Thursday, 11 June 2020

Maritime Borders Open, 70,000 Tourists Announce Arrival in Croatia

June 11, 2020 - Through an online form launched on the Ministry's website, 200,000 people announced their arrival in Croatia, of which 70,000 are for tourist stays.

Jutarnji List reports that given the favorable epidemiological situation, the government decided on Wednesday to open permanent border crossings for international maritime passenger traffic that were temporarily closed due to COVID-19, and to lift the temporary postponement of opening seasonal maritime border crossings.

By amending the Decree on border crossings, permanent border crossings in Umag, Poreč, Rovinj, Mali Lošinj, Korčula and Ubli are opened, as well as seasonal crossings Umag - ACI Marina, Novigrad, Sali, Božava, Primošten, Komiža, Hvar, Vis, Stari Grad on the island Hvar, Vela Luka and Cavtat.

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The State Secretary in the Ministry of the Interior, Terezija Gras, reported on the activities of the Croatian Civil Protection Headquarters and pointed out that 14 more decisions of the Headquarters are in force.

She also reported that through an online form launched on the Ministry's website, 200,000 people announced their arrival in Croatia, of which 70,000 for tourist stays, mostly from Slovenia, Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany.

The government also adopted several reports for 2019, on the work of the Croatian Employment Service, and on the work of the National and University Library in Zagreb.

In 2019, 224,187 job vacancies were received and 454,195 eligible candidates were sent to jobs. Cooperation has been achieved with 1,150 employers, Labor Minister Josip Aladrovic reported.

The Government also accepted the report on the use of funds from the budget stock of the state budget of the Republic of Croatia for April 2020.

State Secretary at the Ministry of Finance Zdravko Zrinušić reminded that the budget revision for this year reduced the budget stock from 100 to 50 million kuna, and said that in the first four months it was executed in the amount of 12.4 million kuna.

Thursday, 11 June 2020

HDZ's Idea to Create Own Version of "Booking.com" Falls Spectacularly Short

As Novac/Dora Koretic writes on the 10th of June, 2020, where does one possibly start when it comes to HDZ's announcement about creating a domestic booking portal which, as some on the political scene belonging to a certain party have dreamed, should offer Croatian accommodation to foreigners for only five percent of the commission, and do it better and more successfully than the world's most well established platforms?

We should first look at the sheer absurdity of the idea that a state institution, possibly the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ), would have the financial means and work capacity to maintain a system in which the world's most famous booking platforms invest 10 billion US dollars a year in advertising, which is as much as 200 times more than the CNTB's annual budget. On top of that, as Emanuel Tutek from BlueRock explained, this astonishing initiative could best be described by the words “selling hot water”, by which we mean the designing of products that quite simply already exist.

''Here we have several perspectives: why offer a product that isn't new and innovative in any way shape or form, and that has been functioning better and more successfully across the world for many years, and then how would such a system be financed at all, do they know that international companies invest up to several billion dollars a year alone in the development and the research of such platforms!?'' Tutek wonders, doubting the skill of the Croatian state and the utterly dire public administration to maintain such a complicated system.

''Let's just remember how long we waited for our umbrella marketing agency to create a new website or launch an e-Visitor system that is far less complex than a booking platform that should have worldwide reach would be. If the idea behind this was to improve domestic accommodation, then it should not be done by encouraging its sale but by encouraging its improvement, which will then affect its better placement on foreign booking platforms,'' says Tutek.

The founder of the Rentlio application for the management of tourist facilities, Marko Misulic, said that this pre-election initiative from HDZ stands out primarily for its market unfoundedness, its total departure from reality and the (very) questionable quality of its performance.

''The strength of the global leaders among booking platforms lies precisely in consolidating and generating demand, in their global recognition and standardisation of the user experience. I don't see a way for one state portal to achieve all of this. It's difficult for me to assess how this state booking portal plans to generate demand that would compete with global platforms and offer it all for a much lower price of the service than the average market price. But what isn't difficult to assess is the outcome of such ideas,'' says Misulic, warning that HDZ has many other ways at its disposal to increase the competitiveness of the domestic tourism sector. This isn't one of them.

