March 12, 2021 - TCN welcomes back Courtney Long, with a thought-provoking piece on TCN as seen in Beijing and the realities of Zagreb lockdown inequality. 

The last time I wrote for TCN, I made a few blunt observations about the Croatian government’s response to China in the early phases of the COVID19 outbreak. More specifically, I expressed concerns about Croatia’s acceptance of PPCs from China as well as its handling of the Pelješac Bridge project.

I believed that these issues, as well as Croatia’s laser focus on tourism at the expense of other industries, could be detrimental to the economy in the long term.

I didn’t expect much attention to come from this article. In fact, I assumed I was preaching to a large but silent choir, and that my observations would get a few nods of agreement until the next news cycle.

Online spies see everything

To my surprise, my article did garner attention, and not exactly the good kind. Even more surprising was that the response came from an unexpected source. A few hours after the article’s publication, I received a text from a friend from mainland China who was working in Croatia on a visa. She asked if she could call, and the wording of her message indicated that it was urgent.

When we spoke, she asked if I had written an article about the Chinese government for a local news publication. I confirmed that I had, but was surprised that she was aware of it. I hadn’t spoken with her about the article; in fact, very few people knew about it. What was even more baffling was that my Chinese friend had learned of the article a mere three hours after TCN uploaded it to the website.

Our conversation was candid. It became clear that I needed to state out loud (presumably for my friend’s own security and for her employer’s records) that she’d made no contribution to my article, and that she’d had no prior knowledge of what I’d planned to write. The idea was to substantiate that her slate was clean so that she wouldn’t be held accountable for my unfiltered political opinions concerning China.

I’m not a huge fan of controversy, but there are moments when matters become so egregious that I can’t keep my mouth shut. I’m about to step into the middle of something again – just not about China this time.

This time it’s about Zagreb’s lockdown measures that have crippled small businesses. My problem isn’t with the need or rationale for lockdowns, or with Croatia’s compliance with EU safety regulations. Instead, it’s about gross inconsistencies in municipal enforcement of lockdown regulations dealing with cafés, bars, and restaurants.

Given the impact of COVID lockdowns here in town, we ought to examine how both the Croatian government and Zagreb’s city council could have handled matters less destructively for the local economy.

Open hours for thee but not for me

Back in early February of this year, small business owners congregated in Trg Ban Jelačić to protest against lockdown measures that had been in effect for several months. The patience of owners and their staff had reached its limit after gym owner Andrija Klaric was arrested for re-opening his facility to customers.

Klaric was detained, and faced the possibility of a two-year prison sentence for defying the government’s shut-down policy, despite his respect for both hygiene and social distancing requirements. Regardless, the police took Klaric away in handcuffs and shut down his business.

According to Jutarni List, the police actually sympathized with Klaric and apologized for having to detain him. Klaric explained that from his perspective, the problem was not with the people charged with enforcing the law, but rather with the legislators who passed them and the bureaucrats who administered them. At the protest, thousands of local owners chanted in support of Klaric. Not only did they see him as a symbol of resistance against rigid measures that were costing them their livelihoods, but – more importantly – they saw that the existing regulations were not being enforced equally or consistently among businesses.

(Klaric interviewed by Croatian media at the Voice of Entrepreneurs protest - you can read the TCN account of the protest in A Foreign Eye at UGP Croatian Entrepreneur Protest in Zagreb)

Candid conversations with bar owners in Zagreb’s Kaptol region reveal a disconcerting reality behind the so-called safety measures administered by politicians and inspectors: strict but often unclear social distancing requirements are applied rigidly, but only to small businesses. Too much is left to inspectors’ interpretive “discretion.”

One confidential source, a bar owner, said, “Look at bars and cafés in Cvjetni Trg, and you’ll see them packed! There’s no protocol for social distancing, and in some areas, people are crammed in like sardines. No penalty, no intervention from law enforcement, nothing!”

The source’s establishment, like many similar businesses, used to be active consistently, but now it’s mostly empty – even desolate. Despite the cold weather and meticulously distanced tables inside the bar, drinking indoors is forbidden. Penalties for breaking this and related rules can include fines of up to 50,000kn, a sum many businesses can’t afford to pay – especially now.

Unless you have friends with political clout, it would seem.

A customer standing next to me explained that she had met with friends for coffee at a hotel in Zagreb’s Donji Grad. The restaurants and cafés were “packed,” according to her, and wearing masks was apparently optional, rather than obligatory, throughout much of the space.

The consensus reached by many struggling workers in the service sector is that the only way for business to resume is either to gain the support of lobby groups, or to find cash to pay inspectors to turn a blind eye to infractions. For Zagreb’s small independent business owners, neither option is available, and some have likened the current work environment to the Wild West.

Apparently, you’re safe and can keep going, just as long as you’re friends with one of the sheriffs.

“This is killing us!”

