March the 10th, 2022 - Without an increase in Croatian tourism sector employee wages, the very existence of some companies and businesses could well be called into question, especially following two years of coronavirus-induced stagnation.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, after two years of stagnation in the material rights of workers in the Croatian tourism sector, this year, all major domestic tourism companies have decided to make a significant step forward in increasing the material rights of their workers.

Valamar, Plava Laguna, Aminess, Maistra, Jadran and LRH will all pay their employees the maximum non-taxable amount as allowed by current tax regulations, and their salary increase will be from 5.5 to as much as 50 percent for certain jobs.

The main reason is the chronic shortage of workers who began to threaten the survival of this sort of business, as was pointed out by the unions in the Croatian tourism sector. Although the unions welcomed the decisions of these employers in the announcements that have been being made over recent days, they still made sure to note that they were forced to take this route, and it isn't because of some deep desire to do so.

They also noted that last year, due to the uncertain tourist season until the summer arrived, accompanied by a lack of workers, workers' rights were violated on a large scale.

The unions and the inspections were biting their nails often because that year was difficult for everyone, but this year there will be no procrastination, Marina Cvitic, president of the Trade Unions of Istria, Kvarner and Dalmatia, explained.

"We do need to be honest and say that this increase in wages is primarily the result of the situation on the labour market. From 2010 to 2019, salaries increased from 2 to a maximum of 4 percent. At that time, all companies operating within the Croatian tourism sector achieved very good results with a profit of millions, acquisitions were made, investments were made in facilities, there was money for everything except the employees. As such, there was no major employment for an indefinite period, on the contrary, the number of permanently employed workers only decreased as the elderly retired,'' recalled Marina Cvitic.

All this drove these workers out of Croatia, not only seasonal workers, but also permanent, very high quality workers. At the time when the migration of workers within the EU was made possible, many workers emigrated.

"At the end of last year alone, it could be sensed that employers intended to be much more generous this year compared to the years before the pandemic. So today we have a situation in which companies within the Croatian tourism sector have poorer results than they did before the pandemic, and yet employee salary increases and other material rights are much higher. The attitude towards workers in most companies has changed significantly. Back at the end of 2021, the number of workers on permanent contracts increased significantly. The number of permanent seasonal workers who are allowed to have an employment relationship and certain incomes throughout the year has also increased.

As a rule, a contract is no longer concluded with seasonal workers for a month or two, but for a longer period of time. One-time non-taxable awards are usually given in the most intense seasonal months,'' explained Cvitic.

The union attributes a significant role to itself in creating this wage policy, including an initiative to provide free meals to local workers, and to make adjustments to transportation fees. However, violations of workers' rights are still almost normal among small employers.

For more, check out our business section.

March the 9th, 2022 - The beautiful town of Opatija which is situated along Kvarner's dramatic coastline is breaking records it set back in pre-pandemic 2019, offering a more than encouraging insight into Croatian tourism recovery as a whole. Opatija tourism figures certainly don't have much to complain about so far in 2022 as we move forward.

Opatija tourism numbers are looking excellent for the month of February 2022, and this beautiful town which boasts stunning Austro-Hungarian architecture, beautiful views and an ease of connectivity to many places across the rest of the country, including Rijeka and Zagreb, looks as if it has a promising tourist year ahead of it.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, after a record January, Opatija tourism only continued to record excellent figures during the month of February according to data obtained by the Opatija Tourist Board.

In the spirit of Valentine's Day and as a town that is undoubtedly romantic, Opatija tourism did very well. Opatija, sometimes referred to as Abbazia in Italian, attracted an impressive 14,413 guests who realised an even better number of 34,108 overnight stays, thus surpassing the pre-pandemic 2019 result. In February 2022, there was an increase of 11 percent in the number of overnight stays in Opatija, while compared to last year, this growth is at a very encouraging 141 percent.

The most numerous guests making up these Opatija tourism numbers were guests from the rest of Croatia, followed by tourists from Slovenia, Austria, the United States of America, Italy and Germany.

