August 21, 2020 - After the UK added Croatia to the quarantine list on Thursday, British Airways is busy bringing citizens back to Britain. 

Croatian Aviation reports that in order to meet the high demand that arose after Croatia was included on the list of quarantine countries, British Airways will land in all three Croatian airports today with an A321NEO aircraft.

British Airways normally operates to Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik on smaller capacity aircraft, but today, due to high demand from British tourists who want to return home before the new measures come into force (14-day self-isolation for all passengers coming from Croatia), regular routes to the three mentioned airports use a larger capacity aircraft - A321 NEO. This aircraft has a capacity of as many as 235 passengers (for comparison, A319 and A320 aircraft with a capacity of 144 to 180 seats usually operate in Croatia).

In addition to British Airways, which will operate two flights from Split Airport today, three easyJet aircraft (capacity 180 passengers) will take off for London, as well as WizzAir aircraft A321 (capacity 230 passengers).

In addition to the British Airways flight, Dubrovnik Airport will have another EasyJet flight to London and one to Bristol (on both flights the maximum capacity is 180 passengers).

Today, Croatia Airlines will operate a regular flight on the Zagreb - London Heathrow route, but instead of the A319, a larger capacity aircraft - the A320 - will operate today.

Given the number of seats offered, it is clear that this is not enough for all tourists from Croatia to return to the UK on time, before the introduction of restrictive measures. After all, certain routes have already been sold out, while prices on some flights have exceeded the average several times.

We remind you that from Saturday, August 22, all passengers entering the UK from Croatia will have to go into 14 days of self-isolation.

According to information from the UK, there are currently 20,000 tourists from that country in Croatia. Britain views Croatia as a whole, without regional or county demarcations, and warns that the situation has deteriorated dramatically compared to three weeks ago.

Britain refers to the latest data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, according to which Croatia has recorded 37.7 confirmed infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the last two weeks. For comparison, Britain records 21.2 infected, Slovenia 12.8, and Sweden 39.5.

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August 21, 2020 - Hungary will tighten the rules for border crossings from September 1 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus that is rapidly growing in neighboring countries, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on the radio Friday morning. So, what will this mean for Croatia?

"As the school year begins, we will no longer be able to have the border crossing system as it was during the summer," Orban said. Under current rules, those returning to Hungary from countries where the number of new infections has increased must go into quarantine for 14 days, unless they have two negative tests.

Croatia is on the green list

However, Reuters writes that Croatia, which is a popular summer destination for Hungarians, is still on the green list, which means that no special rules apply. Reuters also states that there were 255 newly infected people in Croatia yesterday, bringing the total number to 7329. This number is by no means decreasing. 

Orban did not reveal details about the new restrictions, though it seems citizens are encouraged to take their holidays now before the September 1 deadline. 

I5046 cases of coronavirus infection have been recorded in Hungary so far, while 609 people have died.

Orban also announced a two-year economic recovery plan

Orban, a nationalist who has been in power for more than a decade, also said his government must draw up a two-year plan by mid-next month to boost the economy after an annual 13.6 percent drop in the second quarter.

The government’s official forecast still sees the economy shrink by 3% this year. However, Finance Minister Mihaly Varga said last month that the country's economy could shrink by about five percent.

This was even before the release of GDP data for the second quarter.

On Friday, Orban did not present a new economic forecast for this year.

Source: Index.hr

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As Novac writes on the 19th of August, 2020, although many thought that this year's tourist season would look catastrophic, Croatia could end 2020 with about 50 percent of last year's results, which is a result that is better than what was expected by just about everyone with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic firmly in mind. Unfortunately, this is obviously not the case in Rijeka because its most famous hotel, one of the symbols of the city on the river Rjecina, the legendary Bonavia - is closed.

The only available information as to why this was so, came from the most powerful global tour operator, the wildly popular Booking.com, which removed Bonavia from the list of Rijeka's offer with the remark: Additional safety and hygiene measures are currently being implemented at this facility due to coronavirus (COVID-19).

An explanation for the closure of Rijeka's much loved Bonavia, which is obviously of great public interest, was provided by its owner, the Porec-based company Plava laguna.

''Hotel Bonavia Plava Laguna in Rijeka was closed owing to a business decision of Plava Laguna. This hotel, like all of the other facilities we manage, will be opened in accordance with the booking situation and the demand of guests,'' said Eva Novi Zan Prusina, head of the public relations office of one of the strongest Croatian hotel companies, for Novi list.

