October 20, 2019 - TCN caught up with the brains behind everyone’s favorite handcrafted nautical jewelry brand to discuss the wild summer behind us, what we can expect this winter, and the biggest news yet - franchising next year. A closer look into all things Break Time with Mirela Rus.

We’re finally into the heart of autumn, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t still reflect on the season behind us. How did the summer of 2019 treat Break Time? 

We had a fantastic summer in terms of business. We launched a couple of new collections: #reCYCLED with rope from recycled plastic bottles, made especially for us by a rope factory in the Netherlands, and YACHT CLUB, which uses an amazing minimalist anchor design, created for Break Time by Attila Kim and Bogdan Ciocodeica, a brilliant team of architects/designers. 

We are happy to report that our customers received both collections with great enthusiasm, so we will be building on that for 2020.

That being said, with five Croatian shops running and an international online shop, there was not much time left for relaxation, but that is what winter is for!

Which shops performed the best and what were the bestselling products?

The two Split shops were the stars of the season and we tend to believe a part of this success stems from the fact that we live here and, therefore, we can focus more on these two shops than the ones from Dubrovnik, Istria, and Zagreb.

As for the best-selling products, as mentioned above, the new YACHT CLUB collection was an absolute hit and managed to surpass every other collection in sales. A close second is our already very popular DUBROVNIK collection of nautical bracelets with a decorative compass, designed especially for men.

What changes can we expect from Break Time in the offseason?

We are keeping two of our shops open until the New Year: the Ilica 14 store in Zagreb and the Zadarska 1 store in Split. 

Any special Advent offers?

We are actually preparing some really cool stuff for Advent! First of all, through December, we will offer FREE ENGRAVING (in-store and online), so that our customers can get one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces as gifts for their loved ones (and for themselves). We will also have at least one day in Zagreb and one day in Split when we will bring the engraving machine to the shops and do custom engravings on the spot. We will make sure to announce the dates well in advance!

However, the Advent news does not stop there. We plan to launch the mini and the big versions of the Yacht Club collection - and they look so cool, we almost couldn’t wait!.

But the most exciting Advent news is that we will also launch a VERY limited edition of a special variant of the big Yacht Club anchor bracelets, which I think our fans will absolutely love. And they will make for very cool Christmas presents, too. I promise it will be something very innovative and cool. I wish I could tell you about it now, but I am doing my best to keep the surprise for one more month.

But there is still even bigger news. You’ve announced a Break Time franchise - tell us more!

We are so, so excited about this and we are working on it 24/7 currently, with the help of an amazing franchise consultant – Andrija Colak, the owner of the Surf’n’Fries franchise, with over 60 units opened all around the globe so far. And we owe thanks to TCN’s Paul Bradbury for introducing Andrija to us.

It has been four years since we opened our first shop and all this time, we had countless requests for the distribution of our handmade nautical bracelets, coming not just from Croatia, but literally from all over the world, from Dubai to Florida.

In these four years, we wanted to focus on delivering amazing products to our customers in our shops, first of all. And that, plus continually evolving and developing new collections, did not leave much room for external cooperation. 

But we feel that we have grown and learned enough now to be able to open the Break Time brand to the world. Experience and trial and error led us to choose the franchise as the optimal way to develop the brand internationally.

We hope to officially launch the franchise system at the beginning of 2020, targeting coastal locations with high tourism flows, all over the world. We made a soft announcement to get some feedback on the possible interest, and we are overwhelmed by the response we received already. We had interest shown from the UK, US, and Asia. Of course, there is still a long road ahead until we will be announcing the opening of the first Break Time franchise, but we are enjoying this new experience and will do our absolute best to make it a great one.

You can learn more about the Break Time franchise here. 

What else can we expect in 2020? 

The new franchise path meant that we also needed to reorganize ourselves in terms of both production and our stores. 

We realized that we would not be able to focus and give enough attention to our future franchisees if we keep all our five stores. So, in 2020, we are keeping the Zagreb store (Ilica 14) and the two Split stores (Zadarska 1 and Trogirska 8).