Back in February, Opatija's guests most often chose hotels for their holidays, and 86 percent of the total number of overnight stays registered were spent in hotel accommodation, with 12 percent being recorded in private accommodation.

For the second month in a row, Opatija was the most visited destination in all of the gorgeous Northern Adriatic region of Kvarner and among the most visited in all of Croatia.

For more, check out our dedicated travel section.

March 6th, 2022 - Jadran Crikvenica investments which have been being pumped into this hotel company will now finally result in pay rises for employees.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, the company Jadran Crikvenica will increase its staff salaries by 12 percent from April the 1st this year, as was agreed between the social partners of the Trade Unions of Istria, Kvarner and Dalmatia and STUH with that company's administration.

In addition, workers in hotel operations for the most intensive period of the season, ie from June the 1st to September the 30th, will have their net salaries increased by six percent, and all workers for the months of June, July and August will be paid an additional bonus of 1,000 kuna per month, or, depending on how well the season goes, payment is possible for September as well. The move follows intensive Jadran Crikvenica investments.

Recognising the concerning continuous increase in fuel prices, it was agreed to increase the transport fees, and in addition to workers with a contract of indefinite duration, the right to additional health insurance, which includes an annual preventive systematic examination (with any needed treatment), will now be exercised by permanent seasonal workers. as well as workers with an employment contract lasting one year or more.

Depending on the course of the season and the results achieved, by the end of the year, Jadran Crikvenica investments will result in additional sums of cash being paid out, such as Christmas bonuses, holiday pay, kids' bonuses and so on.

As was pointed out in a recent announcement from the Trade Union, with such an increase in salaries and other agreed material rights of workers, Jadran d.d. Crikvenica has approached the salary amount of workers in major tourism companies across the Republic of Croatia, after years of stagnation due to bankruptcy and a period of recovery after bankruptcy, when the greater focus was primarily placed on investment in facilities and less in staff.

"If it weren't for the coronavirus pandemic, we're convinced that workers' salaries and working conditions would be even better. At SIKD, we're satisfied with the agreement reached, especially due to the new circumstances which have arisen in Europe. We expect that the tourist season will be good, and we believe that this is just the beginning of a step forward in a significant increase in wages and other material rights, and that the Jadran Crikvenica has finally become a recognisable and desirable company, not only for tourists but also for workers,'' they said from the union.

For more, check out our business section.

March the 4th, 2022 - Zagreb February tourism is continuing the positive trend seen so far this year which makes a very pleasant change when compared to what we've been seeing over the last two years as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, according to the Zagreb Tourist Board (TZGZ), the Croatian capital recorded 137 percent more arrivals and 105 percent more overnight stays in February than it did back in pandemic-dominated February 2021, during which many countries were still in lockdown and severe restrictions on travel were in force.

Luckily for Zagreb February tourism for 2022, an impressive total of 45,082 arrivals and 104,104 overnight stays were registered, and, in addition to Croatian guests, most overnight stays were made by guests from: Russia, Italy, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. In February, there were 31,337 overnight stays realised by Croatian tourists, which is an increase of 35 percent when compared to February last year, and foreign guests realised 72,767 overnight stays, an increase of 164 percent. Out of the total number of arrivals, 16,231 (representing growth of 43 percent) and foreign tourists 28,851 (representing growth of 277 percent).

On that occasion, Martina Bienenfeld, director of the Zagreb Tourist Board, said: "We're pleased that February has continued the upward trend and that we are, in total, during the first two months of 2022 at 90 percent of the amount of overnight stays realised during the same period back in 2019. In real terms, in January and February, we recorded 87,915 arrivals and 211,307 overnight stays, which is an increase of 155 percent in arrivals and 119 percent in overnight stays when compared to the first two months of 2021.

