May the 16th, 2021 - The Croatian agency Irundo, which is one of the leading property management agencies in the country, has signed a cooperation agreement with the Croatian IT company Rentlio this past week.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Lucija Spiljak writes, as was announced, after many years of using foreign PMS and channel manager systems, the Croatian agency Irundo is preparing for the recovery of the domestic tourism sector and the normalisation of travel again, all of which in their eyes will begin with Rentlio - a leading domestic travel-tech company from Zadar. With this partnership, a new phase of the Croatian agency Irundo's digitalisation begins with the aim of improving business and further raising the quality of the services they provide.

“From the very beginning of our business, we based everything online. For the last ten years, we've used foreign suppliers of both PMS and channel managers. After many years of experience and monitoring Rentlio, we as market leaders have decided to utilise this Croatian travel-tech leader and we look forward to future cooperation with the development of our business and Rentlio itself as a product,'' said Irundo's CEO Tomislav Zovko.

The synergy effects of this collaboration will be most visible in the further development and implementation of Rentlio through the entire Irundo ERP system, ensuring that owners who entrust their properties to Irundo's property management receive the highest level of service from both an operational and technological perspective.

Since its founding back in 2011 until today, the Croatian agency Irundo has gathered in its portfolio more than 100 high quality apartments in various city-break destinations such as Rovinj, Zagreb, Dubrovnik and Split. The focus on online business enables Irundo to monitor the quality of locally dispersed business and create a successful sales strategy.

On the other hand, Rentlio, as a flexible cloud-based operating system designed to manage tourist facilities, simply adapts to doing this type of business. The benefits of managing reservations, prices and guests from one place for an unlimited number of facilities and teams in different locations greatly facilitates the business of property management agencies like Irundo.

Currently, Rentlio is used in more than 8,000 accommodation units across more than 40 different countries, and in recent years it has become a leader in the digital transformation of hotels, small renters, hostels and even property management agencies.

“We at Rentlio believe that technology will play a key role in maintaining the competitiveness of tourism facilities in the post-COVID era. This crisis has significantly accelerated the processes of digitalisation, which we're witnessing every day. It's no longer disputable that the guests of the future are digital guests,'' said Marko Misulic, the CEO of Rentlio.

Although forecasts of tourism recovery differ as the pandemic continues, the slowdown in a large number of tourism activities has opened up space for the implementation of digitalisation and redefining business models in tourism. Regardless of reservations, sales strategies, communication or marketing, the use of modern and quality IT solutions in tourism has become absolutely necessary.

For more, follow our dedicated business section.

ZAGREB, 5 May, 2021 - The parliamentary majority on Wednesday rejected a bill by MP Katarina Peović of the Workers' Front party proposing the introduction of a tax on digital services, saying that Croatia advocated a global solution rather than unilateral measures.

"The government has from the start advocated a global solution because it believes that unilateral measures cause distortion in the EU market and disrupt competition, which is why it did not launch an initiative to tax digital services," Finance Ministry State Secretary Zdravko Zrinušić said.

The deadline for an international consensus on the matter was moved because of the coronavirus pandemic to the middle of this year, he said.

"One should propose a balanced and stimulating tax policy rather than a restrictive one that would reduce Croatia's competitiveness," said Darko Klasić of the HSLS/Reformists caucus during a debate on the bill.

The purpose of the bill is not to tax small and development-oriented digital companies, but only technological giants whose revenue, from the global perspective, exceeds HRK 5.6 billion and who have not suffered any damage due to the coronavirus crisis but have seen an increase in revenue, Peović said while presenting the bill.

She said that several EU countries had introduced such a law and that her party was proposing the same for Croatia.

"The basic purpose of the tax would be to ensure additional budget revenue, which would be used to develop telecommunications infrastructure in Croatia, because we know that the internet here is among the slowest in the EU," said Peović.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

December the 11th, 2020 - The older generation will get a helping hand when it comes to technological advancements thanks to Croatian Telecom/Hrvatski Telekom, who will launch a national digital education programme intended precisely for them.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, under the current and increasingly tiresome anti-epidemic measures, nursing homes were forced to severely restrict visits from family members, friends and volunteers. Thus, social contacts and socialising, which have always played a key role in the daily lives of the residents of nursing homes, were lessened dramatically, replaced by an unfortunate and considerable sense of loneliness and isolation, which is especially difficult as the festive season approaches.