In addition, the world has already followed several similar national initiatives, and they all burned down before they came to fruition.

As Horwath HTL partner Sinisa Topalovic warns, national booking portals aroused a level of enthusiasm among political elites way back in the early 2000s when some countries started with such ideas and ingloriously ended their ''trip'' when entering into such deep entrepreneurial waters.

''This isn't merely a single project but a serious business venture that, in addition to investing in development, requires top quality customer service, support in key foreign languages, the most advanced technological infrastructure available and adequate marketing which, it turns out, should be financed from five percent commission,'' says Topalovic when referencing HDZ's truly bizarre idea.

In addition, the founder of thinktourism, Katarina Milicevic, points out that Croatia doesn't even have a unique system of analytics in tourism adapted to today's digital needs, let alone the strength to invest in something so complex.

''I assume that the creators of this idea aren't aware of how complex the system is, how much time and analysis it takes to create such a system and the weight of such an investment if it is meant to function according to the requirements of today's and future markets. There are currently many more important things in the Croatian tourism sector to deal with than this. In addition to so many global platforms that have been working for years on improving, adapting to market trends, credibility and the strength of their own brand, this idea just has no financial justification,'' claims Milicevic.

If all this has not been enough, skepticism should be expressed in the willingness of Croatia's plethora of private renters to entrust their business to a national platform...

Be it right or be it wrong, in a country where the infamous and often mysterious world of the zimmer frei, sobe and free rooms sign lives on hiding its earnings from the cruel scissors of the tax man - does anyone really believe that private renters, between Booking.com and Airbnb, will choose a platform that sits right in the hands of the state? Probably not.

For more, follow our business page.

Tuesday, 9 June 2020

Croatian Tourism Enhanced by Three New Island Running Destinations

June 9, 2020 - The SightRun mobile application has enhanced Croatian tourism with three new island tours: Cres, Mali Lošinj and Supetar.

HRTurizam writes that while it is still difficult to predict how the tourism sector will look after the coronavirus, it is quite clear we will have a different kind of tourism.

But one thing is for sure; the bigger focus will be on sustainable and active tourism. This is where SightRun, a tourist running application that provides a new dimension of running, combining this activity with sightseeing, comes into play.

It is an innovative tourist product that presents destinations as 'Run Friendly' destinations and brings this unique niche closer to the destination through stories of local delicacies, cultural and historical sights and natural attractions.

In times when we still need to pay attention to social distance, apps like SightRun help us continue to enjoy the destination without having to do it in large groups. It is the digitalization of tourism in the true sense.

And now, the SightRun application has been enhanced by three new island tours: Cres, Mali Lošinj and Supetar.

The SightRun team has also been working on developing new tours in recent months. "Although the corona-crisis has slowed down and stopped certain promotional actions, this startup can certainly give its contribution to Croatian tourism. The cities of Cres, Mali Lošinj and Supetar have found their place on the list of runner-friendly destinations this time. The tours are about 5 kilometers long and start in the center. Running through the alleys of island settlements, promenades along the sea with stories about the destination and other attractions on the island, will surely encourage guests to explore these attractive destinations further," said SightRun.

It is certainly important to emphasize that all tours are available in Croatian and English.

The SightRun app allows the user to safely (and independently) explore the destination in which they are running for the first time, learn about its history and discover some of the sights and attractions.

“For this type of guest, we mean active guests, it sometimes means first getting to know the destination and therefore, we want to leave the best impression to intrigue the guest to peek into local restaurants, explore the surroundings, look into museums and for a local tourist guide for more information. People are an indispensable link in tourism, and technology is an additional wheel that can enable things to start faster," says SightRun.

