Junee 12, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Zagreb and Split.

Croatian Aviation reports that from July 4, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will gradually resume flights to Zagreb and Split from Amsterdam, which has been suspended due to travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus.

The airline will restart 3 weeks of flights to Zagreb and daily flights to Split from the Dutch capital.

From July 4, the Amsterdam - Zagreb line will be introduced, three times a week, on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Embraer 190 aircraft with a capacity of 98 passengers have been announced on the route.

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From the same day, the Amsterdam - Split line will be introduced, though it will operate daily, and on Sundays even twice a day. Embraer 190 aircraft of the previously mentioned capacity have also been announced on this route.

With a gradual increase in its flight network in July, KLM will establish 78% of its originally planned number of destinations, with more than 3,000 flights departing from Amsterdam. This is 25 to 30% of the number of flights that KLM operates under normal circumstances.

KLM suggests that all passengers contact the appropriate national authorities before making any plans to check the conditions of entry and stay at the desired destination and in transit countries. In some destinations, a quarantine measure on arrival is still valid.

Furthermore, Croatian Aviation reports that Wizz Air, a low-cost airline based in Hungary, has announced the launch of three routes to Croatia, from Poland and the UK to Split.

Wizz Air currently operates only to Split in Croatia, but it is interesting that it is one of the few airlines that announced expansion at the time of the pandemic, and is opening three new bases in Europe. Unfortunately, there are no new lines to Croatia among these new announcements.

The company introduces the following lines:

London (Luton Airport) - Split, from June 15, 3 times a week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays),

Katowice - Split, from June 20, 2 times a week (Tuesdays and Saturdays),

Warsaw - Split, from June 20, 2 times a week (Tuesdays and Saturdays).

The company intends to increase the number of weekly flights from July (adding another weekly flight, on Thursdays, on the route from Katowice and Warsaw).

This low-budget carrier will use A320 aircraft with a capacity of 180 passengers on the routes to Split, and larger A321 aircraft with a capacity of as many as 230 passengers are also expected.

June 12, 2020 - A look at Hvar Town on June 11, 2020. 

Tourism hasn't quite kicked off in Croatia in the post corona era, though things could very well change by June 15 when EU orders are expected to open. For now, Croatian towns are as picturesque as ever, as the footprints of tourists are stilled washed away from last year.

While it's odd to see some of the country's most famous destinations empty in the middle of June, it does have its perks - and apart from feeling like you have the town to yourself, you'll be hard-pressed to find the beaches and coastline cleaner than they are now. 

Today, we look at Hvar Town on Thursday morning, June. 11. A 9am stroll around the town that only has only five restaurants open at the moment, and one hotel, Riva, in operation. 

9am in Hvar Town usually looks a bit different in the middle of June, as cafe crowds fill the waterfront promenade and young tourists search for the greasiest hangover cure. 

More restaurants are expected to open within the next few days, and with the announcement of 70,000 nautical tourists by the Ministry of Tourism, we shouldn't anticipate such a quiet Hvar Town for too long. 

Live vicariously through these photos and enjoy it while it lasts. 

And if you're looking to park in Hvar Town? You might not see it this cheap again:

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June 11, 2020 - Through an online form launched on the Ministry's website, 200,000 people announced their arrival in Croatia, of which 70,000 are for tourist stays.

Jutarnji List reports that given the favorable epidemiological situation, the government decided on Wednesday to open permanent border crossings for international maritime passenger traffic that were temporarily closed due to COVID-19, and to lift the temporary postponement of opening seasonal maritime border crossings.

By amending the Decree on border crossings, permanent border crossings in Umag, Poreč, Rovinj, Mali Lošinj, Korčula and Ubli are opened, as well as seasonal crossings Umag - ACI Marina, Novigrad, Sali, Božava, Primošten, Komiža, Hvar, Vis, Stari Grad on the island Hvar, Vela Luka and Cavtat.

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The State Secretary in the Ministry of the Interior, Terezija Gras, reported on the activities of the Croatian Civil Protection Headquarters and pointed out that 14 more decisions of the Headquarters are in force.

She also reported that through an online form launched on the Ministry's website, 200,000 people announced their arrival in Croatia, of which 70,000 for tourist stays, mostly from Slovenia, Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany.

The government also adopted several reports for 2019, on the work of the Croatian Employment Service, and on the work of the National and University Library in Zagreb.

In 2019, 224,187 job vacancies were received and 454,195 eligible candidates were sent to jobs. Cooperation has been achieved with 1,150 employers, Labor Minister Josip Aladrovic reported.

