June 30, 2020 - Croatia will remain on Slovenia's 'green list' of safe countries to visit this year without needing to quarantine for 14 days upon return. 

24 Sata24 Sata reports that Jelko Kacin, the Slovenian government's spokesman for COVID-19, wrote on Twitter that the Croatian government has decided to take over their patterns of behavior and will close nightclubs, discos and cancel major events

He added that they, therefore, accepted the decision not to remove Croatia from the list of safe countries.

"We are giving Croatia the opportunity to slow down the growth of the infection with consistent measures," Kacin added.

Croatia was the focus of today's conference of the Slovenian government, where the National Institute of Public Health said that the number of cases in Croatia is declining and that with the measures we are preparing, we will be able to maintain this trend.

Recall, due to the increase in the number of cases in Croatia, Slovenia has considered removing Croatia from the list of 'green' countries. It is not a matter of the government intimidating Slovenian tourists or advising them not to go to those countries, but they must behave responsibly and very carefully and not risk getting infected, Kacin explained yesterday.

In addition, a binding 14-day quarantine is not required when returning from these countries, but those who go to such destinations must be responsible and act very carefully, he explained. So you should contact doctors as soon as you notice symptoms upon return or pay special attention to distancing if they are in Croatia.

In the last 24 hours, 15 new cases of coronavirus infection have been confirmed in Slovenia, the Slovenian government announced on Tuesday.

Thus, the number of total confirmed infections has increased to 1,600 since the beginning of the epidemic, and it is estimated that another 101 are active cases of infection. So far, there have been 111 deaths among those infected, and there are currently eight patients in the hospital being treated for COVID-19, the health ministry said.

The decision, which is in line with what Kacin states, is also that of the Civil Protection Headquarters of the City of Novalja, which decided last night that there will be no festivals on Zrce this year.

"In the area of ​​Zrce beach, in agreement with the owners of clubs and festivals, no electronic music festival has been organized so far, nor does the City of Novalja want to issue any consent for holding music events on Zrce beach. Given the recent events in the Republic of Croatia, and related to the appearance of coronavirus in some nightclubs, today the Headquarters decided that this summer tourist season will not issue approvals to clubs and concessionaires on Zrce beach for festivals, after parties and similar parties. The same applies to party boats," they said in a statement.

They add that after reaching the conclusion in contact with the mayor of Kolan, Marin Pernjak, an identical conclusion was agreed that will be reached during the day at the session of the Civil Protection Headquarters of Kolan, which applies to the club Noa and other smaller clubs.

To read more breaking news in Croatia, follow. TCN's dedicated page.

June 30, 2020 - Darija Reic of the Croatian National Tourist Board Office in Great Britain comments on the air bridge and British interest in Croatia. 

Over the last few days, the media has been talking about negotiations between Great Britain and specific European destinations on the so-called "air bridge", including Croatia. On Sunday, the story received additional media focus, as well as concrete official outlines.

Namely, Priti Patel from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Dailymail that negotiations are underway with individual countries, regarding the establishment of an air bridge without quarantine, and that the ministry is working "overnight" to achieve them.

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Most importantly, there is a great demand, and travel agencies from the UK are overwhelmed by the demand for travel to Europe, as well as Croatia.

As Patel points out, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to enable Brits to go on vacation to the safest destinations without quarantine for 14 days, and it is expected to come into force on July 6.

HRTurizam spoke with the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board Representation in Great Britain, Darija Reic, about the possible air bridge as well as the interest in Croatia from the UK market.

When asked about the interest in Croatia in the British market, Reic pointed out that Croatia ranks high as a safe destination, since the beginning of the pandemic, and even today.

"In the last two days since the news was announced about the categorization of destinations to which it will be possible to travel from Great Britain without the need to quarantine on return, there has been increased interest in Croatia, which has been ranked high as a safe destination since the pandemic. Airlines operate their programs in accordance with the decisions and recommendations of the Government, and we already have flight announcements from the beginning of July to Pula and Rijeka, and from mid-July to Zadar, Split and Dubrovnik. The representative office in Great Britain also records high interest and increased number of inquiries from the public, especially last weekend," Reic points out.

