July 30, 2020 - Minister of Tourism and Sport, Nikolina Brnjac, stated last night for HRT that a few months ago, no one could have imagined that the number of tourists would be as it is now.

Namely, HRT reports that 2.3 million tourist arrivals were recorded in July and nearly more than 16 million overnight stays were achieved. That is already a little more than 50% of the turnover compared to the same period last year. These are quite good results, and we have reason to be optimistic, said Brnjac.

It is unfair to say how much is expected from tourism, said Brnjac, referring to yesterday's statement when she said that Croatia could reach around 5 billion arrivals this year, which is half of last year's amount.

"We need to see the end of the tourist season. It is a good indicator that we have more than 760,000 guests today. The first Ministry of Tourism estimated that this year's result would be 30% compared to last year, but we already have about 40% to 45%, when looking at the overall level," adds Brnjac.

She confirmed that the tourist situation in the northern part of Croatia is better than in the south.

”Rovinj, Porec, Medulin, Crikvenica and Split are the destinations where guests are going to most. When we look at the southern destinations, we know that they are mostly related to air tourism. The Croatian National Tourist Board is working on promoting those countries from which guests come to Dubrovnik-Neretva County. It will also intensify its marketing activities. Precisely because of these marketing activities, we also see results. Croatia has recorded 92% of German tourists compared to last year, 91% of Slovenian tourists, followed by tourists from Austria, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic," said Brnjac.

Brnjac also pointed out that at yesterday's meeting with representatives of the tourism sector, she discussed future measures to maintain liquidity and recover the tourism system.

"In September, we will receive guidelines from the European Commission on how the development of an instrument for recovery and resilience will look. We want to be ready and that is why this meeting was organized. The next topic of the meeting was preparing financing from the new envelope of the multiannual financial framework and better positioning Croatian tourism."

Answering the question about who can count on this help, Minister Brnjac said that it refers to the entire tourism sector.

After four years, tourism in Croatia is seen as sustainable and green, as tourism that will work to extend the season, not only in the coastal area but also in the continental area. She also wants to develop nautical and health tourism. Brnjac's tourism development strategy will start in September, she said, stating that this should provide further guidance.

Brnjac also responded to criticisms related to her election to the position of Tourism Minister, considering she does not come from the tourism sector.

"I think that today, the tourism sector made clear how important it is for it to have an emphasis on the instrument of recovery and resilience and to position it as well as possible in the multi-year financial envelope, but also to position the entire tourism sector as well as possible."

Since Brnjac is also the Minister of Sport, she said that she "wants to give more importance to sports". She said that there was no need to explain to anyone the role sport and tourism play in the global promotion of Croatia.

"It is very important to emphasize that by investing in projects in sports and tourism, we get added value for a number of other departments - from transport to agriculture," concluded Brnjac.

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July 30, 2020 - As Croatian tourism chiefs hail the relative success of the tourist season, a closer look at the statistics and issues behind them. Accidental tourism or a concrete plan?

A little over a year ago, I gave an interview for the portal HRTurizam, entitled Nikola Tesla Would Be a Great Minister of the Kings of Accidental Tourism. 

If we abolished the Croatian National Tourism Board and got rid of everyone from the ministry, except young Tesla, would we actually have any less tourists?

Having Nikola Tesla as Minister of Tourism wouldn't cost very much, and at least he is a brand for Croatia. 

The suggestion was only semi-joking. If Croatia did not have a tourist board or ministry of tourism (and let's not forget those chaps in the tourism department of the Croatian Chamber of Economy and all the vital work they do), would we actually have any less tourists?

Could we potentially have more without a tourist board? The concept is not without precedent, even during a pandemic. Just ask the people of Fuzine, whose tourism numbers improved in the corona era after they got rid of the local tourist board. 

I have long been a vocal critic of the national tourist board and the ministry of tourism in Croatia, and never has the situation been starker than now. For corona has revealed that the Emperor is wearing no clothes. 