Another looming concern for bar and café owners is that ever-changing safety protocols and fluid municipal regulations may leave them with no other choice but to shut business down permanently. The abysmal support they claim to have received from the government, and their practical inability to serve customers, are exacerbated by the grim fact that many of them are still required to pay full rent to their landlords.

After a tumultuous 2020 that brought us not only the first pandemic lockdown, but also a devastating earthquake in Zagreb (followed by a few more for good measure), to say that businesses have suffered terrible financial losses would be a gross understatement. Adding insult to literal injury, one of the landlords that hasn’t yet shown any willingness to reduce the rent for its tenants is the Catholic Church, which continues to insist on its full monthly pound of flesh.

So much for extending a generous and charitable hand to one’s flock in trying times, I suppose. After all, we’re talking about a branch of the richest religious organization in the world here…

As Zagreb’s regulatory environment becomes increasingly hostile to small business owners (and bar, café, and restaurant owners in particular), there seems to be one choice left to those have worked in Croatia as expats, or who have returned from the diaspora: leave Croatia and resume business back home as soon as travel restrictions are lifted. For some business owners, continuing to work in Zagreb under the current draconian regulatory scheme has become more of a suicide mission than a plan for survival.

I have to wonder how this economy will be able to sustain itself when throngs of business owners are struggling to stay afloat. While some appear to be flailing in water over their heads, others are searching frantically for the nearest lifeboat to carry them to safety elsewhere. I don’t know whether Croatia’s economy minister has taken the time to calculate the damage Zagreb’s economy will sustain if these businesses close their doors permanently, but now might be a good time to consider that possibility – and its consequences – very seriously.

The ongoing struggles facing independent owners and their employees in the service sector is pushing many of them over the edge, and it’s disheartening to consider the mounting obstacles that owners are forced to confront in these already trying times.

This frustrating reality brings to mind a conversation I had with a friend who’s worked as an accountant for over a decade at one of Croatia’s largest banks. As the conversation veered toward politics, this individual shook their head and told me, “If you knew how this country is managing its economy and liquidity, you’d be shocked. It’s just not sustainable. This is a house of cards; it’s not a matter of if this place collapses, but rather when.”

An uncomfortable silence followed. But one thing is clear: as more business owners are threatened by officious regulators and selectively blind inspectors, my accountant friend’s words echo in my ears.

I’m very much afraid that a country with an already fragile and corrupt economy will soon face another major crack in its foundation unless the status quo changes.

And quickly.

Read more on this subject from a recent TCN editorial, As Gym Owner Faces Prison, the Virus Must be Laughing at Croatia's Inconsistent Measures.

March 12, 2021 - Dr. Nataša Ban Toskić revealed that 30% of Croats refused AstraZeneca vaccination on Friday.

Index.hr reports that after ten countries announced in the last two days that they are temporarily suspendeding the AstraZeneca vaccination, several people in Croatia refused to be vaccinated with the same vaccine. 

"Approximately 30 percent of people in the whole of Croatia, as I heard from colleagues from all over the country, today refused to come to the scheduled appointment for a vaccination with AstraZeneca. What I heard from colleagues and what I saw in my office is that people were very scared of it. Some of the patients scheduled for today canceled their vaccination, and those we offered it to after they canceled also refused to be vaccinated with AstraZeneca," said Dr. Nataša Ban Toskić, President of the Coordination of Croatian Family Medicine, for Index.

She states that even before this temporary vaccination suspension in other countries, patients had many questions about AstraZeneca, but that they were still vaccinated in the end.

"They had doubts, but they would still come. Today they refused en masse. There is a difficult situation in practice. Normally, people are confused and scared; our umbrella institutions should better communicate the AstraZeneca vaccine to the public and patients. I am thinking of HALMED, HZJZ, the Ministry of Health, and HZZO.

These institutions should publish concrete information on the situation with this vaccine in several media and several times," explained Dr. Ban Toskić.

He states that family doctors have been put in a rather awkward position.

"We don't have the information of which vaccine we will get, when and in what quantity it will arrive, and that puts us in a rather awkward position because we are on the first line of communication with patients. There is a danger that we are the only ones to bear the consequences of angry patients' lawsuits because we as vaccinators are the only responsible person if something happens to patients. At the same time, we do not influence which vaccine we get. We must adhere to official guidelines; we cannot now refuse to be vaccinated with AstraZeneca based on other countries' decisions.

We are in a problematic situation because if we do not vaccinate patients with the vaccine we received, then we are guilty, and if we vaccinate them, we can be guilty again. It would be extremely fair to the patients and us to intensively inform the public about the new situation with AstraZeneca," believes Dr. Ban Toskić.

He also states that the problem is that in most counties, there are no mobile vaccination teams for immobile and immobile patients.

They are especially concerned, he says, with the information that doctors will have to go to homes on their own and vaccinate patients.

