July 14, 2020 - Hungarians visiting Croatia seem to be most interested in holidaying on the island of Vir, and after Slovenes and Germans, they are the most frequent guests there.

But in this pandemic, Vir has already become the most thriving tourist destination when compared to last year, reports RTL.

More than half a million overnight stays have been recorded there so far, which is almost 80 percent of last year's figures, and in the first 12 days of July, Vir is also in first place with 214,000 overnight stays, which is more than 70 percent of last year's result in the same period.

"In this corona situation, we have proven to be a tough nut to crack, and unlike many other areas in the Adriatic, we are still alive," Mayor Kristijan Kapovic told RTL Direkt.

From the new year to July, more than 33,000 guests came to Vir, and eVisitor currently has 27,000 registered guests on Vir.

"There are about 4,000 of us on Vir. Today, Vir has more than 30,000 inhabitants, both temporary and permanent," the mayor added.

He adds that this has nothing to do with weekenders who have houses on Vir.

"As for the tourists who come to the apartments and rooms, there are currently 9,000 of them. Most of the tourists are from the area - Slovaks, Hungarians, Slovenes, Germans, Czechs and Poles, BiH. The rest are 20,000 weekenders. They are also foreigners. The ownership structure has changed in the last 20 years. More than 50 percent of property owners are again from those countries. In these times of crisis, notorious destinations that rely on organized accommodation are now in a deficit position. Real estate tourism, in the case of Vir, owned by foreigners, has proven to be something that gives results," he explains.

Kapovic says that so far, they have not had a single case of the coronavirus, and considering the situation and a large number of tourists, he assumes that they could by the end of the season.

"So far, we are sailing well; that problem has not touched us. People feel comfortable and safe here," he says.

Tourism Minister Cappelli is urging Headquarters to tighten measures.

"We respect all decisions of the Headquarters. We are trying to instill new security in guests, who come from countries where epidemiological measures are stricter," said Kapovic.

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July 13, 2020 -  Dubrovnik, the 'Pearl of the Adriatic' and Croatia's tourism star, is struggling to resume tourism post-lockdown.

The forecasts for the tourist season in Dubrovnik at the beginning of spring were not so bad, and probably much better than the actual outcome. It seemed then as if the coronavirus would disappear with the heat, tourists would travel, and most stakeholders in tourism were hopeful that the situation would improve significantly for the better. At the time, Dubrovnik unofficially said that they hoped for a turnover of at least 30 percent compared to last year. But that did not happen, reports Dubrovnik Daily.

Croatia is still recording new cases of infection, and according to the eVisitor guest check-in and check-out system, on July 5, 2020, 2,145 guests stayed in Dubrovnik, which is only 13 percent of the total number of guests last year on the same date, when 24 824 overnight stays were realized. According to the Dubrovnik Tourist Board, Dubrovnik's hotel accommodation currently has the largest number of guests from Germany, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Germans, French and Poles mostly stay in private accommodation.

Dubrovnik caterers also hoped for a better situation at the beginning of the season. The president of the Dubrovnik Association of Caterers and the owner of the Otto tavern, Ante Vlasic, says that the current income they generate will not be enough to cover basic expenses. For that, as he says, at least 20 percent of the turnover should be realized compared to last season, but much less is realized.

"Most of my colleagues generate turnover and revenue of up to 10 percent compared to last year. This roughly coincides with the number of guests coming to Dubrovnik, about which we regularly receive information from the Dubrovnik Tourist Board. Maybe that percentage is even slightly lower because we lost daily excursionists, for example, from BiH and Montenegro, and cruise guests," said Vlasic.

According to him, no one prepared for the new situation, especially because last season was a record, and a reduction in VAT was even announced for this one, which would be an additional relief for caterers.

"People have made big investments that will not pay off for them now. We expected the situation to change significantly from June, but that did not happen. For example, my store operated in June at a rate of five percent of revenue compared to June last year. The least damage is caused by catering establishments that work all year round and which mainly serve drinks, some of them work at 30 percent of the usual traffic, and some at 50 percent, which is much more, but such are only two or three bars in Dubrovnik," said Vlasic, adding that he hopes that'll change after July 15, when, according to the announcements, more planes should land in Dubrovnik. Vlasic believes that it is necessary to carry out activities that would attract guests because there are many positive examples in Europe.

"Greek Mykonos is almost full, Italy is filling up very quickly, as is the French coast, Provence, and they were in a much worse situation than ours when it comes to the epidemiological picture and the situation around the coronavirus pandemic," says Vlasic.