I have watched in amusement as the Kings try and justify their unjustifiable existence with press conferences, announcements - and their biggest weapon of all - statistics. 

Why do the Kings of Accidental Tourism Restrict Access to an Internationally Acclaimed Transparent System?

The Mighty State of Uhljebistan has the fight of its life on its hands as it tries to battle the two viruses of transparency and technology. And it is doing its best to hide the truth and keep control of the agenda. 

Nowhere is this more true that its absolute refusal to make available the eVisitor system which actually won international recognition for its transparency and real-time reporting. A great innovation to enable tourists, journalists and everyone else to look at and interpret the statistics in real time. 

In a normal country. 

In the Mighty State of Uhljebistan, however, access to such information is a closely guarded secret. Even the monthly reports which come out are in PDF format only, designed to limit people's ability to search for trends other than those which are officially endorsed. 

The effect of maintaining control of the statistics is also a desperate attempt by the Kings to be able to announce new tourism numbers, in a desperate attempt to show that they are actually doing something to justify their exorbitant salaries. 

Trust me, they are not. 

I hereby call on Croatian National Tourist Board Director Kristjan Stanicic and new Minister of Tourism Nikolina Brnjac to make public access to the eVisitor system, as it was designed to be. And if he will not, I would be grateful for an explanation of why this is not possible. The system was, after all, built with public money. Here's the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) on eVisitor, above. It would be a great symbol of a change in approach from the new minister, as a sign of a transparent and progressive future. 

Are tourist arrivals directly related to tourism promotion?

Imagine that Nikola Tesla was the Minister of Tourism during this pandemic. 

"Nikola, it looks like flights are going to be an issue and people will be nervous about travelling by air. Where do you think we should concentrate our marketing?"

"Well, it makes sense to focus on the 7 countries that traditionally bring tourists by car - Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary and Poland. But let's not forget Switzerland, Serbia and Bosnia - all good sources of revenue."

Perhaps I am psychic, but on March 25, in a piece called Hope v Reality: Will There Be a 2020 Tourist Season in Croatia?  I wrote

What should Croatia do to attract tourists for the 2020 season after COVID-19?

The Ministry of Tourism and Croatian National Tourist Board have put all promotion on hold for the moment, which is very sensible. But where should they be focusing the efforts when things pick up again?

With the uncertainty of flights, I think it makes sense to focus on the markets which have been the backbone of Croatian tourism for decades, and which can be reached by car. The Germans, Austrians, Slovenians, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks and Hungarians all adore the Adriatic, which is still just a short drive away. Some intelligent campaigns (AND pricing). Croatia remains the best and most attractive sea option for all these countries. There will be strong competition from other tourism countries for this business, but Croatia currently holds a competitive advantage with customer loyalty and that unbeatable Adriatic. 

Perhaps the national tourist board reads TCN and got the idea to do a campaign in these seven countries (the ONLY countries there was a campaign - although I have yet to hear from anyone in those countries who actually noticed a campaign was taking place). But this brings us to the important question of how much has the (VERY) expensive tourism guru network actually contributed to bringing tourists to Croatia. 

Consider a few things.

110,000 Slovenians own holiday homes in Croatia. After months of lockdown, where do you think they will be heading for their holidays. Do they need to find their way to their holiday home from the national tourist board?

People in Central Europe yearn for a holiday on the coast somewhere, especially after this horrible lockdown. In normal years, they would choose from Croatia, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Spain, and more. This is not a normal year, and with the desperation to get to the sea and the total uncertainty of flights anywhere, the natural conclusion was to play safe and find a beach which was driveable. And there it pretty much the only option, with 1,777 km of coastline and 1185 islands?

Croatia. 

A natural decision, very little to do with promotion. 

What promotion are the Kings of Accidental Tourism Actually Doing?

Has anybody noticed a domestic campaign from the national tourist board? Time to holiday in Croatia. This must be the only tourism country in Europe that did not have such a campaign. 

The official press releases are hilarious. Croatia among the top 20 most-searched destinations by French people. Is that seriously news?