As for the negotiations on the air bridge, they are conducted at the state level, and the CNTB office in London, as Reic points out, continuously communicates that we are open to British tourists and that Croatia is a safe destination, ready to receive guests.

Considering the corona situation, but also the economic crisis, the question is how much it has left a mark on the financial power of British tourists who are known as guests with high consumption. According to the research Thomas Summer 2017, tourists from the United Kingdom are right behind tourists from the USA in terms of the highest daily consumption per person - 139 euro. And in the past few years, consumption has certainly grown even more, thanks to the large number of young British tourists who have visited festivals on the Adriatic.

Reic points out that the British are extremely careful about the value of money, and logically, as well as their reduced travel budget, following COVID-19. "Britons traditionally like to get more for their money, and in light of the pandemic and weakened economic power, it is to be expected that price will be a strong motivator in choosing a destination."

What is important at the moment is concrete negotiations at the state level, not just media speculation, and there is great interest in Croatia from the UK market. More official positive news can be expected in the coming days around the air bridge between the UK and Croatia. 

To better position itself on the UK market, Reic points out that the CNTB campaign is underway in the UK market, and that the British will currently look for smaller tourist locations or "hidden gems" that are very common on the Adriatic coast and islands.

“Split, Dalmatia, Dubrovnik and the Neretva Valley are traditionally the favorite regions of the British. What many certainly want to experience is, for example, a visit to Dubrovnik without the usual crowds. In light of the pandemic and social distancing, tourists will look for smaller tourist locations and 'hidden gems', which are very common on the coast and islands, and they should be given special attention to communication activities. Well-known specialized travel magazines have authority and weight, and national newspapers mostly have sections dedicated to travel that serve as an inspiration to readers, with a huge reach, especially online. Nowadays, when we really spend a lot of time on mobile phones and laptops, online communication is crucial, and interactive content such as video ads attract special attention," Reic concluded.

As Filip Pavic/Novac writes on the 28th of June, 2020, the "green light" for the Croatian tourism industry arrived recently from the British market, which was assessed as a safe destination for receiving British tourists.

The British authorities have now announced the introduction of the so-called "traffic light" system which, according to the risk of coronavirus infection, will rank popular tourist destinations across the rest of Europe and the world with red, yellow and green labels.

The green label, which represents a minimal risk of infection, in addition to Croatia, as things stand now, should be given to Greece, Germany and Austria, among others. Greece, by the way, has already announced 70 percent discounts trying to lure Britons to its beaches.

According to that decision, which comes into force on July the 6th, when all air traffic opens, British tourists will not have to go into two-week quarantine when returning home from their holiday in Croatia, as has been the case so far.

In the yellow category, which represents a moderate risk, there were also some of Croatian tourism's competitors - Italy, Spain, Portugal, France and Austria. In their case, the quarantine obligation has also now been rendered invalid, but can be introduced if the epidemiological situation escalates in the meantime. On the other hand, countries like Argentina, Brazil and Egypt, all marked in red, carry with them the obligation of two weeks of self-isolation upon return to Britain.

''This is the news we expected, given that Croatia has shown the highest level of security and epidemiological preparedness throughout this time. The British market is important to us, one of the top ten, and it is also extremely important for air traffic,'' said Kristjan Stanicic, the director of the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ/CNTB).

As expected, British tourists mostly travel to Croatia by plane, and the CNTB, says Stanicic, has already started negotiations with British tour operators and airlines, such as EasyJet, Jet2 and British Airways, and is conducting two marketing campaigns on the British market.

''We can expect an increase in air traffic to Split and Dubrovnik in July, which is certainly a good thing. I'd like to mention once again that the fact that we're talking about tourist traffic in general is a clear sign that we have managed the epidemiological situation well. And the current figures of 300 thousand guests in Croatia confirm this,'' underlined Stanicic.

After the British authorities officially confirm the opening of borders to summer destinations in the coming days, tourists from the UK can be expected here in Croatia in mid-July. Since 800,000 of them stayed in Croatia last year, and they also realised 4.2 million overnight stays, and Stanicic didn't want to speculate on how many British tourists the Croatian tourism sector could expect this year. He says that he is continuing to adhere to the general expectations of 30 percent when compared to last year.