We're also seeing a gradual recovery in business, the so-called MICE segment. Namely, based on the data collected during 2021, the Zagreb Tourist Board recorded a total of 664 business meetings, which is an increase of 28 percent more meetings than in 2020. In addition, we're pleased with two recent independent studies where our city has achieved great results compared to other European and global cities. One is the Ovo Network survey, according to which Zagreb ranks fourth as a destination for families with children (https://bit.ly/3Mdj3TH), and the other is the Holidu.co.uk survey (https://bit.ly/3pubpLc ) according to which Zagreb is in tenth place as the safest city to travel to for women.''

While Zagreb February tourism numbers are of course worth celebrating, we can't forget to mention the horrendous situation taking place in Ukraine as a result of the unjustified Russian invasion of that country around a week ago. The Zagreb Tourist Board has compiled all the information on the reception of Ukrainian refugees in the area of ​​the City of Zagreb on its website. The information is available in Ukrainian, English and Croatian, and it summarises instructions on accepting and assisting Ukrainians who have been forced to leave their homes.

For more, check out our travel section.

March 3, 2022 - Travel bookings in Split-Dalmatia County have slowed down by almost 50% so far due to the war in Ukraine. 

After the tourist market began to recover from the corona crisis, some six hundred kilometers from Croatia, Russia invaded Ukraine. 

This will certainly affect guests coming from the Ukrainian and Russian markets. After all, Russian planes can no longer fly in most European countries, including Croatia. But what about the others? For now, it’s hard to say, but Dalmaciija Danas reveals that there could be a reduction in tourist arrivals from distant markets.

The Minister of Tourism and Sports, Nikolina Brnjac, held a coordination meeting with representatives of the largest hotel groups in Croatia. In addition, the possibilities of accommodating refugees from war-torn Ukraine were discussed.

The impact of this crisis on current bookings from the most important markets was also discussed at the meeting. A statement from the Ministry states that bookings are in a slight decline, but it is still good, and it is difficult to talk about estimates in this situation.

"We had already started the preparatory activities for this tourist year before these unpleasant events, and we will adjust them following the further development of this difficult situation, which we all hope will be completed as soon as possible," Brnjac concluded and added that promotional activities on the Russian market have been completely suspended.

Ukrainian tourists recorded 145,568 arrivals, and 857,482 overnight stays in Croatia last year, while Russian tourists achieved 145,592 arrivals and 800,979 overnight stays in 2021. 

The Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board explained that the war in Ukraine slowed down tourist reservations by almost 50 percent, adding that only six days had passed since the war began, so it was too early to say from which markets the decline was most significant.

“During the pandemic, people learned how to behave in emergencies, so 'last-minute bookings' have become a common way of doing business in tourism. This means that if the war ends and the situation stabilizes, reservations will return very soon; that is, tourism will return to normal," the Tourist Board said. 

Alijana Vukšić, director of the Split Tourist Board, said that the events in Ukraine would undoubtedly have consequences for the tourism sector.

"Especially when it comes to tourist traffic from distant markets in which travelers view Europe as a whole. How much impact it will leave on tourist traffic between European countries depends on the further course of events," she told Slobodna Dalmacija and added:

"Last year, more than ten thousand tourist arrivals were made by Russians in Split and more than six thousand tourist arrivals from Ukraine. However, it is difficult at this moment to predict the return of tourists from the mentioned markets because it will depend exclusively on the geopolitical situation, which we hope will stabilize as soon as possible," the director concluded. 

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 24 Feb 2022 - Croatian Tourism Association director Veljko Ostojić said on Thursday that after two years of the pandemic, the latest events in Ukraine brought another period of insecurity and uncertainty.

Any war situation, regardless of the vicinity, deters from travel, he told Hina, adding that at the moment it is impossible to predict how the Russia-Ukraine crisis will impact Croatia's tourism.

He said one could expect bookings on the main markets to slow down in the days ahead, but is confident in last-minute bookings as in the last two years.

Croatia's big advantage is that it's predominantly an auto destination and very safe, which will be important in preparing for the summer season, Ostojić said.

The Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ), which has an office in Moscow covering Ukraine as well, told Hina that next week more would be known about the impact of Russia's attack on Ukraine on travel from the two countries. The Tourism Ministry concurred.

According to HTZ data, 145,000 Russians visited Croatia in 2021, generating 800,000 nights, respectively 94% and 80% of the figures registered in 2019, a record year for Croatia's tourism.

Ukrainians generated 146,000 arrivals and 857,000 nights, respectively 4% and 2% more than in 2019.

This year to date 2,000 Ukrainians visited Croatia, generating 12,000 nights, up 47% and 53% on the year respectively.

 For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

February the 24th, 2022 - A plan to bring down the sometimes insufferable crowds in busy Croatian tourist destinations is currently in the works as hopes for a good summer and an even better epidemiological picture this year grow.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, busy Croatian tourist destinations that want to reduce tourist crowds and make life easier for residents and visitors alike will soon have a so-called ''heat map'' or destination control panel, a tool that measures the concentration of tourists in a particular place in real time.

The tool was developed as part of a European project in which the Croatian Institute of Tourism is also participating, and last summer it was tested out by the very busy cities of Venice, Bari, Ferrara, Sibenik and, unsurprisingly when it comes to crowding issues - the City of Dubrovnik.

Cameras and sensors

“Tourist movement data is made available in real time thanks to the cameras and sensors installed exclusively for this purpose in each of the partner cities. The collected data provides an opportunity for users of the destination control panel, such as local authorities, tourist boards, etc., to make short-term forecasts of tourist movements, and accordingly make appropriate decisions that directly affect the relief of city centres and cultural heritage sites, redirecting tourists to less visited parts of a given city,'' the Institute of Tourism explained.

The heat map to control busy Croatian tourist destinations is one of the tools developed within the Interreg project S.LI.DES. (Smart strategies for sustainable tourism in Lively cultural DEStinations), which is being implemented until June this year with a budget of 2.5 million euros attached to it.

The project holder is the Ca ’Foscari University of Venice, and the Institute of Tourism is one of the ten partners in the project. In addition to the system for monitoring the movement of tourists, the project has developed a prototype system for analysing various aspects of heritage management, those related to identifying the potential of intangible cultural heritage in various destinations.

According to the Institute, based on the results collected during the pilot actions, the partner cities will plan a joint strategy aimed at encouraging the sustainable development of urban spaces. All of the project's results will be made publicly available and applicable in other interested tourist destinations, especially destinations that struggle with the problem of excessive tourism and congestion in city cores during the high tourism season.

A series of innovative events

Dino Karadjole, the director of the Sibenik Tourist Board, explained how the pilot project was carried out. “The pilot conducted in Sibenik in the summer of 2021 was organised through eight Thursdays in July and August. We had a number of various innovative events where we promoted tangible and intangible cultural heritage, workshops, screenings of a short film, a guided tour called ''Stories from Sibenik's cuisine'', trade fairs and art evenings.

On top of that, we tried out giving some of the partner institutions, such as the Museum of the City of Sibenik and the interpretation centre of the Cathedral of St. James, free admission,'' explained Dino Karadjole.

Through the ''control destination board'' in Sibenik, they then tested the concentration of tourists and locals in a certain period of time on Thursday compared to another day of the week, and compared the differences between a day full of content and activities compared to everyday life on another ordinary day. They were especially interested in whether the existence of the content in the time interval from 18:00 to 21:00 would increase the number of visitors, or motivate them to come to the city a little earlier than usual.

The results of counting tourists using four different camera counters really showed that there was an increase in the number of tourists in that period and that the cameras recorded an increase. Karadjole pointed out that there is a good basis for further research and application of a smart control panel for informed resource management and planning assistance, especially when it comes to notoriously busy Croatian tourist destinations.

For more, check out our dedicated travel section.

