July the 2nd, 2021 - Despite the fact that vaccination is going well and both infection rates and deaths are dropping, new variants of the virus continue to emerge, which is totally normal, but for some the constant headlines are becoming too much. Unfortunately, numerous Croatian accommodation cancellations have begun ever since headlines about new variants and new waves have begun to dominate once again.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Croatian Immunologist Stipan Jonjic from the Medical Faculty in Rijeka warned that there is a great risk that the illusion of normalcy, the biology of the virus and our mistakes will lead us to a catastrophic situation with coronavirus again in autumn, much like 2020.

The decision on the application of EU digital green certificates came into force in all European Union countries yesterday, and Ivana Pavic Simetin, Deputy Director of the CNIPH, said that the digital certificate is a tool that will become easier to apply over time and that it will be easier to get it as time goes on.

''One of the most logical ways to continue our life today is with this digital confirmation, and it will be easier for us to get together and do everything we like to do, like we did before,'' Pavic Simetin said while on Croatian Radio recently.

"Nothing important has changed for us except vaccination, which for now seems to be the only successful way to fight this. Viruses do tend to mutate and improve, by the end of the summer we'll probably have a few new variations. Thankfully, a variant that is completely resistant to vaccination doesn't appear to have occurred so far,'' Jonjic assured.

“However, there may be a variant that is practically completely resistant to this vaccination and then we have to look for other options. Of course, other options are new types of vaccines, new variants of vaccines that target the so-called preserved part of the viral genome, or proteome, against which the virus can do nothing, because if that part mutates, then that virus is gone. And a lot of work is being done on that,'' said Jonjic.

"Until we have a completely covered as many people as possible with vaccination and until we have a cure for COVID-19, we're left with conservative measures that are unpopular, and these are actually precautions, targeted measures to prevent the spread of the pandemic," Jonjic said, adding that he wasn't feeling optimistic, even admitting that he was feeling pessimistic with regard to the vaccination rollout and what might await us this autumn.

"I'm simply scared about this, I don't see a way that optimism will help," he said bluntly, HRT reports.

Barbara Markovic, vice president of the Croatian Association of Family Accommodation, said that due to media reports that the Delta strain would arrive in Croatia, which it already has, many would-be tourists are cancelling their Croatian accommodation for this summer season.

Pavic Simetin said that it wasn't the statements about new waves and new variants that were important, but the statistics and data.

"This is all precise data and we have to present it as we have it. Sequencing is done for us by the European Centre for Disease Control,'' she added.

Markovic said the only strategy is to motivate people to get vaccinated, but by no means shorten the tourist season with any direct dates.

"Doing the latter is how we end up seeing Croatian accommodation reservations cancelled. It's one thing to sit in the office at a comfortable 24 degrees, it's one thing to work in the field at plus 40 with guests,'' said Markovic, adding that the situation on the field is very sensitive and that tourists are inquiring about all statements made.

Pavic Simetin called on people once again to get vaccinated, adding that it is important to vaccinate children with chronic diseases and those who have people with chronic diseases in their families during the summer, and that they will prepare organised vaccinations before the beginning of the school year for kids, which will be based on the premise of volunteering.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and choose your preferred language.

April the 22nd, 2021 - The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has changed the whole world as we know it. Working from home has proven more than possible in several sectors in which it was previously unimaginable, and the leisure and tourism industry, which has taken among the hardest blows, will have to change considerably. Croatian accommodation providers will need to adapt as guest habits change and recovery begins.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, summer resorts are a growing focus of investors of late, as this segment of tourism is expected to be the first to recover after the coronavirus crisis finally draws to a close, and despite the fact that issues continue to persist seemingly unrelentingly, optimism still reigns in the sector.

That being said, investors and decision-makers must keep in mind that the pandemic has changed guest behaviour and accelerated hotel business transformation trends, primarily through the development of mixed-use resorts and residential properties, as was explained by Philip Bacon, the director of planning, development, valuation at Horwath HTL, in an interview for Hospitality Insights magazine. As Croatian tourism and Croatian accommodation providers rely heavily on summer resorts, alterations and adaptations are in the works.

This crisis is lasting longer than expected. What keeps your hopes high?

