January 19, 2021 - Are you a frustrated local or complaining tourist and think you could do a better job running a city? Now is your chance, with you as the mayor in My Dubrovnik Game.

A nice little addition to the Dubrovnik tourism offer is coming to IoS and Android platforms next months, as modern technology meets historical Dubrovnik figures and modern local politics, with an innovative way for people to learn about the Pearl of the Adriatic - as Mayor of the city. 

My Dubrovnik Game is the brainchild of local lawyer, Viktorija Knezevic, which offers you the chance to show you have the skills necessary to run the city and balance the needs and desires of local people and tourists alike in your new role of Mayor of Dubrovnik.  

Rather than let me explain it all, check out the intro video above and the press release below. It looks like a great idea, as well as an innovative way to bring the city's heritage closer to the younger gadget generation. 

My Dubrovnik Game launching soon 

If you’ve ever been a citizen in a tourist city, you’ll know how frustrating it can be. Tourists can be annoying, citizens like to complain and the city managers never do anything right.

Think you can do better? Well here’s your chance.

My Dubrovnik is an exciting new simulation game where you have to make the decisions that keep your residents happy and your tourists satisfied.

The game recreates the beautiful city of Dubrovnik in spectacular detail and puts you right in the center of the action as mayor, with realistic challenges as you move through the game.

But the developers have taken the detail to a whole new level with enchanting historical stories hidden within the game.

Did you know that the people of Dubrovnik kept gunpowder in the Rector’s Palace because in the Middle Ages it was a commodity as valuable as gold? After it exploded for the third time, they thought better of the idea!

These nuggets of historical gold are hidden around the game for you to discover. 

With stunning 3D modeling, you’ll feel like you are running a living, breathing city but as with every city there are challenges to complete, citizens to please and tourists to attract.

As you move through the levels, you’ll find out more about the rich history of Dubrovnik as you balance the interests of the people with the prosperity of the city. 

If you have ever been to Dubrovnik and loved it, or have always wanted to visit, the My Dubrovnik game will give you an incredible tour of the city. Next time you visit the real city, you'll be able to navigate Dubrovnik like a local.

Uncover a history you never knew about as you complete the challenges and discover the city. 

My Dubrovnik is a simulation game with very special gameplay. Are you ready to take on this historical city and lead it to success?

My Dubrovnik Game will be launched next month, and you can learn more about the game and the launch details on the official My Dubrovnik Game website.

For the latest from Dubrovnik, check out the dedicated TCN section.

January 14, 2021 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as Israeli Airline Sundor plans to connect Tel Aviv with Zagreb and Dubrovnik this year.  

Croatian Aviation reports that Israeli leisure airline Sundor Airlines plans to establish a direct route between Tel Aviv and Zagreb with the start of the summer flight schedule.

Namely, Sundor plans to bring back the direct line between Zagreb and Tel Aviv with the start of the 2021 summer flight schedule.

The Israeli carrier has been operating on this route for years, which is mainly used by tourists from Israel, and Croatia Airlines also operates on the same route in the summer flight schedule, which is the only night flight in the summer flight schedule (departure from Zagreb airport around midnight). Croatia Airlines did not operate on this route in the summer flight schedule in 2020, while Sundor performed only a few rotations on this route in during the crisis in 2020.

Sundor will establish regular operations on this line from March 30, 2021, with one flight per week, every Tuesday.

From May 10, the number of weekly flights will increase to three, every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, with B737-800 aircraft that has a capacity of 185 seats in the fleet of this airline.

Sundor plans to return to Dubrovnik Airport, too. The Tel Aviv-Dubrovnik line should start with traffic a little later than the Zagreb line, or from May 11. The airline plans to operate on this line only once a week, every Tuesday. B737-800 aircraft is also planned on the route to Dubrovnik.

Tickets for the two mentioned lines are already on sale on the official websites of Sundor and partner El Al Airlines.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

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January 13, 2021 – As part of the EU project City Changer Cargo Bike, Dubrovnik City procured four electric cargo bikes for city companies. Also, to solve crowding and carrying luggage in the historic city core, Mayor Mato Franković revealed that one company is interested in organizing a porter service.

As Dubrovnik.net reports, as part of the EU project City Changer Cargo Bike, the City of Dubrovnik procured four electric cargo bikes for city companies. Two bicycles are intended for the needs of Čistoća company – one of them will be used on Elafiti islands, namely Lopud. The Vrtlar company workers will be using two other bikes in parts of the town where there are no cars, such as Lapad Bay or the historic core.

