October 15, 2020 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as Turkish Airlines operates to Zagreb four times a week in November.

Croatian Aviation reports that Turkish Airlines plans to operate on the Istanbul - Zagreb route four times a week in November this year. The company operates regularly to Zagreb, without canceling the announced flights.

The Turkish national airline, a company that normally operates to the most destinations in the world (over 315), plans to operate four times a week on the Istanbul - Zagreb route in November this year.

It is, of course, a smaller number of weekly flights compared to last year's winter flight schedule (10 to 14 flights a week), but given the global pandemic and reduced demand, this move is not really surprising. The company also operated four times a week in the summer flight schedule to Zagreb (twice a day last year) and the same number of weekly operations was announced for the first month of this year's winter flight schedule.

Turkish Airlines has direct flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Flights fly on Mondays and Fridays in the evening, while flights are on Wednesdays and Sundays in the morning.

Given the fact that entry into Turkey is possible without a COVID-19 test, and there are currently very favorable prices for return tickets on the Turkish Airlines route from Zagreb to Istanbul, a large number of Croatians decided to travel to this destination at this time, so the occupancy of this company's aircraft on the only route to Croatia is very good.

The second destination of Turkish Airlines in Croatia is Dubrovnik. Due to the impact of the pandemic, the Istanbul - Dubrovnik line did not operate this summer season, and it is obvious that it will not operate in the winter months ahead.

Turkish Airlines launched regular flights to Zagreb on July 1 this year and since then there have been no cancellations of departures on this route, which is really a rarity in the aviation industry today.

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October 14, 2020 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as Wizz Air will not operate to Split Airport this winter. 

Croatian Aviation reports that this summer, Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air introduced a new route to Croatia from Dortmund to Split, which was originally scheduled to operate in the winter flight schedule this year. However, that will no longer happen.

The Split - Dortmund line started operating on August 1 this year, after Wizz Air opened its new base in this German city. Flights to Split operated three times a week, every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Wizz Air, however, decided to operate on this route only in the summer flight schedule, which is not strange given the current global pandemic and reduced demand. Split is no exception, and the company will not operate this winter to airports in the region where there are significantly more flights, such as Skopje, Tuzla, Belgrade, and a number of other destinations.

Split Airport is the only destination of this well-known low-cost airline in the Republic of Croatia. Recall, Wizz Air operates on four international routes to Split in the summer; from Warsaw, Katowice, London and Dortmund.

Wizz Air used to operate to Osijek Airport (on the Basel - Osijek route), but this line was canceled even before the outbreak of the global coronavirus pandemic.

The company has not yet announced the summer flight schedule for next year, so it remains to be seen whether Wizz Air will introduce new routes to Croatian destinations in the summer of 2021. This airline, as Croatian Aviation unofficially found out, is interested in introducing routes to Zagreb Airport.

Recall, as we announced on Tuesday, Eurowings will therefore operate in the winter flight schedule to Split and Zagreb from three German airports: Cologne, Dusseldorf and Stuttgart. You can read more about these lines HERE.

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October 13, 2020 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as Eurowings operates on four lines to Croatia in November.

Croatian Aviation reports that Eurowings, a German low-cost carrier, plans to operate to two airports in Croatia in November this year - Split and Zagreb.

Eurowings was among the first to establish traffic to Croatia after the borders opened and the lockdown was lifted. The company operated in this year's summer flight schedule to all airports in Croatia, as it did in the last summer season (Pula, Rijeka, Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik, Zagreb, and Osijek) but with significantly fewer weekly flights and in a shorter duration (Osijek and Dubrovnik had only one month of regular flights).

In the previous winter months, the company operated to Split, Zagreb, Rijeka, and one year, even to Pula. There will be no direct flights to Pula and Rijeka this autumn and winter, which means that Eurowings will remain present only in Split and Zagreb.

Zagreb connected with Stuttgart and Cologne

In November, Eurowings will continue to operate on two routes to Zagreb, from Stuttgart and Cologne.

The Stuttgart - Zagreb line should run four times a week, every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. A319 aircraft have been announced on the route, which has a capacity of 144 passengers in the fleet of this carrier.

The Cologne - Zagreb line should also run four times a week, on the same days as the line to Stuttgart, every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. This line will have one less flight per week compared to the summer flight schedule (canceled on Saturday).

Two lines to Split

In last year's winter flight schedule, Eurowings had four international routes to Split (Cologne, Stuttgart, Munich, and Dusseldorf). This winter, there will be only two in traffic with a minimum number of weekly flights.