I believe there are differences between where we were a year ago and where we are today, and that tourism will continue to show resilience and introduce innovations that will save the day. It's important to keep in mind that this virus will not simply disappear, we're all going to simply have to learn to live with it. The good thing is that this isn't a demand crisis but a supply crisis, and with more than a year of working from home, we've never stopped working with our clients, helping them plan for the future and aiding them to adapt to changes in consumer behaviour brought by the pandemic.

This bizarre situation has served to accelerate some trends which were already taking place before 2020: a focus on healthcare and wellness, combining work, travel and private life anywhere in the world, the power of technology to connect people more effectively and efficiently, and the importance of truly sustainable values, especially those related to the production and consumption of energy and food. There's also the realisation that in tourism you cannot simply sit back and take anything for granted, where there are still only two types of hotels, the ones that needs to be changed and the ones that you have to demolish.

Numerous hotel companies that have developed business or city tourism are now turning to resorts. What advice would you give them?

We mustn't forget that bringing urban hotels to the beach was a good idea about 40 or 50 years ago, but that the world has changed significantly since then and guests are no longer attracted to the 20-square-metre air-conditioned room spread over several floors with narrow hallways. The way of life and the demands of guests have changed, and it is time to give people what they want, not what you already have, which is why the transformation of summer resorts across Europe has already begun. Today’s guests, especially when it comes to families and small groups, want a much more independent, residential style of accommodation, combined with excellent service when and where it's needed. As a result, more and more hotel operators are looking for a real estate concept, and this pandemic has only heightened the value of that approach.

Furthermore, it's time for a rethink in terms of the concept of health and wellness and we need to use it to create more reasons for people to come to a certain facility - the breadth and depth of the health and wellness segment is so extensive that today there's no reason not to put it at the centre of creating a measurable competitive advantage.

Which regions will be the first to return to the game when it comes to holiday tourism?

Currently, the possibility of safe travel without too many practical problems will determine the rate of re-growth for individual destinations in the short term. We're already seeing plans to create passenger corridors between countries based on a set of rules. This can create some short-term shifts in travel patterns, and of course, short trips close to home will be more popular, which could lead to rural destinations around the world being recognised as being just as attractive as beach resorts.

Places that offer a sense of space and place a real emphasis on health and wellness will be what many people are looking for now, and I believe this could become a long-term habit of guests. We'll also see a growing interest in travel involving adventurous experiences with little impact on the environment, especially to more remote regions of the world. This comes down in part to a change in generational attitudes that had already begun a few years ago, and what is interesting is the convergence of the older generation and the younger generation in terms of values ​​and behaviour. I think we’ll see more of that, as well as less strict segmentation based on age groups. What brings people together is their shared values.

How has the pandemic affected the real estate segment in the rental market?

Most of the development projects that have preoccupied me over the last year have been either combined-purpose projects (hotel and branded residences) or have focused on service apartments, either in urban centres or in resorts. Even before the pandemic struck, we knew we could work from home, and the digital nomad wasn't something simply thought up and invented last year. When travelling away from their primary place of residence, many will look for a place where they can easily set up their home offices and work.

Some guests want to stay longer than the holidays, and this will affect the operation of such resorts. We're also seeing a growing interest in residential private membership clubs, both in urban areas and in resorts. The desire to meet the people you're sharing a holiday with is stronger than ever.

Branded residences have long been a great opportunity for tourism and that's why they're still finding ready and willing buyers all over the world. That's why more and more hotel chains are entering the market of branded housing and the market of short-term and long-term rent. There are more and more projects that aren't putting much focus on the traditional hotel room, but instead are offering more flexible forms of accommodation in a residential style that can be used in multiple segments and at different times of the year.

For more on Croatian accommodation in 2021, from high end hotels to hostels and everything in between, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section.

January 21, 2021 - Croatia is the 5th most-awarded destination in the Booking.com 2021 Traveler Review Awards.

HRTurizam reports that Booking.com has announced that it will be handing out 1,147,344 Traveler Review Awards for 2021, giving recognition to partners from 220 countries based on millions of guest reviews.

In a year in which the travel sector has faced many unusual challenges, these awards recognize partners who offer accommodation and transport in 220 countries and territories.

