May 21, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Zagreb, Zadar, and Split.

Croatian Aviation reports that Brussels Airlines announced on Tuesday that in its current summer flight schedule, it would not fly to two destinations in Croatia - Zagreb and Zadar.

The company decided to cancel all unprofitable lines, as well as those bordering on profitability (in Spain, France, Portugal, Germany, Greece), which led to the cancellation of two lines to Croatia.

For now, Brussels Airlines will keep the Brussels-Split and Brussels-Dubrovnik routes on sale, while the routes to Zadar and Zagreb have been withdrawn from sale.

The Brussels-Zadar line was introduced in May 2018 as a seasonal line, while the line between Brussels and Zagreb was introduced in 2015.

On the route between Zagreb and Brussels, there will still be the option of a direct flight, as Croatia Airlines operates between these two cities twice a day in the conditions of normal air traffic.

Furthermore, Ex Yu Aviation announced that Eurowings would grow its presence in Croatia, but at reduced frequencies.

Namely, Eurowings will add services to the Croatian coast by resuming flights from Stuttgart, Hamburg and Dusseldorf to Split.

Its Cologne-Zagreb service, which has been maintained throughout most of the coronavirus pandemic, will be reduced from two to one per week in June. The lines from Hamburg and Dusseldorf to Rijeka, Dusseldorf to Pula and Cologne to Zadar will resume once per week on June 20.

“We can feel the growing desire of people to travel again and relax and enjoy their holidays after a long period of travel bans. This is exactly what we are now making possible with our extended summer schedule – reliably, safely and with all due caution. Travelling, whether private or professional, will be possible again," said Eurowings’ CEO, Jens Bischo.

Ex Yu Aviation adds that Eurowings’ parent company Lufthansa will not resume any of its destinations in the former Yugoslavia before June 15. You can read more about that on Ex Yu Aviation.

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

May 20, 2020 - A meeting on the topic of launching international flights was held in Dubrovnik on Tuesday.

The meeting was attended by Mayor Mato Franković, Deputy Mayor Jelka Tepšić, Director of the Dubrovnik Tourist Board Ana Hrnić, representatives of the largest hotel companies in the city and the Director of Commercial Affairs of Dubrovnik Airport, Ivan Maslać, reports Croatian Aviation. 

The meeting agreed on marketing cooperation and a strategy by which the City of Dubrovnik, the Tourist Board of the City, and the Dubrovnik Airport will work together on marketing, all in order to encourage airlines to reintroduce international routes to this city.

Unlike some other tourist destinations in Croatia, the 'Pearl of the Adriatic' is still (until the construction of the Peljesac Bridge) separated from the rest of Croatia, and due to the distance from many crucial markets, it has developed into an air destination.

Airlines that decide to launch routes to Dubrovnik will be provided with financial compensation, and the Mayor of the city has already announced that they are ready to participate in this marketing campaign. The City will co-finance flights with 14 million kuna.

It remains to be seen which airlines will apply in the future and be interested in co-financing the flights, but there is no doubt that there will be interest in an action of this kind.

We remind you that Dubrovnik is currently connected by air only to Zagreb, twice a day. Croatia Airlines has already reduced the number of flights operating on a daily basis, depending on the booking status of each flight.

Recall, Qatar Airways and American Airlines have canceled their seasonal services to the famous coastal city this year, and won't resume operations until 2021. The American Airlines Dubrovnik to Philadelphia flight was the first direct connection for 28 years between Croatia and the United States, a psychological as well as physical connection between the two countries. 

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

If you've ever been to Dubrovnik, and the chances are that if you've visited Croatia at all then you have, you'll have more than likely thought ''How much!?'' (or perhaps even said it out loud) when confronted with the ticket price to walk the city's famous Medieval walls.

While for some foreign tourists the price tag to walk along these magnificent, ancient walls isn't much, for many domestic tourists that price simply isn't justifiable - and with good reason.