The Government also accepted the report on the use of funds from the budget stock of the state budget of the Republic of Croatia for April 2020.

State Secretary at the Ministry of Finance Zdravko Zrinušić reminded that the budget revision for this year reduced the budget stock from 100 to 50 million kuna, and said that in the first four months it was executed in the amount of 12.4 million kuna.

June 11, 2020 - Gari Cappelli interviewed with RTL Danas in Pula on Wednesday about nautical tourism, and the border openings with Hungary,  BiH and Serbia. 

RTL reports that when talking about holidays, Germans mostly google Croatia, according to the research of the Arbona agency. Croatia is far more interested in German tourists than tourists from Spain or Italy, and the keyword index vacation and Croatia is higher than 75 percent.

For RTL Danas, Boris Misevic spoke with the Minister of Tourism, Gari Capelli, about whether the tourist season is in sight.

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There are not many tourists in Pula, but there is nautical tourism.

"There are some 67,000 tourists in Croatia, and about 20,000 in Istria," Capelli said.

"The Prime Minister has agreed on all the details and the Hungarians are coming to us as early as this Friday, the border with Hungary is opening, next Monday with Austria and those dozen countries that we listed will open around June 15. We also had the right to open the most important market for us next week, which covers 55 percent of Croatia's turnover," revealed Capelli.

He revealed what happened to the borders with BiH and Serbia.

"At the level of the European Union, it has been agreed that we will open within the EU borders around June 15, and then third countries. It will certainly be open by the end of June, especially hoteliers in Makarska and this part, so they called me personally in the last few days. They insist on opening to Bosnia and Herzegovina as soon as possible because there is a lot of interest, I think that we will open the border with BiH as soon as possible, sometime around the 22nd, 23rd at the latest," Capelli said.

ZAGREB, June 10, 2020 - Small border crossings between Croatia and Slovenia, which have been closed for nearly three months due to the coronavirus epidemic, could soon reopen, the Slovenian police said on Wednesday.

As Lado Bradac of the Slovenian Interior Ministry told Slovenski Radio, some border crossings might reopen as early as Monday, June 15, followed by the remaining ones reopening by June 29.

These are 27 land border checkpoints along the Croatia-Slovenia border primarily intended for the local population: persons owning land and property in both states and those employed across the border who have to cross the border every day to go to work.

These are interstate crossings that cannot be used by third-country citizens, that is those outside the European Union.

The closure of small border crossings has been causing a lot of problems to the local population on both sides.

To go to work, to work in the fields and vineyards across the border, to visit relatives or friends, they had to use larger international crossings, often kilometers away from the crossing nearest to them.

June 10, 2020 — Hungary will on Friday drop a mandatory 14-day self-isolation rule for all citizens returning from Croatia.

Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjártó said those arriving from Croatia will no longer have to self-quarantine for two weeks upon their return. Starting Friday, travelers coming from Croatia do not have to quarantine themselves. The border between Hungary and Croatia was as good as closed, with epidemiological rules convinced many would-be tourists to stay at home. 

Szijjártó said new infections were under control in most of Central Europe, creating a chance to slowly reopen.

“For us, protecting the lives and health of the Hungarian people is the number one consideration, but as the Hungarian people have been particularly disciplined in recent weeks and months during the peak of the pandemic in Hungary, we have the opportunity to lift previous restrictions," the minister said.

The region’s epidemiological restrictions have varied wildly, with Austria and other neighbors taking small steps towards reopening, while Slovenia declared itself cured of COVID-19 and rushed for the Croatian border.

Hungary walked that tightrope as well. A week ago, national chief physician Cecília Müller declared quarantine mandatory for all vacation goers upon their return.

Szijjártó added, they had previously opened the border to Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Serbia, and none of the border openings had caused a negative turn in the spread of the virus. Thus, from Friday, Hungarian and Croatian citizens will be able to travel to the two countries without restrictions at all seven common border crossing points.

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June 10, 2020 — The head of the National Civil Protection Headquarters and Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said about 160,000 tourists have submitted paperwork to enter the country, alongside the 65,000 already in Croatia.

“At the moment, Croatia is de facto the only one in the EU with tourism,” Božinović said in an interview with RTL. “We have crowds at the borders. First, they all receive clear warnings at border crossings. As far as local communities are concerned, these services are not accidentally called emergency services. They are always ready to react.”

The minister described how the epidemiological measures would work over the summer, for example, if there were too many crowds on the beaches.

“The Croatian Institute of Public Health prepared instructions for both beach concessionaires and tourist workers,” Bozinovic said.

He said that everyone who deals with tourism has clear instructions that should be followed.