Electric vehicles – vehicles of the future

Among 20 cities, the City of Dubrovnik received about one million kunas in non-refundable funds spent on electric bicycles, salaries, project documentation, and the exchange of experiences. This project's goal, which is part of the HORIZON 2020 program, promotes urban mobility through innovative solutions. The total value of the project in all 20 project partners is 28.5 million kunas.

"With this project, we continue to transform the city, turning to the technology of electric vehicles, which are the vehicles of the future. In cooperation with Croatian Electricity Company (HEP), charging stations for electric vehicles are being set up. We are also preparing an electric bus project, and the car-sharing project has come to life quite well considering the overall pandemic situation," said Dubrovnik Mayor Mato Franković presenting the City Changer Cargo Bike project.

Electric cargo bikes. Čistoća workers on the left, Mayor Mato Franković on the right. / Source: Dubrovnik.hr

Such bicycles for delivery could make everyday life easier for caterers, traders, delivery services, and citizens. Since this is a pilot project, the mayor says it remains questionable whether the project will come to life and whether more new electric cargo bikes will be procured.

They will learn from the European cities of Utrecht, Cambridge, San Sebastian, and Copenhagen, where the use of cargo bicycles has proven to be very economically viable and effective, especially in their pedestrian or "car-free" zones.

Porter service and transportation of elderly citizens

Franković believes that Dubrovnik should also turn to electric vehicle technology. He points out that the City is also working on electric taxis, but first, it is necessary to ensure all the technical prerequisites in the city. The first electric buses were already planned, but that project was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Hopefully, they will be implemented soon.

In addition to reducing CO2 emissions, which is a great environmental benefit of electric cargo bikes, they also reduce noise and crowds in cities. Due to the many tourists who visit Dubrovnik every year, Dubrovnik citizens encounter noise due to suitcases being dragged through the streets in the early morning hours. This destroys the sidewalks, too. Is it likely that this problem could be solved soon?

Crowds in Dubrovnik / Copyright Romulić and Stojčić

"We also have a new idea that arrived recently – the porter service. One company is interested in organizing a porter service for the area of the entire historic core. Our citizens are protesting on suitcases in the early morning hours when they are dragged through the streets. With the porter service, that problem would be solved. Porters would come, take the suitcases, load them on the electric vehicle, and drive them out of town. The suitcases would end up at the airport, where the owner would then take them over," Franković explained.

And besides the porter service, one of the ideas of using electric cargo bikes is to transport senior citizens from the historic center to buses or taxis. Depending on how the project with electric bicycles develops, Franković announced that citizens would be able to use them.

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

January 10, 2021 - It was an advanced civilisation devastated by Croatia's most powerful earthquake. So what was life like in Dubrovnik before 1667? A stunning 3D animation gives us some clues.

It was a civilisation ahead of its time, abolishing slavery, for example, back in 1416, more than 500 years before the founding of the United States of America. 

A picturesque and historic stone town on the Adriatic, whose republic was a global leader in trade, diplomacy and shipbuilding. 

For those who wonder at the magnificence of Dubrovnik today, there is perhaps even more to admire in the golden era of the Republic of Ragusa, as Dubrovnik was once known.

And, with the aid of modern technology, we can get a glimpse of life in the Republic of Ragusa, aka Dubrovnik before 1667, when life changed forever one morning in April.  

A stunning 3D animation by Stipan Ujdur from Opuzen gives a very graphic and detailed look at how daily life was in Dubrovnik before 1667.

All that was to change in seconds, however, as we covered a couple of days ago - the before, during and after animation of the 1667 quake, which measured 7.2 on the Richter scale, destroyed the city in seconds, killed an estimated 5,000 people, and had a fire raging for 20 days.  

Out of destruction comes rebirth, and the Dubrovnik rebuilt itself magnificently, going on to become known globally as the Pearl of the Adriatic and - more recently - Kings Landing after the filming of the hit HBO-show, Kings Landing. A recent promotional video from the Dubrovnik Tourist Board shows the magnificent of the city more than 350 years after it was reduced to rubble. 

And there is plenty to admire in Dubrovnik today, as TCN will be exploring in a new feature in 2021. For now, you can follow the latest TCN news from Dubrovnik here.

January 9, 2021 - The terrible 1667 Dubrovnik earthquake shattered the city in seconds. A stunning animation before, during and after the rebuild. 