And then, when an absolute gift of free promotion, which the Mayor of Dubrovnik described as 'priceless' comes along, not a single mention. 

I was a little surprised when ABC News contacted me looking for a city on the Mediterranean to film a series of feature stories for Good Morning America. I am very grateful to Kresimir Macan not only for dealing with this, but for going above and beyond the call of duty in arranging their itinerary. An interview with the mayor for American TV, various features, finding American tourists to be interviewed from our Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community  Macan even contacted the national tourist board to involve them in the project. 

The first report went out on Good Morning America to an audience of 12.5 million people, arguably the best free (or paid) promotion of Dubrovnik for some time.

And totally ignored by the Croatian National Tourist Board in its press releases and Facebook page - after all, if we are in the top 20 most searched destination in France, we can take the summer off.

Opinion is divided on whether or not we should be welcoming Americans with the current situation, and I understand that. Ask the people of Dubrovnik, whose lifeline is tourism, and who registered just 12% of tourist arrivals from January to June compared to  2019, according to Mayor Frankovic. The county currently has 11 active cases.  

But even if Americans are not travelling this year due to corona, what a fantastic message to send. Dubrovnik welcomes Americans, this is how gorgeous it is. See you in 2021. 

And where did ABC look to try and find some real American tourists on the ground? The Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community came to the rescue.

How Can the Kings Claim Success When They Refuse to Communicate?

Few people know just how chaotic the travel information has been this summer. I first saw it at first hand at the border with Macan on May 17 when Slovenian tourists were turned back as they did not have proof of paid accommodation. How were they to know? Soon after that, we started the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community to give people information in real time. The amount of confusion was astounding. 

When the (now former) Minister of Tourism, Gari Cappelli, invited me for a meeting, he gave a commitment over the phone that he would install one of his team into our Viber community to help answer the questions. His Deputy Minister confirmed this two days later, but nothing happened. When we met a couple of days later, he explained that he could not join an unofficial group, but he responded positively to my suggestion that he create his own group with the border police and national tourist board - all official.  Nothing happened. 

In fact, the ONLY official institution which has been highly responsive to tourist needs throughout has been the Croatian border police, whose task it has become to answer those questions about flights to Split. The border police have been magnificent throughout. 

The amount of misinformation about travel information to Croatia this year has been astounding. And so easy to fix, as I showed with the Irish Times in Fixing Croatian Travel European Media Misinformation One Email at a Time. I didn't see much fixing by our official tourism chiefs. 

Let's Judge the Kings on an Initiative Which is 100% Their Own Creation

Is there anything concrete that we can judge the Kings on? Something that was their creation, their genius, something which they declared would save tourism?

Hell yes!

Nothing symbolises the pointlessness of the existence of the current rulers of the Kingdom of Accidental Tourism than the much-lauded but now much-avoided Cro Kartica scheme. More than four years in the making, it has added a particularly pale shade of white to the great tourism white elephants of our time. Meanwhile in Slovenia, after just a few months of a new voucher system brought on by the pandemic, more than 20 million euro spent in the first month. 

And Finally, What is the Most Memorable Achievement of Our Tourism Kings in the Last 4 Years?

A simple question for national tourism director Stanicic - what are your greatest achievements in the last four years as director?

I would be very interested to hear the answer to that one.  

July 27, 2020 - With four days to go in the month, Croatia has recorded more than two million tourist arrivals in July, which is 54 percent of the arrivals achieved in the same period last year, the Croatian National Tourist Board announced on Monday.

Transmitting eVisitor data, the Croatian National Tourist Board annouced there were also 14.7 million tourist overnight stays, which is approximately 59 percent of last year's result, reports Htz.hr.

Of the total number of arrivals, foreign tourists realized 1.8 million (51 percent of last year's result) and 12.5 million overnight stays (56 percent of last year's result), while the turnover of domestic tourists is at 90 percent of last year's traffic measured by arrivals and 78 percent overnight stays.