Dubrovnik's walls are among the most impressive preserved Medieval structures in the world, and the UNESCO city protected by them sends many a foreign visitor up onto them for the couple of hour walk around them. One thing that has come up for many years is the extortionate price which for a time just kept on rising and rising. 

The appearance of the coronavirus pandemic, the economic crisis that ensued and the need to change many things to encourage tourists, both domestic and foreign, to pump some money back into the economy requires changes. It seems that it has taken an invisible virus and the threat of economic collapse to make the City of Dubrovnik, known for its hefty price tags, finally lower the city wall ticket price.

As Morski writes on the 19th of May, 2020, the ticket price to enter and walk along Dubrovnik's imposing city walls is now just fifty kuna, being dragged down from an eyebrow-raising 200 kuna. The decision made by the Society of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquities, which manages the upkeep and care of the walls, is in force until June the 30th, 2020.

This information was confirmed for local portal Dubrovacki dnevnik by the president of the aforementioned sciety, Niko Kapetanić.

''Due to the coronavirus crisis, a ticket price of fifty kuna will be applied as of Wednesday for all visitors to the walls, both domestic and foreign visitors. The decision according to which the inhabitants of Dubrovnik-Neretva County can visit and walk the walls free of charge is still in force.

''Additionally, the price of a ticket to the walls in nearby Ston and to Sokol tower down in Konavle has been lowered from 70 kuna down to a mere 30 kuna, which was formerly the price of a children's ticket,'' said Kapetanić for Dubrovacki dnevnik.

It's worth mentioning that the Association of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquities, which manages this valuable resource, earned more than 150 million kuna from the sale of tickets alone last year. Despite having raked in so much money, they lost that solid income due to the coronavirus outbreak back in March, so they sought and received the payment of salaries from the state for 71 workers.

They didn't want to comment on the fact that they kept the price of 200 kuna per ticket to walk Dubrovnik's city walls for all this time, even when they had no visitors whatsoever. Instead, the reply was that "all ticket prices for facilities managed by the society are a matter of business policy."

For more, follow our travel page.

May 18, 2020 — The Croatian government hopes travel-hungry Croats and foreigners within driving distance will salvage what’s left of its summer tourism. But where does that leave Dubrovnik, a destination dependent on flights and cruise ships?

Over 14,000 travelers entered Croatia since its borders opened on May 9. Locals flocked to destinations like Plitvice Lakes National Park, exploiting a lack of tourists to monopolize the bucolic waterfalls.

Dubrovnik, meanwhile, sat empty. 

Not because of the coronavirus. It’s been 11 days since the city’s most recent infection. 

One can’t blame a lack of investment either, which keeps rolling in. The Tourism Ministry announced about HRK 400 million investment in six hospitality training centers, including HRK 72 million injection for the Dubrovnik School of Tourism and Catering.

It’s not for a lack of irony either. The city’s Lazarettos, the mythical birthplace of the “quarantine”, reopened for tourists.

Dubrovnik now finds itself imperiled by the one trait which has kept it whole all these centuries: geographic isolation. Too far to reach by car, and perhaps too familiar to the locals within driving distance, it hasn’t benefited from the Tourism Ministry’s efforts. A cut in budget airlines and higher-priced international flights, and the virtual lockdown on cruises, leaves the coastal magnet unreachable to the millions of guests planning to visit.

The Pearl of the Adriatic won’t relive its halcyon days as the poster child for “overtourism” (unless you count a Marin Čilić sighting as recompense).

But a dearth of tourists is more than just a budgetary hiccup. Dubrovnik, much like the rest of Croatia, depends solely on the travel industry. It funds about 70 percent of the city’s budget directly, and the remaining 30 percent indirectly. There is no “rainy day” economic branch shoring up Dubrovnik’s finances or employing a segment of the population. The Pearl of the Adriatic produces nothing and exports even less.

Dubrovnik Mayor Mato Franković sees the season as a total loss. Early forecasts of a 70 percent drop now seem optimistic. So he has a plan: survive. 