“I am sure that it is in everyone's interest to adhere to them as much as possible and that is a guarantee that we will be as successful this season as we have been successful in the last three months,” he concluded.

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June 10, 2020 - Croatia's islands have some fantastic bargains right now, but few are taking advantage of them. One major factor are the ferry prices. 

The island of Hvar has never been more idyllic.

Or as affordable. 

I have not been to Hvar Town yet (but will be filming there tomorrow), but stories of cocktails at 25 kuna and just 37 registered guests are incredible. 

And apparently true. 

If you have never visited Hvar but always dreamed of doing so, you will have no more enjoyable or affordable opportunity than this summer. 

As I wrote back on March 25, 2020 in Hope v Reality: Will There Be a 2020 Tourist Season in Croatia?,

'Competition for tourists after coronavirus is going to be INSANE.'

Greece, Italy, Spain, Egypt, France, Turkey, Tunisia, Montenegro and many other countries have very large tourism industries, all of which are in a similar situation as Croatia. They will all be trying extra hard to grab whatever they can from the smaller pot of potential tourists. And one of the key weapons they will fight with is one where Croatian tourism is not particularly competitive. 

Price. 

So how are our tourism gurus dealing with the price war? From the official Ministry of Tourism website on May 28, 2020:

That's right. State-owned ferry company Jadrolinija decided to play its part in the fight for Croatia's breathing tourism by not raising prices this year. They did not reduce them either, just kept them the same. 

This was spun on the official ministry website as good news, somehow. 

So how does it look on the ground?

Those hotels which are open are almost empty right now, and there are some quite sensational offers. 8 days on the water in Jelsa, half-board at Hotel Fontana, just 1,680 kuna per adult (about 220 euro each), with one child free, the second child half price. Here is the link if you want to book. 

With such great deals, locals who have a little cash might be able to afford the sunshine island for the first time in years. It will be an incredible summer on Hvar, and I genuinely cannot remember it being so beautiful or tranquil - similar I expect to the first years after the Homeland War. 

Great to see the State ferry company recognising that and making it as easy as possible. That family of four could have the holiday of a lifetime on Hvar, bringing their bikes, for just 4,200 kuna for all four, half board, plus ferry crossings.

Ah yes, the ferry crossing from Split to Stari Grad. A return ticket to costs 2 x 460 kuna for your family car with bikes, 4 x 39 kuna for the adults return, and 4 x 19.50 for the kids. The total price comes to 1,152 kuna, more than 25% of the entire holiday cost. 

With disposable cash very limited for many families, that 25% could be better spent on a similar hotel deal on the mainland coast. The hotels there are also very empty, and there is plenty of space at the beach. 

And spare a thought for the tourism industry on the island of Lastovo. 

The fact that the Ministry of Tourism reports no increases in ferry prices as news worthy of publishing on its website tells its own story. 

Just an idea, but with Hvar and other islands this affordable, how about reducing the ferry prices 50%? You may find that twice as many people come, which would mean no lost revenue for the State company. And it might give some island businesses a chance to survive. 

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June 10, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Zadar, Split and Dubrovnik.

Croatian Aviation reports that Irish low-cost carrier Ryan air has announced it is resuming lines to many destinations in Europe, including Croatia.

From the beginning of July, the company will start flying to numerous destinations again, and Zadar Airport has been the most frequent host of Ryanair aircraft for many years.

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It will be the same from July, when the company will resume as many as ten lines from Zadar:

Zadar - Vienna, twice a week (Mondays and Fridays) from 03.07.,

Zadar - Brussels, once a week (Thursdays), from 02.07.,

Zadar - Prague, once a week (Saturday), from 04.07.,

Zadar - Berlin, once a week (Thursdays), from 02.07.,

Zadar - Cologne, once a week (Sunday), from 05.07.,

Zadar - Dusseldorf, twice a week (Tuesdays and Saturdays), from 04.07.,

Zadar - Karlsruhe, twice a week (Tuesdays and Saturdays), from 04.07.,

Zadar - Stuttgart, once a week (Sunday), from 05.07.,

Zadar - Milan, twice a week (Mondays and Fridays) from 03.07.,

Zadar - Poznan, once a week (Sunday) from 05.07.

Apart from Zadar, flights from other airports in Croatia have also been announced:

Dubrovnik - Dublin, twice a week (Wednesdays and Sundays) from 01.07.,

Split - Dublin, twice a week (Tuesdays and Saturdays) from 04.07.,

Split - Stuttgart, once a week (Sunday) from 05.07.,

Rijeka - London, once a week (Monday) from 06.07.,

Pula - Berlin, once a week (Saturday) from 04.07.,

Pula - Brussels, once a week (Monday) from 06.07.,

Pula - London, twice a week (Thursdays and Sundays) from 02.07.