In the current part of July, the leading market for arrivals is Germany, where 92 percent of last year's result was achieved, followed by Slovenia with 91 percent and Poland and the Czech Republic with about 82 percent of last year's result measured by arrivals in the same period.

The destinations with the highest number of arrivals so far in July are Rovinj, Medulin, Crikvenica, Poreč, Umag and Split.

"We are conducting intensive promotional, but also those information campaigns in which we communicate that Croatia is a safe tourist destination in our nearest emitting markets. These are, given the circumstances, excellent indicators and a good announcement for August in which we expect the continuation of positive trends. This is confirmed by the number of about 700 thousand tourists who are currently vacationing in Croatia, "said the director of the Croatian Tourist Board Kristjan Stanicic.

He stressed the importance of further responsible behavior in order to maintain the perception of Croatia as a safe tourist destination.

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July the 25th, 2020 - Some mixed messages have arrived on the coronavirus-dominated tourism front recently. The Netherlands quickly placed Croatia on its orange list, advising against all but essential travel and asking Dutch nationals to return from Croatia, followed by Germany firmly keeping the country on its ''safe list''. 

Despite the Dutch Government asking its citizens to return home to begin their fourteen days of self-isolation and organising for travel agencies to secure return journeys home for those Dutch nationals using them, Dutch holidaymakers aren't that willing to listen. In fact, they've even gone as far as to launch a petition to have Croatia placed back on the Netherlands' yellow list.

As Morski writes on the 25th of July, 2020, the news that the Dutch Government has placed Croatia on the orange list of countries owing to their handling of the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday night surprised many. Although some decided to leave Croatia, a good part of Dutch tourists decided to gather information and stay. Some went so far as to organise a petition to have the Dutch Government return Croatia to its yellow list.

Nobody knows why Croatia suddenly managed to find its place on the famous orange list and by what criteria it occurred, because the current epidemiological picture definitely is not the reason. The situation is much worse than Croatia in France or Austria, which are not included on that country's list of high-risk countries.

Apart from the fact that this news shocked all tourist workers, it also surprised the Dutch tourists themselves. Some left, but others rolled up their sleeves and decided to collect 40,000 signatures to send a message to their government that they aren't happy with the bizarre decision, with the aim of returning Croatia to the yellow list.

The petition has so far been signed by almost 6.5 thousand people and is being shared through social networks and channels. The petition can be found at this link: Kroatië terug naar geel.

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As the Dutch warn their citizens against all but essential travel to Croatia amid the coronavirus pandemic, Germany decides to keep Croatia on its ''safe'' list...

As Index writes on the 23rd of July, 2020, after the Dutch placed Croatia on the orange list, which means that those who return home to the Netherlands from Croatia need to spend fourteen days in self-isolation, some good news has arrived from Germany.

The German Ministry of Foreign Affairs has kept Croatia on its list of safe countries, the Croatian Tourism Association announced.

Below is their statement:

"In the latest report published today by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Croatia is [classed] as a safe destination and there are no restrictions on travel and return to Germany.

Germany is the largest European emitting market [for Croatia], and the Germans have been the most numerous group of guests in Croatia for many years. Since the beginning of this year, Germans have realised more than 4 million overnight stays in our country, of which 2.5 million took place during the first 20 days of July.

Since Bavaria, from which a third of German guests come, will start with their school holidays next week, a further increase of arrivals of German tourists in Croatia is expected.

In almost five months, since the first case of coronavirus infection was recorded in Croatia, there is still no official information that even one foreign tourist has become infected in the commercial tourism sector,'' they announced.

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The epidemiological situation in Croatia has unfortunately worsened following a brief period of relative 'peace' from the virus. While the Dutch Government asks its citizens to go home, warns against all but essential travel to Croatia and organises for travel agencies to transport those who booked package holidays back to the Netherlands, trains to the Croatian Adriatic still remain wildly popular.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 22nd of July, 2020, despite the fact that in the meantime the epidemiological situation in Croatia has somewhat worsened, practically all of the trains coming to the Croatian Adriatic from abroad, more specifically to Rijeka, are still more or less full.

