July 17, 2020 - Business troubles caused by the coronavirus will bring considerable annual losses to airlines, and 2020 will be remembered as “the worst year in the history of the aviation industry”. The crisis has not bypassed Split Airport in Kastela, where it is estimated that this year's losses at the end of the year will reach 2 million fewer passengers compared to 2019, when more than three million passengers landed at that airport.

Slobodna Dalmacija reports that the first 6 months of this year, Split Airport had a turnover of 108,000  passengers, while in the first half of last year, 1.2 million passengers were recorded. If we compare the month of June, the decline is about half a million passengers. This year, 26,000 passengers were realized, while last year, 513,000 passed through Split Airport.

"Until July 13, we had a turnover of 55,000 passengers, and by the end, we expect another 65,000, which at the end of the month will amount to a total of about 120,000 passengers. In the first 6 months of this year, we recorded a loss of about a million passengers, and we will lose that much more in July and August. So we are in the red about 2 million passengers," said Mate Melvan of Split Airport.

When it comes to companies that fly to Split Airport, the situation is somewhat better, but the problem, they point out, is that there are no passengers.

"Unlike last year when we were connected with about 58 global companies, this year we are connected with 30. I must emphasize that only ten of these thirty companies last year accounted for 90 percent of our total turnover last year. I think we are well covered in this regard, but the problem is that there are no passengers. People just don’t travel by plane and that’s where the whole problem lies. Last weekend, our port had the highest traffic, there are all the main carriers and there are no obstacles and problems," concludes Melvan.

It is interesting to note that in April this year, there were only six passengers, and in the same month last year, the traffic was more than 156,000 passengers.

Vienna, Warsaw, Madrid, Oslo, Paris, Rome, Frankfurt, Riga are just some of the twenty or so airports that are currently connected to Dubrovnik. However, the "real season" should start soon, when flights from Great Britain begin. British Airways (from London - three times a week), Jet2.com, EasyJet and others are establishing lines with certainly the most important tourist market for Dubrovnik. Low-cost carrier Ryanair is already flying on a route to Dublin, Ireland, and other airlines have decided to resume in an attempt to at least partially recoup losses in recent months.

Despite everything, by the end of July, Dubrovnik should be connected with more than 30 European cities. Compared to the current situation, traffic is expected to triple by the end of August. Thus, according to the announcements, there should be as many as 140 landings and take-offs at Dubrovnik Airport on the first weekend of August.

"It all depends on the epidemiological situation both in our country and in the countries from which our guests come. Most of the airlines we have worked with before are coming back, new ones are coming, and some have failed due to the corona crisis. We have to be optimistic because the situation is moving as we predicted," says the director of Dubrovnik Airport Frano Luetic.

Despite the unprecedented crisis for air traffic around the world, the airport is proud to highlight this week's agreement on the intercontinental connection of Dubrovnik and Dubai with Flydubai, and the start of flights from new destinations in Kyiv, Ukraine, Budapest, and Vilnius in Lithuania.

However, even with such an increase, the airport will find it difficult to achieve 30 percent of last year's traffic in July and August, which is mostly at the level of total air traffic worldwide. Namely, this year, up to thirty international planes a day will land at the airport in Cilipi during July and August, while in the same period last year there were even more than sixty.

The semi-annual number of passengers at the end of June last year was 1,059,684, while this year's number was 87,026 passengers in the same period, which is just over eight percent. Also, in June 2019, there were 415,876 passengers, while this year there were 10,592, which means that with the greatest optimism this year, it is difficult to expect more than half a million passengers at the airport.

"The Dubrovnik area and everything that gravitates to our airport are much smaller than the often mentioned area of ​​Split and their airport, which currently has more planes and passengers than us. One should know that Split gravitates to more than half a million local people, and their tourist capacities range from Zadar to the Neretva, and from numerous islands to the deep hinterland and Medjugorje. Our area is cramped and has less than a hundred thousand people, without the roads that Split has and with less tourist capacity. We are also oriented towards guests of higher purchasing power given that we have a lot more five-star hotels. And that is the reason why low-cost carriers opt more for Split because such is the offer and the purchasing power of passengers," says Luetic.