"This is out of the question in these circumstances. There is no chance that the vaccinator comes alone and risks an unfavorable outcome. We need to have teams equipped in case of an allergic reaction to provide first aid to the patient immediately. 

Also, it is imperative to follow the rules of cold transport and transfer the vaccine in the refrigerator. This can only be done by a mobile team, not by an individual going with their purse on public transport or in their car without a refrigerator. And what if an adverse event occurs then, then accuse the doctor of not adequately transporting the vaccine? There are a lot of problems here. Honestly, it is unbelievable that to date, no mobile teams have been established in all cities and counties. Vaccination has been going on for three months now," Dr. Ban Toskić told Index.

Dr. Tanja Pekez said that she would see how the vaccination situation would develop next week, but that so far, everything was going well in her office.

"So far, it's been good, considering that the nurse and I have put in a lot of time and effort. For the first 42 patients, the nurse and I spent 8 hours determining who would be called. We called them all, and we referred calls to reserve patients because some of those invited canceled, then the vaccination started. As for the further situation with the vaccination, no one can know how things will go because everything has become a matter of politics. Britain picked up a huge amount of vaccines, then the explosion of a vaccine factory in India. Then there is the issue of Russian and possibly Chinese vaccines entering the European market. So, the predictions about vaccination are more in the domain of politics, and that should have been predicted by politicians, not only in Croatia but in the whole EU, and coordinated," Dr. Pekez told Index. 

She also states that patients became more interested in vaccination after the media published information about who got vaccinated. Still, she does not know how things will turn out after the latest events in the EU.

"In the end, I would like to add that because of the mental health of young people and the middle generation, we should have vaccinated them first so that we would have more freedom of movement. And we should finally start sanctioning inappropriate behavior," she added.

Recall, nine European countries and Thailand have suspended AstraZeneca vaccination because there have been several cases of blood clotting problems after vaccination and two deaths in Italy and one each in Denmark and Austria.

Denmark, Norway, and Iceland have temporarily suspended AstraZeneca vaccination, while Italy and Austria have stopped using certain vaccine batches as a precaution. Suspensions in Italy and Austria include different series of vaccines - in Austria, it is the ABV5300 series, and in Italy, the ABV2856. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Luxembourg have suspended the use of the series that Austria has also suspended. Thailand has also announced that it is suspending AstraZeneca vaccination.

At a press conference on Friday, Krunoslav Capak, head of the CNIPH, commented on the situation with AstraZeneca.

"As you know, Austria, followed by several EU countries, has decided to suspend vaccination with AstraZeneca temporarily. Sixteen EU countries have received a vaccine of the same series as Austria. Their decision is a precaution due to thromboembolic events. If they are found not to be related to vaccination, vaccination will continue. As for Croatia, we did not get that series, but we are vaccinating with another series. We did not have groupings of thromboembolic events. So we decided to continue vaccinating with AstraZeneca. In Croatia, the incidence of thromboembolic events is 61 per 100,000; there are slightly more than one per week with a fatal outcome. They are happening in Croatia as well," Capak said.

Alemka Markotić said that it would be imperative for Croatia to preserve the Institute of Immunology and get involved in vaccine production.

To read more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 12 March, 2021 - Croatia has a 26% weekly increase in the number of new coronavirus infections and most epidemiological restrictions will be extended until the end of March but outdoor sports competitions will be allowed, the national COVID-19 response team said on Friday.

Most existing epidemiological restrictions will remain in force.

One of the changes is that it will be possible to change the maximum allowed number of attendees at cultural events through recommendations by the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ), without waiting for a decision by the national COVID-19 response team, and outdoor sports competitions will be allowed as well, the team's head, Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović, said.

Restrictions regarding gatherings, passenger transport, shops' working hours and border crossing will be extended until 31 March and a decision on that will take effect on 13 March, said Božinović.

As for decisions at the local level, restrictions will be extended in Dubrovnik-Neretva County while COVID-19 response teams in counties with a marked increase in the number of new infections will be expected to propose restrictions in line with the local situation.

Share of positive tests 13.8%; Inoculation with AstraZeneca vaccine continues

Croatia today reported 823 new infections of 5,945 tests conducted in the past 24 hours, the percentage of positive tests being 13.8%. The average age of those who have died is 77.5 years and the youngest person was 62, Assistant Health Minister Vera Katalinić-Janković said.

HZJZ head Krunoslav Capak warned that the number of new infections this week was 26% higher than last week.

"Istria County has the lowest incidence, and Dubrovnik-Neretva County the highest. As for the seven-day incidence, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County is at the top, however, epidemiologists say that there are no major hot spots there but rather a lot of small hot spots due to socialising," said Capak.

He also pointed to an increase in the share of positive cases in the number of tests done, which today was 13.8%.