Czech and Slovak tourists are still apparently more than hungry to get away and are failing to lose interest in coming to the Croatian Adriatic by train, regardless of the worsened situation here in Croatia. Namely, the recognisable yellow trains which belong to the Czech carrier Regiojet have been coming from the Czech capital city of Prague to Rijeka every day for some time now, more precisely since July the 10th, and as Novi list has learned, they are regularly full.

Aleš Ondruj, a spokesman for RegioJet, stated to the Croatian press that so far, they have sold approximately 60,000 tickets, most of which were sold to tourists from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. To remind you, the new railway line of the Czech carrier has become a real hit in the Czech Republic, as well as in Slovakia, since the train stops in Brno and Bratislava.

Last month, in the first two days after the tickets to the Croatian Adriatic went on sale, about 9,000 were sold.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 20th of July, 2020, in the heart of upper Medjimurje lies picturesque Sveti Martin. Over the years, Sveti Martin has become a well known tourism generator for that particular inland county. Today, private renters, family farms and numerous attractions such as walks with deer take place there, according to Dnevnik.hr.

They're all calling Medjimurje ''coronavirus free'' and so far in July, when the rest of Croatia is typically recording just 50 percent of last year's results, they recorded 12 percent more arrivals and the same number of overnight stays. Of that, 58 percent are Croatian guests who are encouraged to holiday here at home. Foreigners on the other hand, are increasingly choosing luxury holiday villas.

"I'm extremely glad, they're very dear guests. They decided essentially to be here given the fact that Spain had such a situation as it did, as did Italy. As far as coronavirus is concerned, we've done really well here, we have practically not had a single infected person for months,'' said Antonija Nesik from Sveti Martin, who rents out private accommodation to tourists.

In order to make more money from tourism, the county shares a coupon for every 250 kuna spent, which can be used for 100 different tourist experiences or services. For example for a wine tasting experience or a lunch discount.

"What is typical in Medjimurje is our meat from Tiblica for which we're well known, it's our traditional dish. There's a dessert that I think everyone knows about, which is Medjimurje gibanica, it's a dessert people come to Međimurje to eat,'' said restaurant owner, Branimir Jakopic.

So far, more than 15,000 coupons have been distributed, and as such, in the last month alone, tourism in the area has generated about four million kuna. "It just shows that it's the right decision and the strengthening of our tourism in enogastronomy, the identity of Medjimurje, the cultural heritage, active and sustainable tourism, is the right thing to do," said Medjimurje County Prefect, Matija Posavec.

They hope that this formula will not only save 2020's coronavirus-dominated tourist season, but also persuade guests to return.

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Which Croatian destinations have the most tourists to boast of in the coronavirus era? There are several, and there are reasons and lessons to be learned from them for many others...

As Morski writes on the 20th of July, 2020, across Croatia, one million overnight stays were realised in the first half of July, and the Croatian destinations with the highest number of overnight stays were Rovinj, Medulin, Vir, Mali Losinj and Porec.

However, although the aformentioned areas achieved the best results, they will still face significantly lower revenues than they enjoyed last year, not only due to the lack of guests compared to last year but also due to the fact that many accommodation facilities have lowered their prices, some others working in hospitality and catering have also lowered theirs, while the flat rate of sojourn tax has been lowered for private renters by as much as 50 percent.

Although the gorgeous island of Vir is one of the top destinations in terms of attendance, it should be taken into account that most Croatian guests going there also own property there, so only 22 percent of guests actually paid for accommodation on Vir during the first half of July.

''When observing the type of accommodation (commercial or non-commercial accommodation), in Vir, 22 percent of overnight stays in the first half of July were realised in commercial accommodation facilities (hotels, camps and private accommodation), while in Rovinj, 96 percent of overnight stays, in Medulin 89 percent, in Mali Losinj 76 percent and in Porec 89 percent of overnight stays were realised in commercial accommodation facilities,'' the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) stated in response to a question on the topic from Index.