Survive just enough to come back next year. 

Nobody said it was an upbeat plan.

He outlined the city’s current state, its lack of hope for this year, and plans for next year in an extensive interview in Jutarnji List.

You announced that there are three scenarios in the city for this year's season, is it already clear which of them is the most likely?

I think that the most likely, unfortunately, is the one in which the tourist season won’t take place until April 2021, because crumbs await us in the current year. Our goal this year is to achieve up to 30 percent of last year's season, so even those crumbs will still be enough for us to survive until next summer. Not only for the city administration but the entire tourism sector. 

However, according to our projections, that 30 percent is an optimistic scenario, which is why we are already working intensively on contacting airlines, offering them the possibility of subsidizing their flights to Dubrovnik, because I am convinced that all other air destinations will do the same.

The messages coming from the world's airlines are that they themselves will not activate more than 30 to 40 percent of capacity, so it is crucial for each destination to have a direct flight, and then especially for Dubrovnik, where air guests make up 90 percent of the total.

This does not include cruise guests and one-day guests, who are unlikely to be here this year, especially after the news that TUI's ship has an entire home port. According to everything we see, cruisers do not expect to start operating before January 2021.

Well, the people of Dubrovnik were already complaining about the cruise guests, so it could be good for some.

No, that's not good at all because we finally managed to establish a scenario in which there are no crowds in the city or more than two cruisers at the same time. Just when we achieved that, the whole story turned upside down. Dubrovnik needs both, but with moderation.

Speaking of air connections, Croatia Airlines has re-established domestic traffic to reduce it after only three days due to a lack of passengers. That doesn’t really sound encouraging to your city?

No, it doesn't sound optimistic. I have to admit that I expected the national carrier to make a little sacrifice, regardless of the situation the company is in, because as a carrier it must be the backbone of connecting tourist destinations, especially Dubrovnik, with the rest of the world. I think that the company should have made such decisions in agreement with the city and the competent ministry. This move is not right, especially considering that we expected a partnership from it. 

I think we will very soon see how important it is to have a domestic carrier, because we cannot depend on Lufthansa, British Airways and others. If we have our own operator, then we need to invest more money, maybe even consciously enter into a loss, especially in a situation where the state would benefit from it in the long run.

Namely, we currently have a line from Frankfurt and that is now the only way for foreigners to come to the country. I guess it was not profitable for Croatia, but I hope that at the moment when the EU opens, the national operator will introduce regular lines and that there will be interest in them. Namely, I know from conversations with hoteliers that no one has canceled our reservations for July and August yet. 

This, of course, does not mean that they will not be canceled later, but for now it still gives us hope. Our key markets are the United Kingdom and the United States; these are guests who come to Dubrovnik. Both are severely affected by the coronavirus, so this is an additional problem in the organization of the season.

Last year, the first direct line between Croatia and the USA was introduced on the route Dubrovnik - Philadelphia, but I guess it should not be counted on in the near future?

Yes, it was also well-filled. For this year, 70 percent of the capacity was sold out in advance, which means that we should have recorded great results from that market. Unfortunately, all this has now been canceled and it is unclear what the future holds for us on this issue. 

As a city, we will co-finance airlines to come to our city, and the plan is for the city to borrow for that purpose. We are in intensive negotiations with British Airways, Jet2com, and Croatia Airlines. 

We have already offered this possibility and we are currently working out the financial parameters on how to sort it all out. We received information that the Croatian National Tourism Board is ready to help us because everyone is aware that no destination will be damaged like Dubrovnik. My thinking is that between 10 and 14 million kuna should be invested by the end of this year in order for the flights and guests to come. We are ready to take out a loan to achieve at least one season, but that will, of course, mean that we will have to ‘shorten’ the funds somewhere in order to sort it all out. Tourism funds 70 percent of our budget, the rest is also income from tourism, but indirect, and when that money suddenly stops coming, it is clear to everyone what is happening next.