The devastating earthquakes in Zagreb and Petrinja in the last 12 months are sadly not isolated events in Croatian history, and modern technology has enabled the most terrible and deadly of them - the 1667 Dubrovnik earthquake - to come alive.

Novena, a digital studio in Zagreb published a graphic and very interesting 3D animated reconstruction of the enormous earthquake that shook Dubrovnik way back in 1667, it was one of two huge earthquakes to hit the territory of modern-day Croatia. The fascinating video gives us an insight into how Dubrovnik looked before the earthquake shattered the city on the 6th of April 1667, the damage it caused to the infrastructure and the buildings, and a flash-forward of Dubrovnik as we know and love it today. This unexpected and terrifying act of nature practically destroyed the city and it is estimated that around 5,000 people died, and a fire raged for 20 days.

Animators at Novena spent 3 months working on the project. The video, which brings to life not only the sheer devastation of the earthquake, but the amazing abilities of modern-day technology; was part of the well-received exhibition “Stjepan Gradic: Father of the Homeland” at Dubrovnik’s museum.

For the latest information on the earthquake emergency, follow the dedicated TCN section. 

December 18, 2020 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as Flydubai returns to Dubrovnik in May 2021.

Croatian Aviation reports that as we already know, Emirates will no longer operate to Zagreb. The airline's partner low-cost airline, Flydubai, was supposed to travel to Zagreb this winter, but that will not happen, either.

However, Flydubai will resume traffic between Dubai and Zagreb at the start of the summer flight schedule, from March 31, 2021. The airline will thus replace the famous Emirates, which has temporarily canceled the line to Zagreb and will not operate on it in 2021, due to the impact of the pandemic.

Flydubai will operate its first flight to Zagreb on March 31, 2021, and will run four times a week on this route through April and May, every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Four flights a week in the spring, daily to Zagreb in the summer of 2021.

From the beginning of June, Flydubai will operate daily between Dubai and Zagreb until September 5 next year.

The number of weekly flights from September 6 will be reduced to four (Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays) by the end of October. This is the framework plan of this well-known airline. Still, it was also to be expected that FlyDubai would return to Zagreb and replace Emirates, which estimates that there will not be enough demand for their wide-body aircraft in Zagreb next year.

Flydubai will operate on the Zagreb - Dubai route with narrow-body aircraft type B737-800, and in the summer flight schedule, it plans to perform as many as 164 return flights!

Over 57,000 seats available between Dubai and Zagreb in the summer of 2021.

This low-cost company will offer more than 57,000 seats between Dubai and Zagreb in the summer flight schedule, which is significantly less than in 2019 when Emirates operated on this route with a B777-300ER wide-body aircraft with an average capacity of 358 seats per flight (in 2019, more than 152 thousand seats were available on this line, so the number of seats offered on this line will be lower by over 60% compared to 2019.)

Apart from the smaller capacity, the Dubai - Zagreb line will no longer have a first-class seat offer for which Emirates is world-famous. The number of offered seats in business and economy class will be drastically reduced. Nevertheless, the return of Flydubai to Zagreb will enable Emirates passengers to continue their journey to Zagreb with a partner company, which is very important for the market's recovery next year.

Flydubai also plans to return to its second destination in Croatia - Dubrovnik. The Dubai - Dubrovnik line should operate from May 13, twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays. From June 25, the airline plans to add a third weekly flight (Fridays), and scheduled flights are announced until the end of September next year.

Neither Flydubai nor Emirates flew to Croatian airports this year due to the impact of the global pandemic. Still, given that the market is expected to recover next year, Dubrovnik and Zagreb have returned to this airline's network of destinations.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

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December 4, 2020 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as Eurowings cancels Cologne-Split, and Vueling terminates its recently announced winter service between Barcelona and Dubrovnik.

Croatian Aviation reports that two well-known low-cost carriers, Germany's Eurowings and Spain's Vueling, withdrew two lines to Croatian destinations, although they were announced for December and January, respectively.

In November, Eurowings announced its flight schedule for December this year, in which it will offer slightly more flights to Croatian destinations, Zagreb and Split, just in time for the holidays.

Although Eurowings has announced traffic on the direct Split-Cologne line, this will not happen. Namely, the airline's original plan was to operate on this line from December 22 to January 10 twice a week, on Tuesdays and Sundays, but low demand caused by new measures at border crossings forced the company to cancel planned operations on this line.

There will still be lines from Dusseldorf and Stuttgart to Split, as well as Eurowings lines to Zagreb.