The Istrian city of Rovinj has been enjoying first place for years

The directors of the tourist boards of these five most visited Croatian destinations described the things they can attribute such good results to, given the circumstances, and some of them provided some rough estimates for the rest of the season and guessed how much, approximately, they will face in terms of revenue decline this year.

The long-standing number one on the list of the most visited cities in Croatia (along with Dubrovnik) is Rovinj.

The director of the Rovinj Tourist Board, Odette Sapac, told Index that they were most helped by the fact that Rovinj is a destination that many can sit in their cars and drive to from some of Croatia's closest to emitting markets, while Dalmatia is far more dependent on airlines. Over 50 percent of Rovinj's guests are from Germany and Austria, followed by guests from Slovenia, Italy and the Netherlands.

''In the last part of July, we realised 612,040 overnight stays, which is about 60 percent of the turnover from last year for the same period. Since the prices are different from last year and have been adjusted to this situation, our revenues will certainly be lower. Accommodation prices at the beginning of the season were at the level of last year's prices during the pre-season,'' said Odette Sapac.

Apart from the fact that, she says, Rovinj is a close destination for both Italians and Slovenes, the reason for their success is that they are also very attractive to foreign guests along with Dubrovnik. According to Sapac, they also sent out a good promotional message to the guests that, regardless of the coronavirus pandemic, they are well prepared and are firmly adhering to the anti-epidemic measures. For a while, as she recalled, Rovinj was entirely without coronavirus patients.

''There were a couple of good promotional actions that we carried out with the County Tourist Board towards Germany and Austria, and with that action, we included some other countries.

According to them, the camps are also a great advantage because guests feel safer as they can more easily achieve social distance and at the same time stay outdoors, where the new coronavirus finds it more difficult to spread.

''We now have about 19,000 guests a day, which is a large number for many in Croatia even during normal circumstances, and that's at the level of 60 percent when compared to last year during the same period. This time last year, we had 37,000 guests a day. It's being speculated that at the end of the year, the total result would be around 30 percent at the level of last year, or 40 percent if August and September are good for us. That would be a very good result. We must be humble and content. We're trying not to hold mass events to prevent infection,'' Sapac told Index.

Istria generally did very well throughout the ongoing coronavirus epidemic, when the number of tourists dropped drastically, yet it still managed to attract the most guests. Thus, in addition to Rovinj, two other Istrian towns took places on the list of the five most visited Croatian destinations. The proximity of emitting markets, the fact that they are easily driven to and don't depend heavily on air traffic, which is still significantly reduced, are all reasons for Istria's general level of success.

In Medulin so far, 251,244 overnight stays have been realised, which is 60 percent compared to last year, according to the director of the Medulin Tourist Board, Enco Crnobori.

Medulin had 10 million kuna in revenue last year, now they expect 3.5 million...

We have about 15,000 guests a day and we're second in Istria, only Rovinj is ahead of us. We're still Croatian destinations without a single coronavirus case, we've worked a lot on educating the locals regarding the implementation of measures in order to maintain a positive epidemiological picture,'' said Crnobori.

Just like in Rovinj, the advantage is that there are a lot of camps, as many as 7 large and 22 smaller family camps in Banjole, and they also have a lot of holiday homes, where guests, just like in the camps, feel safer.

The cccupancy of camps and holiday homes stands at about 50 percent, so we're left with only hotel accommodation. Only one hotel has been opened, and now another one should open, while two remain. closed. We also have three marinas and the situation with charters is good, so they're also at 50 percent occupancy. This year, if we have a million overnight stays, that would be good, last year we had 2.8 million. But the situation is changing day by day. It's very important that previous guests return to us, we're branded as a destination for family and sports tourism, and we're still working on branding the promotion of cultural tourism,'' said Crnobori.

As for income, Crnobori believes it will drop dramatically...