Aware of this problem, Croatian Telecom, in cooperation with the Volunteer Center Zagreb, has launched a national digital education programme designed for the elderly. During the first phase of the national digital education program, which is part of a broader socially responsible "In Good Hands/U Dobrim Rukama" concept, the company donated tablets and free internet for fourteen homes for the elderly throughout Croatia, and next year, the programme will continue to expand in order to include additional such homes.

Members of the Croatian Telecom Volunteer Club also participate in the national digital education programme, and the will prepare easy-to-understand educational videos through which senior citizens will easily be able learn how to use various digital tools that will allow them to be connected and remain in constant contact with their families and friends throughout this difficult time. In the first video, the residents of fourteen homes for the elderly in the City of Zagreb will learn how to establish WhatsApp video calls on their tablets. Educational video materials will be continuously upgraded and will soon be published on the official channels of Croatian Telecom.

"Digital tools are here to make our lives easier. Unfortunately, a large number of our senior citizens don't have enough digital skills to be able to take advantage of them. That's why we see the digital education programme for senior citizens as fulfilling our mission of connecting everyone in Croatia with the possibilities of digitalisation and building a world of better opportunities. We want to teach them how to use digital tools like video calls through which they can hear and see their loved ones much more often. At Croatian Telecom, we're aware of our important role in ensuring equal access to technology for everyone in Croatia, and we aren't going to stop until we achieve this,'' said Ivan Bartulovic, a member of the Human Resources Management Board of CT.

"The digital education project has recognised a very vulnerable group of citizens during the epidemic and the closure of society - residents of homes for the elderly, who, in these unfortunate circumstances, are almost completely cut off from their loved ones. Volunteer Centre Zagreb recognises the value of the project and we look forward to its positive impact on their quality of life,'' said Nina Butic Ivankovic, Executive Director of the Volunteer Centre Zagreb.

We're all aware that nothing can replace contacts and socialising in person, but thanks to technology, in moments when we can't be together, older and more vulnerable members of our society can open their doors to the digital world and remove their sense of loneliness and isolation and replace it with digital connectivity and inclusion.

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December the 2nd, 2020 - Digitisation in Croatia goes slowly. In fact it goes so slowly that it's rather difficult to believe it is progressing at all when you find yourself standing in line with a bible's worth of paperwork in your hand at Fina, MUP, or some other God forsaken office full of half dead plants and even more half dead clerks. Telemach Croatia, however, understands that this is a process at which it is paramount to be at the very forefront.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, we're still going through the tiresome motions of a very, very challenging year which has been dominated by a public health crisis and economic woes. Despite efforts to maintain stability, the pandemic has slowed down all business activities in all economic sectors, including in the telecommunications sector. The forecasts of various economic analysts are, to say the least, discouraging, and it's to be expected that the period ahead of us will bring with it even more new challenges for the Croatian and the global economy. Investors, especially foreign ones, will be very cautious indeed, which will further slow down economic recovery.

''We're seeing the greatest opportunity in the introduction of new technologies that will enable the continued digitisation of the Croatian economy, and thus the progress of society as a whole. This new situation has clearly indicated the importance of digital transformation and, on the one hand, has accelerated its implementation. We believe that this trend will continue in the future. Our society will increasingly rely on digital solutions, and a prerequisite for this will be having more advanced infrastructure. The above is particularly true for the telecommunications industry, this means that telecom operators will need to provide sufficient network capacityies to withstand the increasing growth of data traffic.

In this regard, investments in telecommunications infrastructure will play a key role. At Telemach Croatia, we want to be the leaders in the digitisation of Croatia, because we consider it the backbone of the accelerated launch of economic progress. That's why the announced investments of our parent company, the United Group, have given us a real spring in our step. This represents one of the largest foreign investments in all of Croatia.