Where you will have to cut the costs?

In the new drafting of the supplementary budget, we stopped everything that was possible. All projects except those current and those financed by the European Union. 

We had more than 40 projects in the pipeline, but we will not be able to get into them. We must be aware that by the end of this, and perhaps 2021, there will hardly be any serious major project funded by the city. 

We continue with infrastructure projects related to agglomeration, such as water supply and drainage. We are building as many as 30 kilometers of sewerage network, and the project of the Lapad coast, which is financed by the European Union, continues. The project of building a road from the Franjo Tuđman Bridge to Pobrežje, worth 30 million kuna, is also planned, and we are also building the first primary school since 1975.

The messages from the Ministry of Tourism are that this year's season will depend on domestic guests. Do you agree with that?

It is difficult for me to say that. We are too small a country to be able to rely on our own capacities. I think that this is an impossible mission and that nothing will happen there. These are empty wishes. 

Nevertheless, I am convinced that, at the moment when international lines are re-established, there will be interest in Dubrovnik.

What is the City's plan for establishing tourism? Apart from subsidies to air operators, how else can it participate?

We have prepared a whole package of discounts. We will go with lower prices in museums and reservations, then with special free programs for guests. In addition, we are working on a cultural program in which we will organize free concerts and classical concerts of our symphony orchestra once a week. On our “Dubrovnik card”, we will offer guests a 50 percent discount on bus transportation. 

So there will be events, there will be summer games, but we would like to organize international programs that could also be a reason to come to Dubrovnik. I can’t tell you specifically, but we’re arranging to host one of the world’s biggest music stars for this year, but we need to sort out the financial construction first. Of course, the plan is to lower the price of visits to the walls, as well as Lokrum.

So you, like Minister Cappelli, think that ticket prices for the walls must fall?

Of course. I clearly told the leadership of the Society of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquities that they will not decide, but the City will decide on the price policy because the City is above the Society, and it must listen to what it commands instead of implementing its own policy.

Well, there are conflicting opinions. Some say that a lower ticket price for the walls won’t attract guests anyway, so then why lower it?

It is necessary to do it in terms of marketing. People all over the world have not given up on travel, so I think it is a good opportunity to tell guests that Dubrovnik will now be more beautiful, a city without crowds and with measure, and if the price correction is another reason to visit, why not? 

In addition, the policy of raising ticket prices for the walls and Lokrum was conducted as an attempt to reduce the pressure of visitors to these locations. As there will be no such pressure now, the prices should be corrected as well. I believe that the association will do so.

Speaking of prices, Dubrovnik is already criticized for too high prices. Do you expect reductions from caterers and hoteliers?

It is clear that in entrepreneurship the price is generated by supply and demand. I believe that there will be corrections here as well, because everyone will try to grab at least something from this season, so they will also give discounts in order to attract guests. I repeat, no one expects a good season. We are working for crumbs and preparing for 2021.

What do hoteliers say, how much capacity will be open this year?

Valamar will probably open only two, Lukšić also two at most. The Hilton is currently open, but I estimate that a total of five to six facilities will be open this season, so it will be like in our classic winter mode.

In its guidelines, the European Commission recommends that destinations that plan tourism this year must have sufficient hospital capacity, rapid tests, etc ... Is the City preparing in this regard as well?

We are 100 percent ready. Two weeks ago, we bought a new serological device with which we can finally test people in the city. The hospital is ready. We will soon have five new respirators, and by the end of June five more, which will have the most respirators per capita nationwide. 

When it comes to hospital beds, we are fully equipped, we also have an additional hospital in the Student Dormitory, which we dismantled, but, God forbid, we can re-establish it within a week. However, at last week's meeting, I suggested to the Prime Minister that it would be good to condition the entry of guests into Croatia with a negative test for COVID-19, which is in line with what Greece announced last week. This gives us a little more security and the ability to reduce the potential threat. The Prime Minister was positive about that idea, so we'll see.