The Trogirska 8 store will move to a new location – but it will be at the same address, just next door. We are doing that because the next-door space is l, and it also has an upstairs large room that my partner, Leonard Copoiu, will use as a workshop during the summer. That will allow us to make custom bracelets and custom engravings on the spot, in less than one hour for our Split customers.

We also need to make changes related to production. Up until now, Leonard himself made absolutely all of our jewelry pieces. In the next months, we will focus on developing a production unit, and Leonard will do the training and personally supervise all production to make sure that the quality (which is what we are most proud of) stays the same.

But those are things regarding our internal functioning. What our fans would most likely be more interested in finding out is if new collections will be launched in 2020 - and the answer is YES! 

As we have done each year since we opened, we are constantly working on new products or improving our existing products. But I won’t say much more at this point; we need to keep some surprises for next year, too. 

To make sure you never miss a Break Time beat, follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. 

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

October 10, 2019 - Air Transat is looking to strengthen operations in Croatia. Are trips to Dubrovnik and Split in its plans?

Ex Yu Aviation reports that the theme of Air Transat’s annual meeting last week was Croatia - and we are not surprised. In 2018, 172,712 Canadian tourists visited Croatia, which was an increase of 26.5% compared to 2017. 

While Canada’s third-largest airline has operated a seasonal summer service to Zagreb since 2016, it has put Croatia’s popularity in focus and previously expressed interested in expanding to Dubrovnik and Split. They’ve even made contact with both airports. 

“Croatia remains a key destination for Transat in view of the interest shown by Canadian travelers in the summer and its potential for tourism development. We are continuously looking at all opportunities, including Croatia. Like all airlines, there are a number of considerations involved when we are selecting a destination, including customer demand, airport infrastructure and competition from other carriers," Air Transat said.

So, is a connection to Dubrovnik and Split on the horizon? Air Transat said they are always analyzing and re-evaluating the market and their roads, based on a variety of factors, to optimize their operations. 

Recall, Air Transat announced a new service between Toronto and Split back in September 2018, though they canceled it in January 2019 and instead increased frequencies to Zagreb. 

Air Transat's Marketing Director, Debbie Cabana, confirmed the news then. 

"For commercial reasons, we have decided to cancel our summer 2019 program for Split, Croatia. Nevertheless, Croatia remains a key destination for Transat and, given the interest shown by Canadians in the summer of 2018 and its potential for tourism development, we will be adding a third weekly departure from Toronto to Zagreb. Flights will be on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays during peak season. Passengers from Montreal and Vancouver will also benefit from a connecting flight to Toronto to take advantage of this added flight to Croatia. This third flight will make Zagreb accessible from Calgary as well, via return connecting flights to Toronto". 

The carrier was to fly between Toronto and Split once a week from June 20 to September 12.

However, Air Transat isn’t the only airline helping Canadian tourists to Croatia - we have Canada Rouge to thank for that, too. 

"Further growth in travel is expected from Canada to Croatia at around 20% per year. Estimates are based on the recovery of the Canadian economy, the strong contribution of nonstop flights linking Toronto with Zagreb, and general growth in interest for travel to Croatia,” Ina Rodin from the Croatian National Tourist Board concluded. 

Air Transat announced they’ll release the 2020 summer flight schedule soon. 

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

October 5, 2019 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for new flights to Croatia with updates from Dubrovnik. 

Avio Radar reports that Norwegian airline Norwegian Air Shuttle has announced they will reduce traffic to Dubrovnik in their summer flight schedule next year. The airline revealed they’ll be closing their base in Madrid, which directly effects the Madrid-Dubrovnik route. 

Namely, the Madrid-Dubrovnik route will cease to operate after the current summer flight schedule. Norwegian currently operates two flights per week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The service will end on October 26, 2019. 