In other words, it is obvious that Bonavia's booking status was below profitable figures and the company decided to close its doors, even though we're still very much in the Croatian tourist season.

According to the Kvarner Tourist Board, in June and July, the Opatija Riviera and the Rijeka area were the two worst county micro-regions. The Opatija Riviera achieved just 30 percent of last year's results in June, and the Rijeka area achieved 38 percent of the traffic it enjoyed last year, with both realising 55 percent of July 2019's traffic this July.

This is significantly worse than what was seen on nearby Krk and Cres, which both reached more than 70 percent of last year's results in July. If we look at Rijeka's tourism through this prism, the business decision to close Bonavia's doors makes sense.

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August 20, 2020 – Croatian coast a hit in August 2020 with international pop stars including Lepa Brena and Lily Allen

Croatia's coast has once again proved an irresistible draw to holidaying celebrities. The latest famous arrivals include regional pop megastar Lepa Brena and hit British singer Lily Allen.

Both Lepa Brena and Lily Allen have taken to their social media accounts over recent hours to announce their arrival in the country. Each has posted pictures of their vacations on the beautiful, sun-soaked coast of Dalmatia.

Lepa Brena, the revered originator of the massively popular regional pop-folk sound posted pictures from Mljet island, but Lily Allen has already travelled between Lastovo and Vis island. And while photos taken by Brena have been all about the beautiful Croatian scenery, Lily's have been smiling selfies as she thoroughly enjoys a break with her family. Here's how they saw Croatia through their social media on the first days of their visits.

Lepa Brena









Lily Allen

All images sourced from Instagram

August 20, 2020 - German television WDR published a 45-minute report on Croatian tourism this year, which it called "Paradise for a vacation without tourists".

Index.hr reports that it is a continuation of a report from two years ago, which dealt with the problems of Croatian tourism, such as the overcrowding in Dubrovnik. However, the coronavirus pandemic has changed everything. 

"For tourists, this is an ideal situation because they have almost the entire coast to themselves, while the locals worry about whether they will survive financially and how to survive," the beginning of the WDR report states.

The impact of the pandemic on Croatian tourism

A Croatian waiter tells them: "Of course I am afraid of the future, I don't know who I could work for at all. Everyone here lives from tourism." Shots of Dubrovnik's rather empty streets follow, incomparable to the hustle and bustle filmed by German journalists two years ago at the same time.

"How hard has the corona crisis hit Croatia? How does it affect tourism? And how do people deal with it?" are questions that WDR is trying to answer.

Dubrovnik without tourists

They say that Dubrovnik is almost empty, so it is not difficult to keep a distance because there are simply no people. On the other hand, one Dubrovnik resident says that before the pandemic, Dubrovnik was so crowded that it was no longer possible to live in the city. "Everything was focused on profit," says the Dubrovnik resident, who recalls that there were days when six cruisers came to Dubrovnik, so the locals knew that there was simply no point in going out on the street that day because of the crowds. This year, however, no cruiser will come to Dubrovnik. One is in the harbor, but it is empty, and will spend the winter there.

It is stated that Dubrovnik is full of ads with discounts, but also that more and more business premises are offered for sale. They point out that the gastronomic sector in Dubrovnik was particularly affected, which last year served more than five thousand people a day, while now there are simply no guests. It is predicted that many restaurants and cafes will close this year, that they will not survive the crisis.

No crowds at Plitvice

The next location covered by the WDR report is Plitvice Lakes. A team of journalists film a camp near Plitvice, whose 2,500 spots are always filled. This year, there are only about 200 tents and caravans in the camp, and most of those who came did not reserve their place in advance because they concluded that there was no need for it.

Footage from 2018 shows a long line before entering Plitvice Lakes National Park, and this year there is no line at all. Now, due to the pandemic, a maximum of 300 people are allowed into the National Park per hour at each of the two entrances, but there are fewer guests than that. There were thousands of them before. The management of the National Park points out that they regularly disinfect everything and adhere to other epidemiological measures. Still, visitors wear masks, which are optional.

"For those who live from tourism, the situation is completely different, and they are already feeling the crisis," the report said. They point out that the area around Plitvice is poor, that there is no industry, and that many in tourism have tried to earn some extra money and taken out loans to build apartments for rent. But this year there are hardly any guests.

WDR reminds us that the tourist boom in Plitvice was created without the necessary infrastructure and that it has its dark side, especially when it comes to sewage and wastewater.