You mentioned Greece. It is interesting because it is also an air destination, and considering that the whole country has as many patients as Croatia, we can say that the Greeks have managed to preserve the ‘corona-free’ image even more successfully. Will they be a threat to Dubrovnik?

I wouldn't say a threat, but the competition for sure. We will continue with the advertising measures. I think we have a hit advertising model, so we are preparing a short animated film that will be shown on CNN and the BBC, and which will tell the story of Dubrovnik as a city that was the first in the world to have quarantine and already in the time of the Dubrovnik Republic learned to deal with difficult situations. 

Everyone will, of course, in this situation try to make the most of their advantages, although I must say that our competitors like Italy and Spain are still in much bigger trouble than us.

Should the state, if it wants to help tourism and domestic guests, lower toll prices?

That would certainly be good and I hope it will happen. Everyone expects a lot, but we need to follow some pace and solve problems one by one. Now it's finally time for reactivation. I believe that it is on the table and that it will certainly be discussed, although for Dubrovnik, which does not have a kilometer of highway in its county, it does not matter. However, that would be good for domestic tourism, and even for [the state road authority] “Hrvatske Ceste”, if necessary, to borrow.

You commented in an interview that you do not understand how Dubrovnik caterers, who have been boasting record seasons in recent years, managed to spend all the money and as soon as the crisis arrived, be in trouble?

I will say clearly: when you have successful seasons 2019, 2018, 2017 and so on and when after each you say it is a record, you buy boats, cars, planes and apartments, we are happy because a man is able to afford it. But when these same people, as soon as the crisis knocked lightly on the door, immediately ask for forgiveness of debts and dismiss me, it is extremely rude and hypocritical to me and it completely threw me off balance. 

But well, the situation has calmed down, we have agreed to lower the rent by 50 percent for April, May and June, and we have forgiven 70 percent of the public space fees for those months. 

In addition, for the following months, until October, we have agreed to see how the season develops and, depending on that, continue to charge. I didn’t want to sit on the backs of the caterers, but I felt that in times of health threats they had to bear part of the burden because they, unlike the City, could save, put aside and prepare for the dark days. I think that people should still be more socially sensitive, that they should think about health first, and then about money. It is easiest for us politicians to forgive everything, then everyone loves you and you are the best in the world. I'm not that kind of man.

May 14, 2020 - There is a LONG way to go until Summer 2021, but at least the American Airlines Dubrovnik to Philadelphia service is in the planning for resumption, according to aviation data experts, ch-aviation. 

There are so many variables for tourism in Croatia going forward, and planning anything for next year seems ambitious, but I report this little piece of news not because I can guarantee that it will happen, but more because it shows that this very important flight connection is in the plans. 

The American Airlines Dubrovnik to Philadelphia flight was the first direct connection for 28 years between Croatia and the United States, a psychological as well as physical connection between the two countries. 

Along with many of the other inter-continental flights to Croatia, the 2020 Dubrovnik service was cancelled by the American carrier. And with so much upheaval and the inevitable downsizing of airlines and inter-continental flights, it was questionable whether or not the flight would return at all. 

It still might not, but the thing that is worth reporting is that the intention is certainly there. Am very grateful to those very efficient Swiss chaps at ch-aviation who keep track of all things related to the airline industry, for alerting me to this interesting 2021 flight, which was loaded onto the system yesterday. 

All being well, the American Airlines Dubrovnik service will be back from June 4, 2021. You can see the details above in the info I was sent. 

You can follow the latest from the aviation industry via ch-aviation, and we will update you on any developments regarding this flight. 

Interestingly, ch-aviation has its largest subsidiary office in Zagreb. You can learn more about them in this TCN feature story a few months ago. 

And for a very interesting overview of how the flight scene might look in Croatia going forward, COO Max Oldorf gave us a very insightful interview a few days ago. 