Last weekend, 3870 passengers passed through Zadar Airport. Compared to last year, the turnover is lower by 70 percent, and judging by the forecasts, these figures will be transferred to all of July. Namely, the expected weekly traffic in July is about 60 commercial aircraft, or 120 rotations, while during August, 70 commercial aircraft or 140 arrivals and departures are expected.

"Although it is difficult and ungrateful to give any forecasts at the moment, we expect about 33,000 passengers in July, and about 60 thousand in August. By the end of the year, the total traffic should reach the number of about 150,000 passengers, which is 19 percent of last year's result," said the management of Zadar Airport about the season which, if corona had not happened, should have been a record.

Last year, the traffic at Zadar Airport increased by 30 percent compared to 2018, and they welcomed the end of the year with more than 800,000 passengers. On the wings of these results, which were the best in the history of Zadar airport, this summer was greeted even more ambitiously.

This is best illustrated by the projections of the largest low-cost carrier in the world, Ryanair, which announced in early 2020 that it will carry a total of 670,000 passengers on 30 lines and its base in Zadar this season, 50 percent more than a year earlier. Instead, Ryanair currently flies on only ten routes, and the base, which was supposed to house three aircraft with staff for eight months, has been postponed until the summer of 2021.

In addition to Ryanair, whose share in traffic is by far the largest with almost 70 percent, ten other airlines are currently flying to Zadar Airport, connecting Zemunik with 29 European destinations.

Whether that number will be maintained or increased next season, no one currently wants to predict. Because it’s hard to say what will be next month, let alone next summer.

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July 17, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Split, Dubrovnik, Pula, Zadar, and Rijeka. 

Croatian Aviation reports that Transavia, a low-cost airline with subsidiaries in France and the Netherlands, has made some changes to its flight schedule to destinations in Croatia.

At the end of June and the beginning of July, the company launched lines to Croatia, as many as 8 of them, and continues to operate on them through August.

The Paris Orly - Split route operates 3 times a week, but the company previously planned to increase it to as many as 6 weekly flights. This will not happen due to low demand. From August 13, the number of weekly flights will be reduced to 2.

The Rotterdam - Split line runs 5 times a week, and the same number of weekly flights is announced in August (every day except Monday and Wednesday).

The Nantes - Dubrovnik line continues to operate twice a week, as was announced earlier.

The Paris Orly - Dubrovnik line operates 3 times a week, and the company planned one more flight a week through August, but will keep the same number of operations (Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays).

The Rotterdam - Dubrovnik line continues to operate according to plan and through August, 2 times a week (Tuesdays and Saturdays).

The Rotterdam - Zadar line will hold three weekly flights in August (Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays).

The Rotterdam - Pula line will increase the number of weekly flights, from 3 to as many as 5, every day except Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout August.

The Eindhoven - Rijeka line will continue to operate 3 times a week in August (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays), which is one flight less per week compared to the 2019 season.

Furthermore, Croatian Aviation reports that the Slovak airline, Air Explore, announced its first scheduled flight to Croatia.

So far, the company has operated to Croatia on charter lines, mostly in the summer months, but will now launch the first regular line between Bratislava and Split.

The Bratislava - Split line will be in operation from Sunday, July 19, twice a week until the end of September this year. The line will operate twice a week, on Wednesdays and Sundays in the afternoon on B737-800 aircraft.

This is the first, completely new route introduced by the airline since the coronavirus pandemic.

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July 16, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Dubrovnik.

Croatian Aviation reports that Spanish low-cost airline Volotea is announcing a return on its international routes to Dubrovnik, while routes to Split are already in operation.

The well-known Spanish low-cost airline resumed regular flights to Split last week. The company launched certain lines from France to Split, and introduced one from Athens.