Furthermore, Spanish low-cost airline Vueling announced at the end of October that it would launch the Barcelona-Dubrovnik route in January 2021.

Regular flights on this route were on sale twice a week, every Thursday and Sunday. Vueling was also forced to cancel these flights and is currently planning to return to Dubrovnik with the start of the summer flight schedule, in April next year.

The airline tried to motivate a certain number of passengers to visit Dubrovnik in January at very reasonable prices, but this was clearly not enough. When we take into account all the restrictions that exist today when traveling (especially international ones), the cancellation of these flights is quite an expected move by the airline.

Dubrovnik was left without its only announced scheduled flight this winter, and there will be no international flights to and from Dubrovnik until the spring of next year, while Split remains connected by Croatia Airlines to Frankfurt, Rome and Munich, Edelweiss to Zurich, KLM to Amsterdam and Eurowings for Dusseldorf and Stuttgart.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

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ZAGREB, Dec 2, 2020 - The Razvoj Golf company has sued the City of Dubrovnik for the damage resulting from the purchase of 38,000 square meters of farmland on the Srdj hill overlooking the city in 2009, the company said on Tuesday.

Eleven years after Croatia launched legal proceedings, it was established that the city was not authorized to sell the land, as a result of which Razvoj Golf lost both the land and the HRK 2.7 million paid for it, the company said.

Due to the absence of a peaceful resolution and the upcoming expiry of the statute of limitations, Razvoj Golf has launched legal proceedings to protect its rights, the company said, adding that it remained open for a peaceful resolution.

NGOs: Frenkel has launched second arbitration against Croatia

Representatives of the Green Action and Srdj Is Ours NGOs said on Wednesday that Razvoj Golf owner Aaron Frenkel had filed a new arbitration request against Croatia due to a golf course project on Srdj based on the Croatia-Israel investment protection agreement.

Enes Cerimagic told the press in Dubrovnik that Frenkel was filing the new request at a time when it was likely that the first one would not succeed.

"We assume that it's again about the half-a-billion-euros damages claim. They are showing that they don't care about either European environmental law or European law, but are trying to bypass the European legal order. We will get involved in all future proceedings whose only goal is to take half a billion euros from Croatian citizens' pockets," he said.

Razvoj Golf demanded about HRK 300,000 in damages from Green Action as well as criminal accountability for damaging its reputation.

Djuro Capor said Srdj Is Ours had warned Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic a number of times that Croatia must withdraw from bilateral agreements such as the one with Israel because they risked taxpayers' money due to "a corrupt and broker's project."

"It's especially dangerous that... those who served the interest of the Razvoj Golf company are still publicly active," he said.

Capor and Cerimagic said the ruling HDZ party's Dubrovnik branch should pay for the possible damage incurred in the sale of the land on Srdj.

Capor said the sale was carried out in 2009 by the then-mayor Dubravka Suica (HDZ) and that the HDZ's Dubrovnik branch "is responsible for the mistakes".

He said the current city administration was not innocent either as Mayor Mato Frankovic (HDZ) kept mum about the company's actions for years.

November 29, 2020 - Because who doesn't want to say I do in Dubrovnik? A look at why the Adriatic Pearl is an ideal wedding destination.

HRTurizam reports that within the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, the Dubrovnik County Chamber, a professional group of wedding organizers has been established, which will bring together agencies that organize weddings from the wider Dubrovnik area. The idea is to gather the organizers themselves, but also related activities, into one marketing story to brand Dubrovnik as an ideal destination for weddings.

"This is an industry that entails a lot of other activities, such as suppliers of various equipment, catering, musicians, florists. From a marketing perspective, this is a unique opportunity to position Dubrovnik among different groups of people as a destination for weddings, but also in general. Weddings by their nature bring together a heterogeneous group of people, of different ages and interests in one place, and the arrival of such a group creates a unique opportunity to present the city and its offer if they decide to return in a private arrangement," said the president of the Professional Group Ines Nanić from the company Dubrovnik events.

The newly established Expert Group emphasizes that weddings in destinations have a multiplier effect on the entire economy. An average of 70 to 150 participants travel to a destination for a couple of newlyweds.

"Their promotion of the destination through pictures and posts on social networks is something that can hardly be achieved through commercial campaigns. Therefore, this story has an extremely large impact on all segments in the provision of tourist services within a destination and is an excellent platform for building the image of the destination," said the Expert Group.

Nanić also reminds us that in these challenging times, the competition is certainly not asleep, preparing its marketing plans and strategies for appearing on the markets, so we must be ready.