Ryanair additionally canceled certain routes to Croatia and significantly reduced the number of weekly flights in July. Dubrovnik remained on one line, just like Rijeka, and several lines from Pula were canceled. Zadar was supposed to have almost 40 lines this summer, but this July, it will have only 10.

Ryanair currently has affordable flight prices, return tickets can be purchased for as little as 23 euro for a trip in July, and the promotion is valid until June 11 this year.

Furthermore, Luxair, Luxembourg's national carrier, has announced the resumption of its scheduled flights to destinations in Europe, according to Croatian Aviation.

Among others, international routes to Croatia are among the first to be launched to three Croatian airports: Zadar, Split and Dubrovnik.

Earlier in the summer flight schedule, Luxair also operated on the Luxembourg - Brač route, once a week, but this route was canceled and is not on sale in this summer flight schedule either.

The company reintroduces the following lines to Croatia:

Luxembourg - Zadar, from June 20, once a week, every Saturday,

Luxembourg - Split, from June 21, once a week, every Sunday,

Luxembourg - Dubrovnik, from June 20, once a week, every Saturday (from July 4, an additional flight is introduced on Wednesdays).

Luxair will operate on all the above routes to and from Croatia with the DashQ400 aircraft, which has a capacity of 76 passengers in the fleet of this carrier. The company also has larger capacity aircraft in its fleet, B737-700 and B737-800, but for now, it does not plan to use them on routes to Croatia.

Finally, Croatia Airlines has announced the flight schedule from June 22, with the addition of international flights from Split airport.

Croatian Aviation reports that Croatia Airlines will introduce five international routes from Split, four to destinations in Germany and one to Switzerland.

Apart from Split, Croatia Airlines will introduce numerous international routes from Zagreb from June 15.

As of June 24, the Split-Frankfurt route will be introduced with two weeks of departure, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, of the A319 aircraft.

From June 27, the Split - Dusseldorf route will be introduced, once a week, on Saturdays, by A319 aircraft.

From the same date, the Split - Berlin route will be introduced, also once a week (Saturdays), by A319 aircraft.

As of June 26, the Split - Munich route will be introduced with two weeks of departure, on Fridays and Saturdays, for the 76-seat DashQ400 aircraft.

From the same date, the Split - Zurich line will be introduced, also with two weeks of departure (Friday and Saturday) by DashQ400 aircraft.

From June 24, the Croatian national airline will operate on five international routes from Split, and one domestic, between Split and Zagreb.

Split Airport currently has the most announcements of airlines in the summer flight schedule.

ZAGREB, June 9, 2020 - Austria will reopen its borders to Italy and lift a quarantine requirement for travellers from over 20 other European countries, including Croatia next week, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

Austria will reopen its borders to Italy and lift a quarantine requirement for travellers from over 20 other European countries next week, officials were quoted by Reuters as saying on Tuesday.

This is the direction in a further easing of restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus.

"The decision should in particular ease tensions with Italy after Austria singled out its southern neighbour for continued coronavirus-related checks given Italy's high number of COVID-19 infections and deaths," Reuters says.

Austria, which borders eight countries, had lifted coronavirus-induced border restrictions last week for all of them except Italy, which prompted Rome to say such "individualist" solutions risked damaging the image of the 27-nation European Union.

As of June 16 Austria will lift controls on travel from more than two dozen countries including popular holiday destinations Greece and Croatia, the officials said on condition of anonymity, meaning arrivals from those countries would neither have to go into a two-week quarantine nor show a negative test. The Foreign Ministry and Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's office declined to comment., according to Reuters

Earlier in the day Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said that he had discussed the matter with Chancellor Kurz.

Plenkovic: Austrian govt to lift restrictions on arrivals from Croatia

The Austrian government will lift restrictions on arrivals from Croatia as of mid-June, Prime Minister Plenkovic announced after speaking with his Austrian counterpart.

"We agreed that tomorrow the Austrian government will adopt a decision on lifting restrictions on movement for people between Croatia and Austria as of mid-June," Plenkovic tweeted after speaking with Chancellor Kurz.

Anyone travelling from Croatia to Austria cannot enter Austria without restrictions whereas Croatia has opened its borders to 10 EU countries, including Austria.

Passengers from Croatia can now enter Austria upon presenting a negative test to coronavirus no older than four days which needs to be issued in either German or English. Croats, resident in Austria, can also enter that country but are required to spend 14 days in self-isolation.

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