Split - Marseille from July 8, once a week, Wednesday,

Split - Nantes from July 8, once a week, Wednesday,

Split - Bordeaux from July 8, once a week, Wednesday,

Split - Lyon from July 8, once a week, Wednesday,

Split - Athens from July 8, once a week, on Wednesdays.

Volotea is currently running some lines to the Adriatic Pearl, including Dubrovnik - Athens (Tuesdays) and Dubrovnik - Nantes (Thursdays). However, three more routes from France will be introduced soon:

Dubrovnik - Bordeaux from July 29, once a week, Wednesday,

Dubrovnik - Marseille from July 29, once a week, Wednesday,

Dubrovnik - Toulouse from July 29, once a week, on Wednesdays.

The company has opted for a minimum number of weekly frequencies, only once a week, but will expect an increase in the number of flights next month. B717 and A319 aircraft have been announced on all routes.

Furthermore, Ex Yu Aviation reports that Ryanair subsidiary Lauda has sacked plans to launch flights between Vienna and Dubrovnik, which were meant to kick off this summer. Recall, flights were initially meant to start on March 29 but were pushed back to August 1 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ex Yu Aviation writes that this line was to operate twice per week, and was to be performed by Ryanair equipment on behalf of Lauda. Austrian Airlines resumed its seasonal service between Vienna and Dubrovnik in June.

To conclude, Avio Radar reports that Swiss airline Helvetic Airways plans to travel to Brac soon. Namely, the airline will travel from Zurich on July 27, with return on Thursday, July 30. Helvetic has only Embraer ERJ-190 aircraft in its fleet. All Fokker F-100s left the fleet by December last year. The flights are in cooperation with the Swiss travel agency Meersicht Travel & Lifestyle. 

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July 15, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Split Airport.

Croatian Aviation reports that easyJet announced a new set of lines to Split. After the company launched the first six lines to Croatia, which started operating from the beginning of July, the low-cost airline announced the start of operations on another 7 lines.

As we announced earlier, easyJet launched six lines to Split at the beginning of July, which you can read more about it HERE.

From the end of July, the company will significantly increase the number of routes to Split Airport, by introducing another 7 international routes, which will allow easyJet to operate to as many as 13 international destinations from Split. Traffic is established on the following lines:

Lyon - Split line is introduced from July 20, twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays,

Bristol - Split is introduced from July 21, twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays,

London Gatwick - Split line is introduced, from July 18, five times a week (every day except Monday and Friday),

Mila - Split line is introduced from July 22, twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays,

Naples - Split is introduced from July 24, six times a week (every day except Wednesday),

Paris Orly - Split line is introduced from July 24, twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays,

Manchester - Split line is introduced from July 25, twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Also, specific routes that are already in operation will have an increase in the number of weekly flights:

Amsterdam - Split will operate five times a week, instead of two times,

Geneva - Split will run three times a week, instead of once.

This is still a significantly smaller number of weekly flights and routes to Split compared to the 2019 season, but given the situation, we can be satisfied with this flight schedule.

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July 15, 2020 - Croatia is among the most sought-after foreign tourist destinations on the French market, according to MisterFly, one of the largest French online distributors specializing in airline ticket sales, car rental and hotel accommodation.

"Numerous inquiries from the general and professional public that come to us every day are proof that the image of Croatia in France is still very good. Croatia ranks well on the list of countries that are definitely worth a visit due to their exceptional natural beauty, hospitality and favorable epidemiological situation," said Danijela Mihalic Durica, Director of the Croatian National Tourist Board Representation in France, on HRTurizam, emphasizing that there is already a noticeable trend of increasing bookings for next year, given that many French travel organizers have provided their clients with free booking delays, as well as the announcement of new airlines from the French market for the postseason.

Namely, according to the new flight plan for September and October, Air France from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport announced flights to Dubrovnik and Zagreb.