''Last year, we had over 10 million kuna, and now the plan is 3.5 million kuna in revenue, so... 35 percent of 2019's figure,'' the director of the Medulin Tourist Board noted.

Almost the same number of overnight stays, around 193,000, were realised in both Porec and Mali Losinj in the first part of July, with Mali Losinj standing slightly better because they achieved 64 percent of turnover when compared to the same period last year, while Porec achieved 47 percent.

The director of the Mali Losinj Tourist Board, Dalibor Cvitkovic, told Index that private accommodation and camps have the best occupancy rates, which isn't surprising due to the situation with the coronavirus, while their main markets are Slovenia, Germany and Austria, from which old guests regularly return.

''In order to attract guests, we went with the ''ferry free action'', so everyone who stays with us for seven days, the price of their accommodation is reduced by however much it cost them to use the ferry. This ranges from 50 to 120 euros, depending on whether they're in a car or a motorhome. Considering that 40 percent of our guests are in the camps, for which the ferry is 120 euros, that means that with this action they get practically two nights free, so we have equated ourselves with mainland destinations,'' said Cvitkovic.

In addition, he stated that they are the only ones in Croatia who have the so-called an insurance policy for guests suspected of having contracted the new coronavirus.

''For guests who have to go into self-isolation, while they're still in Croatia, the Tourist Board covers the cost of food and accommodation and ensures the delivery of medicines and supplies. At the same time, we find alternative accommodation for the landlord with whom that guest is staying, and we reimburse that landlord for the cost incurred. In addition, after the guest who is coronavirus positive leaves the apartment, we take over the cost of cleaning the apartment. So, we told the landlords that they're not alone in this, and the guests know that they're safe and know that if something happens, and it won't be at their expense. We don't look at guests as potential patients, but instead we invest in the future, so these guests will return in other years as well,'' Cvitkovic explained.

Although they are far better filled than most Croatian destinations, in Mali Losinj, they're also aware of the drop in income...

''The overnight stay index isn't the same as the income index and the income index will be 10 to 15 percent lower. Hotels generate the highest sojourn tax for us, private individuals participate with a 50 percent smaller lump sum than before. Certain actions are undertaken in private accommodation. As for hospitality facilities, some are getting better traffic. Regular guests already have a certain habit of going to certain restaurants, and those restaurants on the waterfront that depended on the masses aren't doing as well. For us, the consumption is on average around 100 euros per day per guest, and 160 for a hotel guest. Now that we don’t have those hotel guests, the drop in spending is higher. There will definitely be a drop in traffic,'' said Cvitkovic.

The director of the Porec Tourist Board, Nenad Velenik, said that they had realised 193,000 overnight stays in July so far, which is 47 percent compared to last year, emphasising that this was a phenomenal result for them.

''In the first 10 days of July, we realised all of the overnights from June. We started on June the 1st with 523 people a day, to now when we have 14,000 guests a day. In terms of markets, most come to us from our traditional points such as Germany, Slovenia, Austria and Italy. There are slightly fewer Austrians than usual, but we can attribute those good results to the fact that the quality of the destination has been recognised, as well as the fact that we're a destination to which one can drive,'' Velenik stated.

He added that the positive epidemiological situation also benefits everything, so the demand for Porec is higher than in the rest of Croatia.

''We're traditionally a hotel destination and we have only one camp, unlike Rovinj, which has about 20,000 beds in their campsites, so they achieve better results. There will definitely be a drop in revenue. We don’t count on 50 percent of the lump sum income from private accommodation, so we're removing a piece of the pie that was significant. I don't know the policy of hotel companies and how much they've reduced their prices. I hear the bookings are going solidly, but they probably lowered their prices as well given the situation. Private accommodation prices have been reduced, you have overnight stays costing 10 euros per person, so the total income will certainly be much lower than it was last year,'' said Velenik.

Vir has a large number of overnight stays, but will have a meagre profits...

Vir realised 276,000 overnight stays in the first half of July, which is more than some of the above, but it should be noted that, according to the CNTB, only 22 percent of overnight stays were in commercial accommodation, which means that most people were coming to their own property on the island.