The Dusseldorf - Split line will operate once a week, on Saturdays, while the Stuttgart - Split line will operate twice a week, every Thursday and Sunday.

All other seasonal routes to Croatian airports will end with traffic for this year by the end of October (October 24), when the summer flight schedule also ends.

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October 12, 2020 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as Ryanair will soon conclude regular operations to Croatia for this year.

Croatian Aviation reports that Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair will soon complete regular operations at Croatian airports. The company had big plans for this year, but they did not materialize due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

Ryanair planned to base three A320 aircraft at Zadar Airport and fly from Zadar to 33 international destinations across Europe. Ryanair's partner airline, Lauda, chose Zadar, ahead of the airport in Palma de Mallorca.

Due to the lockdown caused by the global pandemic and the large drop in demand, Ryanair and Luda abandoned this plan, and Ryanair returned to Croatia only at the beginning of July, with fewer lines than in the summer season of 2019. This well-known low-cost company operated this summer to five Croatian airports: Pula, Rijeka, Zadar, Split, and Dubrovnik.

As in previous years, Ryanair will conclude its operations with Croatia on the last day of the summer flight schedule (October 24). In the winter flight schedule, this company does not operate to Croatian airports.

This year, the company did not operate on several routes to Croatia (some were excluded from this year's summer flight schedule even before the pandemic). At the same time, on most lines, there was a reduction in weekly frequencies.

The following lines will be in traffic until the end of October:

Pula - Berlin, once a week (until 24.10),

Pula - Brussels, twice a week (until 23.10.),

Pula - London, twice a week (until 22.10.),

Rijeka - Hahn, once a week (until 24.10),

Dubrovnik - Dublin, twice a week (until 21.10.),

Split - Dublin, twice a week (until 24.10.),

Zadar - Brussels, twice a week (until 24.10),

Zadar - Cologne, once a week (until 18.10.),

Zadar - Düsseldorf, twice a week (until 24.10),

Zadar - Karlsruhe, twice a week (until 24.10.).

Given the pandemic's impact on air traffic, we can be satisfied that this low-cost carrier was on the Croatian market this summer season at all. The question remains whether Ryanair will realize the plan from this year in the next year (to base three aircraft in Zadar). Such a decision will primarily depend on how we will welcome the next summer season.

Ryanair has so far announced one new line for next summer season, between Vienna and Pula. In the winter flight schedule, the company will fly to airports in the region, such as Banja Luka, Vienna, Budapest, and Trieste.

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October 11, 2020 - There was not a lot of good news in the 2020 tourism season, but one positive trend is worth further investigation - the steadily increasing number of visitors to Croatia from Ukraine. 

With the devastating effects of the pandemic, there has been little comfort to be taken from official tourism statistics this year. But if you look a little closer, there are some interesting seeds of hope. 

With such a marked turndown in tourist arrivals, is it possible, for example, to find a country whose nationals visited in greater numbers in 2020 (which has still got three months of statistics to report) than 2016?

There is at least one such country, whose tourists have been discovering Croatia in ever greater numbers without any significant (if indeed any at all) tourism promotion from Croatia in the market. 

Ukraine. 

And wherever I went this summer, the subject of Ukrainian tourists popped into the conversation. The third biggest market in Dubrovnik's luxury tourism market, according to two 5-star hotel general managers? That would be Ukraine.

The only airline which responded magnificently to Croatia's overnight decision to introduce PCR tests was Windrose from Ukraine, who arranged for tests for all passengers, then delayed the flight until the results were in. 

The Total Croatia Travel Info Viber community was at one point flooded by Ukrainian tourists with questions about getting PCR tests on the drive from Kiev - they were at one point the most active nationality in the group. our Viber community has been an extremely good finger on the pulse of what has been happening in tourism in Croatia this year, and it first alerted me to the Ukrainian factor. 

And while the numbers are not huge compared to Croatia's main markets, they have been growing steadily in recent years - at least until the disaster that is 2020. But even with all the travel restrictions, more Ukrainians have visited Croatia this year so far than in 2016. Had there been no corona, that number would have been significantly higher. 

Year - No of Tourists - Overnights

2014 - 52,120 - 360,276

2015 - 53,298 - 354,761

2016 - 66,260 - 440,330

2017 - 81,149 - 499,652

2018 - 105,160 - 643, 263

2019 - 135,035 - 817,350

2020 - 75,375 - 486,074 (January to September)

Back in 2016, Ukraine was Croatia's 31st largest market. In 2020, it is 14th. 

There are several factors which make Ukraine an interesting market which is perhaps worth taking a closer look at for Croatia's tourism strategy. 