Commenting on reported side effects of the vaccines, he said most reports referred to the Pfizer vaccine, 898, followed by AstraZeneca's vaccine, 337, and Moderna's, 81.

Despite the fact that in some EU countries inoculation with AstraZeneca's vaccine has been suspended, Croatia will continue using the vaccine.

Capak said that the AstraZeneca vaccine Croatia obtained was not from the same series as that obtained by Austria and 15 other EU countries. Countries that have discontinued inoculation with that vaccine have done so until the reported side effects are investigated, he said.

"If it is established that the thromboembolisms reported are not related to the vaccine, countries that have suspended vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine will continue the vaccination process. Croatia did not receive that vaccine series... and will continue using the AstraZeneca vaccine," he said.

He also commented on an announcement that the deliveries of the AstraZeneca vaccine would be much smaller than agreed.

"We were to receive 19,200 doses in the third week of March and will receive 7,200. In the fourth week of March, we were to receive 79,568 doses and will receive 9,800," he said.

As for the vaccine of the US company Johnson & Johnson, Capak said that the vaccine will soon be registered in the EU but could not tell how many doses Croatia would obtain considering reports that the US government would first supply the US market with the agreed quantities and then start exports to other countries.

Asked about alternative vaccine imports, Capak said that the documentation requested from the Russian producer had still not arrived, which was a precondition to launch emergency imports.

Meanwhile, the Russian manufacturer has launched the process of registration of the vaccine with the European Medicines Agency and Capak said he believed the process would soon be completed and that Croatia would be able to import the vaccine normally.

As for the Chinese vaccine, not much information is known but the HZJZ today held an online meeting with its producers, Capak said, adding that he would inform the public of the meeting on Monday.

For more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 12 March, 2021 - Croatian Public Health Institute director Krunoslav Capak on Friday presented the results of a serological study showing that 25% of 1,436 respondents had tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, meaning that they had been in contact with the coronavirus.

A similar study carried out last spring revealed that only 2.2% of 1,088 respondents were positive for COVID-19 antibodies.

"In the first study, 24 out of 1,088 respondents tested positive for immunoglobulin antibodies, which is 2.2%. In the second study, 360 out of 1,436 respondents were positive for immunoglobulins, which is 25.1%," Capak said at a press conference of the national COVID-19 response team.

"It should be noted that the blood samples were taken in late December, in January and an in early February. No major impact of the vaccination could be seen because only a small number of people were vaccinated at the time. The first study covered a smaller number of counties where we took the blood samples, while the second study covered all the counties," he added.

Antibodies were evenly present in all age groups. Their presence was lower in people aged over 70 years and in children aged under 10, whose proportion of positive cases in the study was 19.2%.

The study also showed that 75% of the persons positive for immunoglobulins were immune to COVID-19.

Capak said that this sample was representative and showed that 25% of people had been in contact with the coronavirus.

"There are 240,000 people in Croatia who have been infected with the coronavirus to date, while four times as many have come into contact with the virus, which is a million people," Capak said.

 For more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

March the 12th, 2021 - The Croatian anti-epidemic measures are set to be extended yet again as infection rates begin to look less and less favourable across the country.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, as has become very much the norm over the last pandemic-dominated year, the Croatian National Civil Protection Headquarters/Directorate held its regular press conference today.

Since the current Croatian anti-epidemic measures are due to remain in force until March the 15th, which is now quickly approaching, Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said at today´s press conference that the Headquarters will make several more decisions.

"The headquarters will make four national and one local decision on the necessary Croatian anti-epidemic measures in order to limit gatherings and introduce new measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

There second decision is on the change of the public organisation of passenger transport, then the change of the decision on the special introduction of the organisation of work for the trade activity and the decision on the temporary ban on border crossings in the Republic of Croatia. These are horizontal decisions and the application of all these decisions has now been extended until the 31st of March, and they enter into force on the 13th of March (when the current measures are due to expire).

"All decisions remain the same, only one decision changes. The permitted number of people partaking in cultural programmes will be determined through the Croatian Institute of Public Health. It will be possible to increase or indeed decrease that number," he added.

“Detailed protocols of the Croatian anti-epidemic measures will be prescribed through a recommendation from the Croatian Institute of Public Health. The decision of the Headquarters will not be something that now needs to be awaited, but the Croatian Institute of Public Health may choose to tighten up or loosen certain measures depending on the situation at hand.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

ZAGREB, 12 March, 2021 - Over the past 24 hours, 823 people in Croatia have contracted coronavirus and 12 have died, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Friday.

There are currently 4,522 active cases of the infection, 811 COVID-19 patients are being treated in hospitals, and 78 of them are on ventilators.

Since 25 February 2020, when the first case of the infection was recorded in Croatia, the country has registered 249,661 people infected with coronavirus and 5,647 people have died.

A total of 239,492 people have recovered, including 578 over the past 24 hours.

There are currently 17,012 people in self-isolation.