In Croatia, 52,992 received Traveler Review Awards, which places the country among the top 5 most awarded countries in the world behind Italy (151,801), Spain (81,341), France (77,687), and Germany (63,829). Although the ranking cannot be viewed only through the number of awards, because the number of Booking partners in other countries is much higher, it is certainly clear that Croatia belongs to the top of international tourism, at least according to Booking.com.

"As less and less travel was done, each trip meant more to travelers than usual, and it became even more important to emphasize the outstanding service and hospitality shown by the Traveler Review Award winners in this extraordinary year," said Arjan Dijk, SVP and Marketing Director in booking.com and added: “In our mission to make it easier for everyone to explore the world, our partners play a critical role in providing amazing user experiences to travelers, and I know that with their perseverance, partnership and passion we can rebuild the travel sector and help even more travelers to rediscover our beautiful world over time."

Booking.com also revealed the key features of an excellent stay and the most hospitable places in Croatia.

Booking.com's Traveler Review Awards 2021 reveal data on passenger preferences in the past year and reveal that Croatian travelers value staff, cleanliness, and location the most when evaluating award-winning facilities on the platform because these three factors have the highest ratings among the categories rated by travelers after the stay.

These preferences are also in line with global trends, which show that staff with the highest-rated category are among the winners of the 2021 Traveler Review Award, followed by cleanliness and location. As users pay more attention to health and hygiene, the award winners had an average of 17% higher rating than the average rating for cleanliness in non-award winning facilities, which means that this is the main distinguishing factor for a better welcome. Another proof of the importance of the approach to tourists, which is crucial.

According to the reviews of travelers, the most hospitable places in Croatia are in Lika-Senj and Karlovac counties. At the top of the list, with the highest percentage of winners among the facilities that met the criteria, is Selište Drezničko, Karlovac County, followed by Grabovac, Karlovac County; Jezerce, Lika-Senj County; Korenica, Lika-Senj County; Slunj; Karlovac County, Smoljanac, Lika-Senj County; Otočac, Lika-Senj County; Skradin, Šibenik-Knin County and Karlovac, Karlovac County.

While hotels remain the second most awarded type of accommodation in the world for 2021, for the fourth year in a row, four of the five most awarded types of accommodation in the world are unique accommodation facilities: apartments (484,243), hotels (175,748), cottages (123,145), private accommodation (94,003), and bed and breakfasts (78,903).

The most awarded accommodation types in Croatia for 2021 include apartments, holiday homes, villas, and hotels. Bed and breakfasts, farm accommodation, country houses, lodgings, and private accommodation have made up most of the most hospitable accommodation types in the world, showing how interesting it is for travelers to stay in unique accommodation facilities. Interestingly, alternative accommodation facilities account for 30% of all new bookings in the third quarter of 2020 at the level of the entire platform.

A recent survey by Booking.com shows that almost half of Croatian passengers (51%) went by car in 2020 (which is above the world average of 24%) and that 29% of them traveled more within the country in 2020 compared to 2019, which is almost equal to the global average of 32%.

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January 15, 2020 - Booking.com announced the winners of the Traveler Review Awards 2020. Croatia is once again among the top 10 most awarded countries. 

HRTurizam reports that nearly one million awards (986,449) were awarded across 220 countries and territories. Among the ten countries with the highest award winners was Croatia, which boasts 42,763 winners.

The awards acknowledge these partners for their superior hospitality and for providing travelers with incredible experiences when booking accommodation.

Numerous countries and destinations continue to provide excellent service year after year, and in 2020, the countries with the most awards include Italy (130,253), Spain (66,755), France (61,492), Germany (49,777), Croatia (42,763), the United States (42,112), the United Kingdom (41,848), Poland (36,793), Russia (36,296) and Greece (33,259).

The spectacular increase in the number of award winners continues this year among apartments. This type of accommodation is again at the top of the list, accounting for almost 40% of winners among accommodation facilities globally in 2020.

For the third year in a row, they made up four of the five most awarded types of accommodation: apartments (380,936), hotels (179,869), private accommodation (94,162), weekend homes (82,241) and bed and breakfasts (75,875). In Croatia, the most awarded accommodation types are apartments (33827), private accommodation (3989), weekend homes (1555), villas (933) and hotels (729).