Thus, over the next five year period, we will invest up to 130 million euros in the further modernisation of our mobile network. We'll expand our mobile network coverage, improve the quality of the mobile service we have on offer and also introduce ultra-fast 5G technology. In addition to all of the aforementioned, we intend to invest up to 100 million euros in the construction of a state-of-the-art optical network that will provide private and business users with ultra-fast broadband Internet at speeds of up to 10 gigabits. In this way, we plan to transform the business from a segment-focused operator into a fully converged company that provides customers with high-quality telecommunications services and a superior user experience,'' they concluded from Telemach Croatia.

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December the 1st, 2020 - Digitisation is a rather sore topic in Croatia, which is well known for its often draconian policies and bizarre, semi-masochistic love of paperwork, stamps and all things quite historic. Despite this, the coronavirus crisis has pushed Croatia deeply (and somewhat forcibly) more towards digitisation. Croatian agriculture has also benefited.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, after an extremely challenging 2020, which, in addition to economic uncertainty caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, also brought with it enormous pressure to maintain the continuity of everyday business processes, Agrivi expects that 2021 will bring stabilisation and, in general, a more favourable business environment. All serious estimates speak of a relatively rapid economic recovery for Croatia next year, and this is important to everyone as it indicates a more positive environment which is key to continued investment and all further development.

''As far as the technology sector and our company are concerned, 2020 wasn't a bad business for us. This crisis has further emphasised the need to digitise all types of business, including Croatian agriculture, and it has further opened some doors for us and accelerated the entire dynamic of our business development.

We've continued to expand in the key markets we cover with a network of offices in Zagreb, London, Bucharest and Warsaw, and we've secured a new round of financing, which will further accelerate the development of our platform as well as our market dynamics. Additionally, we've managed to break into the Middle Eastern market with a solution for the traceability of agricultural production that we believe has huge market potential. We have also strengthened our relationship with our major partners such as Driscoll’s, the world’s largest berry producer, Nestle, Helvetas and BNP Paribas Bank. We closed the startup phase, strengthened the management team and as such also strengthened our market position,'' they stated from Agrivi, well known for its numerous successes here on the Croatian agriculture scene and that of further afield.

''For next year, we're planning to further accelerate growth, which in recent years averaged 100 percent per year. In general, we believe that 2021 will be a record year for the technology sector, on a wave of greater interest from companies and the public sector around the world in investing in digital transformation. Such an environment can and should be used by us in Croatia, to which, specifically for the digitisation of Croatian agriculture, significant paths to EU funds are being opened up.

Given that digitisation in agriculture raises wages between 50 and 100 percent, thus significantly increasing the competitiveness and sustainability of production, this opportunity absolutely shouldn't be missed,'' they concluded from Agrivi.

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ZAGREB, October 4, 2020 - During the coronavirus pandemic, 62% of citizens are using digital services more often than before, mostly for online banking and shopping, shows a survey on citizens' digital habits done by the Hendal market research agency in August.

The survey was conducted online, covering 500 respondents, 72% of whom used online banking, 63% shopped online, 34% used online public administration services and 17% used insurance services.

Ninety-six percent of respondents used digital banking solutions to check their accounts and 88% for transactions. Seventy-nine percent said the digital development of banks in Croatia was as good as elsewhere in the EU, while 17% said it lagged behind European countries.

Forty-six percent of respondents cited fear for data safety as the main obstacle to using digital financial services, while 42% cited possible errors.

As for digital insurance services, respondents said they mostly used them for car insurance. One-third said they combined digital channels with going to a branch office or talking with an agent.

Two-thirds say digital insurance services in Croatia as good as elsewhere in EU

Over 65% of respondents said digital insurance services in Croatia were as good as elsewhere in the EU, while 33% said they lagged behind. 

Sixty-five percent of respondents said advanced digital services contributed to their quality of life, 84% said digitalisation in general contributed to society's development, and 94% said they would continue to use digital services more even after the coronavirus crisis.

July 24, 2020 - Croatia first in the world to use contactless card payment technology (NFC) for online customer reviews, a game-changer for business globally

In the modern era, there's no better promotion for your business than online customer reviews. Comments and ratings on platforms like Trip Advisor, Google and Facebook have replaced slow and unreliable word-of-mouth recommendations in the digital age.

But, how to get those reviews? A huge proportion of goodwill from satisfied customers is lost forever the moment they step out of the door. They can forget every detail of your business, their experience or maybe they just don't find the time.