Firstly, Ukraine used to have its own excellent domestic beach destination - Crimea. That came to a screeching halt with Russia's annexation of the peninsula back in 2014.

Ukraine has a special visa-free relationship with Croatia, which is a huge attraction for would-be tourists from Ukraine, where visas are often a major deterrent (to give a start example, passenger traffic at Pula Airport dropped by 40% after Croatia's EU entry in 2013, as Russian tourists could no longer visit without a visa). Ukrainians with a biometric passport can now enjoy a visa-free trip to Croatia.  

There has been a marked increase in seasonal flights from Ukraine to the Adriatic coast in recent years, as Ukrainians look for alternative summer destinations. Windrose has been at the forefront of that, and the airline has also just introduced regular flights through the winter from Kyiv to Zagreb, as many other airlines are cancelling. 

What surprised me the most from the Viber community feedback, however, was just how many tourists drive from Ukraine to Croatia. It is quite a drive, some 17 hours from Kiev to Zagreb, for example, with the coast a little further. The enticing Adriatic must be worth it, however, as they are coming in increasing numbers.

Ukrainians obviously like what they see, and all the ingredients are there for a campaign to build on that initial interest with an effective campaign. Regular flights, a destination which is driveable, a luxury market to target - there is plenty of potential to develop. If Ukrainians are coming during a pandemic with little to no promotion, what could be achieved in 2021 with a little advertising and the viurs (hopefully) much less of a factor in our daily lives?

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October 11, 2020 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as Croatia Airlines announces 15 active international routes for November.

Croatian Aviation reports that Croatia Airlines has announced its network of destinations for November this year. In the first month of the winter flight schedule, the company will operate on 12 international routes from Zagreb and 3 from Split.

In November this year, when the winter flight schedule is in force, Croatia Airlines continues to connect Croatia with European capitals and transport hubs, while air connections within Croatia will continue to be provided to passengers by domestic scheduled flights.

We bring you the planned flight schedule on Croatia Airlines until November 15 this year.

International lines from Zagreb

Zagreb - Amsterdam, daily,

Zagreb - Brussels, twice a week, on Fridays and Sundays,

Zagreb - Copenhagen, twice a week, on Wednesdays and Fridays,

Zagreb - Frankfurt, two to three flights a day,

Zagreb - London, once a week, on Mondays,

Zagreb - Munich, Lufthansa flights are available in the first 15 days of November,

Zagreb - Paris, twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays,

Zagreb - Split - Rome, twice a week, Mondays and Thursdays,

Zagreb - Sarajevo, three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays,

Zagreb - Skopje, twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays,

Zagreb - Vienna, once a week, Wednesdays,

Zagreb - Zurich, twice a week, on Wednesdays and Sundays.

International lines from Split

Split - Frankfurt, once a week, on Saturdays,

Split - Munich, twice a week, Mondays and Fridays,

Split - Rome, twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays.

Due to the impact of the global pandemic, the company has significantly reduced the number of departures on its international routes. Also, there will be no international flights from Dubrovnik Airport (Frankfurt) and Rijeka Airport (Munich) in the winter flight schedule, which were in regular operation in last year's winter flight schedule.

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October 10, 2020 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as British Airways returns to Zagreb at the end of October. 

Croatian Aviation reports that British Airways has announced that from the end of October, it will operate again on some of its currently suspended routes, including the London - Zagreb route!

On September 6 this year, British Airways temporarily canceled the London Heathrow - Zagreb route, leaving the possibility of re-operation on this route from the beginning of the winter flight schedule.

According to the latest information from the headquarters of British Airways, that will happen soon. Namely, British Airways will operate on this route again from Sunday, October 25, 2020.

From that date, British Airways will operate between London and Zagreb four times a week, every Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Unlike the previous flight schedule, when British Airways almost always operated on this route in the morning, now all flights, except Fridays, will operate in the afternoon.

On the route to Zagreb, British Airways will use A320 aircraft, which has a capacity of up to 180 seats in the fleet of this carrier. Flights are on sale on British Airway's official website, and return tickets can be purchased for just over 600 kuna.

It is extremely important that this world-famous company returns to Zagreb Airport, although the global pandemic and travel restrictions do not currently guarantee excessive success in terms of passenger demand and yield.

British Airways cut off traffic to all Croatian airports in September, except Dubrovnik. The London - Dubrovnik line operates regularly all the time, and according to the company's current announcements, it should also operate in the first days of November.

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October 10, 2020 - The Ministry of Tourism and Sport presented the Vacation-Worthy Week campaign earlier this week. From October 16 to 25, domestic and foreign guests are offered various tourist services and experiences at 50 percent off.