Furthermore, although it has not been officially announced that Norwegian will close its base in Barcelona as well, the Barcelona-Dubrovnik route is also no longer on offer for the 2020 summer flight schedule. According to the planned flight schedule, this service has already been completed for this year. By canceling these two lines, Norwegian will no longer offer any routes between Spain and Croatia. The Boeing 737-800 aircraft was used for both lines. 

Recall, TCN recently reported that Korean Air would not run the Seoul-Zagreb service this winter, though services will resume on April 1, 2020. The service will run between the two capitals only until November 29, 2019. Tickets sales have thus been discontinued. 

LOT announced they’re coming to Rijeka with a new direct seasonal service from Warsaw. The route will run from March 29 to October 18, once a week, on Sundays. The flight lands in Rijeka at 15:30 and departs for Warsaw at 16:20. An Embraer E195 aircraft, which has the capacity for 118 passengers, will service this line. 

Finally, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, a Star Alliance member, added a new Croatian destination to its 2020 summer flight schedule. Namely, the airline will service Zadar in addition to the existing routes to Dubrovnik, Pula, and Split. The new Copenhagen-Zadar route will operate twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, from June 30 to August 8, 2020. A Canadair CRJ-900 will be used for this line. 

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

October 4, 2019 - The Dubrovnik-Neretva County Tourist Board's promotional film Dubrovnik Riviera has been shortlisted for the best tourism video in the world.

HRTurizam writes that the four-minute film blends authentic gastronomy, the magical beaches of the islands, natural beauty, wine, sports and recreation, entertainment, cultural and historical heritage, and all the amenities of a destination that are recognized by many tourists of all generations. Each aspect has been harmoniously intertwined, conceived together by Balduci film and the Tourist Board of Dubrovnik-Neretva County.

Dubrovnik Riviera - Festival Version from Filmservice International on Vimeo.

Voting is open until 25 October 2019, and you can vote once a day from the same address. As of October 4, the video racked up 721 votes. You can vote for the video here.

Recall, at 'The Golden City Gate' ceremony in Berlin, Germany, at the biggest international ITB World Tourism Fair, the promotional film came second place in the category of regional films. It also won the bronze medal at the New York Festivals® International TV & Film Awards, which honors the world’s best TV and films, and received two awards at the World Tourism Film Festival in Japan. 

The video was first released back in September 2018, made by Balduci Film from Zagreb, directed by Herve Tirmarche and produced by Spomenka Saraga. The film depicts the beauty of Dubrovnik-Neretva County from the Neretva valley to the islands of Korčula and Mljet, and then Croatia's southernmost municipality of Konavle, which borders Montenegro.

CIFFT (The International Committee of Tourism Film Festivals) was founded in 1989 in Vienna to recognize, reward, and celebrate excellence in tourism video marketing. CIFFT covers 18 different festivals around the world. The Grand Prix "Festival of All Festivals” will take place in Vienna on November 12, 2019, and awards will be presented at the ceremony for the best tourism film and the best tourist advertising in the world.

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

September 30, 2019 -  This winter, Dubrovnik will be connected to seven world capitals (Frankfurt, London, Istanbul, Warsaw, Rome, Barcelona, and Athens), and with the Croatian capital - Zagreb.

HRTurizam reports that direct flights between Frankfurt and Dubrovnik throughout the year, co-organized by the Dubrovnik National Tourist Board, the Croatian national carrier Croatia Airlines and the Croatian National Tourist Board, was presented in Frankfurt late last week to fifty German travel agents and travel journalists.

At the Croatian restaurant Damiro Westsite in downtown Frankfurt, director of the Representative Office of the Croatian National Tourist Board in Frankfurt, Romeo Draghicchio, emphasized that the promotion of Dubrovnik in the winter months fits into the strategic plans of Croatian tourism, which seeks to extend the season. Dubrovnik has made the most progress in this regard, and this direct connection in the winter is ideal for attracting additional guests from Frankfurt and its surroundings in the winter.

