May the 15th, 2022 - Tourism Minister Nikolina Brnjac and the Jadrolinija management board's representatives have come together as the height of the summer tourist season rapidly approaches.

As Morski writes, representatives of the Jadroilinija management board met recently at the National and University Library in Zagreb with the Minister of Tourism and Sport, Nikolina Brnjac. The meeting was held as we're now approaching the main part of the tourist year, and Minister Brnjac commented on the current tourist results and expectations from the main summer season.

Along with the President of the Jadrolinija management board, David Sopta, the meeting was attended by various representatives of the Croatian tourism sector, including members of the Croatian Tourist Board and the Council for the Recovery and Development of Tourism, as well as representatives of hotel groups and other professional associations.

''The beginning of 2022 showed an increase in the number of transported passengers and vehicles on national and international lines compared to the same period in 2021. Participating in several tourism events, increased interest in our lines was noticed, so we're very optimistic about the recovery of the market and the return of group tourist trips,'' said the President of the Management Board of Jadrolinija at the meeting.

''The results so far testify that this year we've prepared well and taken all of the necessary activities to strengthen and upgrade the position of Croatia as a desirable tourist destination with high quality and a diverse offer. It's even more important that our emitting markets increasingly recognise Croatia as a year-round destination, which is an important component in the development of the sustainability of Croatian tourism.

When we talk about the value of fiscalised receipts issued for the first four months of this year, we can be very satisfied because on average each month had an increase of 10 percent compared to the same period back during pre-pandemic 2019,'' said Minister Nikolina Brnjac, adding that she believes such good results are set to continue throughout the height of 2022's summer season when we realise 70 percent of 2019's total tourist traffic and 63 percent of that same year's total revenues.

Representatives of the tourism sector said that the demand for Croatia has been extremely good, that the country is one of the leading holiday destinations in its main emitting markets and that they believe that this summer season will continue to yield good results with continued cooperation between the Croatian Government and the entire sector.

According to the Tax Administration, in the first four months of 2022, a total of 5 billion and 457 million kuna in fiscal receipts were realised, which is 170 percent more than in the same period last year, and when compared to the first four months of 2019, the value stands at an encouraging ​​11 percent higher.

So far, more than 1.9 million arrivals and 6.2 million overnight stays have been realised across Croatia, ie 172 percent more arrivals and 154 percent more overnight stays compared to the same period back in 2021.

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September the 16th, 2021 - The Croatian Tourism Ministry, headed by Nikolina Brnjac, has praised the truly remarkable height of the summer tourist season which is now behind us. Despite the global pandemic, the sector has done incredibly well compared to last year.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, according to data from the Croatian eVisitor system, 55.3 million overnight stays have been realised in Croatia since the beginning of the year, which exceeds the number of overnight stays from the entire pandemic-dominated year of 2020, when 54.4 million overnight stays were realised in twelve whole months.

The Croatian Tourism Ministry has, in that case, every right to beat its chest, especially given the fact that most of Croatia's traditional Mediterranean competition hasn't fared anywhere near as well due to their generally less epidemiological pictures.

Of the total number of overnight stays realised throughout 2021 so far, 46.6 million were realised by foreign tourists, while 8.7 million were realised by domestic tourists. Since the beginning of this year, nine million tourist arrivals have been realised, meaning a massive 1.2 million more tourists have visited Croatia this year than last year, the Ministry of Tourism and Sport announced.

"Given the trends in the travel industry, our goal was to maintain the stability of the tourist system, preserve jobs and the recognition of Croatia as a safe tourist destination. We want to continue with these results and that's why it is important that we all continue to adhere to the epidemiological measures which remain in place. This creates the foundations for next year and the continued development of Croatian tourism.

This year has first of all shown that safety and quality are crucial for people when choosing a holiday destination, and that guests are willing to pay even more if that can be ensured. Ultimately, our desire is to create sustainable tourism in which the focus is not on the number of tourists, but on the level of quality, on tourists who will spend money on as many offers in their destinations and generate more consumption, which will further encourage new investments in tourism,'' said the Minister of Tourism and Sport, Nikolina Brnjac.

So far in 2021, there have been 46 percent more arrivals and 37 percent more overnight stays realised than in the same period last year. Compared to the same period in pre-pandemic, record 2019, 61 percent of arrivals and 72 percent of overnight stays were realised compared to the same period in that year.

More than a million tourists are currently staying in Croatia, most of the foreign tourists are Germans (297,000), Poles (81,000), Slovenes (74,000) and Italians (61,000). Most tourists are currently in Istria County (283,000), Primorje-Gorski kotar County (187,000) and Split-Dalmatia County (184,000).