February the 22nd, 2022 - The new and updated version of the frequently-praised Croatian eVisitor system has been created as part of the much wider Croatian Digital Tourism project.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, as part of the Croatian Digital Tourism project, which is being carried out by the Ministry of Tourism and Sport and co-financed by the European Union (EU) within the Competitiveness and Cohesion Operational Programme 2014-2020 from the European Regional Development Fund, a new and upgraded version of the Croatian eVisitor system was created, which is intended for the registration of tourist traffic and for the calculation and control of tourist tax collection.

"One of the segments of the Croatian Digital Tourism project is the upgrade of the award-winning Croatian eVisitor system in order to be even more efficient and better adapted to the needs of its users. New functionalities have been introduced that will improve business processes, so it will no longer be necessary to physically go to the tourist board to register a non-commercial facility (cottage), and communication between landlords and tourist boards has been improved. Ultimately, the Croatian Digital Tourism project will create a complete digital story, a set of innovative tools to facilitate the business of stakeholders in the tourism system.

The Croatian Digital Tourism Project, along with the Croatian eVisitor system, envisages the development and improvement of public e-services in tourism through TURegistar - a Central Register for Hospitality and Tourism Services, TUStart - Registration of activities and business start-ups in the field of tourism and hospitality, TURiznicu - an allocation system available support in tourism and Croatia.hr - Tourist Information Portal,'' said the Minister of Tourism and Sport, Nikolina Brnjac.

The Croatian eVisitor system has positioned the country at the very top of the world in terms of innovative technological solutions when it comes to tourism, and the most significant innovations include a completely new design that is in line with the design of the wider Croatian Digital Tourism project. Additionally, it has been made possible to display basic information about tourist membership fees, download payment slips for said tourist membership fees, and it is now easier to edit and post pictures of accommodation facilities on the Croatia.hr portal.

"The Croatian eVisitor system is a domestic product that makes this country unique in comparison with the rest of the world. The fact that this is an exceptional technological solution has been confirmed with the winning of an award from the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), which this project won in the category of innovation in research and technology. Now we've further upgraded and improved the system, functions have been introduced that will further contribute to the ongoing development of the Croatian tourism sector, while for many users the system will be an even more powerful tool in developing tourist offers, ie defining their marketing and promotional activities,'' explained CNTB director Kristjan Stanicic.

Additional connections with other systems and institutions are planned, such as the Joint Land Registry and Cadastre Information System, the State Inspectorate, the OIB system, etc, while the connection with the Central Tourist Register will significantly change the current process of the registration of commercial facilities. On top of that, the business of tourist boards, private renters and other users of the Croatian eVisitor system will be greatly facilitated and improved.

For more, check out our travel section.

February the 18th, 2022 - 2022 Kvarner tourism has been presented to the Slovakian and Czech markets from which Croatia typically sees a lot of tourist traffic. Although the pandemic is likely to still affect many travel plans this year, the country is hoping for a good season.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, with a virtual presentation for representatives of Czech and Slovak agencies, the Kvarner Tourist Board, the Croatian National Tourist Board (CNTB/HTZ) and the CNTB Representation for the Czech Republic and Slovakia started a new cycle of presentations, which will probably continue in virtual form this year, as has been the case for many such things since the spring of 2020.

The presentation which showcases 2022 Kvarner tourism for the aforementioned markets was attended by about 30 representatives of varying Czech and Slovak agencies.

"We used the presentation as an opportunity to introduce agents to the novelties for 2022 Kvarner tourism with an emphasis placed on the large investment of Czech capital in the construction of Hilton Rijeka Costabella Beach Resort & Spa and the continuation of the ultra-popular railway line of the Czech carrier RegioJet," said Kvarner Tourist Board Director Irena Persic Zivadinov.

Guests from the Czech Republic realised more than 100,000 arrivals and almost 700,000 overnight stays back in 2021, which was very encouragingly at the record levels set back in pre-pandemic 2019, while guests from Slovakia achieved twice as much traffic as they did back in 2020.