All tours are intended for runners, but due to the use of the GPS system of the user's mobile phone, speed is not important. This means that the user can move at the desired speed, walk, stop, take photos, and finish the tour at their pace and time.

The SightRun application is currently available in 17 Croatian destinations, as well as in Munich and Graz.

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

 

Tuesday, 9 June 2020

Croatia Among Countries with Cleanest Swimming Waters in Europe

June 9, 2020 - When planning your summer holiday after the corona crisis, cleanliness is certainly one of the factors topping the list. Good news for those of you choosing Croatia, which boasts some of the cleanest swimming waters in Europe.

Croatia is one of five European countries with the cleanest bathing waters, the European Environment Agency (EEA) announced on Monday, as borders begin to open after the corona crisis and tourists consider where to spend their summer holidays.

Namely, Dalmacija Danas reports that the cleanest swimming waters in Europe are in Cyprus, Austria, Malta, Greece and Croatia, according to a report by the European Commission and the EEA.

Those five countries received an excellent rating of at least 95 percent for their swimming areas. In Cyprus, 99.1 percent of bathing places received a rating of "excellent".

Tourists who fear being infected with the coronavirus while swimming should follow the guidelines of national or local authorities, the agency says. They should keep physical distances and wash their hands often enough.

Just under 85% of swimming sites across Europe monitored in 2019 met the European Union's highest and most stringent ‘excellent' quality standards. The agency tested bathing areas on about 22,300 sea, river and lake beaches in the EU, including Britain, Switzerland and Albania.

About two-thirds of the bathing areas are at sea and they are generally cleaner than the waters inland. Tests found that 294 sites, or 1.3 percent, have poor water quality and pose a risk for diseases such as diarrhea.

Commissioner in charge of the Environment, Fisheries and Oceans, Virginijus Sinkevičius, said, “Clean bathing water is usually taken as something that is gifted, but it's actually one of the European collective achievements. It's the result of hard work by many people over many years. This year's report once again confirms that European citizens can continue to enjoy very high-quality standards when bathing in European waters and all measures must be taken to continue along this path.”

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page

Monday, 8 June 2020

Croatia's Green Heart: Explore Beautiful Lika for Less Until September

Unfortunately, Lika continues to be a part of Croatia that most only get to see when driving through it, either from Zagreb down to the coast or back again. This gorgeous part of the country is lush and green, full of rolling hills and picturesque little towns and villages and even more history and nature.

Known for much more than just Lika potatoes and lamb (although they're both entirely worthy of their fame), Croatia's green heart has never particularly been associated with tourism, which is dominated by the coast, until somewhat recently. With the coronavirus pandemic having forced us into a ''new normal'' in which Croatia's strongest economic branch, tourism, is suffering, why not explore Lika for less?

As Lucija Spiljak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 8th of June, 2020, more than half of the territory of Lika is located in the ecological protected network of EU Natura 2000.

This gorgeous part of Croatia and its numerous attractions will be even more accessible to visitors until the end of September this year, with benefits they can take advantage of by presenting a ticket for the famous Plitvice Lakes National Park.

They announced this from the national park itself and stated that kayaking on the Gacka river will be 35 percent cheaper, the cost of electric bike rental around Plitvice Lakes will be slashed by 30 percent, the price of quad safaris through the Gacka Valley and Velebit will be cut by 25 percent, there will be a 15 percent discount on the use of zip lines, and much more.

As the director of the Plitvice Lakes National Park, Tomislav Kovacevic, explained, this is all part of the destination project called Plitvice Experience in Lika, within the scope of which they decided to combine numerous opportunities for active tourism, and Kovacevic referred to the initiative as ''one of the best tourist-cultural-landscape-historical adventures in the Republic of Croatia''.

In addition to kayaking, rowing, exploring the flora and fauna of beautiful Lika and quad biking through the Gacka Valley and Velebit, a tour of the airplane museum and much more will be organised.