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January 19, 2021 - The Croatian Tourism Ministry will award 'Safe Travel' labels to hotels and tourist facilities ahead of the 2021 Croatian tourist season.

Unlike some countries, such as Greece, Hungary, and Estonia, which have announced the introduction of COVID passports for tourists intending to visit, the Croatian Tourism Ministry has taken the view that "the COVID passport system has not been developed at the EU level" and that they will await the decision from the EU, reports Jutarnji List.

It can be learned unofficially that Croatia is not in favor of introducing COVID passports at the moment and that this will be its starting position at a virtual meeting next Thursday, at which EU heads of state or government will discuss this topic.

COVID-passport is a colloquial name for a vaccination certificate, i.e., a certificate that a person has vaccinated against coronavirus, which in some EU countries could replace rigorous measures when crossing the border, like presenting a negative PCR test or quarantine. In other words, a vaccinated tourist who has this certificate (COVID-passport) with them could enter the country without hindrance.

The idea was first put forward publicly by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who believes it will help kick-start the recovery of the tourism and travel industry. According to the draft of the new law, France envisages the introduction of 'green passports' for people who have been vaccinated. The draft law also states that those who cannot prove they are negative for COVID-19 or have not been vaccinated are "banned from certain activities and access to public transport, restaurants, cultural institutions, and other public places." Spain has also been announced that the authorities there will register their citizens who refuse to be vaccinated and share it with other EU countries.

The idea is controversial from a legal point of view because, in most countries, vaccination cannot be mandatory. On the other hand, there must be no discrimination in the rights of freedom of movement. Another problem will be that citizens still cannot decide for themselves when they will be vaccinated because there will not be enough vaccines for at least a few more months for everyone to be vaccinated.

"To introduce such a restrictive measure in Croatia, it should be acknowledged that the situation is so serious - extraordinary - that it requires quite extraordinary human rights restrictions. Since such a thing is uncommon, we would have to be in a state of a great natural disaster (Article 17 of the Constitution), so the introduction of such a measure would have to be decided by Parliament by a two-thirds majority of all deputies. Or, in other words, as long as the government claims that we have a regular state of constitutional law (Article 16 of the Constitution), this type of restriction cannot be introduced, which represents a kind of coercion," explains Djordje Gardasevic from the Department of Constitutional Law at the Faculty of Law in Zagreb.

While an agreement is awaited in Brussels, the Croatian Tourism Ministry is preparing a list of hotels and tourist facilities that will be awarded the 'Safe Travel' label as proof that they are safe for guests because they respect epidemiological protocols. In about twenty days, the Ministry will start a campaign, 'Safe stay in Croatia,' and will award these labels.

"Safety protocols are being prepared for accommodation and catering facilities, including for nautical tourism, and the label will be harmonized with the recommendations of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, which are currently in force. The labels will be awarded at the beginning of February, and the Ministry of Tourism and Sport will keep records of entities with national labels and conduct ad hoc checks on compliance with the measures," reads the official response of the Ministry of Tourism.

At the end of last summer, Croatia became one of the countries that received the WTTC seal for safe travel, created by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). The 'Safe Travel' trademark was designed to enable travelers to identify destinations and companies worldwide that have adopted global standardized health and hygiene protocols. In a way, it is a guarantee to tourists that they will stay in a facility that adheres to coronavirus control protocols.

"We will have two types of Safe Travel labels - WTTC and national - and the application of safety protocols and achieving the required level of vaccinating tourism workers and the entire population will contribute to strengthening Croatia as a desirable and safe tourist destination, where guest safety comes first," explained Ivana Crnić, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Tourism and Sport.

"The list will include hotels, marinas, family farms, private accommodation, even airports, and ferries. After all, we have already proven to be a safe destination because no tourists became infected in hotels in Croatia in the summer of 2020," said Crnić.

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March 11, 2020 - The Croatian Tourism Ministry is currently stopping all marketing actions due to the coronavirus outbreak. 

Dnevno.hr reports that Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said on Wednesday that all marketing actions in tourism are coming to a halt due to the coronavirus outbreak and that actions with a special marketing approach are being prepared for all markets when they reopen.

Furthermore, the joint action of the Croatian Ministry of Tourism and the Croatian National Tourist Board, titled "A week off is worth it", has been canceled, which was announced from 10 to 19 April. This is an action that enables all Croatian citizens to visit and get to know other parts of our country by offering half the price of all tourist products, from accommodation, transportation, sights, to catering services and different experiences.

Meetings with all tourism stakeholders will now follow, after which, in Cappelli's view, measures will be known to alleviate the coronavirus situation.

Croatia Airlines also announced that they're launching a new flexible policy for international flights until May 31, 2020.