A slightly more modest figure of 25 percent of tourist arrivals was stated by Boris Zgomba, the president of the management board of Uniline and the president of the Association of Travel Agencies of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK(. However, he noted that placing Croatia in the green category is a great promotion that we might never have been able to perform on our own without a helping hand from a powerful European country such as Britain.

''This is a status that no one has given us, but we've earned it by our own efforts, but this "traffic light" system is not something that is set in stone, it can always change,'' he warned.

Namely, although Croatian tourism's main European competitors are mostly, figuratively speaking, at the yellow light in terms of the UK's traffic light system, the British will correct these labels in accordance with the epidemiological situation of each country. This could mean that Italy, for example, ends up in the green category in July, as well as that Croatia falls one step below if the epidemiological situation worsens.

''Although at the moment we have a kind of growth in the number of positives, it isn't related to Croatian tourism, but rather to the relaxation of Croatian citizens. If, of course, we stay within the existing numbers I think we don’t have to worry about losing the green label. We still have a solid number of tourists in Croatia, without any of them being positive so far, and the situation hasn't escalated in that segment,'' Zgomba pointed out.

Asked if data on the number of Britons who booked accommodation might be available, or for those who hadn't cancelled their previous reservations, which would give us an insight into how much we can expect, the leader of Uniline answered that it is difficult to discuss such matters as this moment in time.

''At the moment, a very small number of Britons have booked accommodation through our agency, but the reason is that they didn't even know whether they would be able to travel or not, the rule of mandatory quarantine was valid. They're not guests who can just sit in their cars and come, they have to get organised, they need to know in advance how many airlines they will have available,'' he explained.

Calm and cool-headed, Veljko Ostojic, director of the Croatian Tourism Association (HUT), said we should be aware of everything that is happening and, as before, carefully balance things between opening borders and receiving guests.

''The British market is an extremely important market for us and, of course, every guest is important to us, but I think we should carefully weigh things up and keep in mind the epidemiological situation in the countries we're opening to, and we have done so successfully,'' said Ostojic. He added that there are other important markets for Croatian tourism that we shouldn't ignore. In Europe, it isn't only the Brits who realise many arrivals and overnight stays, there are other Northern European countries to think of, such as the Netherlands, whose guests in realised 2.6 million overnight stays back in 2018.

According to the BBC, the United Kingdom had just over 1,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and about 180 deaths on Friday. They are recording a declining trend compared to April when they had more than a thousand deaths due to coronavirus per day.

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

June 25, 2020 - There are currently 246,000 tourists in Croatia, Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli reported on Thursday.

"There are currently 246,000 tourists in Croatia, and the number is growing by 20,000 to 30,000 a day," Cappelli said at a government session, as reported by Glas Istre.

He added that this is a sign that Croatia is a "safe and recognizable" tourist country.

Cappelli presented these data as part of the discussion on the adoption of the Decree amending the Law on Islands, which increases the amount of healthy water for human consumption at a subsidized price from 45 to 85 cubic meters per year per islander.

Novi List reported yesterday that the new border rules would slightly tighten controls on entry into Croatia from Serbia and BiH, where the epidemiological picture has been disturbed, while the rule for 10 European countries agreed before remains the same, Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said during a visit to Crikvenica and a tour of Crikvenica's tourism company Jadran d.d. Crikvenica.

When asked by journalists whether there were cancellations of accommodation in Croatia due to the coronavirus outbreak at the Adria Tour in Zadar, he answered that there were no cancellations, but that there was a little more pressure on questions asked by the media from nearby countries such as Slovenia and Austria.

"The fact is that there is a delay in order to see in a day or two whether something special will change, so far, there are no major connotations and I think that the new climate that has been created could be stopped in a few days.

We have to be ready for such events, either here or on the islands, these situations will be and from the first day, I say that we just have to be well prepared and have quality protocols to know who is doing what at what time. This goes for hotels, camps; everyone has their rules of conduct and what to do in case of infection to make tourists feel safe as if they were in their own country.

For these 10 EU member states, a health care system has been developed for who pays whom," Cappelli said.

Austria and Slovenia have threatened to introduce self-isolation for their citizens when they return from Croatia, journalists reminded him.