Compared to restaurants, coffee bars that are open all year round and frequented by the local population are somewhat better. One of them is the cafe bar 'Antika' in Lapad Bay, owned by Zlatko Begusic, otherwise the president of the Association of Craftspeople Dubrovnik.

"Traditionally, we have a lot of local people from the City who come to have a drink, but the traffic is not even close to last season, let's say it is 50 percent lower. Cafes earn less than last year, but will survive, especially those outside the city, in Gruz or Lapad. Also, last year I had six waiters because there was such a need, now I have three," said Begusic.

Private landlords are rightly particularly concerned, because, for most of them, winter means investments and preparations for the season in which everything invested should return. But that didn’t happen this year. Slavica Grkes, vice president of the professional group of travel agencies at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce and owner of the Dominium travel agency, says that the drop in their agency's turnover by July 1 is 94.67 percent. And when it comes to renting, there are some new trends.

"As far as renting is concerned, we record more reservations on Mljet and Peljesac than in Dubrovnik, and those related to Dubrovnik are mostly last-minute overnight stays for units that have parking. We are selling the cheapest and most luxurious accommodation we have to offer," said Grkes.

When it comes to prices, Grkes claims that almost everyone has lowered them, some even up to 60 percent, and some have decided not to rent their housing units for tourist purposes.

"We closed about 20 percent of the accommodation units for tourist rentals because the owners decided to rent those units for a longer period of time or not rent them at all, for fear of being infected with COVID. We hope for the arrival of planes, a better epidemiological picture, but also an extension of the measures. Everyone has mostly written off this season, but I sincerely hope and cannot come to terms with the fact that everything we have been building for years will disappear," said Grkes.

Although for many years they criticized cruise guests and the crowds in the City attributed to them, it has now been shown that they are also a very important factor in Dubrovnik tourism, which suffers losses due to the absence of cruise ships.

Thus, revenues from cruisers this year, compared to last year, are lower by 96 percent, and the Port of Dubrovnik, according to the data provided, is expected to record a decline in revenues when it comes to yachts (96 percent less revenue), lines (94 percent less revenue) and ship’s storage (63 percent less revenue).

In the port of Gruz, 362 ships that would bring about 550 thousand passengers were canceled, and nine of them were realized, with 3,532 passengers. For comparison, last year, there were 486 boat trips that brought over 768 thousand guests.

From January to May 2020, Dubrovnik-Neretva County had the most cruises in Croatia, 73.3 percent of them. The port of Dubrovnik had the most visits by foreign cruise ships, followed by Korcula, Split, Sibenik and Zadar.

In addition to the Dubrovnik Port Authority, Dubrovnik Airport also recorded losses, as did other airports around the world. According to the report of the 'European Airport Council' ACI-Europe, from January 1 to June 28, 2020, European airports lost 748 million passengers, while Croatian airports realized almost 800 thousand passengers in the first half of the year, while last year alone in June it was 1.6 million.

In the first seven days of July, 7,800 passengers and 272 aircraft landings took off at Dubrovnik Airport, which is an increase compared to the previous week by 78 percent in the number of passengers and 39 percent in the number of operations, said ZL Dubrovnik.

This may be good news in the new situation in which car destinations profit somewhat more than air destinations, including Dubrovnik. Therefore, it is not surprising that all hopes are placed on flights that could be the only ones to save this year's tourist season, reports the Dubrovnik daily.

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July 13, 2020 - According to the latest classification of foreign countries adopted by the Hungarian government, Croatia is included in the 'green' category, which means that Hungarian citizens vacationing in Croatia do not have to quarantine or present a coronavirus test upon return to their country.

Thiis news was confirmed by the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board Office in Hungary, Ivana Herceg, who emphasized that all countries are classified into three categories: red, yellow and green, reports Dalmatinski Portal.

"The Hungarian market is entering our top 10 markets and I believe that the news of Croatia's classification in the green category will further encourage our Hungarian guests to spend their holidays in our country. So far in July, Hungarians have made almost 30,000 arrivals and more than 150,000 overnight stays in Croatia, which is approximately 45 percent of the results achieved in the same period last year," said the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board, Kristjan Stanicic, noting that most Hungarians are currently in Vir, Crikvenica, Rovinj, Rab and Krk.

"At a recent meeting with the owner of the company Vir Sziget, which sells and rents real estate on the island of Vir, the great interest of Hungarian tourists in the island of Vir, but also in the whole of Croatia, was confirmed. If the current epidemiological situation remains unchanged, the Hungarian market is expected to retain an interest in traveling to Croatian destinations," said Ivana Herceg.