Mato Radic, director of the Croatia Airlines branch in Frankfurt, presented the winter flights with an emphasis on the direct connection from Frankfurt, which will operate three times a week during the winter months, while Silvana Turcic, director of the Travel Observatory in Zagreb, presented the winter package deals to the present travel agents.

“The Frankfurt-Dubrovnik direct winter flight will operate for the third year within the strategic projects of the Croatian National Tourist Board, the Dubrovnik Tourist Board and Croatia Airlines. At the initiative of the Tourist Board and Croatia Airlines, all open hotels participate in the winter programs," said the director of the Tourist Board, Romana Vlasic.

Vlasic expressed her satisfaction with the excellent air connectivity of the two cities and the number of German tourists, who make up the third-biggest tourist market in Dubrovnik. 

The Dubrovnik Tourist Board has designed and printed leaflets on all events during the winter in Croatian, English, and German, which will be available to all visitors at the Tourist Information Offices.

Dubrovnik welcomed 77,723 German guests in 2018, which is 22% more than the previous year. The German market also achieved 273,764 overnights, or 7% more than in 2017.

You can read more about Dubrovnik’s winter program here. 

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

September 29, 2019 - Dubrovnik Airport continues with its expansion project after it completed the overhaul of its 3,300-meter runway earlier this year.

Dubrovnik Airport was the fastest-growing airport in the former Yugoslavia from January to August this year after it added 240,016 travelers compared to the year before. Namely, Dubrovnik Airport welcomed 2,099,022 passengers, which is an increase of 12.9% on 2018. 

Thus, it only makes sense that the busy airport would need to continue making adjustments to its infrastructure. Ex-Yu Aviation reports on Sunday that Croatia’s southernmost airport will resume its expansion project, which includes constructing a new administrative building, a multi-story car-park, new firefighting facilities and rescue services, and a VIP terminal. The multi-story car park should resolve parking congestion, as the car park will have the capacity for around 500 vehicles. There will also be direct access to the terminal building through a covered overpass. 

The firefighting facility will be one-story tall and stretch across 3,500 square meters. The new administrative building will be a bit smaller. The new VIP terminal will open just in time for the next summer season and is 1,315 square meters. 

Furthermore, a new seasonal passenger terminal is also in talks for the future, though it would be used strictly in the summer. Discussions have revealed that this terminal would be located west of the car park, though construction wouldn’t begin for another 6 to 7 years. 

Recall, the airport completed the overhaul of its 3,300-meter runway earlier this year. 

Dubrovnik Airport can handle five million passengers per year, and it projects 2,830,000 travelers this year. A lot of credit is owed to the new American Airlines seasonal service, which brought over 9,000 American tourists from Philadelphia up to September 2019. American Airlines will operate this route daily next summer, and run until the end of October. 

This American Airlines route is just the beginning of the long-haul flights the airport hopes to lock in for the future. 

You can see photos of the airport upgrade at Ex-Yu Aviation.

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

September 27, 2019 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for new flights to Croatia with updates from Zadar, Dubrovnik, and Zagreb. 

Avio Radar reports that Austrian national carrier Austrian Airlines, a member of the Star Alliance global airline association, is launching a new route to Croatia in the summer of 2020. Namely, Austrian Airlines will connect Vienna and Zadar every day next year. Zadar will be the fourth Austrian Airlines' destination in Croatia, after the long-standing connections to Zagreb, Dubrovnik, and Split. 

This route will begin operating seven flights a week from the first day of the 2020 summer flights schedule, or March 29, 2020. An Airbus A320 aircraft will serve this line. 

But that’s not the only news coming from Austria. 

Furthermore, Ex-Yu Aviation reports that Austrian low-cost airline Lauda will launch seasonal flights between Vienna and Dubrovnik from March 29 next year, operating two times a week, on Thursdays and Sundays. This new route will compete directly against Austrian Airlines and Level. 

The Lauda line will leave Vienna on Thursdays at 14:55, arriving in Dubrovnik at 16:20, while it will leave on Sunday at 6:00, arriving in Dubrovnik at 7:25. 