As previously touched on, more than half of the territory of Lika is located in the ecological protected network of EU Natura 2000, which unites the national parks of Plitvice Lakes, Northern Velebit and Paklenica, the Velebit Nature Park and many more stunning areas in Lika within a special biosphere reserve, along with its wild variety of natural phenomena.

The move rightfully brands Lika as a destination full of protected areas, where more than fifty species of different (medicinal) plants grow freely, and Lika food products are labelled as being of Lika quality.

For more, follow our travel page.

Saturday, 6 June 2020

Will Coronavirus Crisis Finally See Croatian Tourism Industry Lower Prices?

As Novac writes on the 4th of June, 2020, although we're now in early June, and despite permission from the National Civil Protection Headquarters having been given to finally try to restart the Croatian economy, many working in the Croatian tourism industry have decided that some doors will remain closed, and it seems that a few of those who opened their doors to visitors still don't have price reductions.

''The ideas or perhaps it's better to say the recommendations at the level of our destination are that there is no need to lower prices compared to what they were at the same period last year, but to provide additional services in those existing prices, such as parking or similar things. There will be an action, like six days plus one free, or three people, then the fourth person free, and the action from the tourist board will be a free ferry in September, but there is no collective price reduction,'' said the director of Losinj Tourist Board, Dalibor Cvitkovic, for Novi list, adding how Losinj is sticking to its prices because of the quality of service it offers guests.

''We're waiting for June the 15th, it's our D-day, because the German Government has recommended to its citizens not to go anywhere until then, and the Germans are our emitting market. We expect a lot of tourism in September, precisely because of the hope that the pandemic will be quite far behind us then. However, the potential for these 30 to 40 percent of bookings should be taken with a grain of salt, because a potential guest can cancel it at the last minute,'' he said.

Thus, the price of an apartment for four people on Losinj in the peak season ranges from 80 to 100 euros, and for a hotel room, depending on the view and the hotel, is anywhere between 150 and 200 euros, which is approximately the same as it was last year, which was a record year for Croatian tourism.

On the other hand, in the Dalmatian city of Split, the prices of overnight stays range from 600 to 4000 kuna, but overnight stays there are around one thousand kuna during July, and the situation is similar in Crikvenica where the price of accommodation ranges up to around 2000 kuna.

The president of the Family Tourism Association at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, Martina Nimac Kalcina, says that there are price reductions, but it depends in which parts of Croatia you're in and that this year a domestic guest could spend fifty percent this year when compared to what they did last year, Novi list reports.

''In Istria, the prices generally didn't decrease, while in some parts of Croatia prices were lower by about 20 percent. The owners of luxury villas are among the most reluctant to lower ther prices, except in the case of discounts as part of certain promotions. If Croatian guests come directly to the owner of the facility, then they can certainly lower the price, given that there will be unfilled facilities this year,'' explained Nimac Kalcina, adding that this year, domestic guests could easily find available accommodation for fifty percent the price they'd usually be.

For more, follow our business page.

Friday, 5 June 2020

Gari Cappelli: Border Opening at European Level will be Resolved by 15 June

As Regional Express writes on the 4th of June, 2020, Croatian Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said he was in talks with Austria about opening the borders. He added that there are holidays in Austria and that everyone is working to try to protect their respective economies.

"I fully understand them. Some people must have also understood us when we said that we're opening our borders for ten countries, but I think that this will crystallise and be resolved at the European level by June the 15th," Gari Cappelli said.

When asked if hotels are allowed to receive workers' benefits and remain closed from July and not operate, he replied that "this is a good question and it's right [to assume] that it wouldn't be fair, but we also need to understand that if hoteliers have no traffic or reservations, they're not to blame for it. There are no talks with people in the tourism industry who are allegedly refining their invoices/bills in order to get state aid, but that needs to be checked,” the minister said.