“Let’s not forget how big the wedding industry is and how many micro-entrepreneurs have been affected by its drastic decline this year. Hundreds of service providers in our country have lost their jobs. Our mission is to work together with marketing activities to revive our industry in the form of promotion that can only bring us positive results. At a time when everyone is quiet, it is up to us to do our best to make a good word heard about the services and beauties and values ​​that our city offers," concludes Nanić.

To speed up the recovery, joint marketing activities will promote the destination, but also those segments of the offer, i.e., the business sector that is involved in the wedding as a final product. They hope to present to the newlyweds what their story might look like if they say "DA u DU" (“YES in DU”). Since the English version of this slogan is hardly applicable, it may be that the Professional Group is targeting domestic guests and newlyweds from Croatia. The Expert Group invites all interested parties to get involved in the work of the group and present their ideas on how to improve this story and help in the campaign of positioning Dubrovnik as an ideal place for the most important day for the future newlyweds.

Weddings are a well-known tourist product that has been intensively developed by Istria since 2014, with the desire to get guests from the Western European market for weddings, as well as newlyweds from overseas countries. The Istria - wedding destination project has encouraged numerous initiatives aimed at positioning Istria in this domain and has resulted in the creation of a specialized website to further improve and develop this tourist product. Two months ago, Istria also announced that some new cooperation and product development measures had been agreed upon. In Istria, one of the first realized projects was the production of photographs and videos advertising the destination on various platforms. In addition to aerial shots, two stylized shots were organized - in the Brijuni National Park and the Village & Hotel San Canzian. According to the American lifestyle online magazine Brides.com, San Canzian is listed among the TOP 8 world locations where guests can travel virtually in search of their honeymoon.

The Istrian Tourist Board also believes that the development of wedding products can significantly mitigate the seasonality of tourism, strengthen pre-and post-season and consequently increase local community revenues in the off-season while promoting less developed tourist areas and small businesses.

Given the popularity of Dubrovnik in the world, it should not be difficult to sell the idea and story of a romantic wedding in the city where Game of Thrones was filmed. 

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

November 28, 2020 – With her second solo album, ONA, Croatian American musician Thana Alexa Pavelic explores her Croatian heritage. It's just been nominated for a Grammy! Here's an introduction to a singular talent and the sound of her Croatian roots

The songs of Croatian American jazz musician and singer Thana Alexa Pavelic have never sounded more like her life experience. On her second album, 'ONA', we finally hear her Croatian roots colliding with the cool, considered and contemporary world of the New York jazz scene. Legendary for its jazz for over 70 years, the city of New York is full of ambitious musicians chasing the vibe and reputation of its heritage. It can be tough to stand out, to sound original. With 'ONA', Thana Alexa Pavelic has done just that, and earned a Grammy nomination for her efforts.

Published in 2015, Thana Alexa Pavelic's debut album 'Ode To Heroes' was similarly well accomplished. But, it seemed to more reflect her American experience rather than embracing the whole. Born in New York to a father from Zagreb and a mother of Dubrovnik heritage, Thana Alexa Pavelic spent every summer in Croatia and so was hardly uprooted when the family moved back to Croatia when Thana was 13. She returned to America to complete her university studies – music and psychology.

In comparison to 'Ode To Heroes', new album 'ONA' sees Thana Alexa Pavelic replacing her femininity with feminism – the album is inspired by the experiences of Croatian women, most of all her mother and her grandmother. Not just evident in the language of the album title, for the first time in her solo output, on 'ONA' you can hear Croatian language, traditional Croatian music and the Croatian female experience in the songs of Thana Alexa Pavelic.

It is doubtless these Croatian influences that separate Thana Alexa Pavelic from the rest of 2020's jazz hopefuls. They are partially responsible - alongside the superb execution and production of the songs - for the Grammy nomination. It is the first-ever Grammy nomination received by a Croatian musician.

And, rather than simply take from the Croatian experience, 'ONA' also gives back. Thana Alexa Pavelic has dedicated a donation from each sale of the album to Zagreb-based human rights organisation Solidarna and their #spasime campaign (which supports victims of violence). Whether Thana Alexa Pavelic wins the Grammy for Best Vocal Jazz album or not, with 'ONA', she has placed a Croatian voice on the world's music stage in more ways than one. If she is successful, then the award will surely make its way to Croatia at some point, held in the hands of a Transatlantic artist now exploring in music her Croatian heritage. Good luck at the Grammys Thana Alexa!