The journalists again visited the so-called 'seventeenth lake', i.e., 'the lake of crap' on Plitvice, which was created there a couple of years ago. “There was a bestial stench in the middle of the National Park,” recalls a WDR reporter. This year there is none of it, because there are no tourists, so the existing infrastructure is sufficient for those who live in Plitvice. There is also a treatment plant, a project of the National Park and the Ministry of Environmental Protection, which helped with the remediation. The mayor of Plitvice, Ante Kovac, explains that the problem was solved thanks to the protests of the local population, but also "because of the journalists, who pushed the politicians against the wall".

On the other hand, the residents of Plitvice experienced a "financial shock" due to the pandemic and hope to recover next year. One landlord says the financial pandemic is “worse than war”.

They want year-round, sustainable tourism on Hvar

The third destination visited by the WDR team was Hvar. They remind viewers that two years ago, it was a "party island", which created problems even then, so the local government introduced stricter rules of conduct for tourists and started threatening fines for inappropriate behavior.

"Now this problem has been solved on its own," the report states, along with footage of empty Hvar streets.

The owner of a Hvar hostel says that he no longer wants to do that business because the pandemic has shown that the whole model of Croatian tourism is wrong. “A new approach is needed, new projects,” he tells WDR. "Hvar can offer more than nightclubs, cafes and loud music," he said, adding that he wanted to implement "radical changes in tourism on Hvar" with local like-minded people. The goal is to achieve "year-round, sustainable tourism".

You can watch the video in its entirety HERE 

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August 19, 2020 - After Austria rejected Croatia's request to introduce testing measures only for certain parts of Croatia, instead of placing the entire country on the epidemiological red list, Minister of Tourism and Sports Nikolina Brnjac said that she expected Austria to change its mind.

Index.hr reports that on Tuesday night as a guest on Croatian Television (HTV), the Minister commented on Austria's decision that returnees from holidays in Croatia must show a current negative coronavirus test or undergo testing within 48 hours, as well as Slovenia's thoughts on introducing quarantine for all returnees from Croatia this weekend.

She pointed out that nothing is left to chance and that they regularly exchange information and contact Slovenian colleagues, give them transparent data on numbers by counties, so that they can see that not all Croatian counties are in the same situation, i.e., that only two have an increase in the number of patients.

"We expect them to take into account the situation in the counties because these are relevant data and they are familiar with it," said Brnjac. "I think that such a decision could be expected from them," she added.

As for Austria, she says, the list is revised and changed about every two weeks.

"Given the new measures of the Headquarters, we expect that Austria could also change its opinion regarding Croatia," Brnjac said.

Asked whether Croatia would retaliate with the same measures, the Minister of Tourism said that she would not talk about reciprocity. She also said that she had information that there was not a single patient registered in Croatian hotels because everyone adhered to strict epidemiological measures.

She added that the number of sick tourists in Croatia is negligible.

The minister said it helped that Croatia is a car-destination. She also pointed out that Dubrovnik-Neretva County was recording better tourist results in August, adding that the airlines' good announcements for September and October were especially pleasing.

As for sports competitions, Brnjac said they would certainly be held, but the Headquarters has adopted certain measures - a third of spectators may be in the stands, while respecting all epidemiological measures, and the HNL has decided not to have spectators.

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August 19, 2020 - German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung explains to its readers that a large part of the Croatian coast has a small number of newly infected people and that Zagreb and Dalmatia are recording their growth.

"The decision is based on real trends, not the current picture," the German Foreign Ministry said in a statement regarding the introduction of measures against the spread of the coronavirus for people coming from Croatia, Jutarnji List reports.

The statement was quoted by the renowned Munich-based Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), which concluded: "So German tourists do not have to face mandatory tests at the moment."

In this regard, the newspaper reminds that "those at risk are those in which more than 50 newly infected people per 100,000 are counted for seven days in a row", while the rest of the country is not problematic: "Large parts of favorite coastal areas are recording extremely low numbers."

In the article entitled "When the party-tiger roars", SZ also reminds of the cases of German tourists, mostly young people, who obviously brought the coronavirus from their Croatian vacation back home.

"Croatia, with its countless islets in the Adriatic Sea, actually seems ideal for avoiding the masses and escaping the virus. Apartments are more widespread than large hotels. It is known more as a paradise for campers and sailors than as a destination for parties," the German newspaper points out. It is also stated that the average age of those infected in Croatia is 34 years.