When asked to comment on Finance Minister Zdravko Maric's announcement that he would go through those in the hospitality and tourism industry who are refining and 'preparing' their bills and invoices in order to receive state aid with a fine tooth comb, Gari Cappelli replied on the eve of the government session that "we know how to deal with them, from the punishment to everything that is required to be done [in such cases] in accordance with the law,''

"With those who aren't even issuing invoices, there's no conversation. Everything else, for small things that still need to be done in these facilities, epidemiological [factors to take into consideration] and other things, they should be warned to do it all as soon as possible, and as for amounts and the number of invoices, that should be seen, because it's very difficult to compare last year with this one,'' Gari Cappelli said.

He believes that the total information on issued invoices and amounts includes hoteliers with their issued invoices, who have not worked since March this year, and that, as he says, is something one should be aware of when talking about how many more or how many less invoices have been issued and their amounts, because surely the amounts are higher when hotel accommodation, for example, is included.

Asked if he was suspicious of the bills being issued in the tourism and hospitality sector, he added that everything still needed to be seen.

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Friday, 5 June 2020

Makarska Promotes Mozambique as #CroatiaLongDistanceLove Goes Global

June 5, 2020 - Summer is coming in the Kingdom of Accidental Tourism. A very nice gesture from the Makarska Tourist Board director to promote Mozambique.

One of the big positives of the corona era has been seeing the number of people volunteering their time and expertise to help others. I genuinely think the world became a little bit of a nicer place (readers from the USA, look away now), and that the sense of community has been strengthened as a result.

And what a lovely gesture from the Makarska Tourist Board director to promote Mozambique tourism rather than her own destination at this time of crisis.  

It could be that the director got a little confused by the message of a recent insipid campaign by the Croatian National Tourist Board called #CroatiaLongDistanceLove. Perhaps the director misunderstood the point of the campaign and thought that we were supposed to be showing love from Croatia by supporting destinations a long distance from Croatia. 

Or perhaps she was just being nice. 

Life and tourism promotion in the Kingdom of Accidental Tourism can look a little unconventional at times. 

Take golf. For many years - until I asked why and it was removed - the Croatian National Tourist Board was promoting an 18-hole golf course in the centre of Zagreb.

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Yes, really. 

 

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And Game of Thrones fans were advised to check out an exhibition of old fruits in Zagorje, rather than learn anything about Kings Landing by the official Croatian National Tourist Board. 

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And who can forget the epic slogan - Croatia will waste your time. Plastered all over the Croatia National Tourist Board social media during an official campaign.  

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Full of genius, and obviously too clever for the number of people who didn't quite get it.

Croatia will not waste your time, but (with some very notable exceptions - and you can see who in our Virtual Croatia series), the Croatian tourist board is a complete waste of time. It should be abolished by Act of Parliament, along with the Ministry of Tourism and the tourism sector of the Croatian Chamber of Economy. And the tourist structure should be rebuilt, using those talented directors who somehow function in this dysfunctional system, qualified experts and AI. 

It really is not that hard. 

And if the Makarska Tourist Board needs photos of Makarska beaches, may I recommend Makarska Riviera Beaches, run by the legend that is Vice Rudan. A private initiative, naturally.

For more examples of genius from the Mighty State of Uhljebistan, visit our dedicated shrine of appreciation

Do you want a better Croatia for your children? Would you like to get involved in our #CROMADS Croatia 2.0 movement. If yes, contact us on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Subject Makarska 2.0? Together we can make Croatia a better place. 

CROMADS: Why You Should Move to Croatia, With or Without Uhljebistan

CROMADS: Zašto biste se trebali preseliti u Hrvatsku, s ili bez Uhljebistana

Thursday, 4 June 2020

Croatian Tourism: 1500 Austrian Citizens Currently Holidaying in Croatia

As we recently reported, Austria has chosen open its borders to its neighbours. Croatia, as a country with which Austria doesn't share a direct border, isn't yet on the list. Despite that, the favourite holiday destination of many Austrians isn't without Austrian citizens. Currently, there are 1500 Austrian citizens staying in Croatia, providing a much needed boost to the Croatian tourism industry in these trying times.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 4th of June, 2020, trips from Austria to Croatia have intensified in recent days and currently more than 1500 tourists from that country are dotted around Croatia.

