailed into Croatia this year, about 200, and thanks to being well prepared and adapting, hotels and camps have achieved excellent results particularly now in August generating 55% of last year's turnover, and current capacity utilisation is about 70 to 80 percent," Brnjac explained.

She reiterated that she was in constant contact with the relevant bodies abroad and was monitoring trends in countries where tourists are coming from.

"I believe that our international partners will recognise our measures and activities and take them into account before making any decisions, while Croatia will continue to do everything so that those international institutions have precise information based on which they will decide which countries to include on lists of safe destinations," she said.

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ZAGREB, Aug 19, 2020 - Tourism and Sport Minister Nikolina Brnjac has said that she has been in touch with her Austrian and Slovenian counterparts regarding measures taken due to the coronavirus and the number of infections in Croatia while some tourism companies have introduced free testing for COVID-19 for Austrian citizens.

"The epidemiological situation is a very important factor and that is why we are constantly transparently presenting data on the situation in Croatia and individual counties," Minister Brnjac told reporters after a meeting of the inner cabinet on Wednesday.

Asked by reporters if Slovenia, like Austria, would introduce mandatory tests for coronavirus for their citizens returning from Croatia, Minister Brnjac said that the authorities "are trying to explain to those countries that their tourists feel safe in Croatia, particularly when looking at the situation in other countries in the neighbourhood."

She underscored that she expects and hopes that the Slovenian government will take into consideration that some counties with a better epidemiological situation could be exempted from some measures, such as Istria and Primorje-Gorski Kotar counties.

"Each country is concerned about its citizens and has its own ways and methodology of counting," she said and added that the most important thing is that everyone in Croatia adheres to measures recommended by the national Covid-19 response team. "It is difficult to expect the number of infections to drop suddenly but we expect that to occur in the period ahead and based on that, some of those measures could be revised," she said.

Asked by reporters about the precise number of Austrians who left Croatia last weekend due to the latest measures by Austria, Brnjac said that most of the guests left because their vacations had ended and that this was a logical exchange of guests which usually occurs in the second half of August.

She added that currently there were more than 170,000 German tourists in Croatia, who are the most numerous guests, followed by Slovenians, Poles, Czechs and Austrians. 

Valamar Riviera offering free testing for Austrian guests

Considering the situation regarding Austrian tourists, the Valamar Riviera group, the largest tourist company in Croatia, on Wednesday said that as of this week it would ensure free testing for Covid-19 for its guests, which means a discount of €100 for each guest.

Valamar underlined that not one case of the virus had been registered among any of their guests since the start of the epidemic, which it considers an indication that preventative measures are being implemented well and that tourists are very safe in Croatia.

Falkensteiner too to conduct fee PCR tests

Due to warnings of the risk of travelling to Croatia that Austria issued on August 17, the Falkensteiner Hotels & Residences has introduced free PCR tests for all their guests from Austria who have at least a three-night booking in one of the group's hotels or campsites in Croatia.

Additional testing for tourists on Kvarner islands and in Rijeka

Since the end of last week already, additional PCR testing has been organized on the Kvarner archipelago and in Rijeka for tourists and Croatian citizens travelling to countries where these tests are required.

Testing can be conducted in Rijeka, Mali Losinj, Cres, Rab and Krk from Monday to Friday, and in Rijeka also on Saturdays, during the morning hours. It is recommended to book in advance.

A test for the coronavirus costs HRK 698.21 (approx. €93).

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