The Kvarner region has been enjoying the status of one of the most popular foreign tourist destinations on the Czech and Slovak markets for years now, and the presentation of 2022 Kvarner tourism will likely draw many more people back.

In addition, the favourite car destinations for guests from the Czech Republic are Croatia and Slovakia, and for guests from Slovakia, those destinations are Croatia and the Czech Republic, which speaks of the traditional connection between them all.

For more, check out our travel section.

February the 18th, 2022 - European tourists after an early summer break are choosing Croatia more and more frequently, and although the pandemic is still very much around, the situation has altered drastically across the continent and travel for leisure has been made far easier for the vaccinated.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, although due to the still current global coronavirus pandemic and the currently circulating Omicron variant of the novel virus, Europeans' intentions to travel across borders are still slightly lower than they were last summer, they are significantly higher than they were a year ago, which makes the prospect of early summer tourist traffic very optimistic. An early summer break in Croatia could be just what many tourists need.

Longer trips are expected this year, during which tourists will of course spend more, covid certificates aren't as important to travellers as they were last year, and so far travellers are most attracted to enjoying a beach holiday somewhere along the coast where they will indulge in new experiences and local culture.

Croatia is the sixth most popular tourist destination for Europeans wanting an early summer break, behind the traditionally leading countries of France and Spain, Italy, Germany and Greece, behind which Croatia is only just lagging. And when it comes to Croatian tourism itself, the biggest hit this summer season could once again be tourists from Poland, for whom the country remains the number one choice.

These are the results of the latest research conducted for the European Commission (EC) for Travel in December by Mindhause (Monitoring Sentiment for Domestic and Intra-European Travel - Wave 10), with a detailed analysis of the current sentiment in Europe's leading emitting markets.

It turned out that concrete bookings made back in December 2021 were still relatively low, and early booking is still slow. Although 36 percent of Europeans are planning a trip in the months of May and June, only 17 percent have already made a reservation for an early summer break.

Despite this, as many as 61 percent of respondents in this survey are optimistic about travel in the period up to early July, with 50 percent of travel in this period planned within Europe itself.

Another positive trend is the intention of travellers to stay longer and spend more money when at their chosen destination. The propensity to travel longer than 10 nights is up 38 percent from a previous survey taken back in September, while the share of travellers planning to spend more than 2,000 euros is up 31 percent, especially among those planning to travel in May or June 2022.

For 63 percent of travellers, a holiday is the main motivator for travel, although the business segment is also showing gradual progress for the first time since autumn 2020. In the next few months, 15 percent of respondents expect to travel to attend a meeting, conference or event.

Although Europeans are eager to travel, they're postponing the booking process in hopes of enjoying more freedom and mobility later on, without the need for testing and quarantine, which is still being sought to some degree or another by several countries if you're not vaccinated.

Travel planning is therefore being extended once again, and the booking framework is being expanded - only 4 out of 10 future travellers have chosen their destination but have not yet booked, while only 19 percent have partially booked transport or accommodation for their next trip.

The Germans are a little hesitant...

Croatia is in the five most popular destinations for the Poles, Austrians and French, with Polish tourists putting the country in the top position, with as many as 10 percent of respondents preparing to head to Croatia by June.

As many as 80 percent of Poles are ready to travel, 48 percent plan to travel abroad, 47 percent will travel with family, most of them will stay for 4-9 days, and the largest share of Poles plan to spend up to 1,000 euros on travel, while more than a fifth of Poles have budget from 1,500 to 2,500 euros.

In the period until the end of June, the Austrians are in 4th place in terms of popularity, before Greece, while the French are in 5th place. Surprisingly 40 percent of Germans, otherwise very faithful to Croatia, are still undecided as to whether they'll travel or not.

Among those planning to do so, more than a quarter plan to travel within the country, with 50 percent going across the border, mostly to Austria and Spain, and in fifth place to Greece. Only 14 percent of Germans booked a holiday back in December.

For more, check out our travel section.