The visit of one of the most famous Hungarian YouTubers, Magyarosi Csaba, will certainly contribute to the greater arrival of Hungarian tourists in. Croatia. Csaba published a video about his stay titled, 'With a camper in Croatia: What is it like to travel abroad now?', which has been viewed more than 156,000 times so far, as well as two other videos on 'Life in a luxury camp' and 'What is tourism like now and how is returning home from Croatia?' which together achieved nearly 200,000 views.

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When one thinks of Croatian tourism, they likely think of the coast, but as the limelight is finally being shone on continental Croatia, what about cruises along the country's inland rivers? As Novac writes on the 11th of July, 2020, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) River Tourism Association has demanded that "river cruising", ie passenger ships carrying more than forty passengers, be allowed to dock in Croatia's inland ports, which is currently prohibited.

Namely, due to the coronavirus pandemic, at the end of May this year, a Decision was passed on the necessary measure of banning the entry of passenger ships on international cruises to Croatian seaports and inland ports. This decision introduced a ban on the entry of passenger ships carrying more than forty passengers to Croatian inland ports and thus directly prevented the return of river cruise tourism, given that river cruisers have a capacity of up to 220 passengers.

"It isn't profitable for companies to operate with less than twenty percent of their usual capacity. I'd like to emphasise that the companies, in accordance with the measures adopted, have already made sure to secure five percent of their passenger capacity for accommodation in case one of their passengers becomes infected with coronavirus, and therefore I urge that the decision be changed as soon as possible,'' said Bozana Matos, president of the HGK River Tourism Association which sent a letter on behalf of the assotiation, ie a request to amend the Decision to the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, the Ministry of Tourism and the Croatian Institute of Public Health.

Croatian tourism still focuses primarily on the sea, but the country is actually very well recognised as a river cruise destination. Last year, 61,000 passengers visited Eastern Slavonia and Baranja by river, and passenger ports on the Danube and Drava recorded 560 docks with continuous annual positive growth trends. In June, some river cruise programmes began, in compliance with all of the epidemiological recommendations of the time, organised by the German company Nicko Cruises, and announcements of the return of river cruises continue, organised by A-Rosa, European Waterways and Croisi Europe.

"Some of these cruise companies have cruise programmes in Croatia, and the current Decision doesn't allow them to dock in one of the passenger ports along the Danube and the Drava, so we need to urgently change the Decision, which wouldn't limit the number of passengers on river cruises," explained Matos, noting that this should be re-visited with a special emphasis placed on the context of the latest data on the decline in the number of foreign cruise ships in Croatian seaports.

According to the CBS, in the first five months of 2020, foreign cruise ships recorded a decrease in the number of voyages of 91.2 percent and the number of days spent on the Croatian Adriatic declined by 87.8 percent when compared to the same period back in 2019. The number of passengers on these ships recorded an enormous and concerning decrease of 98.5 percent when compared to the same period in 2019.

"Unfortunately, these are very bad numbers and Croatia will need a long time to recover from this situation, but at the same time, this is an opportunity to strengthen the river cruise sector, provided that the decision is changed in time," said Matos.

The recommendations introduced measures to protect passengers on vessels in order to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, such as daily temperature measurements, mandatory social distancing, wearing masks, special epidemiological measures during boarding and disembarking and so forth.

For more on Croatian tourism in the coronavirus era, follow our travel page.

As Novac/Barbara Ban writes on the 8th of July, 2020, despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a breath of the tourist season is finally being felt in the popular Istrian city of Pula. The stormy weather that arrived recently drove most tourists off the beaches and they decided to finally go into the city.

The main streets and the Forum were full of people, which is really unusual to see during the coronavirus crisis and gives encouragement to continue with 2020's otherwise enfeebled tourist season. Restaurants, bars and shops, as well as souvenir shops in the city centre, which had been eerily empty in recent weeks, began to fill up slowly.

''Yes, we're satisfied with the beginning of July in Istria and all these numbers are growing every day. Last week we had about 90 thousand guests on the Peninsula, and this week we expect about 120 thousand. A slightly longer procedure on the border with Slovenia didn't deter guests from arriving in Istria,'' the director of the County Tourist Board, Denis Ivosevic, said briefly.

Many tourist workers in Istria were afraid of this situation given the health crisis we're still embedded quite deeply in, but fortunately the beginning of the week showed that it will not be an obstacle for the arrival of tourists.