Ryanair's B737-800 equipment will operate on this service, even though the flights are marketed by Lauda.

To end this week of travel, Avio Radar reports that Franjo Tudjman Airport was recognized in the category of airports with less than 4 million passengers at the 25th World Routes Aviation Forum held in Adelaide, Australia. 

The annual World Routes Awards were held at the Adelaide Convention Center on September 23, 2019. The awards are highly regarded in the aviation industry for recognizing marketing services that support new and existing airport services, as well as excellence and innovation in route development. 

Zagreb Airport recorded 3.34 million passengers last year, which is an increase of 8%, following a 12% increase in 2017. After introducing Emirates in 2017, three new carriers have been launched from Zagreb in 2018, of which two operate long-haul flights and bring a number of new destinations. Firstly, in the spring, Aegean Airlines introduced direct flights to Athens, while Croatia Airlines opened two new destinations - Dublin and Mostar. In June, Air Canada Rouge opened its second direct line between Zagreb and Toronto, and in September 2018, the first flights to the Far East began thanks to Korean Air, connecting Zagreb and Seoul throughout the year. 

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

September 26, 2019 - Jadran Split will compete in the LEN Champions League for the second consecutive season after defeating French club Strasbourg 12:29 overall in the third round of the qualifiers.

HRT reports that the Jadran Split water polo team have booked another Champions League appearance with one more convincing victory against French club Strasbourg, who they defeated away 16:7 (3:2, 5:2, 3:2, 5:1) in the return match of the 3rd qualification round. Recall, in the first match in Split, Jadran won 13:5. Thus, Jadran joins Dubrovnik's Jug and Zagreb's Mladost in the group stage of elite club competition. This is also the second consecutive season Jadran Split is among the top 16 teams in Europe.

Zvonimir Butic was the most efficient player for the Split team with three goals, while Rino Buric, Marin Vrdoljak, Marin Delic and Antonio Duzević scored twice. Strasbourg was led by Dubrovnik native Pavo Markovic who scored three goals.

Jadran Split will play in Group A of the Champions League alongside Jug AO from Dubrovnik, Sintez Kazan from Russia, Szolnoki from Hungary, Jug Herceg Novi from Montenegro, Barceloneta from Spain, Spandau 04 from Germany and Olympiacos from Greece.

Split will host Olympiacos, which is the current Champions League finalist, in the first round on October 8th, while Jug will host Herceg Novi.

In Group B, Mladost will compete against European champions Ferencvaros from Hungary, Hanover from Germany, Pro Recco from Italy, Dinamo Tbilisi from Georgia, Marseille from France, OSC Budapest from Hungary and Terrassa from Spain. 

Mladost will open their competition on October 9th with a visit to OSC in Budapest.

LEN Champions League qualifications - 3rd round

Strasbourg - Jadran ST 7-16 (total 12-29)

Sintez Kazan - Brescia 10-7  (22-20)

Digi Oradea - Terrassa 5-6   (12-16)        

Vouliagmeni - OSC Budapest 6-7  (9-18)

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

September 23, 2019 - The Thomas Cook collapse has stranded 190 tourists in Dubrovnik who arrived from Manchester on Sunday. 

Anyone reading the news on Monday would find it hard to miss that Thomas Cook, one of the world's oldest and most renowned travel agencies, declared bankruptcy and ceased all operations, reports HRTurizam.

"Despite significant efforts, discussions did not result in an agreement between the company's stakeholders and new investors," the company said in a statement. "The company board, therefore, concluded that they had no choice but to take steps to introduce mandatory liquidation with immediate effect."

The company filed for liquidation with the United Kingdom Supreme Court on Monday.

"Despite great efforts over the course of several months and intense negotiations in recent days, we have not been able to reach an agreement to save our business. I know this outcome is devastating and will cause a lot of people anxiety and stress,” CEO Peter Fankhauser said Monday morning.

Executives tried raising the additional $250 million needed to save the company over the weekend, but the deals appear to have failed due to many complications and the amount of money invested.