May 12, 2020 - As CEO Michael O'Leary announces the resumption of 40% of its schedule from July 1, what does that mean for flights with Ryanair to Croatia?

It has been quite a day for flight news for Croatia so far, and it is not yet midday. 

Firstly BA is now selling flights to both Split and Zagreb from June 15, as reported earlier. And then THIS.

Ryanair plans to restart 40% of its flights from July 1. You can read all the detail in the link to The Guardian above, as I have no value to add to that announcement. 

But what specifically does this mean for Ryanair to Croatia? With so many people using Ryanair to Croatia, we have had more emails about this than anything else in recent weeks. Especially regarding flights to the main Ryanair destination on Croatia's Adriatic coast - Zadar. 

As I don't have any inside information about Ryanair, we have to look at the online tools available, most notably the Ryanair booking engine. 

Which shows us some VERY interesting things, and not such good news for the thousands of Brits and Irish tourists planning to fly Ryanair to Zadar. 

The plan, it seems, is for Dublin and Split to be connected once more, with the first flight on July 2. 

Same story with Dubrovnik and Dublin, starting on July 1. 

But Zadar? Not a single flight to Zadar from the UK or Ireland to Zadar with Ryanair is showing. 

But Ryanair has not abandoned Zadar completely, far from it. Flights from Milan are due to recommence twice a week on July 3. 

Three times a week from Vienna from July 1. And the same story from various other European cities. But not from the UK and Ireland. 

And the UK love with Ryanair to Croatia continues from London Stansted to Pula from July 2. 

And to Rijeka from July 3. 

But to Zadar, seemingly at least, nothing at all. I will see what I can find out. If anyone has any info, please contact me on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Subject Ryanair. 

You can of course search for your own flight info on the official Ryanair website.

You can keep up to date with the latest flight news in the dedicated TCN flights to Croatia section. 

May 8, 2020 - The highly popular PuzzlePunks Dubrovnik Escape Room has adapted to the coronavirus crisis by turning their Game of Thrones-inspired escape room into an online virtual game. Now you can engage in fun and challenging games with your friends & family from the comfort of your couch, wherever you are in the world.

The coronavirus pandemic has shaken the entire world, canceling many plans and causing caution and social distancing. Life as we know it has been put on hold, but Diana Marlais and Bogdan Dascalescu, a local Dubrovnik couple and owners of PuzzlePunks, chose to transform this business crisis into an opportunity to create something new:

“We are the first company that offers live video escape games in Croatia & one of the early adopters around the world.”, proudly explains Marlais. 

“Our bookings kept getting canceled and the season was looking quite gloomy. The entire world just stopped and honestly, we felt quite scared of our future. To make things more complicated, we found out we have a baby on the way. Necessity is the mother of invention, so in our case as well, we felt we had no other choice but to adapt & innovate."

The virtual escape room game takes you into the world of Game of Thrones, where you and your team have 60 minutes to “Save King’s Landing”. You have a live avatar at your command through live video and you have to direct him to look around the room for clues. He is your eyes and hands inside the room, walking, looking & picking up items based on your instructions. Pay attention to the game, and with some observational skills & teamwork, spend a thrilling 60 minutes solving puzzles with your friends. 

"It’s been our dream to reach more players worldwide. We are happy that we are able to offer those who cannot visit Croatia while traveling is not possible, as well as to escape room fans all over the world, an authentic Dubrovnik experience," says Dascalescu. 

“You can make a booking for yourself and your family/friends or buy a gift voucher if you want to surprise someone with an epic birthday present or just help them get through these challenging self-isolating times”.

PuzzlePunks have adapted their working hours (12 pm - 6 am CET daily) to accommodate different time zones and especially the American market, that is rapidly filling their booking slots. Reservations and more information can be found here.

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

May 2, 2020 — Dubrovnik will try to salvage what promises to be a brutal summer tourist season by seeking special status to bypass some travel restrictions while the city’s Tourist Board launches a promotional campaign luring guests back to the Pearl of the Adriatic.