As has been heard from the director of the largest hotelier in Pula, the Arena Hospitality Group's Reli Slonim, the numbers are getting better in camps in the south of Istria and even in hotels.

''It's difficult to predict the season now, but maybe we could reach around 60 percent of last year's turnover. We're satisfied with the situation as the camps are filled, where the largest number of our guests are currently located, and our hotels and tourist resorts have better and better numbers,'' said Slonim.

It's worth mentioning that Istrian holiday homes are currently well filled and have proven to be an ideal choice in a situation where most people are looking for safety and an escape from the crowds. A good part of them have been well filled since mid-June, and if the situation around the coronavirus epidemic remains under control, a good season in this segment of accommodation is expected by the end of September.

According to data from eVisitor, in the first seven days of July, 106,722 arrivals and 638,085 overnight stays were recorded in Istria. Most guests are from Germany, who realised the most overnight stays - 227,276 of them.

As is being said, there is potential for Istria to even reach last year's figures from this period for the beginning of July this year, which is something that was simply unimaginable to most up until very recently.

The Germans are followed by Slovenes with 147,326 overnight stays, Czechs with 55,479 overnight stays, Austrians with 49,031 and Italians with 35,595 overnight stays. The most visited destinations in Istria are Rovinj, Medulin, Umag, Porec, Vrsar, Tar-Vabriga, Funtana and of course, Pula.

For more on travel to, from and within Croatia during the coronavirus era, follow our travel page.

July 9, 2020 - In the first six months of 2020, 1.6 million tourists came to Croatia and achieved 7.6 million overnight stays - about 30% of last year's result for the same period. Most guests are in the northern Adriatic, and the least in Croatia's southern parts, or Dalmatia. However, things are starting to change. 

"In Split-Dalmatia County, the beginning of June was not promising, but now June is at around 20%, meaning 485,000 overnight stays. And if we look at the first six months - then we are at 19%, which would mean 785,000 overnight stays. In this situation, we are relatively satisfied with this data," said Josko Stella, director of the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board, for Studio 4 HTV. 

Dalmacija Danas reports that a reason for the unpopularity of Dalmatia for tourists this year, compared to, for example, Istria, is distance.

"Going to Dalmatia is a little different than going to Istria on a weekend or similar. The shorter the distance, the easier it is to get there," Stella said, adding that the situation has improved with the opening of more airlines at the Split Airport.

"Specifically, last weekend, we had 10,000 passengers, and the whole of June at the Split airport, there were 28,000 passengers. That tells you how big the jump is now," Stella said.

He added that more than 40 new direct airlines had been announced.

"Most importantly, we will have England, or Luton from London, a daily line, so we expect 200,000 passengers through July, which is not at the level of last year's 700,000 passengers, but it is a really big shift, because we expect even more passengers to come by land or car," Stella said.

That makes a big difference between this year’s first six months and the first five days of July.

"The first five days of July, we had 400,000 overnight stays. Compared to 785,000 overnight stays in the first six months. See what the difference is. That makes the figure for July 40%, so it can be seen that these few days are a significant jump in Dalmatia," said Stella.

There are problems with reservations and cancellations, because, as he says, European countries are urged not to travel, that is, to travel only within the borders of their countries.

"Until this situation is completely resolved, until Europe is united on this issue - there will always be problems with cancellations. But they are arriving and occupancy is rising," Stella said.

From July 17 to 19, he said, a group of 40 journalists and agents from Germany are coming to the Makarska Riviera.

"Also, we as the County Tourist Board, in cooperation with the Tourist Board of Sibenik-Knin, Zadar and the Croatian Tourist Board - are organizing the arrival of journalists by car from Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic - precisely so they can see how safe we are, how easy it is to get here, the condition of our tourism and how safe we actually are. That is why we are organizing this study trip for journalists and agents," Stella said, adding:

"All these actions are aimed at as many tourists as possible, but let's not forget: everything I say, this big plus, it can all change in one day. We must all be responsible: both tourists and hosts and citizens - and do everything to minimize the risk, to follow all instructions, to be careful, to keep our distance, masks and everything else that is needed."

Many believe that lower prices would attract more guests, but of course, some do not agree and are keeping higher prices.

"We as a tourist board do not go with these recommendations, because we believe that the market makes its own and it can be seen that the entire Mediterranean is moving in the direction of putting pressure on lower prices - of course, not in every type of accommodation and not in every destination," Stella said.