To date, 1,416,328 people have been tested, including 5,945 in the last 24 hours.

For more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

March the 12th, 2021 - Slovenian and Croatian 2021 travellers face the same questions and the same threats. With the coronavirus pandemic raging on and the vaccination rollout going slowly, what might we expect from foreign leisure travel this summer?

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Sergej Novosel Vuckovic writes, spring is just around the corner, summer is coming, the tourist season is rapidly approaching, and most of us are far from preparing to go on holiday somewhere abroad. The coronavirus pandemic continues to reign strong, plans are almost impossible to make, talk of covid passports, EU restrictions changing in the blink of an eye, airlines scrapping routes at the drop of a hat and potentially getting stuck somewhere are all too much for many.

However, it doesn´t cost us anything whatsoever to sit down and think about whether we´ll travel outside of Croatia this summer season at all, and when it comes to that, it seems that the Croats are at the top of the world, as are the Slovenes. As the research undertaken by WIN International, the leading global market research association, suggests, Croats and their neighbours are among the most reassured of all when it comes to the idea of going off somewhere abroad this year.

The results of this global scan of attitudes and beliefs towards coronavirus vaccines, the ability of governments to resolve the ongoing public health crisis, the capacity of healthcare systems and the likelihood of travel in Croatia this year were published by the Mediana Fides research agency.

“Globally, when it comes to travel for either leisure or for work this year, 65 percent and then 77 percent of respondents consider the idea unfeasible. The survey was conducted in late 2020 on a sample of 26,579 people across 32 countries,” they stated from Mediana Fides. It turned out that in Croatia´s immediate region, the Slovenes are the most optimistic about foreign travel for their holidays (with 58 percent of respondents considering it very likely or probable), followed by Croatian travellers (with 43 percent of respondents saying that such a trip in 2021 is very likely or probable), followed then by Serbia (37 percent).

When it comes to the old "business, not pleasure" sort of trips, then those same three countries are in the same readiness for business travel - Serbia (22 percent), Slovenia (21 percent) and Croatia (20 percent).

As for the rest of the world, India and Nigeria have jointly taken the lead with scores above 50 percent in terms of the probability of going abroad. Mediana draws attention to the case of China: "It has one of the highest levels of people willing to get vaccinated and at the same time one of the lowest levels of intention to travel in 2021." From this it could be concluded that tourists coming from the Far East to Croatia this year probably won´t happen, be they vaccinated or not.

Across the world, according to the findings of the same piece of research, 7 out of 10 people, regardless of their gender and/or age, agreed with coronavirus vaccination. When looking at the level of education, it turns out that those with the lowest level of education and the unemployed are the least interested in getting vaccinated. When it comes to different parts of the world, the Asia-Pacific region with 80 percent of the population agreeing with and wanting coronavirus vaccinations is in the lead, and by countries it looks like this: Vietnam (98 percent), followed by China and India with 91 percent of their respective populations ready and willing to vaccinate against the novel virus.

Here at home in Europe, there is an unusual case with neighbouring Serbia, which boasts the second highest rate of vaccination of the population on the Old Continent, but there, a surprising 62 percent of respondents are still not convinced when it comes to coronavirus vaccination.

Here in Croatia, a similar thing can be said - 59 percent of Croatian residents don´t have much trust and would actually refuse to be vaccinated. As little as 13 percent of Croats have stated that they would definitely be vaccinated. France is at 56 percent, and in neighbouring Slovenia, 47 percent of people would not want to receive a vaccination against the novel coronavirus.

"Given that each country must vaccinate 65 percent of its population in order to achieve collective immunity, it is necessary to resort to informing the public and raising awareness of the importance of vaccination," they stated from Mediana Fides. This is somewhat correlated with the assessment of the surveyed citizens according to the ability of their governments to cope with the current health crisis.

In Serbia, they rate it the worst (only 30 percent of the population thinks that the Serbian Government has handled things well), 33 percent of people in Slovenia and 39 percent of people in Croatia believe that the work of their governing bodies in the fight against the coronavirus is positive.

It can also be read from the same survey that regarding the issue of the capacities of the healthcare system, only 36 percent of the population(s) of Serbia and Croatia and 46 percent of the population of Slovenia rate it as positive.

If vaccination against the new coronavirus becomes mandatory in any sense, it will be interesting to see how many Croatian 2021 travellers will be inclined to accept the vaccine despite their suspicions in order to have an easier life when crossing borderd and boarding planes.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

March the 12th, 2021 - The AstraZeneca vaccine has been plagued with bad press almost from the very start, with bad reactions consisting of all sorts of symptoms being reported and some countries even putting a total stop to its use on their populations. How are things looking for the AstraZeneca vaccine in Croatia?

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Denmark has temporarily suspended vaccination with AstraZeneca following reports of cases of blood clots, one of which has been reported in the country, Danish authorities said on Thursday.