The director of the Vir Tourist Board, Srdjan Liveric, says that foreign guests realised 120,000 overnight stays, while domestic guests realised 167,000.

''We're extremely satisfied, we're now at 75 percent when compared to the same period last year, which is very good for us. We hope for the further growth of this trend and it's realistic that we'll achieve 50 percent less turnover than we did last year, and revenues will be lower,'' said Liveric.

He pointed out that they achieved such good results with foreign guests because they invested a lot of money in advertising and did not depend on flights like Dubrovnik does.

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European countries are continuing to slash the VAT on services performed in the tourist industry to try to rescue their respective economies which have been enfeebled by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Croatia, for whom VAT has always been a burning issue, is unsurprisingly continuing to hold off...

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 15th of July, 2020, in order to at least temporarily help the tourism sector out, which is among the most devastated by the pandemic, many European countries, including Croatia's own tourism competitors, have decided to temporarily slash VAT on tourism services.

As HOTREC, the European Association of Hotels, Restaurants and Catering Facilities, announced, eleven European countries have decided to go ahead with this very welcome measure so far, among which there is no sign of Croatia, which doesn't come as much of a shock, but Croatia's tourist competitors, Greece and Turkey, are on the list.

Thus, for the period from April the 1st to November the 30th, 2020, Turkey decided that the VAT in the hotel segment will fall from the already low eight percent to a mere one percent, which is also the lowest VAT in any tourist segment in Europe, according to Novac.hr.

The Greeks, on the other hand, decided to reduce the cost in the segment of serving soft drinks from 24 percent to 13 percent, and for hospitality, from 13 percent to just five percent.

Here in Croatia, tourism is currently taxed at two rates - 25 and 13 percent, of which this reduced rate was introduced only very recently, exclusively for the segment of preparation and serving of dishes and desserts outside of restaurants.

''When it comes to VAT, some progress has been made recently, but we still have one of the highest VAT rates for tourism, especially when compared to our competitors. Reducing VAT rates is a prerequisite for raising competitiveness in normal circumstances, and in these circumstances where the world is subject to a pandemic, VAT is a matter of survival,'' said Veljko Ostojic, director of the Croatian Tourism Association, urging the government to follow suit and consider doing the same as the likes of Greece and Turkey to help the sector.

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July 15, 2020 - Croatia is among the most sought-after foreign tourist destinations on the French market, according to MisterFly, one of the largest French online distributors specializing in airline ticket sales, car rental and hotel accommodation.

"Numerous inquiries from the general and professional public that come to us every day are proof that the image of Croatia in France is still very good. Croatia ranks well on the list of countries that are definitely worth a visit due to their exceptional natural beauty, hospitality and favorable epidemiological situation," said Danijela Mihalic Durica, Director of the Croatian National Tourist Board Representation in France, on HRTurizam, emphasizing that there is already a noticeable trend of increasing bookings for next year, given that many French travel organizers have provided their clients with free booking delays, as well as the announcement of new airlines from the French market for the postseason.

Namely, according to the new flight plan for September and October, Air France from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport announced flights to Dubrovnik and Zagreb.

By the end of September, Air France plans to establish 50 percent of its normal flight program, and 60 percent by the end of October.

"France is one of the markets from which we expect a larger influx of guests in this main summer part of the season, especially in August when the French traditionally use the most holidays, especially in the traditionally most popular regions for the French, Dubrovnik and Split," said Croatian National Tourist Board director Kristjan Stanicic.

A larger influx of guests is also expected from the UK market.

In its article entitled "Croatia this summer: three areas to visit without the crowds", the British Guardian states that Croatia opened for tourists in May and that due to the lack of crowds, 2020 is ideal for a relaxing holiday with an emphasis on the Dalmatian islands of Lastovo, Mljet and Kornati, national parks Northern Velebit, Paklenica and Risnjak, while Lonjsko polje and Konavle Nature Park were also singled out.

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