By the end of September, Air France plans to establish 50 percent of its normal flight program, and 60 percent by the end of October.

"France is one of the markets from which we expect a larger influx of guests in this main summer part of the season, especially in August when the French traditionally use the most holidays, especially in the traditionally most popular regions for the French, Dubrovnik and Split," said Croatian National Tourist Board director Kristjan Stanicic.

A larger influx of guests is also expected from the UK market.

In its article entitled "Croatia this summer: three areas to visit without the crowds", the British Guardian states that Croatia opened for tourists in May and that due to the lack of crowds, 2020 is ideal for a relaxing holiday with an emphasis on the Dalmatian islands of Lastovo, Mljet and Kornati, national parks Northern Velebit, Paklenica and Risnjak, while Lonjsko polje and Konavle Nature Park were also singled out.

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July 14, 2020 - New border regulations for non-EU/EEA visitors to Croatia and a PCR test or self-isolation requirement are causing some confusion. Here is what we know about the current situation, including actual arrival experiences. 

Croatia Travel Update: Answers to Recent FAQs, July 17, 2020

As previously reported on TCN, the sudden decision to require a negative PCR test or 14 days self-isolation on arrival to Croatia for all non-EU/EEA citizens, effective almost immediately. Announced on Friday evening, the new rules came into effect at midnight on Friday, meaning that many holidaymakers heading to airports for their Saturday flights found that they needed the PCR test or they faced 14-days  self-isolation in one location in Croatia. Read more in Confusion Reigns After Sudden Croatian Border Requirement Change for Non-EU Citizens.

As the new rules came into effect on a weekend, it was harder than usual to find out the latest info, and the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community - which has been answering travel enquiries in these crazy times for almost two months (you will need to download the Viber app) was flooded with panicked questions from travellers already at - or on their way to - the airport. 

Information is still coming together, and the situation is still very fluid. Here is what  we know so far, starting with two testimonials from the TCTI Viber community - one from the United States with PCR test, and one from a UK citizen (still regarded as EU until December 31) arriving from a non-EU country, Ukraine. 

Greetings from Split! Yes, I’m an American who successfully arrived into Croatia today. While the USA may be my homeland, Croatia is my heartland—so I am deeply relieved and still a bit stunned to finally be back. Here’s what happened:

Route was ORD-AMS-SPU on KLM. That airline deserves 11 stars for exceptional customer service on the ground and in the air!

At O’Hare, I had all my docs in order in a sunshine-bright yellow folder, secured with a yellow binder clip with a smiley face. Yes, adding some brightness to the airline agent’s day was part of my strategy to make this work! Our conversation went like this...Him: Do you have a Croatian passport? Me: No, I have a US passport, along with all the necessary documentation to show that I am legally allowed entry into Croatia. Him: Great! Let’s have a look. Me (flipping through each page): Here is the Enter Croatia Registration confirmation, negative PCR test result, and proof of 2 paid accommodations. That’s all I need to enter the country, but I have plenty more backup documentation if you’d like to see it. Him: Wow! You are very organized. Me: Yup. Him: Then you are all set to go! That literally took one minute—no checking/reading anything in detail.

The airport was wonderfully empty—no lines anywhere, and sanitization everywhere. The flight to AMS was one of the best I’ve ever had. After all the stress and last-minute scrambling, I decided to upgrade to Economy Comfort, and it was the best possible decision—an entire comfort row to myself, and very few people in that section at all.

The only thing I had to do at AMS airport—aside from walk from one gate to the next—was stop and enjoy an espresso. No transfer desk, nothing—just like any typical non-international layover.