Austria recently lifted all of its epidemiological measures for the travel of Austrian citizens to countries with which that country directly borders. As announced, the Republic of Croatia, together with some other countries that are not Austria's direct neighbours, should be added to that list next week at some point.

As it is known, Croatian tourism has a significant number of guests from Austria and Croatia's borders are now completely open to Austrian citizens. Given the excellent epidemiological situation that Croatia is lucky to be able to boast of, many in the Croatian tourism sector are convinced that Austria will follow the recommendations of the European Commission (EC) for the full liberalisation of travel to and from countries with similar epidemiological situations.

"The great interest that Croatian tourism records daily in invitations and reservations by Austrian guests is the best possible proof of just how much they want to come to Croatia and we hope that the official policy will listen to the wishes of its citizens along with EU recommendations. Croatia has one of the best epidemiological situations in all of Europe, the international media is ranking Croatia on the list of the safest travel destinations, tourism professionals have raised their services to the highest level and we're fully ready to welcome our guests,'' said Veljko Ostojic, director of the Croatian Tourism Association.

After Germany and Slovenia, Austria is in third place when it comes to the markets with which Croatia has the largest tourist turnover.

For more on travel to, from and around Croatia in the coronavirus age, follow our travel section.

Wednesday, 3 June 2020

Croatian Tourism: Should Croatia Forget About Italian Tourists This Summer?

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 2nd of June, 2020, everyone who is expecting Italian tourists all over Europe and the world this year will be disappointed because, according to the current mood of the Italians, many of them will not leave Italy during the summer. Croatia is a favourite destination for many Italians, but should the Croatian tourism industry simply forget about Italian guests this summer?

''According to current polls, it is estimated that only three percent of those Italians who have gone abroad on holiday in previous years will leave Italy at all this tourist season. That is a miserable number compared to those polls taken before the pandemic hit,'' says Rea Karnincic from Milan, who is originally from the Dalmatian city Split and owns the travel agency "Solo Croazia" for Slobodna Dalmacija.

The real question is, is there any interest at all from Italians for a holiday in Croatia, does Rea's travel agency have such inquiries?

''Well, I can't say my phone lines are really hot. For months, no one called because no one knew what would happen with the coronavirus pandemic and how the situation would develop. In recent days, the phone has been "shyly" ringing, they're starting to become interested again, but I think that everyone in Europe, including people in Croatia, can forget about Italian tourists during June. Maybe there'll be a few of them during July, August and September. The shipping company SNAV, which connects Italy and Croatia, will start sailing only on June the 27th, and the planes will take off only at the beginning of July. In addition, Jadrolinija starts operating with Italy again on June the 10th or 12th, so just twice a week,'' said Karnincic.

The fact that this current negative mood in Italy is bad for the Croatian tourism industry is best shown by the fact that before the coronavirus crisis, about a million Italian citizens came here during the summer months.

''And those are some bygone, better times. The answer to why many Italians won't bother to travel abroad this summer should be sought primarily in financial reasons, as many people have become impoverished or out of work, so they just can't afford a holiday. Another reason is that many Italians no longer have any days off, because during the crisis, they took advantage of the "old" days off and those for this year.

The third reason is that the Italian state encourages Italians to stay and spend their holidays in Italy and thus help the country's economic recovery. Thus, each family will receive a voucher worth 500 euros, which must be spent in hotels in Italy. Single people will receive a voucher of 150 euros,'' concluded Rea Karnincic in an interview for Slobodna Dalmacija.

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

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