ZAGREB, September 23, 2019 - The bankruptcy of the British leisure company Thomas Cook Group is bad for global tourism and it is a big loss for the British economy, however, some other British travel agencies are likely to take over Thomas Cook's share on the Croatian market next year, Tomislav Fain, the president the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies (UHPA), told Hina on Monday.

The Thomas Cook Group and its associated UK companies filed for compulsory liquidation after failed negotiations on recapitalisation. The collapse of the 178-year-old group has left thousands of guests stuck worldwide. The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has also stepped in to conduct return flights between 23 September and 6 October, either with CAA-operated flights or existing flights with other carriers depending on location, foreign media outlets have reported.

"A certain number of guests, who have arrived here via Thomas Cook, are still staying in Croatia, mostly in central and southern Dalmatia. Although insurance companies are also expected to step in, it is still uncertain how the hotels that have provided accommodation for those guests will cover their costs," Fain said adding that in any case, hotels in Croatia will not follow the example of those in Tunisia that have kept those guests detained over unpaid bills.

Fain explained that many other British tour operators do business in Croatia and they are likely to take over Thomas Cook's share on the Croatian market soon.

Fain also called on the tourism ministry and the HTZ board to contact those operators and conduct negotiations in a bid to deter a reduction of the number of tourists arriving here from the U.K.

He commented that the developments surrounding Brexit probably contributed to the collapse of Thomas Cook, however, bankruptcies were not big news on the world market where the competition was tougher and tougher and changes on the market were constantly occurring.

Atlas is Thomas Cook's main strategic partner as the destination management company for Croatia and currently Atlas executives are conducting meetings to discuss the latest developments.

There are currently 190 guests in Dubrovnik, who arrived in that Adriatic resort from Manchester via Thomas Cook on Sunday. They are now waiting for CAA personnel to come to Dubrovnik and assist them with their return flight.

UHPA is a voluntary national trade association of Croatian travel agencies, registered also as an employer's association.

More travel news can be found in the dedicated section.

September 23, 2019 - Minister of Tourism Gari Cappelli visited the island of Hvar this weekend. Some observations from a TCN fly on the wall. 

Looking back, I can say for certain that it started with last year's World Cup, although I am not quite sure why I had not noticed it before. But during the World Cup, it was more pronounced than ever. 

Last summer was a fascinating exercise in watching people jumping on the bandwagon of the national team's footballing success, as though it was their contribution which contributed to the unprecedented global interest in Croatia, when in fact of course it was entirely due to the heroics on the pitch, the incredible fans and THAT shirt. The first time I noticed it was reading an interview with the national tourist board director talking about a spike in traffic of 250% to show what they were doing to promote Croatia. Given that TCN traffic spiked a lot more than 250% in mid-July last year, perhaps we had been doing even more to contribute to the global interest in Croatia. 

Or perhaps it was because any website with even a vague association with Croatia was getting unprecedented love from the 60 billion article views in the wake of 11 Croats kicking a football around in Russia. 

It was a theme that came back to me this weekend on Hvar, as I attended the opening party of the gorgeous 5-star Palace Elisabeth hvar heritage hotel, a very special evening and a very special project (you can read more about the evening and enjoy a video tour here). Minister of Tourism Gari Cappelli was among the high-profile guests, and as I heard him and other tourism officials talking of the importance of the hotel opening and the ministry's strategy of attracting more luxury hotel accommodation, I found myself smiling. 

What exactly did that strategy involve? What exactly was the ministry doing proactively to attract more luxury hotels to open in Croatia in general, and on Croatian islands in particular? The opening of Palace Elisabeth, a fully private initiative with private investment, is now the third 5-star hotel on Croatian islands (excluding a handful of very small boutique hotels). The total number of 5-star beds in Croatian island hotels now stands at around 300. By contrast, just for comparison, last year alone, more than 1,600 5-star island hotel beds opened in one of Croatia's main competitors - Greece. 

Just what exactly, in practical terms, does the minister's talk of quality hotel accommodation mean? It was something I asked myself again this weekend as it was announced that Ritz Carlton is to be the latest luxury brand to open in Montenegro, a list which includes One & Only, The Chedi, Regent, Raffles, Four Seasons (more on this brand in a moment) and others. Brands which are not coming to Croatia despite the minister's apparent focus on the issue. 