The flight to Split was pretty full, but thankfully short. Border control did ask for the test result and checked to see that it was PCR and within the proper time frame. They did not care to see my accom receipts. It seemed obvious that there’s still plenty of confusion, as a lot of the agents were asking one another questions and helping one another clarify situations. That was that—and now I am sipping a lovely Plavac Mali and finally relaxing! Can’t even begin to express my gratitude to the moderators of this group for your diligence in keeping us all informed during these ever-changing times! Good luck to everyone else. Where there’s a will, there’s a way! (July 13)

The view from Kiev:

Departed to Pula this morning from Kyiv, Ukraine with Ukrainian airline Windrose.  My husband who’s UK resident had to fight to get checked in without Covid test. Airline’s policy is everyone on board has to have a negative Covid test. Very stubborn. They brought a document from Pula airport where it days that EU residents regardless of the place of their living have a right to visit Croatia without a test. (July 14)

Here is what we have managed to ascertain so far:

The Croatian Border Police are insisting on the original test because there are lot of forgeries available on the black market - primarily from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is true for Croatia's eastern borders. Arrival by airports may be acceptable with email confirmation. We are still checking.

It is important that you have a negative PCR test not older than 48 hours - the rest are formalities. Anything more than 48 hours is not acceptable. The PCR is a must-have in Croatia because it is the only test detecting that you carry the virus - so Croatian health services INSIST ON PCR not older than 48 hours.

You can enter if your test is delayed and then you get mandatory self-isolation - you go to your location planned for self-isolation reported to the police and wait for test results. THE MISSING LINK is how and to whom you send your test and how you remove self-isolation. The Croatian Border Police are working on a solution. The big (and still not officially clarified) question is what happens if your test has not been processed by the date of your arrival? My understanding is that the police are working actively to make this process a lot smoother, as well as the procedure of this works in practice. IT IS JUST MY OPINION, but I would expect that if you arrive, you go into self-isolation, then once you get your negative result, you will be free to travel after approval from the Croatian police (while observing the appropriate social distancing protocols). This procedure is being worked on. 

Currently, there is no testing facility on arrival option, but this is expected to change soon, and the police are actively working on a solution. I can give you some idea of how that will look, as yesterday, there was a dry run by MUP testing a system which is not publicly available yet but could soon be. This is how the first dry run is looking. If confirmed as policy, this could be the best option for many travellers.

This was the procedure, as recounted by the American visitor's partner who lives here in Croatia (PLEASE NOTE, THIS IS NOT AVAILABLE YET, BUT AN IDEA OF HOW THINGS COULD BE VERY SOON).

So he landed at 1 pm and he got to the border police and they wanted to know where he was staying, they asked if he understood the self-isolation (they said he can't leave the house) and said they will fine him if he breaks the rules.. then they asked if he was tested and he said he will get tested here. He gave them two addresses and that was okay he thinks, they didn't say anything about him having to stay in one place.. so then we went straight to the clinic at 2:30 pm for testing (address Mirogojska cesta 21), we went to the drive-in but they sent us to a building in the back of the clinic where we needed to fill out one form and they gave us 3 forms to take with us.. They asked if we want to pick the results personally or by email. We said by email. We had to go to the front desk at the clinic to pay, the price was 1506,08 kunas (about 200 euro). Then we went to the drive-in with the other two forms and receipt of the payment. We went to the apartment, no one checked on him and we already got the results at 8:30 am in the morning.

The test was negative, and so now we are waiting for the next steps from the police (we realise this is a very  new approach), hope to be given the all-clear to travel to our home in Istria and start the countdown to our wedding. 

So in short, he was allowed entry to self-isolate for 14 days, as per the new regulations, but with the possibility to take the PCR test on arrival, get the negative test the following morning, then proceed with the holiday as planned. 

This article will be updated as more experiences come in, and as the official situation becomes clearer. 

If you have any experience to share or have questions you need answering, join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community (you will need to download the app)., or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Subject Borders

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The Netherlands - as of July 21, Croatia is placed on the "Orange" list by the Dutch government, which means that both the Croatian nationals and the Dutch nationals returning to the Netherlands from Croatia are strongly advised to self-quarantine for 14 days.

July 14, 2020 - Hungarians visiting Croatia seem to be most interested in holidaying on the island of Vir, and after Slovenes and Germans, they are the most frequent guests there.