Marija Bubas, assistant director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, told N1 that there are no plans to suspend the AstraZeneca vaccine in Croatia at the moment. She reiterated that this particular series of AstraZeneca vaccines has not yet arrived in Croatia.

"That situation is being investigated and is allegedly linked - we cannot confirm or deny such a thing. We will proceed how we will upon confirmation. We do not have that series of vaccines, and we have already used about 80 percent of the doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine we received, and everything happened without any consequences," said Marija Bubas. She added that in the case of a death in Croatia following the person having been vaccinated, it was later established that that unfortunate situation was in fact not related to vaccination.

"Such side effects are also possible with other vaccines, but they have been used for decades, so it is not talked about in such a bombastic way," said Bubas.

"When vaccination started with the Pfizer vaccine began, people reported side effects and people commented that Pfizer had many side effects, but back them, it was mostly only them - and there was no AstraZeneca," explained Bubas.

¨One-third of the people vaccinated with either one or two doses of AstraZeneca vaccine in Croatia had no side effects whatsoever,´ she added, emphasising again that there are no plans to put a stop to its use in the country in the fight against the novel coronavirus.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

 March 12, 2021 - Could rapid antigen tests save the summer music festival season in Croatia? Croatian entertainment experts weigh in. 

Jutarnji List reports that Boris Johnson's opening plan could save Croatia's entertainment industry from bankruptcy this summer, that is, if Croatia implements rapid antigen tests.

Summer is at the door, and, unfortunately, “the next two weeks are still crucial.” It is still uncertain whether there will be any parties during the warmer months and, if so, under what conditions and protocols. However, festival organizers in Croatia and the region are cautiously optimistic. A little over two weeks ago, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced lifting all anti-pandemic measures as early as June, so a wave of festival announcements began.

There is still no vote from the Croatian government, but representatives of some of the most important regional and Croatian festival events had their say. 

"We are in the dark. We still do not have official conditions under which we could work," says Ivan Bušljeta from the Papaya group, which works on the popular Zrće beach.

They have five festivals on hold as part of the summer music festival season in Croatia, including Sonus, Hideout, and Fresh Island.

"These are festivals that would be held in five clubs and would accommodate about three to four thousand people. These are events with a long tradition and good tourists, but we still cannot answer a few key questions. Among them is whether we will be allowed to work all night. It is also important, for example, how much space will have to be provided for each visitor. We are proposing two square meters per person, which would certainly be more in the end, given that Zrće beach has one hundred thousand square meters," says Bušljeta, who has been involved in the work of the Voice of Entrepreneurs since the pandemic, fighting for the rights of employees in the event industry.

Bušljeta says that this year they plan to adhere to measures such as measuring guests' temperature, keeping records of visitors, minimizing the dance floor with bar stools and the like.

"But it is challenging for us to plan anything. We only hear speculations that our work will be banned, which we are appalled by! Our costs are there every day for production, marketing, and the like, and our future is uncertain. Someone from the economic and financial sector of the Government must urgently invite us for a discussion. Without help and instructions, we will all go bankrupt," says Bušljeta, who also says that the practice in other European countries is completely different: Britain, he says, published a timetable for easing measures two weeks ago, and countries like the Netherlands are conducting experiments to determine the behavior of the virus at music events.

When you consider the fact that vaccination is very slow, it is clear that the situation is not great.

"One of the potential solutions is for the state to provide rapid antigen tests for important tourist destinations so that those who arrive are tested already at the station, at the entrance to Zrće, or similar. Also, it would be essential for us to enable the vaccination of our staff," he says, emphasizing once again that without the help of the state, it will be difficult to achieve anything.

Last summer, Vedran Meniga of Positive Rhythm led Martinska in Šibenik, which was the only festival location in Croatia and Europe in the first pandemic summer. Five festivals and one concert were held there, and in 11 working days, i.e., six weekends, about 10,000 festivalgoers attended. The number of infected was - zero.

"We are planning and announcing a new festival season as if everything will take place, similar to last year. Dimensions and Outlook were not held last year because we couldn't welcome foreign tourists, but this time we predict that everything will go according to plan. If the situation remains similar to last year, we predict an increase of about 20 percent of visitors to those ten thousand people from last year," says Meniga. 

"For each weekend, i.e., festival, we asked for a special permit from the Headquarters. We are told that we have the green light for festivals as long as there is no infection at them. We complied with all measures and worked on additional innovations. We set up disinfection points next to each place where transactions occur, paying special attention to the toilets. After the end of all the festivals, we waited another 14 days before submitting the press release. When that incubation period ended, it turned out that there were no infected people either. Also, none of the visitors to the festivals came with a fever," he says.