It was something I thought about again last weekend, as the Deputy Minister of Tourism posted photos on social media of another 5-star hotel on Hvar, Maslina in Stari Grad, which is currently under construction and due to open next year. Again, the impression given - at least to me - is that this is somehow in line with our magical strategy, whereas it actually looks like a private investor is finally building after coming through a marathon battle with bureaucracy. 

Saturday's opening was not the first Hvar 5-star hotel event I have attended where Minister Cappelli has spoken. More than 2 years ago, he made a speech (also in Croatian in front of international investors - is it really too much to expect a tourism minister to speak fluent English in the modern age, especially in front of guests who are investing tens of millions in Croatia?) telling the world about the Four Seasons Resort of Brizenica Bay near Stari Grad, which would open in 2019. Here is what he said (from the 2017 TCN article at the time):

"This extremely important project, almost a billion-kuna investment, will be of great importance to Stari Grad on the island of Hvar as well as for the whole of Croatia. The island of Hvar will be provided with the necessary quality accommodation facilities, which will certainly stimulate further investment in additional facilities, thus enabling the further development of tourism on the island of Hvar. This is also an opportunity for the local tourist community to begin with the complete management of this destination and thus make the island of Hvar a high-quality destination. As an islander, I am particularly pleased to see that the potential of our islands has been recognised and I would be delighted if such investments were made on my island as well.'' said Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli, adding that this investment would certainly trigger other potential investors to pay deeper attention and look for opportunities for investment on the island of Hvar, in Split-Dalmatia County and in Croatia in general. 

I think this investment certainly has "triggered other potential investors to pay deeper attention." As the stated opening year of 2019 is drawing to a close, the project still does not have a building permit. It is over two years since that grand announcement from Gari Cappelli, a lovely event complete with mock-up hotel room in Sesvete and including a specially chartered train from Zagreb main train station, it is more than 3 years since I was asked to talk about Hvar and the project with a list of influential journalists at the Park Lane Four Seasons in London. And still no building permit. 

The project has also been removed from the Four Seasons website and no longer features, not even in the list of 10 Four Seasons hotels due to open by the end of 2020. 

Further along the coast on the same island, some Norwegian investors are still trying to own the land they thought they bought in 2007 to develop a 270 million euro hotel project. And it is now 5 years since I wrote about that project and how Greece was moving ahead in Croatia and Greece: A Tale of 2 Nikki Beach Resorts back in 2014, a story which had a sequel 6 months ago in A Tale of 3 Nikki Beach Resorts: Croatia, Greece and Montenegro.

These are the sorts of projects the Ministry of Tourism and the Croatian Government should be trying to resolve to deliver its stated goal of more luxury tourism. There are billions of euros of foreign investment stuck on the Croatian coast and islands. And for those who always enter the debate at this point to say that Croatia does not want or need such investments, that is more than fine, but then why start the projects in the first place and trash Croatia's reputation for a place for foreign investors, as such investments would certainly trigger other potential investors to pay deeper attention.

And, as we all saw from the case of the islet of Zecevo last year, the paperwork can move VERY quickly on Hvar (land split and rezoned in just 8 days) when there is an interest from the movers and shakers.

From my observations, it is hard to conclude that the strategy, such as it exists, is much more than turning up and speaking at such events and claiming some of the credit and justifying some so-called strategy. And if there is still no building permit by the time you announced the hotel would be open, well say no more about it and people will still think it is happening. 

There is another angle to this, at least in my opinion. In the same way that Croatia will have no less than three golf tourism conferences in 2019 (each attended by a senior tourism ministry official), despite spectacularly failing to start even one of the 30 planned courses in the 2013 - 2020 strategic plan, looking busy and talking projects is often substituted for actual progress. And it works. In 2018, some 940 million euro was invested in Croatian tourism, of which 140 million euro (confirmed by the Ministry of Tourism press department) was that billion kuna investment in Four Seasons Hvar. 

The project which at the end of 2019 still has no building permit.