As an example, he mentioned the Makarska Riviera, where the prices of private accommodation are reduced by 20 to 30%, and everyone is more or less satisfied and capacity is filled with these prices. In contrast, some luxury accommodation is reduced minimally or not at all.

"But in general, yes, there is a reduction in prices throughout the Mediterranean," Stella told HTV.

He also said that all the big hotels that have been closed so far are slowly starting to open.

"Because they see that an increasing number of guests are coming and they see that they could still have more than we expected from this season. Of course, it’s far from those numbers, from the records that were in 2019 and the like," Stella concluded.

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July 8, 2020 - The New York Times published a list of countries US citizens can travel to, with or without COVID-19 restrictions. Croatia is on it.

In a piece titled 'I'm a U.S. Citizen. Where in the World Can I Go?', NY Times writer Karen Schwartz has listed the countries that were open to citizens as of early July, or are expected to open soon.

"Even as many countries remain off-limits to American visitors because of the high rate of coronavirus within the United States, about two dozen others have started to welcome, and in some cases woo, U.S. citizens to come spend their tourist dollars. Still, would-be vacationers generally face a host of conditions and a lot of travelers beware.

The U.S. State Department continues its Global Level 4 Health Advisory, which cautions against international travel because of the pandemic. However, it is also posting country-specific information as restrictions loosen.

Getting there is only part of the equation. Countries have their own Covid-19 mitigation measures that might include curfews or curtailed activities and services; most standard travel insurance policies won’t cover medical or travel expenses related to the coronavirus; and borders can close and flights be canceled with little warning, stranding people in foreign countries," Schwartz writes before listing the counties in alphabetical order. 

Croatia is among the countries currently allowing US citizens to enter.

Croatian tourism is painting two dramatically different pictures this summer. In the Istrian city of Rovinj, things are beginning to bloom, while it might be worth turning the lights off and locking the door down in Dubrovnik...

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 5th of July, 2020, the centre of Rovinj was the city with the most tourists in all of the Republic of Croatia on Saturday. Rovinj. Just over 13,000 guests decided to spend their holidays in Istria, in the town of St. Euphemia. Right by the sea, in the old town, in Rovinj, coffee is purchased for fifteen kuna, which is equivalent to just a little more than two euros, writes Dnevnik.hr

"There are a lot of people here on the weekends, mostly Austrians and Germans. There are also Italians. We expect that there will be more guests in July and August,'' said Sebastijan Ilic.

In Rovinj, occupancy levels are growing with increasing degrees on the thermometer, and the view of the old town from a five-star hotel will cost you about 4000 kuna per night. With breakfast included.

Much further down the coast in the famous City of Dubrovnik, Croatia's tourist Mecca, a completely different picture can be seen...

Down in Dubrovnik, the picture is completely different. Last year’s figures of 1.4 million tourist arrivals sound unreal now. Only 2,500 guests were registered in the city on Saturday, which is 10 percent of last year's traffic. Dubrovnik's coffee, an eternal inspiration to price analysts, still comes at a cost of 24 kuna on Stradun, and down one of the old city's streets, it costs up to 12 or 10 kuna.

In Dubrovnik, unfortunately, most of the terraces are empty. Some haven't yet even bothered to opened their doors. It's simple - there are no guests, so it's more cost-effective to keep the keys in the lock than put an empty pot on the stove for no reason.

For the most attractive view of the walls of Dubrovnik in a five-star hotel, you'll pay 5300 kuna. However, half of the hotels have not yet opened their doors in the famous Dalmatian city, and only some have adjusted their prices.

"We didn't open our hotels solely because of numbers and occupancy, but also because of the psychological effect, it proved to be the right decision and since the opening we're recording more and more interest, and we're pleased with the announcement from the British market, that is the most important one for Dubrovnik," said hotel spokeswoman Zrinka Martinovic.

On the most famous Dubrovnik beach this year, Banje (formerly East-West), you won't have a problem finding a place to put your towel this tourist season. One thing is for sure - this summer, many of Dubrovnik's actual residents will finally be able to enjoy their own beaches, which is both a blessing and a curse.

For more on Croatian tourism in the coronavirus era, follow our travel page.

Veljko Ostojic, the director of the Croatian Tourism Association, sat down to discuss the numbers in southern Croatia, the home of the country's tourist Mecca - Dubrovnik, as well as other popular Dalmatian locations that usually have no issues when it comes to pulling in tourists en masse.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has been wreaking havoc with global tourism and Croatia, which relies heavily on the tourism industry which makes up as much as 20 percent of its GDP is far from immune to the extremely negative trends the pandemic has and continues to cause. 