The collapse of the UK-based company, which was founded in 1841, has left thousands of people abroad unable to return to their homes. However, the U.K. government is working on a plan to rescue all tourists who have been stranded abroad in what they are calling "Operation Matterhorn”. 

Dubrovački Dnevnik reports that there are currently 190 passengers in Dubrovnik who arrived Sunday by plane from Manchester. Dubrovnik Airport director Frano Luetic explained that British authorities are lcurrently organizing their return trip. 

"The UK service responsible for these emergencies is already organizing a return trip for these passengers. The UK aviation authorities, in agreement with the UK government, have solutions. Their representatives will be at our airport providing passengers with the necessary information,” he said.

Luetic believes the company's downfall will not have too much effect on Dubrovnik Airport. 

"We were surprised by this news, given that it is the first travel agency created in the world. Concerning Dubrovnik Airport, Thomas Cook passengers accounted for one small percentage of the total number of guests arriving, given the other numerous flights and companies arriving in Dubrovnik. In any case, it is not positive news, though it is an almost insignificant percentage when it comes to Dubrovnik Airport,” he concluded.

The downfall of the company is likely to affect hotel facilities and private accommodation in Dubrovnik, but it is assumed not significantly. British guests are one of the largest markets visiting Dubrovnik, and the cancellation of a seasonal route to Dubrovnik could diminish their interest.

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

September 23, 2019 - A huge boost for the profile of Croatia's medical tourism industry, as Bagatin Clinic announces the first European Patient Experience & Innovation conference, to be held in Dubrovnik. 

Last year I was invited to a press conference at St Catherine Specialty Hospital in Zagreb, one of the Leading Hospitals in the World. I was more than impressed when I learned that the reason for the conference was the announcement of a partnership between the Croatian hospital and OneOne, co-founded by Mayo Clinic, to become the first European partner to make available in Europe the revolutionary RightMed pharmacogenetic test. You can read more about that here. 

A Croatian hospital, the only place in Europe where this groundbreaking test was available. Impressive. And a partner of a project co-founded by Mayo Clinic. Prestigious. 

And just as Mayo Clinic is one of the top names in global healthcare excellence, so too is Cleveland Clinic. 

And Cleveland Clinic is also coming to Croatia with a European first... 

On March 19-20, 2020, to be exact. Croatian medical tourism pioneer Ognjen Bagatin, CEO of leading regional clinic, Bagatin Clinic, announced from Cleveland the first European Patient Experience and Innovation Conference, to be held at Valamar Lacroma Hotel in Dubrovnik, organised by Bagatin Clinic with collaborative international presenter, Cleveland Clinic. Cleveland Clinic hosts its own patient experience programme each year, and this will be the first of its kind in Europe. 

The relationship between Croatia and Cleveland Clinic is not new and is one which has been personally fostered by Bagatin, whose efforts to learn from the best are bringing international ideas and expertise to the Croatian medical tourism industry. Bagatin was responsible for bringing Joe Sweet, Cleveland Clinic's International Patient Experience Director to Zagreb earlier this year to speak at the 5th Annual Medical Tourism Conference. TCN interviewed Sweet (you can read the interview here) where he explained how why he had come to Croatia:

Firstly, our CEO Tom Mihaljevic is Croatian. But actually the reason I am here is driven by Ognjen Bagatin of Bagatin Clinic who came to see us in Cleveland to learn about the patient experience and our Patients First initiative. I met with him almost a year ago now, and we really hit it off from that first lunch we had together. I learned more about his personality, his drive and what he is trying to achieve. That was very impressive. And then this opportunity came up with Euro Events to come over and share our story, and Ognjen really connected that, making it happen.

We are interested in spreading the news of who we are and what we do and forming those connections around the world. So we see this as an opportunity to do that, to get out there and build more of those relationships.

We will bring you more details of the conference as it develops, but in the meantime, you can catch the latest from the Croatian medical tourism story in our dedicated section.