And yet, the 940 million figure invested in 2018 is now established fact - I have seen it used by very senior officials from big international companies on a number of occasions this year. 

And so Croatian tourism DOES look busy and brimming with investment. The opening of a 45-room 5-star hotel is proof of that (never mind the 1,600 5-star island rooms in Greece last year alone). And appearances are everything in The Beautiful Croatia.

Ordinarily, one would have thought that the opening of only the third 5-star island hotel would have been the media highlight for the island and the minister, but a much more bizarre celebration competed for the gushing column inches in the national media. An event which not only required the presence of the minister himself, but one which was covered in the national television news. The same event which was covered by high-profile press conferences at ITB Berlin, the biggest tourism fair in the world back in March. 

The event? Five local tourism boards on one island decided to work together to promote the destination as one. 

With all the hype that this blatantly obvious step brought, one might be forgiven for thinking that Croatia had succeeded in putting a man on the moon.  

Here we are, in Berlin 6 months ago. When I first saw this I thought it was a joke - at the world's biggest tourism fair, Croatia was telling the world that they had an island which had decided to work together to promote itself as one. What kind of tourism country was this, and what the hell were the other islands doing if this milestone merited such high-profile international attention?

And here we are this weekend on Hvar on the national news (and more on the detail in English here).

As a foreigner, I was quite surprised when I moved to Hvar to learn that the island had 5 tourist boards. And not just Hvar. So does Korcula, and Brac has 7 or 8. And they all traditionally promote their own individual towns and villages only. So much so in fact that they really do go to tourism fairs and promote themselves as individual towns rather than an island. Crazy. 

The key to working together is common sense and common interest. I met one tourist board director from Brac last year who proudly told me that he didn't speak to one other director on the island, and that while there were plans to produce an island brochure by the 7 (or is it 8) Brac tourist boards, things were stuck because the directors could not agree which photo to use on the cover (various directors were insisting their destination was the most important). No amount of legislation is going to fix that kind of problem. By contrast, the Hvar directors managed to come together a couple of years ago to produce the combined brochure above without legislation or contracts signed. 

I have met a couple of the newer Hvar directors in the last year and have been impressed by their vision and desire to work with not only the rest of the island but also neighbouring islands to present a better product for their guests. It is common sense. 

The same common sense that this fat Englishman used 8 years ago when he started the first portal for Hvar to include the whole island with regular daily updates. There was no rocket science to it, and Total Hvar's quick popularity showed that this was the way forward. I am very glad that the tourist boards of Hvar are now following suit. 

It is the same common sense shown by the tourist boards of inland Dalmatia and the Central Dalmatia Tourist Board back in 2013 when we proposed combining several great inland Dalmatian destinations into one Total Inland Dalmatia portal in English. It is a partnership which has worked well for six years now and which has played its small part in effectively promoting tourism in that wonderful region. 

It is great news that 5 island tourist boards have decided that they can work together and do their job and promote their destination as one, but is it really such a big deal that the minister needs to tell the world at the biggest tourism fair in the world, then remind the nation on the national news six months later?

Looking at those list above of those 2013 strategic objectives, would it not be more useful to be telling the world of the Dalmatian wine road completed, the medical tourism task force's progress report (after it had been formed), the 15,000 sailing berths delivered, the focus on marine ecology that a reduction in cruise ships has brought, and a promised golf course or two delivered?

Nothing to report on these fronts, and no consequences for an abject failure in the delivery of the seven-year plan? I look forward to reading about the tourist boards of Brac working as one in the New York Times while awaiting the next 5-star hotel opening, which manages to open its doors despite - not because of - all the bureaucratic help it received along the way. The minister has a strategy to deliver, after all. 

ZAGREB, September 23, 2019 - There were 236,700 tourist accommodation facilities in Croatia at the end of August, which is an increase of 15,700 or 7.1% on the same period last year, and most of them were categorised as non-commercial or household facilities, while the number of hotels rose by 28 to 1,199.

Data from the eVisitor tourist registration application indicates that there were 1.7 million beds in Croatia as of 31 August, which is 5% or 93,000 more on the year. Most of these, or 634,000, were in household facilities, representing a share of 37.3% of all beds, compared to 37% at the same time in 2018.