"No, today I spoke to my colleagues from Great Britain where we will define the entry of British tourists into the Croatian market so if they still insist on entering, there is no reason not to trust our first neighbors with whom we have very good relations.

A Slovenian government spokesman said Slovenian citizens would not have any restrictions when they returned from Croatia. I visited a hotel in Opatija this morning, it is practically full, there are no free rooms and 99 percent of foreign tourists are in it.

From what I heard in conversations with people from agencies and tour operators, there are no cancellations of arrivals, only now everything is a bit slow. Not that tourists do not want to come, but they want more information and they want to wait a day or two to see if the epidemiological situation in Croatia may worsen," Cappelli said, adding that there are still no canceled flights.

As many as 66 foreign flights will be launched in a few days and 11 Croatia Airlines flights; with Frankfurt alone, we will have 32 lines a week and in this way, we prove that we can connect with the whole world via Frankfurt.

Today, Great Britain is still being specified, so the British should start arriving soon. Jet2.com insists on that and has quite good bookings, especially for Split and Dubrovnik, and I believe that we will achieve good results there," said the Minister, and when asked by journalists how risky it is, considering that Great Britain currently has the most severe epidemiological corona situation in Europe with 2,000 to 2,300 patients a day, the minister said the control rules would apply as everywhere else.

"If our competition opens for Britain - Spain, Italy, Portugal and France, I think it would not be a good message to be the only one to close the door to them, because the British market is very important to Croatia, but with additional quality epidemiological measures that will certainly be in airports. 

After we agree with the British Ministries of Tourism and Foreign Affairs and get the green light to fly to Croatia, then we will further analyze the epidemiological situation. I call on all of us in Croatia to act a little more responsibly, we relaxed, and the recommendations are still valid," said Minister Cappelli.

He pointed out that airlines are crucial for Croatian tourism because Split-Dalmatia County and Dubrovnik are practically dependent on airlines.

"In Split-Dalmatia County and Dubrovnik, America and Britain are the strongest markets, only then do the Germans and everyone else come. The return of tourists from these markets will automatically revive Split-Dalmatia County and Dubrovnik, which is why these flights are important to us.

There is also Zadar for which Ryanair is running 40 percent of its activities compared to last year, and they are opening these permanent lines, to begin with. The fact that we are opening about 90 airlines next week is really good in these circumstances," Cappelli said.

Also, the Minister announced that CRO cards will start on July 1 and that they will already be assigned to some companies.

"The cards have been printed, the first two banks have signed, and later we will contract with other banks, we have talked to eight other banks and they are ready to cooperate. We will discuss giving the cards additional benefits in the future.

In fact, they are now not only valid for catering facilities, hotels and camps, but we have expanded their use to nautical and family accommodation. Due to the situation in the country caused by the coronavirus, we expect a decline in interest in the CRO card this year, according to a survey we conducted earlier this year, there were more than 63 interested in using the card, and now that number will drop dramatically to ten percent," concluded Minister Cappelli.

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Brits, much like other sun deprived Northern Europeans, are getting itchy feet in their desperation for a getaway and a bit of vitamin D. As Croatia's epidemiological picture is so favourable, more talks are underway which could provide a much needed boost to Croatian tourism this year.

Media updates from UK (June 27)

Summer holiday air bridges: Government confirms ‘traffic light system’ to make international travel easier for Britons in July

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 24th of June, 2020, British ministers are in talks with the leaders of six other European countries to establish ''air bridges'' for British tourists looking to spend their holidays abroad, the Guardian has learned. The British, among others, are negotiating with Croatia.

The key to the story is to allow tourists from the United Kingdom to come to countries with a low prevalence of coronavirus infections and be able to return home without having to go into self-isolation or quarantine.

In addition to Croatia, British ministers are negotiating with Spain, Italy, Greece, France and Turkey, and the possibility of an agreement with Germany and Austria is being discussed. In Britain, they hope that the negotiations will be completed by Monday, when the United Kingdom, otherwise the worst affected country in Europe, is set to announce a new set of mitigation measures.

A source from the British Government told the Guardian that when they were compiling the list of countries, they only looked at the percentage of infection per 100,000 inhabitants. Australia, for example, was also considered, but in the end the choice fell only on the Mediterranean countries which have always been a traditional favourite for British holiday makers due to their close proximity and being on the same continent.