It also reminds of the fact that Croatia had a minimal number of infected people before the borders opened, and that in order to facilitate the entry of tourists into the country, it organized registration online, and quotes Croatian doctor of infectious disease, Alemka Markotic, who points out that the situation is under control and that Croatian healthcare is well prepared.

However, the highest-circulation German newspaper Bild considers the situation in Croatia worrying because, in its online edition, it asks: how much longer will we be able to spend our holidays in Croatia?

The article primarily provides information for potential German tourists about the situation and regulations in Croatia, but like SZ, it states that an increasing number of new infections have been registered in the Split and Zagreb regions and that infections are most widespread at parties and nightclubs.

However, it points out that the Split area, with an average of 46.45 new cases a day in the last seven days, has almost reached the limit of 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants.

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August 18, 2020 - Austria has rejected Croatia's request to introduce the new travel measure only for certain parts of the country, instead of for the entire country, reported the Austrian news agency APA. A look at the latest news regarding COVID-19 in Croatia. 

"This option was considered, but after talks with experts from the Ministry of Health, the Office of the Federal Chancellor and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was decided to issue measures for the whole of Croatia," a spokeswoman for the Austrian Foreign Ministry said for APA, as reported by Index.hr.

The reason for such a decision, as she added, is the fact that Austrians are mobile and they mostly go to Croatia by car, making it hard for them to stay in only one place.

The warning against travel to Croatia has been in force from Monday at midnight. Returnees from holidays in Croatia must show a current negative coronavirus test or undergo testing within 48 hours of being back in Austria.

According to information from the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, around 3,000 Austrian citizens were officially on holiday in Croatia at the end of last week. But at the same time, the authorities believe that this figure is many times higher.

In an interview with APA, Croatian Ambassador to Vienna Daniel Gluncic advocated that Austrian authorities issue only a partial warning regarding travel to Croatia.

Croatian Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic also pointed out that the situation in the regions where most Austrian tourists travel is favorable, APA reported.

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ZAGREB, Aug 18, 2020 - The US Virtuoso association of travel agencies that organise luxury travel has conducted a survey which shows that Croatia is ranked among the 20 most desirable destinations in 2021, the Croatian National Tourist Board's (HTZ) USA branch director, Ina Rodin, has said.

"Visitors using the Virtuoso Wanderlist, a new platform for online trip planning, have created a wish list of counties they would like to travel to next year and based on their final choice, Croatia is among the top 20 destinations in the world," Rodin underlined.

Among the top 20 destinations are also South Africa, Italy, Australia, France, Japan, Great Britain, Greece, Argentina, Kenya, Botswana, Spain, Iceland, Portugal, Mexico, New Zealand, Ireland, Tanzania, Thailand and California.

Describing the news from the USA as excellent for Croatia, HTZ Director Kristjan Stanicic said that Croatia has reinforced its reputation on the US market and hopes that next year the situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic will have calmed down and that more tourists from distant destinations will come to Croatia. The US generates the most tourism turnover of all distant markets.

Rodin also said that local media in the US are constantly reporting about Croatia's beauty, including Lonely Planet which recently reported about the ten most beautiful beaches in Croatia - Zlatni Rat, Prapratno, Paradise Beach, Stiniva, Zrce, Dubovica, Kamenjak, Sahara, Punta Rata and Lubenice.

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August 18, 2020 - Health Minister of Slovenia, Tomaz Gantar, said on Monday that he would propose that the government introduce quarantine for Slovenes returning from Croatia by the end of the week, stressing that this was the "unique opinion" of medical experts.

T.portal reports that if the government makes such a decision on Wednesday or Thursday, then tourists from Slovenia who want to avoid quarantine would be given "another two or three days at most" to return home, Gantar said on television.

The minister does not believe that this could change in the event of a drop in the influx of coronavirus through Slovenian tourists spending their summers in Croatia, or if a decrease in the number of daily infected occurrs, because Croatia "already has an exponential growth" of the coronavirus infection recently.

He also pointed out that it is not possible to introduce a "selective" approach, according to age and quarantine, only for those aged 15 to 35 who are most often infected or to those who come from epidemiologically less risky counties, for example from Istria.

Gantar explained that the first would be irrational because most families with children travel to Croatia, while regarding the second option, he said that Slovenia has always applied a single criterion by country, not region, to compile a list of risky destinations.

However, he failed to say that a month ago Slovenia put the whole of the Czech Republic on the "red" list, and after a letter from Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis to Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, it kept the warning for only one mining region where infections jumped.

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