HRTurizam reports that the Vacation-Worthy Week online portal contains about 340 valid offers (of which 159 offers are for accommodation) and services at 50 percent off from different parts of Croatia, from the coast to the continent, and an additional 70 applications are being processed.

"This is a long-term project that will be organized twice a year, during the Easter holidays and October. We are glad that the project has aroused the great interest of tourism service providers who are our main partners, and without whose cooperation, this action would not be possible. Through the project, we want to positively influence the increase of tourist traffic before and after the season and the further development of domestic tourism. Through this action, tourists will have the opportunity to visit different parts of Croatia at 50% off for many tourist products and services, from accommodation, transportation, cultural, historical, natural sights and attractions to catering services and various experiences," said director Stanicic, inviting all travel lovers to take advantage of the week of favorable prices, but also all tourist entities to get involved in the action with their offers.

The Minister of Tourism and Sports Nikolina Brnjac also commented on the campaign and said: "I am pleased with the large number of tourist entities and service providers who joined the Vacation-Worthy Week action. We are launching this action because we want to offer domestic tourists the adventure of discovering the riches of autumn in Croatia, and at half the price. Meet, explore, and enjoy Croatia in the off-season and, at the same time, create a story of year-round tourism development with us."

Among the registered entities whose offers are on the portal are, for example, national parks and nature parks such as Plitvice Lakes, Krka, Paklenica, Risnjak, Kopački rit, Papuk, Lastovo archipelago, Žumberak-Samoborsko gorje and Vrana lake, hotels such as Valamar Riviera, Arena Hospitality Group, Marina Punat hotel & resort, Hilton hotels Zagreb, Coronaro hotel, Hotel Petrčane, Importanne resort Dubrovnik, Thalassotherapy Crikvenica, Grand Hotel Lav Split, and others. Travel agencies such as Adriagate, VAL, Terra Travel, Obzor putovanja, etc., also offered their package deals. All lovers of culture, art, but also tourist attractions at significantly reduced prices will be able to enjoy museums such as the Natural History Museum of Rijeka, Croatian Maritime Museum Split, Betina Museum of Wooden Shipbuilding, Museum of Trilj, Archaeological Museum of Narona, but also other facilities such as are Aquatika - Freshwater Aquarium Karlovac, Glavani Park, Solana Nin, Segway city tour Zagreb, Quad Gorski Kotar, and more.

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October 9, 2020 - The latest travel news during the corona era, as Italy removes Croatia from the red list of countries requiring a negative COVID test to enter the country.

Slobodna Dalmacija reports that according to the information that can be read on the website of Italy's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was reported to Slobodna Dalmacija from Milan by Rea Karnincic from Split, who owns the travel agency "Solo Croazia", Croatian citizens can now travel to Italy without a COVID-19 test, which was required from August 12 if they wanted to enter that country.

Specifically, in order to enter Italy, travelers had to bring a COVID test from Croatia not older than 72 hours to enter Italy, or they were required to take the COVID test in Italy within 24 hours of entering the country.

"It is a great thing for everyone in Croatia. Now our people will be able to study in Italy without testing, and also Italians will be able to, say, come to Istria over the weekend and after returning to Italy they will not have to take a test," Rea Karnincic said.

Apart from Croatia, Greece and Malta were removed from Italy's "red list", while Spain was left on the red list, and the whole of France, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom were added.

The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia also confirmed the news on Friday.

"The Ministry of Health of the Italian Republic abolished the obligation to test for all passengers traveling from the Republic of Croatia to Italy on 8 October 2020."

Likewise, all passengers who have stayed or transited in the last 14 in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Czech Republic, and Spain are required to a) present a negative swab test not older than 72 hours or b) take a swab test within 48 hours after arriving in Italy, says the Ministry.

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ZAGREB, Oct 8, 2020 - Croatia Airlines planes will fly from Zagreb to 12 foreign destination in November, the national flag carrier CA stated on Thursday.

Thus, the flights will be provided from the Croatian capital to Frankfurt, Amsterdam, London, Paris, Zurich, Brussels, Copenhagen, Rome, Munich, Vienna, Sarajevo and Skopje.

Also, there will be flight services provided by CA from Split  to Frankfurt and Amsterdam. 

Considering the flights in the country, CA will provide services from Zagreb to Dubrovnik and Split as well as to Zadar and Pula.

Given the epidemiological crisis, the company also offers flexible terms and conditions in purchasing tickets and with regard to flight arrangements and changes.