''Air bridges will be strictly monitored and this plan is a priority for the British Government at the moment, there's no doubt about it,'' a source from the British Government told the Guardian.

However, the popular British newspaper warns that the European Commission (EC) said a few months ago that the opening of such corridors could be subject to discrimination and that the rules must be the same for all countries that have a similar epidemiological situation.

In any case, the British choice eventually fell on the Mediterranean countries, and the reason is more than clear - overseas destinations require transfers in countries where the epidemiological situation is much more serious.

''There was talk about Singapore and Bermuda, but in the end the decision was made to focus on here in Europe,'' it was claimed.

For now, it is known that this idea is strongly supported by Transport Minister Grant Shapps, who spoke extensively about passenger corridors last week.

''We've been working for some time on establishing 'air bridges' or, more precisely, passenger corridors,'' he said at a press conference held in Downing Street, and his deputy, Jim McMahon, publicly said that the rule of 14 days quarantine upon return must be abolished, according to Jutarnji list.

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Of the total number of overnight stays this weekend, domestic tourists accounted for 23 percent, and the rest were foreigners, mostly Germans. In this incredibly difficult period for Croatian tourism, it's hard to predict what might come next in the country that was handling the coronavirus pandemic so well until the recent Adria Tour debacle in Zadar.

As Marija Crnjak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 24th of June, 2020, the Republic of Croatia has been experiencing the strongest demand on the Mediterranean thanks to its favourable epidemiological picture, but with Greece and Spain planning to start returning to the tourist map at the beginning of July, for which there is interest from the market that Croatia is counting on, it's hard to say what the situation will be over the next two, crucial tourist months.

In addition to all of the above, the question we now have to ask is what this past long weekend would have been like if it hadn't been preceded by the aforementioned tennis tournament in Zadar, which brought enormously bad publicity to the country and the Croatian tourism strategy due to the spread of the infection following a couple of weeks or so of peace from the virus. It also shouldn't be overlooked that Spain still has more than 68,000 active cases of coronavirus infection, and is counting on opening up tourism in spite of that.

As reported by the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) on Tuesday, according to the first results of the eVisitor system, 185,389 arrivals and 842,659 overnight stays were realised in Croatia from the 19th to the 22nd of June, and an average of around 210,000 tourists stayed in Croatia daily.

They mostly stayed in commercial accommodation, ''weekenders'' were responsible for about 11,000 arrivals and about 163,000 overnight stays. Additionally, during the weekend from June the 16th to the 21st, toll fees of 23.37 million kuna were collected on the motorways under the jurisdiction of the Croatian Motorways (HAC) and the Rijeka-Zagreb Motorway, which is 32 percent less than in the comparable weekend last year, as reported b HAC.

There were 486,614 vehicles on the aforementioned motorways, marking a 22 percent decrease when compared to last year. To illustrate that, back in 2018 during the long weekend from June the 21st to the 25th, 2.9 million tourist overnight stays and 621,000 tourist arrivals were realised.

"We've entered the main part of the tourist year, Croatia is among the few Mediterranean countries in which tourist traffic is currently being realised and we should be proud of that fact. The defense system against the coronavirus throughout the country has been set at a high level. We respect the efforts and recommendations of the competent professionals. The conditions have been provided for a safe tourist summer, and day by day we're going to record an increasing influx of guests, and it's up to all of us, residents and tourists, to act responsibly and adhere to all of the prescribed epidemiological measures,'' said the director of the Croatian Tourist Board, Kristjan Stanicic, adding that promotional activities aimed at the domestic market will begin in just a few days.

842.6 thousand overnight stays in Croatia were realised from the 19th to the 22nd of June. There were 2.9 million of them at that time last year.

Of the total number of overnight stays recorded this past weekend, domestic tourists realised 23 percent, and the rest were foreigners, of which most overnight stays were realised by tourists from Germany (holding a 24 percent share in total overnight stays), along with Slovenes, Austrians and Czechs.