But in this pandemic, Vir has already become the most thriving tourist destination when compared to last year, reports RTL.

More than half a million overnight stays have been recorded there so far, which is almost 80 percent of last year's figures, and in the first 12 days of July, Vir is also in first place with 214,000 overnight stays, which is more than 70 percent of last year's result in the same period.

"In this corona situation, we have proven to be a tough nut to crack, and unlike many other areas in the Adriatic, we are still alive," Mayor Kristijan Kapovic told RTL Direkt.

From the new year to July, more than 33,000 guests came to Vir, and eVisitor currently has 27,000 registered guests on Vir.

"There are about 4,000 of us on Vir. Today, Vir has more than 30,000 inhabitants, both temporary and permanent," the mayor added.

He adds that this has nothing to do with weekenders who have houses on Vir.

"As for the tourists who come to the apartments and rooms, there are currently 9,000 of them. Most of the tourists are from the area - Slovaks, Hungarians, Slovenes, Germans, Czechs and Poles, BiH. The rest are 20,000 weekenders. They are also foreigners. The ownership structure has changed in the last 20 years. More than 50 percent of property owners are again from those countries. In these times of crisis, notorious destinations that rely on organized accommodation are now in a deficit position. Real estate tourism, in the case of Vir, owned by foreigners, has proven to be something that gives results," he explains.

Kapovic says that so far, they have not had a single case of the coronavirus, and considering the situation and a large number of tourists, he assumes that they could by the end of the season.

"So far, we are sailing well; that problem has not touched us. People feel comfortable and safe here," he says.

Tourism Minister Cappelli is urging Headquarters to tighten measures.

"We respect all decisions of the Headquarters. We are trying to instill new security in guests, who come from countries where epidemiological measures are stricter," said Kapovic.

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July 13, 2020 -  Dubrovnik, the 'Pearl of the Adriatic' and Croatia's tourism star, is struggling to resume tourism post-lockdown.

The forecasts for the tourist season in Dubrovnik at the beginning of spring were not so bad, and probably much better than the actual outcome. It seemed then as if the coronavirus would disappear with the heat, tourists would travel, and most stakeholders in tourism were hopeful that the situation would improve significantly for the better. At the time, Dubrovnik unofficially said that they hoped for a turnover of at least 30 percent compared to last year. But that did not happen, reports Dubrovnik Daily.

Croatia is still recording new cases of infection, and according to the eVisitor guest check-in and check-out system, on July 5, 2020, 2,145 guests stayed in Dubrovnik, which is only 13 percent of the total number of guests last year on the same date, when 24 824 overnight stays were realized. According to the Dubrovnik Tourist Board, Dubrovnik's hotel accommodation currently has the largest number of guests from Germany, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Germans, French and Poles mostly stay in private accommodation.

Dubrovnik caterers also hoped for a better situation at the beginning of the season. The president of the Dubrovnik Association of Caterers and the owner of the Otto tavern, Ante Vlasic, says that the current income they generate will not be enough to cover basic expenses. For that, as he says, at least 20 percent of the turnover should be realized compared to last season, but much less is realized.

"Most of my colleagues generate turnover and revenue of up to 10 percent compared to last year. This roughly coincides with the number of guests coming to Dubrovnik, about which we regularly receive information from the Dubrovnik Tourist Board. Maybe that percentage is even slightly lower because we lost daily excursionists, for example, from BiH and Montenegro, and cruise guests," said Vlasic.

According to him, no one prepared for the new situation, especially because last season was a record, and a reduction in VAT was even announced for this one, which would be an additional relief for caterers.

"People have made big investments that will not pay off for them now. We expected the situation to change significantly from June, but that did not happen. For example, my store operated in June at a rate of five percent of revenue compared to June last year. The least damage is caused by catering establishments that work all year round and which mainly serve drinks, some of them work at 30 percent of the usual traffic, and some at 50 percent, which is much more, but such are only two or three bars in Dubrovnik," said Vlasic, adding that he hopes that'll change after July 15, when, according to the announcements, more planes should land in Dubrovnik. Vlasic believes that it is necessary to carry out activities that would attract guests because there are many positive examples in Europe.