Although hotels are second in awards globally, three-quarters of all award-winning accommodations (75%) are made up of apartments and holiday homes and other unique accommodations, including options from boats and igloos to country lodging. A recent poll conducted by Booking.com on more than 22,000 travelers found that nearly two-fifths (39%) of global travelers prefer to stay in a weekend home or apartment over a hotel.

Dubrovnik, Zagreb, Opatija, Baska, Cavtat, Osijek, Cres, Korenica, Slunj, and Rakovica provided the warmest welcome on the Croatian market. 

On the other hand, the top 10 Croatian accommodations to receive the Traveler Review Awards in 2020 are Apartment Spectre, Zagreb, Embassy Row BnB, Zagreb, Studio Makala, Trogir, Momentum Apartment, Split, Apartments Beso, Makarska, Luxury Apartment Dvor, Split, Apartment Roman Heritage, Split, Neretva Valley Apartments, Metković, Apartmani Nila, Pučišća, and PREMIUM, Osijek.

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

As Index writes on the 22nd of June, 2019, with a late Easter and excessively bad weather throughout May, the beginning of the Croatian tourist season is already a bit weaker than it should be, at least according to the claims of various tourist workers.

It might seem like a bit of on obvious statement, but the bad weather in May could have affected only those tourists who had already arrived, and because of the rain and the cold, and probably the boredom that comes with such weather in places like the Dalmatian coast, many would-have-been tourists in Croatia chose somewhere with more stable May weather, such as Spain.

Speaking in the present, this year's late Easter and a very rainy May are both behind us, the heat has well and truly arrived, the school holidays have begun, and hotel owners and private renters are expecting their guests. However, they all complain that this year they are less booked up than they were last year, but in spite of those claims, they're still not talking about any specific numbers. Some say shyly that they will be ''satisfied'' if their number of bookings from tourists are only five percent less than they were last year.

As Croatia still goes on and on the most about the number of overnight stays achieved and not about the much more complex overall economic effects on the country, Index decided to check out the prices of some of the accommodation in Croatia compared to that of other, comparable Mediterranean destinations.

Umag in Croatia is more expensive than Portugal, Spain, France, and even Italy...

In its proverbial sea of options, the all powerful Google readily provides information on the average price of accommodation in three star hotels.

Of the ten Croatian destinations the aforementioned newspaper chose to check, Umag is by far the most expensive. The average price of an overnight stay in a three star hotel in Umag stands at 1211 kuna! Not only is the most expensive accommodation in Umag in Croatia, but it's also the most expensive of all the destinations that were checked - from Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco to Tunisia. The search didn't encompass Dubrovnik as Index wanted to avoid bigger cities, which would certainly be the only cities with bigger price tags than the Pearl of the Adriatic.

When it comes to competition on the Mediterranean, Umag closest to the popular Spanish island of Mallorca, where an overnight stay at a three star hotel costs 952 kuna on average. It's still 60 kuna cheaper than on the Croatian island of Krk where 1,012 kuna is needed for a bed, a bathroom and some breakfast in the morning.

Of the Croatian destinations, the cheapest is the magical island of Pag, where an overnight stay costs 610 kuna on average, Makarska is about ten kuna more expensive, and for under 700 kuna, you're looking at the island of Vis. Of course, this isn't all encompassing, but we're talking specifically about the average prices of accommodation in three star hotels.

For one night in the Croatian destination of Umag, you'll get three nights in North Africa or in Turkey.

The price of hotel accommodation is often the ''largest'' item to budget for when planning for holidays by far. It's quite easy to find cheap flights to any destination in the Mediterranean, and its often cheap even to fly to much more distant destinations.

The prices of average and below average accommodation in Croatia will have to decrease in the coming years.

The differences in price when comparing Croatian destinations to other similar destinations can hardly be justified, so the fact is, although it may seem a bit unfair to compare Croatia with the likes of Turkey, a tourism kind which subsidises its tourism a great deal, that it doesn't interest visitors.

How will Croatian destinations and their prices do over the next several years? With the return of former tourism kings such as Turkey and other countries from within Turkey's region which are recovering from conflicts, it's difficult to say what sort of sacrifices Croatia will need to make to keep hold of its beloved overnight stay count.

Make sure to follow our dedicated travel page for much more.

Croatia was among the top five countries whose accommodation facilities are most rewarded on hosting portal Booking.com.