The largest increase in the number of beds was recorded in non-commercial or household facilities. There were 113,000 facilities in this category with 502,000 beds, which is an increase of 8.6% or about 10,000 facilities and an increase of 8.1% or 38,000 beds year on year.

At the end of August there were 1,199 hotels in Croatia with 177,400 beds in all, which is an increase of 3.2% or 38 more hotels than in August last year, while the number of beds rose by 6,900 or 4% year on year. However, the share of hotel beds fell to 10.4% from 10.5% at the end of August last year.

This year there were three more campsites, bringing their number to 502 with a total of almost 247,400 beds or 2,200 beds more than last year, up 1% year on year. The share of camp beds was 14.5% compared to 15.1% last year.

More news about Croatian tourism can be found in the Travel section.

ZAGREB, September 18, 2019 - Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said in parliament on Wednesday that the results of this year's tourism season and the year overall were excellent.

Financially, we will reach last year's 12 billion euro and will have a 3-5% increase, he said during question time, adding that arrivals would be almost 5% higher than last year and nights by about 2%.

In the first six months of the year, there was an increase of 6%, between 3 and 4% in the peak season and, judging by announcements, we expect a 3-4% increase for the remainder of the year, Cappelli said.

He dismissed Social Democratic Party leader Davor Bernardić's earlier statements that the tourism season had "crashed", saying the government had taken a serious approach to the industry.

Justice Minister Dražen Bošnjaković spoke of Kristian Vukasović, an 18-year-old who died while serving a prison sentence. We are waiting for the autopsy report, which will reveal the cause of death, he said.

Speaking of judges' declarations of assets, Bošnjaković said his ministry had created an app for their publication and that talks were under way with the Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency to align protection rules.

Željko Reiner of the ruling HDZ asked Economy Minister Darko Horvat to explain the impression in the public sphere that everything was bad, that the economy was unsuccessful and that people were increasingly poor, despite "data showing salary and pension growth and the creation of more than 100,000 jobs."

"This year, and especially next year, will be a struggle for better living standards for the little man, and I as minister of the economy have no right to be despondent," Horvat said.

More news about Croatian tourism can be found in the Travel section.

ZAGREB, September 17, 2019 - Interior Minister Davor Božinović on Monday closed the headquarters for the implementation of security measures during the 2019 tourism season that was opened in Zadar at the start of the summer, saying that this year the number of tourist arrivals was up five percent compared to last year and that foreign tourists chose Croatia as their destination because of the country's security.

Božinović presented the results of the "Safe 2019 Tourism Season" project.

During the tourist season in Croatia, there are four to five tourists to one Croatian, and despite this increase, the police and other services managed to do a good job, Božinović said.

"The fact that when something occurs it makes it into the media and I do not have anything against that, that needs to be talked about, however that does not indicate a negative trend. The trend is positive, in the end we can see that the number of arrivals once again increased by 5%, which means that foreign tourists choose Croatia, and Croatia's security is certainly one of the elements that influences their decision when choosing a destination," said Božinović.

Foreign police come to Croatia during the season to help local police offices and this year there were 256 of them as part of the security project.

Zadar County Prefect Božidar Longin believes that safety is Zadar's brand.

The security headquarters during the tourist season was first established in June 2018 in an effort to coordinate the work of police departments in an effort to better implement security measures during the season.

More tourism news can be found in the Travel section.

ZAGREB, September 15, 2019 - The Tourism Ministry has recently made public the programme of this year's Croatian Tourism Days, to be held in a number of towns in the region of Slavonia on October 2-4, which is the first time the traditional meeting of tourism workers will be organised in inland Croatia.

More than 1,000 participants, tourism professionals and other actors in Croatia's tourism and related sectors, as well as central and local government officials and foreign guests, will attend the event, organised by the Tourism Ministry, the Croatian Tourism Board (HTZ) and the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK).

Recalling that the incumbent government placed emphasis on the economic development of Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem, Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said that Croatian Tourism Days would be held in the country's easternmost regions in order to additionally accentuate the importance of regional tourism.