When looking at the numbers of foreign tourists who visited the country this time last year compared to now, there is a lot of reason to be concerned, especially as Croatia's cases of infection with the new coronavirus continue to rise. At the minute, this is among the only upward trends expected.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 4th of July, 2020, the director of the Croatian Tourism Association, Veljko Ostojic, as a guest on New Day/Novi Dan, said that given the expectations and fears that preceded the Croatian tourist season, he was not entirely dissatisfied. Most of Croatia's current guests are staying in the northern Adriatic, and the least of all are in the extreme south of Croatia, according to N1.

"The situation is different in different parts of the Adriatic. In the north, we're at about 40 percent, in the central Adriatic we're between 20-25, and in the south, we're at 10 or less percent when compared to the same day last year. Happy booking balances for July and August... If nothing radical happens, I hope that the numbers will grow by the end of the season,'' stated Veljko Ostojic.

Veljko Ostojic also noted that there have been 1,720,000 arrivals of foreign tourists to the Republic of Croatia to date, adding that no tourists have been infected with the new coronavirus when staying in commercial accommodation. "We have had several cases of foreigners being infected, but none of them have been infected in Croatia, as far as we know,'' he added.

He pointed out that the situation on the coast is much better than in all countries that have introduced difficult regimes for crossing borders, ie the return of their citizens.

Veljko Ostojic said that prices are defined by each service provider for themselves and are the result of supply and demand. "There are also cases in the north where prices have dropped. Prices to the south are still generally lower, but I can't say that it's something linear and general,''

Family/private accommodation is especially at risk...

Family accommodation is the most affected accommodation category.

''We have over 600,000 beds… A large number of beds will certainly result in reduced demand,” he said. Even in a crisis situation, quality is a priority, so there are more guests in higher category camps.

When asked how Slovenia's decision to make crossing the Slovenian-Croatian border makes it more difficult for Croatia, he said: "Slovenia's decision is reflected in the bookings,'' adding that the move was made primarily as a result of the recent situation in Zadar.

For more on travel to, from and within Croatia in the coronavirus era, follow our travel page.

July 5, 2020 - There are currently 354,000 tourists in Croatia - and almost 40,000 tourists enter the country daily.  The Tourist Board Directors of Istria and Split-Dalmatia County comment on the current situation.

Dalmacija Danas reports that most tourists in Croatia are in Istria, then Kvarner, while tourists in the south are still hard to come by, as they mostly arrive by air. But even that should change soon, given the larger number of airlines announced in July. 

Joško Stella, director of the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board, and Denis Ivošević, director of the Istria Tourist Board, spoke about the situation in tourism.

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Ivošević said that Istria currently has about 100,000 guests, mostly Germans, Slovenes, Slovaks and Czechs. Forty percent of tourists are in private accommodation, 40 percent in camps and 20 percent in hotels.

Stella said that at the beginning of June in Split-Dalmatia County, the situation regarding tourism was horrible and that the number of tourists was 10 percent compared to last year.

"When we look at the first six months, we have a turnover of 19 percent compared to last year. That is 770 overnight stays compared to last year when we had 4 million," he said, adding that already now, at the end of June, and at the beginning of July, exponential growth can be seen.

He emphasized that the introduction of new airlines is beginning and that the introduction of routes from Great Britain is especially important.

"According to current estimates, about 200,000 passengers are expected. That is not much compared to last year, which had 700,000 passengers, but it is a lot compared to June," he pointed out.

Slovenia placed Croatia on the 'yellow list' of less safe countries. When asked whether this will affect the arrival of tourists and whether smaller bookings are already being recorded, Ivošević stated that bookings did not fall, but that it was the wrong message for Croatian tourism.

"I believe that after the elections, our Government will be in negotiations with Slovenia. I think it is important to emphasize that no tourist in our country was infected through local transmission, but all these were imported cases," he said, adding that protocols against coronavirus in Istria work very well, so tourists can feel safe.

Stella pointed out that last year in the first six months in Split-Dalmatia County, there were one million overnight stays of guests from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"They are as important to us as the guests from Slovenia. The markets of Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina accounted for over 50 percent of our turnover last year, so we took action to bring journalists and bloggers from those countries in cooperation with the Croatian National Tourist Board to show them that Croatia is a safe destination," he said.

Ivošević said that our priority is to maintain a positive epidemiological situation because it is the largest promotional tool with which we can communicate that we are a safe destination.

"We hope that in July and August, we will reach a figure between 30 and 40 percent compared to the same period last year," he stressed.