Review Booster Pro, an innovative platform from Dubrovnik, offers the best solution yet. It uses NFC – the same technology used by credit cards for contactless payments – to facilitate on-the-spot online customer reviews in super-fast time. It's a simple solution that could be a game-changer for business globally.

“I'm the CEO and owner of the Mint Media digital agency,” explains Ivan Ivušić who has developed Review Booster Pro.”We work with a lot of clients in the tourism sector. Over the past few years, we got a lot of requests from clients about how to improve their online reputation. Their main concern was how to improve their ratings and increase their number of reviews of Trip Advisor, Google, Facebook and other platforms, in order to get more visibility and more customers.”

“We tried many different solutions; business cards with QR codes, something you scan with your mobile phone which would take you to a web page where you write reviews. But, the main problem was the speed. Once customers leave a venue, they don't find the time to write reviews or they don't remember the name of your business. So, the conversion rates were low. So, we needed something quick and simple, so customers can leave reviews on the spot. This is what the market needs.”

Their solution was to employ NFC - Near Field Communication, the technology you use to pay contactless with your credit card. All newer mobile phones are fitted with this technology. Businesses signed up to Review Booster Pro have RBP boards, which they present to customers after their experience – for instance, while you're waiting for your restaurant bill. You simply wave you phone over the board, the phone's operating system reads the chip, your web browser opens automatically and takes you to the RBP landing page of the business you're in. You then select which of the platforms you're already signed up to - Trip Advisor, Google, Facebook etc. - and leave your online customer reviews.


© Review Booster Pro

“The RBP boards are around the size of a large mobile phone – and these can be presented to the customer or even positioned permanently on every table in your bar or restaurant; hotels, dentists, hair and cosmetic salons, retail stores, tourist guides and agencies are also some of our clients,” explains Ivan. Aside from encouraging simple and super fast reviews, businesses using the RBP platform obtain other benefits. On their RBP landing page, where they can place their branded logo and individual text, they can also use banner advertising space to promote existing partners or market different sections of their business. For instance, while a customer is leaving a review of the hotel bar, they will be shown the details of what's on offer in the hotel's spa.

Business owners can measure the clicks on each individual board they have. Therefore, a restaurant owner will be able to see which of his staff is obtaining the most reviews. Previously, such information would have been complete guesswork, unless an individual server is specifically named by a customer in a review.

“All of our current clients were already well aware that this is exactly what they need,” says Ivan. “It took about 10 minutes to sell each of them this product. In our extensive preliminary testing, businesses that were averaging 3 reviews a day went up to receiving 15 reviews per day. It's really a game-changer.”

Future plans for RBP are extremely exciting and they are already searching for ways to move the technology into different forms – imagine having the RBP chip implanted within a laminated page at the end of your restaurant menu. But, for now, the next step is to be recognised by one of the biggest three review sites.

“Trip Advisor has a separate platform (RCP) which you can partner with, to offer projects that will get them more reviews,” says Ivan. “Our product will be particularly beneficial to them because it not only increases their number of reviews, it also increases user acquisition.”

“We are processing our application to become one of these partners. They have different tiers of partners, so if you are successful and reach the top, Trip Advisor then promotes you as a solution to all the businesses worldwide who hold accounts on their platform. That's our goal. And I have every confidence we will reach it because all other solutions rely on software, many on downloading a separate app. We found no other solution in the world right now that is using NFC technology for this.”

July 16, 2020 - Young Croats have the best digital skills in Europe

Figures released by the European Union show that young Croats have the best digital skills in Europe. 97% of 16 to 24-year-olds in Croatia have basic or above basic digital skills.

The amazing result by young Croats is notably superior to their closest competitors Estonia, Lithuania and the Netherlands (all three 93%). By contrast, some neighbouring countries in south-east Europe observed the lowest shares; Romania (56%), Bulgaria (58%), Italy (65%), Hungary (68%).

Education in Europe was moved entirely online in recent months in response to the closure of schools. It seems Croatian students were the best-placed to deal with the switch to digital.


Croatia's 16 to 24-year-olds lead in digital skills across the whole of Europe

To obtain the figures, European authorities assessed young people in four specific areas of internet and software use; information, communication, problem solving and software skills.