HTZ director Kristjan Staničić said that Slavonia and the continental part of the country had great potential for year-round tourism and that the HTZ's activities were geared towards promoting continental tourism.

"This year's two-digit increase in tourist turnover in inland Croatia proves that the continental part of the country has exceptional potential for further growth and development," he said.

Croatian Tourism Days will be held in all five Slavonian counties, which HGK head Luka Burilović said had a lot to offer to visitors - a rich cultural heritage, splendid scenery and an increasingly diverse cuisine, which is the main reason for visiting Croatia for around 30% of guests.

More news about Croatian tourism can be found in the Travel section.

September 13, 2019 - Meet Tennis Holidays Croatia, a tailor-made travel experience to ensure your best trip yet. 

We often find ourselves on holidays where we’re told ‘this is what you want’ or ‘this is what you need’, but how often do we really choose how we want to travel?

Thankfully, bespoke tourism has kicked off in recent years, especially after the copy-and-paste tourism of today began wearing thin. Travelers are now catching on more and more to crafting holidays tailored to their desires, wants, and needs.

What is it that drives you to travel in the first place, you might be asked? Is it the gastronomy? The culture? The architecture? Or, in this case, the sport? 

This is where Tennis Holidays Croatia comes into play. 

Meet Tennis Holidays Croatia, the brainchild of CEO Bojan Dvoršek who wanted to show his country to the world while offering travelers a taste of one of its trademark sports - tennis. 

After a successful career as a tennis player, Bojan jumped into the world of coaching, where he also found himself at the helm of organizing several tennis events. Because organizing events of your own pushes you to visit ones organized by others, Bojan quickly caught onto the fact that tennis holidays in Croatia were an offer he couldn’t escape. 

However, two significant points were missing - the client’s needs weren’t placed at the forefront of the experience, and Croatia’s authenticity was far from being exhibited. Thus, Bojan put these two factors into focus to deliver Tennis Holidays Croatia. 

Namely, Tennis Holidays Croatia focuses on each guest's individual talents and issues, working on their pain points while improving their skills in a short time. But tennis makes up only half of the deal, as guests get to experience Croatia through the eyes of a local, too.

It’s not hard to see why the idea quickly took off, and Bojan eagerly gathered a team of skilled professionals to work aside him, a team of like-minded people with the same passion for tennis and tourism as he. Thus, 18 years of Bojan’s diligence in the tennis world created the foundation for Tennis Holidays Croatia. And a new tennis and tourism adventure was born. 

Now, let’s dig more into the details of Tennis Holidays Croatia. 

First things first, at Tennis Holidays Croatia, the client is always placed at the forefront of any tennis trip. This means precisely that each experience is shaped around the needs of the guest and fashioned to how the guest can improve. Better yet, no individual will lose any time relearning the universal rules of tennis, but only work on targeting the obstacles they face in their game. 

All of this, of course, is done while you’re whizzed around Croatia like a local - from relaxing on the pebbled beaches to exploring its vibrant history, indulging in its native cuisine or partaking in its popular nightlife. However, you get to choose how you want to mix things up. Remember, this is a holiday tailored to you; a tennis trip with all the tips; a holiday with your prescribed dose of sport and tourism. 

So, how does this bespoke sports travel experience really work? 

Now that we have your attention, you must be wondering how you can be a part of what Tennis Holidays Croatia has to offer. And we don’t blame you, so listen up. 

When visiting the company’s website, you can browse and select many events already on offer. Each holiday has three components - destination, tennis program and extra activities (Tennis+). The tennis lessons and activities are optional, which prove great for groups that include both tennis players and those who’d prefer a holiday without it. 

Three primary tennis events occur in each destination - short break tennis holidays (read more here), tennis holiday weeks (read more here) and special events (read more here), which serve to present the customers with the options already available. If one of these events draws your attention, but you’re unable to attend on the scheduled date, feel free to suggest a date you can make to begin the process. Essentially, you are free to choose your dates and your experiences and can adapt anything else to your wishes. 