Mayor Mato Franković predicted 2020 may be Dubrovnik’s most uncertain summer season since the 1990s war. He predicted a complete economic collapse if flights remain grounded throughout the summer, with 80 percent of the economy evaporating by spring 2021.

The mayor and city’s Economic Council asked the Croatian government to grant Dubrovnik special status to bypass epidemiological travel restrictions so at least affluent guests can visit. They sent a letter to Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli requesting a green light for charter flights, especially from the U.K., as well as private jets and mega yachts. 

Only tourists with a negative test result administered in the last 48 hours would enter, according to the proposal.

Dubrovnik Mayor Mato Franković said a summer without inbound flights will devastate the local economy.

The 2020 summer season remains uncertain for Croatia. Even the most optimistic forecasts predict plummeting revenues, with some estimates dipping as low as 80 percent of 2019’s bonanza. Still, the tourism-dependent nation began seeking ways to reopen borders without setting off another wave of infections.

Croatia’s measures start at home. The government expects free movement within the country will resume soon so Croats can head to the coast to visit family or second homes.

Cappelli has also pushed for opening borders with neighboring countries — if the virus allows. Plenković’s government hopes Croatia can maintain its draw as an automotive destination for nearby states such as Czechia, Hungary, and Austria, reducing its reliance on arrivals from further across the European continent, Asia and Doha.

The benefits of such a scheme will bypass Dubrovnik. Many of the city’s guests come via direct flights and cruise ships — not by car. The pandemic halted all non-essential travel.

Dubrovnik Airport’s General Manager Frano Luetić expects a 70 percent drop in traffic this summer.

“We are witnessing something unlike we’ve ever seen in peacetime. We have been left without any traffic,” Luetić said.

Croatia Airlines will resume domestic flights to Dubrovnik on May 11, but that won’t bring the city’s target guests.

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Dubrovnik is not going anywhere, it is waiting for you ? #dubrovnik #lovedubrovnik #experiencedubrovnik #croatia #croatiafulloflife #croatialongdistancelove

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The Tourist Board’s ad campaign, “Dubrovnik is not going anywhere, it is waiting for you,” began May 1, hitting social media feeds in Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Slovenia. The promos will also appear in the Croatian market, as well as other markets as airlines resume flights to the Dalmatian coastline. 

These plans align with recommendations from experts like Zoran Pejović, who suggests emitting a confident message while reminding disappointed travelers their destination will outlast the virus.

The city has enjoyed some perverse positive press as the spiritual and literal birthplace of quarantine. But its isolation and stay at home orders have worn on locals longing to navigate the Stradun and meet for a coffee.

Dubrovnik has 112 confirmed COVID-19 infections since the pandemic started, with no new cases in the last 24 hours.
The coastal city’s tourism council reduced the Tourist Board’s pay by 15 percent. It then tasked Director Ana Hrnić with re-jiggering the staff and organizational makeup.

April the 30th, 2020 - Coronavirus. Isolation. Social distancing. Missed hugs. Missing people, at least one coffee with friends. From the bed to the kitchen and back is the typical distance made these days. The world is going virtual. All other things we are living through in these so deeply and radically different times.

The e-mail was quite short and adamant. It began with: ‘I told you that you would sing in public again”. (What?). It included, all quite dryly, the links to the score with and without the lyrics, a very brief explanation of the idea and the requirement to submit the part within 24 hours. That was all.

The message was from Djelo Jusic Jr., whose late father was one of the most popular authors of light music Croatia has ever had. Djelo Jr. is an accomplished musician and accompanist himself, born and raised in Dubrovnik. 

Coronavirus-induced confinement enhances emotions, nostalgia included.

''I felt so distant from Dubrovnik and my friends, wondering how they are, what they're doing, missing their company, missing the spontaneous singing under the arches of the Rector’s Palace. The impact of the restriction of movement made it even worse. Everything felt so distant. So, this song came to my mind, many times over the days and all these years, actually, as it is precisely about nostalgia and to me is one of the four or five most beautiful songs dedicated to Dubrovnik ever written.''