Information skills include the ability to identify, locate, retrieve, store, organise and analyse digital information. Communication skills include using emails, social networks, online communication software such as video calls and uploading content online. Problem-solving skills included transferring files between devices and the installation and management of software and apps. Software skills are considered the ability to use and manipulate content such as spreadsheets, photo, video or audio files and the use of word processing software.

Not all of the proficiency displayed by young Croatians can be attributed solely to studious work at their home PCs or laptops; many of the skills young Croatians possess are accessible on and learned from mobile phones. However, education in Croatia does play a significant role in the country's amazing digital literacy.

In addition to the good standard of digital education available in Croatian schools, one contributing asset is the Croatian Makers programme run by Nenad Bakic. It is the largest non-governmental educational programme in the EU, has assisted in the digital education of over 200,000 children in Croatia and has educated over 3,000 teachers in Croatia for free so that they may pass on vital digital skills to future generations. The programme has been so successful it has extended beyond Croatia's borders and now also educates young people and their teachers in countries like Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.

Just how far forward has the coronavirus pandemic pushed the dream of a digital Croatia? A mixed bag of results for the country that seemed allergic to the idea of a more digital society as the DESI index looks into the matter.

As Bernard Ivezic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 15th of June, 2020, according to the DESI index, the most important measure of the digitalisation of society and the economy in the European Union (EU), Croatia remained in 20th place out of 28 members, as it did last year, and with 47.6 points, it remains below the EU average of 52.6.

The most digitally competitive countries on the list are Finland, Sweden and Denmark, followed by Romania, with Greece and Bulgaria at the very bottom.

Although so far the DESI index has been an important topic of discussion in Croatia, both by the Croatian Government and by its partners, primarily HUP, this year the European Commission (EC) went a step further and linked access to the Fund for Recovery and Resilience, which is the backbone of the European Union's budget for the period between 2021 and 2027, and which comes with a hefty 560 billion euro figure attached to it.

Thierry Breton, the EC's Commissioner for the Internal Market, emphasised that the data they released indicated that the industry was using digital technologies more than ever before.

''We need to ensure that this is the case for both small and medium-sized businesses and that the most advanced digital technologies are widely used in economies,'' explained Breton. The report acknowledges that the country, in its quest to become a digital Croatia, has made above-average progress over the past five years, but that it remains below the EU average.

This year, it especially boasts progress in four categories: online shopping, public services, IT security, and the spread of 4G technology. In Croatia, 57 percent of citizens now shop online. The European Commission stated that in the past year, the number of online customers in the country has grown by 10 percentage points, and that this is the biggest jump in that indicator in the entire European Union.

The coronavirus pandemic certainly helped the digital Croatia mission along, with numerous administrative bodies which one required physical presence quickly (and surprisingly) finding online solutions.

On that note, the European Commission also praised Croatia for increasing the number of public services that can be performed entirely online. According to that indicator, it is stated that with a praiseworthy increase of 9.1 points, Croatia has made the greatest progress in the EU. Furthermore, only fifteen percent of Internet users in Croatia reported having had IT security problems in the past year.

According to that, Croatia, along with Lithuania, is the safest member of the EU. Finally, with the spread of 4G technology to 100 percent of the population, Croatia has made the most progress alongside Romania and Cyprus. However, the European Commission also identified some key reasons why the country continues to lag behind the EU's average.

The report stated that Croatia is at the back of the EU in terms of the development of key digital public services, such as e-ID cards, the application of digital certificates, digital access to public registers and the possibility of obtaining official documents via email.

Likewise, the Commission has recognised that Croatia doesn't seem to place a great deal of emphasis on mobile access to public services, despite the fact that we live in a time when most of its citizens have smartphones. It also recognised that Croatia is at the very bottom of the EU when it comes to the availability of public services for the economy.

According to that, Croatia is third from the bottom of the EU. Croatia is also at the bottom of the EU in terms of the share of the population that has never used the Internet, as many as 18 percent of Croatian residents have never done so. It is also one of the three EU countries with the lowest share of users who surf at 100 Mbps, with only 6.2 percent of them doing so, while the EU average stands at a much higher 25.9 percent.

The Commission also criticised the delay in two national broadband projects co-financed by the EU, the construction of an intercity optical network and local optical networks. 