The tennis holidays travel to the Croatian towns of Poreč, Mali Lošinj, Zadar, Biograd, Vodice, Split, Cavtat, and Zagreb, which give you a taste of the Croatian coast and the capital. Since ‘tailor-made’ is their middle name, you won’t have to move a muscle in searching for the best hotel or transfer company - Tennis Holidays will have every everything prepared for you upon your arrival. Whether it's welcoming you at the airport to ensuring you make it to your hotel in style, all perks are already included in the price of your trip, confirming a swift and painless experience in times proven to be most stressful - like getting to and from the airport. 

Tennis Holidays Croatia offers three types of tennis coaching programs - full, half and custom. 

The Full Tennis Programme (20 hours) is an ideal tennis getaway for passionate players. This trip includes 20 hours of professional tennis coaching, with group classes and private lessons. 

The 20-hour tennis program includes:

• 5 X group training sessions (180 min)

• 2 X private coaching sessions (60 min)

• 3 hours of tournament evening

• 4 hrs use of tennis courts out of tennis coaching hours

The Half Tennis Programme (10 hours) is the right choice if you’re looking to stay for the week or enjoy a long weekend stay. This program is geared towards players who prefer a balance between tennis and holiday activities. 

The 10-hour tennis program includes:

• 2 X group training sessions (180 min)

• 1 X private coaching session (60 min)

• 3 hours of tournament evening

• 2 hrs use of tennis courts out of tennis coaching hours

However, the Custom Tennis Program is the perfect choice for individuals or groups who have a specific tennis coaching plan in mind. Whether you’re looking to book a private group, group with a coach, school trip, corporate event, kids camp, nothing is out of reach for Tennis Holidays Croatia. 

Furthermore, Tennis+ activities are available on a per-destination basis. In an effort to create a balanced set of fun and excitement, you have the chance to explore Croatia's vibrant history and unique natural and cultural heritage, take on the adrenaline of an active holiday, or relax from tennis practice with a lap of leisure. From the award-winning olive oil region of Istria to the charm of the capital, the natural beauty of the national and nature parks (we know you’ve heard of Plitvice’s 16 cascading lakes) and coastline adorned with water sports, beach clubs, and spells of luxury, Croatia will benefit even the pickiest of travelers. 

To get an idea, some of the actives you can enjoy include:

• daily sail

• Zrmanja river rafting or canoe safari

• Jeep safari in Velebit Nature Park

• stand up paddling

• hiking tours

• sunset cruise

• cycling tours

• city tours

• visiting the National parks

• abseiling the Dubrovnik city walls

• enjoying the famous oysters of Ston

• diving school

• dolphin watching

• tour of the socialist Zagreb 

Tennis courts in Biograd

But that’s just part of it. 

The philosophy of Tennis Holidays Croatia is simple - it revolves around you. From the beginning to the end, your interests are placed on a pedestal above everything else. Whether you’re a beginner who requires patience or an advanced player hoping to improve their windscreen technique, no job is too large for the Tennis Holidays Croatia team. 

Whether you’re looking for tennis holidays for singles, families or couples, social tennis, tennis for kids, tennis lessons for beginners, amateurs or professionals, of all ages, levels or group sizes, Tennis Holidays Croatia will accommodate your needs - and don’t forget, they also know Croatia inside and out to ensure you get the best local experience on top of it all. 

Unlike the competition, Tennis Holidays Croatia is composed of a local team with a trusted network of colleagues and friends. All here to deliver the ideal tennis holiday. Nothing short of what you deserve. And if you're still not convinced? Check out some first-hand experiences here. 

You can take a look at Tennis Holidays Croatia’s current events below. 

Tennis Doubles - Strategy & Tactics Drills Short Break

October Half Term in Cavtat, Dubrovnik Region + 10 hrs of tennis coaching for free

Tennis holidays for singles over 50

Tennis holidays for singles

You can contact Tennis Holidays Croatia by visiting their website or by emailing them at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Tennis Holidays Croatia Ltd.
352 Fulham Road
London SW10 9UH
UK
Call 24/7: +44 7988 816378

CROATIA OFFICE

Tennis Holidays Croatia Ltd

Tkalčićeva 5

10000 Zagreb

Call 24/7: +385 99 332 5235

Facebook: @tennisholidayscroatia

Twitter: @tennisholidays1

Instagram: @tennisholidayscroatia

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TripAdvisor: TennisHolidaysCroatia

Want to make sure you never miss a beat from Tennis Holidays Croatia? Sign up for their newsletter here. 