The highest number of overnight stays was recorded in Istria County (31 percent), followed by Primorje-Gorski Kotar County (24 percent) and Zadar County (17 percent), while looking at destinations, most overnight stays were recorded in Rovinj, Vir, Medulin, Mali Losinj and Porec.

Most overnight stays were realised in private accommodation, making up almost a third of them all, camps enjoyed slightly more than a quarter of the traffic, and the smallest share in overnight stays, of a mere thirteen percent, was realised by hotels. As stated, Greece and Spain are preparing to receive tourists in July, and the German TUI has already taken the first groups of German tourists to Mallorca, their favourite destination, as part of a pilot project to start a hotel business.

Ivor Vucelic, the head of TUI's hotel segment for the Central and Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa, told Jutarnji list that TUI is in a phase where there are more booking delays for next summer, and Croatia is not exempt from this trend. Of the new bookings, which are still extremely minimal, most are still for stays in Greece and Spain. What this means for Croatian tourism is yet to unfold.

Although the British Government still doesn't recommend its citizens to travel abroad except in case of emergency, the British TUI announced these days that it is ready to launch flights from the United Kingdom, to Greece, the Balearics and the Canary Islands, from the 11th of July. If sentiments change in the Government, and they expect them to, they're ready to fly to a small number of resorts by the end of July, and increase that number in August and September.

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

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has raised its ugly head here in Croatia once again after a couple of weeks of relative peace, is seeing even some of Croatian tourism's most faithful guests cancel their reservations as the lie about Croatia being a ''coronavirus free'' country is exposed for what it is.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 23rd of June, 2020, athough holiday homes are currently one of the most sought-after types of accommodation, private renters are facing a very difficult peak season that will be affected by the latest developments with the coronavirus epidemic. But even without that, reservations are sinking.

''We have loyal guests and people who really wanted to come and kept their reservations until the very last minute, however, as the situation isn't improving, as we approach July and August and the dates of their arrival, they have started to cancel them. We all hoped that with these reservations and last minute bookings, we'd reach those 40 percent of last year's figures, but now it's slowly starting to be questionable,'' Martina Nimac Kalcina, president of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce's Family Accommodation Association, told Novi list.

Thus, for example, as she states, there is an example that the Slovenes, who are the closest to Croatia geographically and who booked their holidays even during the height of the coronavirus epidemic, are now cancelling their reservations. The southern counties, such as Dubrovnik-Neretva County, are especially dependent on airlines, unlike Kvarner and Istria, which can easily be reached by car.

''Everyone hoped that it would be better, but since it isn't, it's important to do someething with what we have left for July and August. But it should also be noted that guests who still do have reservations really want to come. It's just that their arrival will depend on the situation at the border, quarantines and the airlines,'' concluded the president of the Family Tourism Association of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce.

Family accommodation expert Nedo Pinezic sought to make the reminder clear that it is difficult for the Croatian tourism sector as a whole to try to be smart in this situation, given that the booking situation changes from day to day, and it is mostly influenced by the epidemiological situation in Croatia and the increase in the number of patients infected with the new coronavirus.

This coincides with the announcement of the German Robert Koch Institute where they said that all travelers from Germany who travel to regions that have more than 50 patients per 100 thousand inhabitants, will be required to be tested or quarantined upon their return home to Germany. The number of patients is being monitored, primarily by individual regions. It is also clear that more vulnerable groups of guests, such as seniors, are being very cautious indeed.

For more on Croatian tourism in the coronavirus era, follow our dedicated section.

From not wanting to open their borders to allow Austrian citizens to go on holiday to Croatia freely amid the coronavirus pandemic to Austrian travellers replacing Italy as their number one holiday destination all in a matter of weeks. Could Croatian tourism be in for a welcome boost?

As Barbara Ban/Novac writes on the 22nd of June, 2020, of the foreign destinations available to go on holiday to during this, entirely disturbed tourist season, Croatia is convincingly number one for Austrian nationals, followed by Italy, which is a traditional favourite of theirs.

This information is according to an analysis undertaken by the Gallup Institute, which was conducted per thousand respondents between June the 10th and June the 15th this year, and published in the Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung. Admittedly, as many as 60 percent of Austrian citizens plan to stay at home this year and pump some money into their own economy despite the borders of their neighbouring countries having been opened.