"Greek Mykonos is almost full, Italy is filling up very quickly, as is the French coast, Provence, and they were in a much worse situation than ours when it comes to the epidemiological picture and the situation around the coronavirus pandemic," says Vlasic.

Compared to restaurants, coffee bars that are open all year round and frequented by the local population are somewhat better. One of them is the cafe bar 'Antika' in Lapad Bay, owned by Zlatko Begusic, otherwise the president of the Association of Craftspeople Dubrovnik.

"Traditionally, we have a lot of local people from the City who come to have a drink, but the traffic is not even close to last season, let's say it is 50 percent lower. Cafes earn less than last year, but will survive, especially those outside the city, in Gruz or Lapad. Also, last year I had six waiters because there was such a need, now I have three," said Begusic.

Private landlords are rightly particularly concerned, because, for most of them, winter means investments and preparations for the season in which everything invested should return. But that didn’t happen this year. Slavica Grkes, vice president of the professional group of travel agencies at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce and owner of the Dominium travel agency, says that the drop in their agency's turnover by July 1 is 94.67 percent. And when it comes to renting, there are some new trends.

"As far as renting is concerned, we record more reservations on Mljet and Peljesac than in Dubrovnik, and those related to Dubrovnik are mostly last-minute overnight stays for units that have parking. We are selling the cheapest and most luxurious accommodation we have to offer," said Grkes.

When it comes to prices, Grkes claims that almost everyone has lowered them, some even up to 60 percent, and some have decided not to rent their housing units for tourist purposes.

"We closed about 20 percent of the accommodation units for tourist rentals because the owners decided to rent those units for a longer period of time or not rent them at all, for fear of being infected with COVID. We hope for the arrival of planes, a better epidemiological picture, but also an extension of the measures. Everyone has mostly written off this season, but I sincerely hope and cannot come to terms with the fact that everything we have been building for years will disappear," said Grkes.

Although for many years they criticized cruise guests and the crowds in the City attributed to them, it has now been shown that they are also a very important factor in Dubrovnik tourism, which suffers losses due to the absence of cruise ships.

Thus, revenues from cruisers this year, compared to last year, are lower by 96 percent, and the Port of Dubrovnik, according to the data provided, is expected to record a decline in revenues when it comes to yachts (96 percent less revenue), lines (94 percent less revenue) and ship’s storage (63 percent less revenue).

In the port of Gruz, 362 ships that would bring about 550 thousand passengers were canceled, and nine of them were realized, with 3,532 passengers. For comparison, last year, there were 486 boat trips that brought over 768 thousand guests.

From January to May 2020, Dubrovnik-Neretva County had the most cruises in Croatia, 73.3 percent of them. The port of Dubrovnik had the most visits by foreign cruise ships, followed by Korcula, Split, Sibenik and Zadar.

In addition to the Dubrovnik Port Authority, Dubrovnik Airport also recorded losses, as did other airports around the world. According to the report of the 'European Airport Council' ACI-Europe, from January 1 to June 28, 2020, European airports lost 748 million passengers, while Croatian airports realized almost 800 thousand passengers in the first half of the year, while last year alone in June it was 1.6 million.

In the first seven days of July, 7,800 passengers and 272 aircraft landings took off at Dubrovnik Airport, which is an increase compared to the previous week by 78 percent in the number of passengers and 39 percent in the number of operations, said ZL Dubrovnik.

This may be good news in the new situation in which car destinations profit somewhat more than air destinations, including Dubrovnik. Therefore, it is not surprising that all hopes are placed on flights that could be the only ones to save this year's tourist season, reports the Dubrovnik daily.