Outlook, Dimensions, and Seasplash have already been announced, and additional information about Regius, Kanal Fest, Blast, and Slurp! will be released soon. Outlook and Dimensions are being held this year at The Garden Resort in Tisno, and the rest will be held at Martinska in Šibenik. Meniga hopes that the summer Seasplash club in Pula will work and that another version of Slurp! could take place in Istria.

"No one can predict anything, and we all work as if everything will happen. This causes a huge amount of frustration. So many working hours are invested, and everything is uncertain. Planning in our business takes longer than realization. We spend money on salaries and promotions. We invest," says Meniga.

He points out Šibenik as a positive diameter of the city in which more than 50 cultural events were held last year.

"From the International Children's Festival at the beginning of summer to the Festival of Dalmatian Chanson at the end, the number of tourists that passed through Šibenik is approximately equal to the number of inhabitants. And everything went well," he says and adds that in almost all cases, these are events that take place outdoors.

"And those aren't hotspots," he points out.

The epidemiological situation needs to be monitored every day until the summer music festival season in Croatia

"To that extent, there is understanding towards the Headquarters. But most people from the event industry are on the verge of nervous breakdowns and bankruptcy. What is most terrifying are the double standards. While we were under restrictions last year, we witnessed no tourist facilities and that the beaches and supermarkets are full. There are, of course, also religious facilities. These things leave a lump in my throat, especially since risk groups mostly gather in those places," says Meniga and adds that he should be responsible and smart when working, which the festival organizers and their visitors are aware of.

And yet, he is optimistic.

"Until two weeks ago, we did not plan to announce Outlook and Dimensions, but as the British government announced the opening, the Brits began to buy tickets en masse. Both festivals are almost sold out. It still doesn’t guarantee anything, but it instills hope. More than a third of the nation has been vaccinated there, and they expect to reach half the population by summer, covering all vulnerable groups. All in all, we have a whole series of unknowns ahead of us, including covid passports and questions about how performers will travel concerning Brexit. But everything can be agreed upon and resolved. If we succeeded last year when the panic was much greater, we would succeed now," concludes Meniga.

When Boris Johnson announced his plan, the announcements of seven festivals that will take place this year at The Garden Resort in Tisno began.

"People waited patiently for a year to come out and socialize, so Johnson’s statements definitely gave hope. Of course, everything can change, but we are convinced that with the right health and safety protocols we can ensure a safe environment in which people can enjoy the sun, sea, and music," says Nick Colgan from The Garden Resort and notes that "people need it for their souls." He mentions that in Britain, the Love Saves The Day festival, organized by the same people from Love International, sold 19,000 tickets in nine minutes. Colgan believes the music industry will be stronger than ever after opening.

They have already started pre-production for the summer music festival season in Croatia, although they usually start earlier, even in January or February.

"What we need at the moment are instructions and a response from the authorities. We work closely with the local municipality and the tourist board, and we have agreed on assistance with the British Consulate. We need directions because we have more than 20,000 people waiting for their musical vacation," Colgan says.

They are also waiting for an answer as to whether proof of vaccination will be required to enter the festival.

"That's what governments have to say. Most of our visitors come from the UK and have a great chance of getting vaccinated by July. Combined with negative PCR tests before the trip and possible rapid tests at the festival we will be fine. Also, all of our outdoor events are small in capacity, up to 3,500 people," says Colgan.

Will Brexit affect the summer music festival season in Croatia?

"To be honest, for me, it is a mistake of the century, which means complications with bureaucracy and higher travel costs. It’s like we’re traveling back in time. I’m not sure what the new protocols will look like, but I hope they can be processed online," he says.

What more can the Government do to help festivals?

"It is not only about festivals but also about hotels, private accommodation, taxis, restaurants, cafes ... Our events have a huge impact on the economy. We need to allow ourselves to plan. We need a specific timeline to get out of action, which would prevent at least part of our financial risk if we have to cancel the season again. We need the details of this moment! We, for example, plan to employ 120 people over the summer. We should hire them now," Colgan concludes.

Could rapid antigen tests save the summer music festival season in Croatia?  We will have to wait and see. 

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

March 11, 2021 - Will Croatia summer 2021 be the most challenging tourist season yet? Croatian travel experts weigh in on how the season will work this year. 

Index.hr reports that Croatia is facing one of the most challenging tourist seasons ever. This became especially clear after the head of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, Krunoslav Capak, said that there would be other travel conditions for people who were not vaccinated, such as quarantine or testing, which exists now.

The number of vaccinated tourists will be minimal because there is a shortage of vaccines in Croatia's key markets. Simultaneously, the oldest citizens have priority, and they generally do not travel as much as the younger population.

Martina Nimac Kalcina, president of the Family Tourism Association, told Index that Croatia is acting poorly if it does not have a timely plan for all travelers who will have to be tested when entering and leaving Croatia.