Only 28 percent of Austrians want to go abroad, and most of them want to go to the coast and to nearby countries, according to the survey. As many as a third of these passengers, or more specifically 32 percent of them, want to or will travel to Croatia and give the Croatian tourism industry a much needed spring in its step.

Croatia is closely followed by Italy, which comes as no surprise as the Mediterranean country has been the favourite destination of Austrian tourists for many years now, but only 15 percent of Austrian citizens claim that they will travel to Italy, which has otherwise had some devastating results in regard to the coronavirus pandemic, this year.

Eight percent of tourists from Austria say they intend to travel to Greece, and seven percent of them will go to neighbouring countries (Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia). The same number of Austrians will go to Germany, Spain and the Canary Islands. The fewest Austrians opted for Turkey - a mere four percent of them, and even fewer will go to to other European countries such as Cyprus, Britain and France.

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

June 20, 2020 - How would you rather spend your money? A car ferry ticket to a Croatian island, or 7 days accommodation in Greece INCLUDING flight from the UK AND money left over for dinner and drinks?

I have spoken to and met with a lot of people in the last few weeks, gathering information and experiences about the tourist season, or lack of it. Once Tourism Minister Cappelli announced that Croatia was 'breathing tourism', the natural expectation was that there would be an upsurge in arrivals, and that there would be the semblance of a tourist season. With a general election just 15 days away, it is important to keep up all the positive stories of what the Croatian Government is doing to bring tourists to Croatia. 

The reality, sadly, is very, very little, despite what you may hear. The Croatian National Tourist Board is only targetting seven countries with its latest campaign - Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia and Poland. No need to target the likes of Switzerland, for example. 

I was in Munich for 24 hours this week, surely a key market for German tourists. I walked all over the centre of town and was looking out for signs of Croatian tourism promotion. 

There was nothing whatsoever. 

Here, at Karlsplatz Stacchus in the centre of Munich, an enticing invitation to visit Austria. 

Talking to various tourism professionals has been very insightful to provide a bigger picture overall. One hotel group told me that 75% of their regular guests (Americans, Brazilians, Asians) cannot physically visit Croatia at the moment, so the best they can expect is 25% of last year. If the arrivals of the other countries will be at the same level.

They won't be. 

Another told me of the change in travel patterns which seems to be emerging. The era of island hopping is slowly changing to a fixed address for a 7-day stay, as tourists would rather have limited contact and onward travel. 

And then there is price. 

Back on March 25, 2020, in Hope v Reality: Will There Be a 2020 Tourist Season in Croatia?, I wrote

Competition for tourists after coronavirus is going to be INSANE

Greece, Italy, Spain, Egypt, France, Turkey, Tunisia, Montenegro and many other countries have very large tourism industries, all of which are in a similar situation as Croatia. They will all be trying extra hard to grab whatever they can from the smaller pot of potential tourists. And one of the key weapons they will fight with is one where Croatian tourism is not particularly competitive. 

Price. 

Expect savage discounts to get at least some tourists to come. Imagine how cheap Italy is going to be, for example, as they need to rebuild their tourism industry. But Turkey, Egypt, Greece - they are better on price than Croatia traditionally, so if there is going to be a tourist season in Croatia this year, there is going to have to be a lot of thought on price. 

Want to know just how insane that competition is? You can currently book a 7-day holiday in Greece from the UK with self-catering accommodation AND flight for £124, departing in the peak season on July 12. Just one of many, many unbelievable deals being offered by Croatia's tourism competition. Check some of them out here.

That £124 for an entire holiday including flight is considerably cheaper than the cost of the return ferry ticket for a family car to the island of Lastovo, and a similar price for the Split to Stari Grad ferry on Hvar. So island visitors are already paying as more or more for their holiday without adding the costs of travel and accommodation.

But worry not, for the Ministry of Tourism is celebrating the fact that Jadrolinija (a State-owned company) is not increasing its fares for the 2020 season. 

If you are travelling on a ferry in Croatia this summer, you will certainly be able to 'breathe Croatia's tourism' as there will be few tourists around you. 

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Is there hope for Croatian tourism this season? Italian tourists are slowly trickling back into some of their favourite destinations in Croatia - Kvarner and Istria. Owners of accommodation facilities in those parts of Croatia claim that the bookings are looking promising indeed.