"Following the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, Croatia Airlines introduced a more flexible travel policy for all international passengers. The policy refers to existing and newly booked tickets up to March 31st 2020. 

• passengers are entitled to date change without rebooking fee 
• travel must be completed no later than December 31st 2020
• if, the original booking class is not available on the new flight, the fare difference will be charged.

Croatia Airlines continues to monitor the situation and recommendations of the competent institutions and authorities in Croatia and abroad. 

Operations on the route Zagreb – Rome – Zagreb temporarily ceased

Croatia Airlines has suspended operations on the route Zagreb – Rome – Zagreb up until March 28th 2020.

March 4, 2020 - At the Croatian Tourism Ministry, Minister Gari Cappelli and his associates received representatives of the tourism sector (representatives of hoteliers, travel agencies, small family hotels, Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts and Tourism) to coordinate and transmit the most important information related to coronavirus and its impact on the tourism sector in Croatia.

HRTurizam reports that sector representatives reported on the situation in their fields of activity, while the Ministry of Tourism provided relevant information on procedures within its scope and at the level of state institutions.

At the meeting, it was emphasized that the situation in the tourism sector, with precautions taken and the current stagnation, which in these situations is normal and worrying, is optimistic and there is a high level of confidence on both sides. Equally, it was emphasized that the work of the Croatian Civil Protection Headquarters in Europe was praised as an example of good organization and action and will be taken over by other countries.

Also, it was concluded that in this situation, the most important is the coordinated action of the public and private sector in order to transfer information in a timely and accurate manner, the Croatian Tourism Ministry points out.

“The Government of the Republic of Croatia is aware of the importance of the tourism sector for the overall economy, which is why it is important for the Ministry of Tourism to receive information from the private tourism sector in accordance with which we will be able to take appropriate measures at the Government level and find solutions for possible assistance measures. We are keeping the coronavirus situation under control, and we are pleased to hear that the entire tourism sector is supporting the efforts made so far to overcome current challenges as effectively as possible,” said Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli.

The meeting also emphasized the application of sanitary standards in hotels and other catering establishments, which are generally important to adhere to, especially in situations where the spread of infectious diseases is possible.

Otherwise, the Croatian Tourism Ministry has placed a section on its website where visitors can find procedures and safeguards for tourism stakeholders, as well as other useful information related to the coronavirus situation.

Furthermore, Ex-Yu Aviation announced that Croatia Airlines is currently experiencing a 17% decline in booking numbers over fears associated with the coronavirus, for both international and domestic flights.

“During February we saw a modest decrease in bookings being made for March and April, as well as the coming months. This shows that our passengers are hopeful the situation with the coronavirus will improve as time passes by," the airline said.

“The situation can change for the better or worse, depending on whether the virus will further spread," Croatia Airlines concluded. 

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February 15, 2020 - The Croatian Tourism Ministry has issued a public call for grants under the 2020 Public Tourism Infrastructure Development Program, for which up to 25 million kuna has been earmarked for local and regional self-government units. The public invitation is open until May 1, 2020.

HRturizam reports that the program will co-finance projects for the development of marine and other swimming areas, the continuation of construction, upgrading, reconstruction, or renovation, as well as multimedia equipment for visitors and interpretation centers and public tourist infrastructure in the function of active tourism.

“Sustainable tourism is based on quality management of all segments within the destination, not only tourist offers and products but also tourist and other public infrastructure. That is why, through this program, we want to continuously encourage investments in creating a new attraction base and more even spatial distribution of demand. This Government has so far co-financed 267 projects through this program with almost 90 million kuna, and I believe that this year many projects will be prepared through this program that will increase the tourist attractiveness of destinations. Thus the competitiveness of all Croatian tourism,” stressed Croatian Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli.

For beach projects, the minimum amount of support is 200,000.00 kuna and the maximum is 1,000,000.00 kuna. To co-finance the continuation of Visitor Centers and Interpretation Centers, the amount ranges from a minimum of 100,000.00 to a maximum of 1,000,000.00 kuna.

The Croatian Tourism Ministry continues to co-finance the design and designation of existing and new cycling tourism, pedestrian and riding routes, procuring and installing bicycle repair service stations, procuring and installing bicycle movement/traffic counters, and arranging cycling tourist rest areas/lookouts on cycling tourism routes. The funds are intended for units of regional self-government - counties. The minimum amount of support is 100,000.00 kuna and the maximum is 500,000.00 kuna per project.

The Croatian Tourism Ministry co-finances up to 80 percent or 90 percent of the eligible/acceptable costs of implementing an individual project. The maximum amount of co-financing will depend on the index of development of local and regional self-government units.

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