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

ZAGREB, August 29, 2019 - Based on criteria of quality of service, politeness and knowledge of what is being offered to shoppers and guests, Croatia ranked third among six countries in the region, while Slovenia ranked first, indicates a survey conducted by the Heraklea agency in cooperation with agencies in the region.

This was the 11th survey of quality of services in the region conducted via mystery shoppers. The survey was conducted in June in Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia.

The agency's mystery shoppers visited 800 retail outlets - car dealerships, banks, petrol stations, supermarkets, telecommunication companies, hotels and restaurants - to discover where the best services can be found.

The benchmarks include basic quality of service like greeting shoppers, identifying their needs/wishes, recognising products, offering additional products, and thanking shoppers, all under standards from the word GUEST (Greet, Understand, Explain, Suggest, Thank).

Croatia scored 75.1% and was ranked third, an increase of almost 2 percentage points compared to last year.

The best service can be found in Slovenia, which scored 83.4% or 8 percentage points better than last year, while Montenegro had a score of 55.1%, 15.4 percentage points worse off than last year, and had the most room for improvement, ranking 6th.

Serbia too dropped, by 4.2 percentage points this year, scoring a result of 70.5%, while North Macedonia scored 83.1% for politeness, faring 4.1 percentage points better than last year.

More lifestyle news can be found in the dedicated section.

ZAGREB, August 19, 2019 - The Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) has launched a huge marketing campaign to promote Croatia's off-season tourism on 14 European markets.

The campaign, which will last until 31 October, will be run in Germany, Austria, Poland, Italy, Great Britain, Hungary, The Netherlands, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia and Spain.

In a press release on Monday, HTZ said that the marketing activities would be conducted via offline and online communication channels - television, print, display panels, YouTube and social networks such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

The campaign is particularly focused on activities in nautical tourism and promoting local cuisine and wines and Croatia's scenery and cultural heritage as the main motives for tourists to visit Croatia in that period.

HTZ Director Kristjan Staničić was quoted as saying that until the end of October a marked number of flight services will connect Croatia with Austria, Great Britain, USA and France and that tourists from these destinations prefer to travel in the post season.

More news about Croatian tourism can be found in the Travel section.

ZAGREB, August 14, 2019 - Eight Chinese police officers, who were deployed in the areas of four Croatian police departments from July 13 to August 14, on Wednesday ended their participation in the "Safe Tourist Season 2019" project, as part of which police officers from countries that generate most foreign visits in Croatia help during the summer their Croatian colleagues in providing for security on the Adriatic coast.

The State Secretary at the Tourism Ministry, Tonči Glavina, thanked Chinese police officers for their participation in the project and for helping show that Croatia is a safe country.

There were no reports of incidents during the stay of the Chinese police officers and their joint patrols with Croatian police, and their presence had a positive effect on Chinese tourists, who approached them for information, as confirmed by the head of the Chinese team, Xue Qiang, who said that Chinese police officers had also visited Chinese citizens living in Croatia and praised the project as having strengthened the two countries' friendship and cooperation.

Velimir Tišma, head of the sector for crime prevention of the Zagreb City Police Department, said that dozens of thousands of Chinese tourists visited Zagreb every year and that police worked continually on the safety of tourists in the capital, which included additional police training.

He recalled that Croatian police had made, in cooperation with Chinese police, a leaflet in the Croatian and Chinese languages, to be distributed as of next season to Chinese tourists throughout the country, with useful information on self-protective behaviour.

Deputy Chief Police Director Josip Ćelić said that the project helped build strong partnerships, improved the quality of police services and boosted the confidence of Croatian citizens and foreign visitors in Croatian police.

The eight Chinese police officers were deployed in Dubrovnik-Neretva, Lika-Senj, Zadar and Zagreb counties.

China is the first Asian country to join in this project and 2019 was the second consecutive year that Chinese police officers visited Croatia as part of the project, which involved 95 police officers from 19 countries this year.

More news about Croatian tourism can be found in the Travel section.