Mario Nardelli, wrote the song ''Last night when I closed my eyes'' exactly 43 years ago. Loosely, he wonders how are his friends doing, where they are at all, and is he going to see them ever again to share music and the dawns on the beach together. If he is never to come back home, his friends are asked to sing this very song occasionally as it is the only thing that can bring back happiness into their friend away in some distant and unknown land.

Djelo’s list of us to take part started easily: ''Last night…'' was first performed in Dubrovnik by two of us on Djelo's list: Sergio Gjivoje and Mario Romanovic, both living in the USA, 43 years ago!

''My wife Paula and I had done something similar for the disastrous floods in Gunja and other places some years ago, and this idea with ''Last night…'' clicked in an instant. The experience taught me to allocate a part of the song to each participant and set a deadline for the submission of the material and nothing else. If you give them time, they would each have their remarks, questions, suggestions. This way, there is time for nothing but for pure emotion.''

When it came up on YouTube two days later, this proved so true. Not only inside me, but inside so many people who either commented or called in gratitude for the tears this little big undertake provoked. So here is the never rehearsed, just purely emotional memory of a number of us people from Dubrovnik scattered around the world to our friends and to our own memories of those unforgettable dawns on the beach.

We secretly hope this music inspires you to send your own most beautiful nostalgic thoughts to your friends back home and to share a song with them, even if only virtually, inside your heart.

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April 25, 2020 — A proposed fishmarket in Dubrovnik's Old Town stalled after leaked 3D renderings of the pointy structure caused a stir among locals with functioning eyes. Conservationists and the Ministry of Culture approved the prefabricated building's placement inside the old town's port in a closed-doors setting, then backpedaled after a growing chorus of angry locals forced politicians to stop supporting the project.

Renderings of the "peškarija" began circulating social media, creating reactions as sharp as the building's angles.

"The city should be preserved," Marin Krstulovic, president of the City District, reportedly said. "We are working on a management plan, and at the same time with one stroke of a pen we will turn it, as our neighbors would say, into a fair.”

The outcry grew until Dubrovnik Mayor Mato Franković finally joined the chorus of people demanding the project be stopped.

Conservators and the Ministry of Culture accepted the plan on Dec. 23, 2019. Part of the pre-assembled facility would be used by border police and customs. The County Port Authority commissioned the project and paid it HRK60,000.

"The project was presented to the Ministry of Culture, Assistant Minister, and presented by the designer and the Conservation Department in Dubrovnik," Zeljko Dadić, director of the Dubrovnik County Port Authority, told Dnevnik Nova TV. "It then, in accordance with their guidelines, went on to approval and construction."

The city and the county have called for a halt to the project, arguing that the public must agree. After that, the Ministry became involved. 

The ministry and conservators sent a Morski.hr a statement stating a subsequent audit found the design solution deviates from the system of protection measures for the cultural and historical urban unit of the city of Dubrovnik. Also, they wrote that in cooperation with the City and the County, the Ministry decided to further stop the implementation of this project.

The private investor, who is a concessionaire of the area and uses it as the terrace for a hospitality business, says he has already invested more than one million kunas in the project and is preparing a lawsuit.

"We have information that someone stopped the project, but as an investor, we have not received anything yet," said the investor Maro Hajdarhodzic. "I am a legalist, if I worked and started investing in legal documents, now I am waiting for a legal document that supposedly invalidates everything."

The architect from the architect's office says the Ministry's decision stunned her because the civil service had enough time in a year and two months to carry out the revisions it cites in its decision.

"My amazement is the fact that the reason is the deviation from the protection measures," said Jelica Pekovic from the architect's office.

None involved wanted to suggest that, perhaps, aesthetics, the obscure approval process and the general public rancor around the building did it in.