As Novac/Barbara Ban writes on the 17th of June, 2020, Italian tourists have itchy feet as the better control of the coronavirus pandemic allows for a glimmer of hope.

How do I come to have my teeth repaired at the dentist in Rovinj? Will you receive us in your apartment like you did last year? Are we welcome? How can we even get to you in this situation? What are the recommendations and will there be problems at the border? Do I need to provide booking confirmation?

These are all questions that currently plague those Italians who, regardless of the major health crisis in their country, want to come to Croatia for dental tourism or just for a summer holiday. Many are addressed to Istrian and Kvarner apartment renters and dentists who work with the Italian market. Inquiries are continuing to arrive every day from Italians at the address of the Croatian National Tourist Board's office in Milan, as well as at the addresses of local tourist boards across the Istrian Peninsula.

There are currently only two thousand Italian guests staying in Croatia, there are about 1,200 Italian guests in Istria, and about 500 in Kvarner, and the rest are in the vicinity of Zadar, while a slightly smaller number of Italian guests are in the rest of Dalmatia and in Zagreb. In Rovinj, for example, they are in 4th place when it comes to tourist arrivals.

''This is a great indicator if we take into account the fact that Italy came out of lockdown only on June the 3rd, when travel bans within Italy and travel abroad were lifted. Therefore, there's a lot of interest in Croatian destinations on the Italian market, despite strong messages and campaigns aimed at motivating Italians to stay in their own country when it comes to tourist travel. Inquiries most often refer to Istria, Kvarner and Dalmatia, and there are also questions about the details about entering Croatia, the necessary documents, how to fill out the forms, as well as protocols in various destinations. However, by far the largest number of inquiries come from boaters and for accommodation in camps and private rental facilities,'' says Viviana Vukelic, the director of the Croatian Tourist Board (CNTB) in Milan, the epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic in Italy.

Italians are primarily troubled by the fact that because of the whole situation surrounding the epidemic, they might not be accepted abroad. They have a feeling that they are not welcome anywhere else other than Italy at the present moment.

''The Italians closely followed who closed their to them borders first, and the disaster that befell them further strengthened their national pride and strong support for everything that is "Made in Italy". This topic was covered a lot in the Italian media, and the news about the possibilities of going to Greece and how the inhabitants of certain Italian regions are treated there was especially negatively accepted. Croatia has always been a good host to all its guests and the perception of the country among Italians is generally very positive, which has been confirmed by numerous media reports about Croatia as a tourist destination,'' says the director of the Italian CNTB office.

Despite the dire situation, Vukelic has been promoting Croatian tourism all along. During the quarantine in Italy, Croatia's representative office prepared and delivered positively intoned texts and information to Italian newsrooms, and popular Italian tourism magazines published articles and reports about the country. The brand campaign of Croatian tourism entitled "The holiday you deserve is closer than you think" will soon follow, which will be implemented in late June and early July with a focus on the topics of nautical, sun and sea and cycling tourism in Croatia.

Last year, more than 1.2 million arrivals and about 5.5 million overnight stays were realised by Italian nationals, which was an increase of about 3 percenr when compared to how things were back in 2018. This year should have been even better. But now it is difficult to predict anything as far as travel and Croatian tourism in general is concerned.

Vukelic explains that the Italian market is characterised by individuality and "last minute" reservations, which is why even in normal market circumstances it can be somewhat difficult to predict trends from this market in advance. Given the current unprecedented situation, things are even harder to predict, not only because of the health crisis but also the economic issues Italy is now facing.

''Everything will depend on the financial capabilities of the Italians, of which there are currently about 2,000 in Croatia, and we expect a further increase as the main summer months approach, especially August, when Italians usually travel the most. In any case, we expect a challenging year. Through marketing and promotional activities, we're positioning Croatia as a desirable, attractive and, above all, safe tourist destination,'' she says.

Despite all of the efforts the Croatian tourism sector puts into trying to attract Italians and other foreigners to its shores, the fact remains that Italy will be putting an enormous amount of effort into keeping Italians at home and encouraging them to stay in their own country and spend their money at home.

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