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July 13, 2020 - According to the latest classification of foreign countries adopted by the Hungarian government, Croatia is included in the 'green' category, which means that Hungarian citizens vacationing in Croatia do not have to quarantine or present a coronavirus test upon return to their country.

Thiis news was confirmed by the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board Office in Hungary, Ivana Herceg, who emphasized that all countries are classified into three categories: red, yellow and green, reports Dalmatinski Portal.

"The Hungarian market is entering our top 10 markets and I believe that the news of Croatia's classification in the green category will further encourage our Hungarian guests to spend their holidays in our country. So far in July, Hungarians have made almost 30,000 arrivals and more than 150,000 overnight stays in Croatia, which is approximately 45 percent of the results achieved in the same period last year," said the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board, Kristjan Stanicic, noting that most Hungarians are currently in Vir, Crikvenica, Rovinj, Rab and Krk.

"At a recent meeting with the owner of the company Vir Sziget, which sells and rents real estate on the island of Vir, the great interest of Hungarian tourists in the island of Vir, but also in the whole of Croatia, was confirmed. If the current epidemiological situation remains unchanged, the Hungarian market is expected to retain an interest in traveling to Croatian destinations," said Ivana Herceg.

The visit of one of the most famous Hungarian YouTubers, Magyarosi Csaba, will certainly contribute to the greater arrival of Hungarian tourists in. Croatia. Csaba published a video about his stay titled, 'With a camper in Croatia: What is it like to travel abroad now?', which has been viewed more than 156,000 times so far, as well as two other videos on 'Life in a luxury camp' and 'What is tourism like now and how is returning home from Croatia?' which together achieved nearly 200,000 views.

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July 13, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Split Airport.

Croatian Aviation reports that the Irish national company Aer Lingus, which normally operates in the summer flight schedule to Dubrovnik, Split and Pula, has announced the launch of only one route to Croatia.

In the summer flight schedule, Aer Lingus mainly starts traffic to Croatia at the beginning of April, which was not possible this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. As the airline has announced, the Dublin - Pula line will not be in operation in July, but sales are open from mid-August, which still leaves the possibility of a complete cancellation of this line for this summer season.

It is the same with Dubrovnik - the company has been holding a line from Dublin since mid-August, as well as a new line from Cork, but the chances of starting traffic this summer season are relatively small.

The only line to Croatia that has been confirmed and should start operating soon is the Dublin - Split line, which should operate three times a week from July 20, every Monday, Wednesday and Sunday, on an A320 aircraft with a capacity of 174 passengers.

It only makes sense, as on Sunday, July 12, Split Airport recorded as many as 70 operations of commercial aircraft on domestic and international routes to this airport, as reported by Croatian Aviation.

Traffic to Split Airport was established by a number of companies, some a little earlier, back in June, but most carriers returned in early July. Of course, as it usually happens, the biggest traffic is recorded during the weekend, and this airport alone recorded over 70 landings and take-offs over the weekend.

During Sunday morning, several companies landed in Split: LOT from Katowice, easyJet from Basel and London, Scandinavian Airlines from Stockholm and Copenhagen, Croatia Airlines from Frankfurt, Lufthansa from Munich, KLM from Amsterdam, Luxair from Luxembourg and Eurowings and Transavia from Hamburg and Rotterdam.

On Sunday afternoon, British Airways, Condor, Smartwings, Austrian Airlines, Air Serbia, Transavia, Croatia Airlines, LOT, EasyJet, Windrose Airlines, Laudamotion and Lufthansa landed at the airport from numerous European destinations.

On Sunday evening, there were several more lines to Split from the following cities: Amsterdam (EasyJet and KLM), Paris (Transavia), Rome (Croatia Airlines), Dusseldorf and Cologne (Eurowings), Oslo (SAS), Zurich (Edelweiss) and London ( Wizz Air).

In total, Split had 35 lines to as many as 25 European destinations last week. Only a larger number of destinations can be expected every following week, especially until the end of August, when the peak of the season lasts.

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