"By mid-April at the latest, which is two months before the start of the real season, everything should be organized. So, how will the entry into Croatia look? How and where will tourists be tested? Owners of family accommodation should have all this information in April to inform their guests in time. Every effort must be made to transfer this information abroad in a quality manner through promotion and to the owners of accommodation facilities. If all this is poorly organized, then we will have a bad season because some countries, which are our competitors, will organize it very well," Nimac Kalcina told Index.

The ease of entering and leaving the country, testing, and its price will play a crucial role in which destination the guest will choose for their holiday. 

"We have been saying for months that we have to prepare very well. This means unifying test prices, that guests who are ready to be tested know the prices, that they know where they can be tested, that testing is easily available to them. We have long been asking for as many testing points as possible to be organized at airports, stations, ports, and other locations, such as hotels or other city-owned facilities where guests leaving the destination would be tested. We continue to insist that the prices of tests be as low as possible because guests will certainly compare the price of testing with other countries that are competitive with us. And the third thing is that if they have to pay them, these prices will be unified because they are very different and in Croatia range from 150 to 700 kuna," Martina Nimac Kalcina continued for Index.

In the end, she said that this season would be better than 2020 if Croatia prepares well.

Boris Žgomba, head of the Association of Travel Agencies, told Index that he wanted to believe that Capak had expressed himself clumsily.

"It would not occur to anyone smart to quarantine a guest when entering the country. I don't think the worst season awaits us, but we must prepare well. We need a faster flow of people who have been vaccinated and recovered from Covid in the last 3 to 6 months. I think it will be set at 6 months because these people are not contagious. They will have Covid-passes, not Covid-passports, as some say. They will be called Covid-passes and will be ready in early June, at a time when we should have started to have more serious tourism and crowds at the borders," Žgomba told Index.

What about those who do not have passes?

"Yes, the third category are those guests who have not been vaccinated or recovered from Covid. They will certainly take antigen or PCR tests; they will have to do it, or maybe not even need to; it all depends on the epidemiological situation. It is in our interest, as in Croatia, to speed up the flow of people. Some countries have already launched this, and we are working on it. Slovenia allows entry to those vaccinated without testing and people who have had Covid in the last 3 months. Poland and Greece are already doing that. I must also mention how the information published on IATA's (International Air Transport Association) official website says that from March 8, passengers who have a positive test (PCR or antigen) older than 14 days and not older than 3 months can enter Croatia. Meaning those who recovered from Covid-19. The question arises as to why it is a secret. If so, why hasn't it already been reported to the public or, if it's not true, why hasn't it been denied," Žgomba told Index.

What are his forecasts for this season?

"I think that everything will be regulated and that we will have tourist figures at the level of 60 percent from 2019, so we will be a little better than 2020, but not nearly as close as 2019. I don't think there should be any fear for those who test positive when they arrive at the destination; we have already learned to live with this virus and the fact that you can't plan anything. Still, based on some indicators, it could be read that my forecast would be realistic and that we should have about 60 percent of the tourist figures from 2019," Žgomba said at the end.

The head of the Croatian Travel Agencies Association (UHPA), Tomislav Fain, told Index that there should be no problems if rapid tests are allowed and if Croatia is well prepared so that each region, county, and city provides a sufficient number of rapid testing points that will be cheap.

"Reading the prime minister's statements, we all depend on the European Commission and its protocols. If rapid tests are recognized, then we will have no problems, and the intention is to recognize rapid tests as relevant. If that is the case, then it will be good because they are fast and affordable. This would solve the biggest problem. I was in Greece in October, and their minister said he would push the idea of ​​recognizing rapid tests that would cost a couple of euros. If Greece succeeds in that, then, as I said, Croatia must prepare well so that guests can quickly and conveniently take the test and get the result," Fain said.

He states that Greece organized such testing at airports last season and that it was easier for them to control it because most of their guests arrive by air, while Croatia is more of a car destination.

Paško Klisović, president of the Association of Accommodation Providers on Boats - Charter, told Index that they have already held two meetings this week regarding the upcoming season.

"One of the conclusions of the Tourist Business Council at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce - including all representatives of the association, from hoteliers, agencies, charters, family accommodation, marinas, i.e., all employees in tourism - is that testing must take place at tourist checkpoints and that the cost of tests must be minimized. I proposed that the price of the tests is subsidized from the income of the sojourn tax," Klisović said.

He also states that charter tourism is unfavorable because they are hoping for the first guests in a month.

"As far as I can see, everyone else in tourism is hoping for guests only in June, while we have announcements for Easter. I hope that some things will be organized and agreed upon as soon as possible. We have already had a meeting in Šibenik-Knin County with the local Institute of Public Health on tourist testing points. I have to say they are willing to do it, but we were told there was a shortage of people to do the testing, so we went on to involve private clinics that could jump in. We hope that everything will be organized on time," Klisović concluded. 

Do you think Croatia summer 2021 be the most challenging tourist season yet?

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.