While the dream of a digital Croatia became much more real, with some warped sort of thanks to the pandemic, it seems that for some, the desire for no more queues, tax stamps and endless paperwork just isn't strong enough.

For more on digital Croatia, follow our lifestyle section.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 30th of April, 2020, perhaps the Croatian healthcare system and the long waiting lists will be helped in some way by the coronavirus pandemic, because it seems that this virus has forced reforms we have been waiting for for a very long time. For years, changes have been promised by politicians from across the spectrum, but they were actually brought in by something invisible.

Suddenly, one can work from home, all of a sudden, everyone thinks we have too many counties and that this is pointless, suddenly the self-sufficiency of agriculture is a daily issue for everyone. Suddenly, everything can be done online in Croatia, RTL writes.

The state has been promising reforms for a very long time, and there has always been a lack of a piece of paper here and there, as well as a few stamps, which are longstanding symbols of Croatian bureaucracy. And then came the coronavirus pandemic, infecting the old and the young, and bringing about the reforms we dreamed of with it.

"We have five money-related foreclosure services where a user can open a secured account, submit a payment request, or cancel a payment request. They can submit a query or a complaint, anything for which they'd usually come to the counter,'' said Andrea Kajtaz, of commercial digital solutions at FINA.

There is almost no need for us to hold a ballpoint pen (which is probably also rapidly running out of ink and no longer has a lid) in our hands anymore either, as coronavirus has made digital signatures a reality. Has the pandemic really, finally given us a digital Croatia?

As of 2017, the Ministry of Health has has a system in place that few have actually used, it was so important to former Health Minister Milan Kujunzdic that, well... it is only just being presented this week. As has unofficially been found out, through that system, a patient will receive a username from a doctor and on the zdravlje.net (health.net) site through which they will be able to renew prescriptions for approved medicines themselves! And that's not all, according to the findings, patients will not be required to go to the hospital or to a doctor for a discharge letter, but instead they will be available online. This revolutionary for Croatia in 2020.

Admit it, you're missing those delightful trips to the tax office with your hands full of meaningless papers! Although they have been digitised through the ePorezna system for some time, for many things you have still needed to physically go to the tax office to explain your problem to a completely disinterested employee who is irritated at you for interrupting her Solitaire playing session. That used to be the Croatian reality, at least until the coronavirus epidemic broke out. As many as 20,000 new users have signed up for ePorezna during the quarantine period. Tax deferral requests can also now be submitted online.

''Over 100,000 of these requests have been resolved at this moment in time, with 100,000 applications received. Just over 7,000 of them were rejected, unfortunately, there were double submissions amounting to about 12,000. Based on these requests, the payment of the amount of 1.7 billion kuna has already been delayed,'' said Tax Administration Director Bozidar Kutlesa.

E-Passes linked health, police and the economy together, but also let the spirit out of the bottle. It's crystal clear now - we need fewer counties and municipalities. Croatia has 428 of them and much larger and much richer Germany only has 295. Experts suggest five regional units and the total abolition of some municipalities.

Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, suddenly we're all able to work from home. 69 percent of employees are now working from the safety of their homes now. Before coronavirus came knocking at Croatia's door, those who suggested working from home were called lazy, and today this is more than acceptable to most Croatian bosses. Admittedly, the Croatian Labour Law doesn't actually yet recognise this, so employers propose that working from home is also properly and officially made legal in the eyes of the law.

With the first wave of layoffs, there were also big queues in front of the Employment Bureau. And since this is a risky epidemiological situation, the Bureau asked all those wishing to register to submit their request by mail.

What we eat matters. The coronavirus pandemic has once again confirmed that we need to be far more self-sufficient than we are. Croatia produces enough cereals, beef, tangerines and other products to meet its own needs. We have the resources, we just need a plan and the political will.

Students will complete their school year at home, at least most of them. Classes are held online or via television. Who would have ever thought something like that would be possible in 21st-century-hating Croatia? With its masochistic adoration of paper, stamps, signatures, photocopies and the need for the presentation of an ID card before you can even get a conversation, coronavirus has shown that when it comes to digitalisation, Croatia is a country that can, and should.

Make sure to follow our coronavirus section for all you need to know about the pandemic in relation to Croatia.