July 21, 2020 - More than 600,000 tourists are currently staying in Croatia, some counties have a 60 percent occupancy rate compared to the same time last year, and by the end of the year, the result could reach 40 percent of last year, Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said on Monday.

"Today we have almost 600,000 tourists, mostly foreigners, and there are about 90,000 locals. Croatia is a safe destination no matter what happens," Cappelli said after a session of the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) on Slobodna Dalmacija.

Greece, he said for comparison, currently has only seven percent of turnover compared to last year.

On the other hand, Croatia has over 50 percent of its turnover in July compared to last year, and more than 30 percent at the level of the previous part of the year.

He pointed out that in some counties, such as Istria and Primorje-Gorski Kotar, more than 60 percent of arrivals are realized compared to last year. According to him, the tourist workers are well prepared for the epidemiological conditions in which they work. Currently, as he said, 75 percent of the available nautical charter is operating, while in August, everyone will work at one hundred percent capacity.

Cappelli is in favor of more rigorous epidemiological measures in order to achieve the results we expect with a reduced number of infected people, that is, to prove that we are still a safe destination.

He pointed out that the decline in the number of domestic tourists is only 13 percent, and that most continental destinations have traffic of more than 60 percent compared to last year, and family farms on the continent work even better than last year.

He stated that the prices of tourist services were reduced in a number of destinations, on average, by 10 to 30 percent.

"I claimed that the first good reaction of the economy will be in tourism, and that is what is happening," said the minister, adding that this year there is a minimum of seasonal workers coming from outside Croatia, i.e., that domestic labor has been withdrawn.

At the session of the Tourist Council, additional financial resources for the needs of crisis communication were approved. It will be aimed at continuous monitoring of the market situation, in order to quickly and timely inform the target public about all new changes in the travel segment, with an emphasis on Croatia as a safe and accessible tourist destination.

"Today we have provided additional financial resources for crisis communication activities in foreign markets. Quality promotion and placement of targeted messages are extremely important in these market circumstances when many countries are fighting very hard for each guest. With these financial resources, amounting to one million kuna, among other things, we will focus on intensified monitoring of the entire situation with an emphasis on communicating accurate information on the epidemiological situation in the country," said the director of HTZ, Kristjan Stanicic.

Stanicic also said that from Friday to Sunday, almost 300,000 arrivals and 1.8 million tourist overnight stays were realized in Croatia.

The members of the Tourist Council also discussed the situation on the markets and the course of the season, and it was emphasized that in the current part of July, from July 1 to 19, about 1.4 million arrivals were realized, which is 53 percent of last year's result achieved in the same period, and 9.6 million overnight stays, which is 56 percent of last year's result achieved in the same period.

The largest tourist turnover came from the markets of Germany, Slovenia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Austria.

Stanicic also stated that additional funds will be used for PR activities in the domestic and foreign markets, and that additional funds were found through internal redistribution, within the HTZ budget.

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July 3, 2020 - The latest from the Croatian Ministry of Tourism on the CRO cards project.

Index.hr reports that although the CRO card was supposed to launch on July 1, we still do not know which employers ordered it for their workers. Two years after hearing Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli's statements about the CRO cards and that they will provide between 10 and 21 thousand new jobs and up to 11 billion kuna in new investments, the culmination of the project is seen in yesterday's statement by the Ministry of Tourism spokesperson, Sladjana Vignjevic, who told Index that they have nothing to do with the project.

Index writes that Cappelli’s Ministry was asked clear and specific questions: how many employers ordered CRO cards, where were the cards issued, were they ordered by state-owned companies and which, after which they were simply told that the Ministry of Tourism had nothing to do with the project. 

"Cards are issued, and where exactly - we have nothing to do with it. We have no information about how many cards were issued, and we have nothing to do with it. The Ministry of Tourism did not spend a single kuna on the CRO card project. We only have the information that they have begun. HPB is the first bank to go with this, so contact them with these questions. Banks are the ones who bear the costs of making the CRO cards. We only had a public invitation for all banks to apply for card issuance," Sladjana Vignjevic told Index.

Index also contacted Hrvatska poštanska banka (HPB), but has not yet received a response.

Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli has spoken about CRO cards several times this year. Cappelli said on April 17 that the CRO card would go to print in the next month.

"In June, we can start using it. It's about catering services, accommodation services and agency services. The value is 2,500 kuna, and it is tax-free for employers," Cappelli said.

Then, on April 27, after a video conference of EU tourism ministers on the situation in European tourism, Cappelli said that the CRO card was being prepared.

"The CRO card will be able to be used only in Croatia, HRK 2,500 non-taxable, we will see if we can do something extra in that regard and if additional discounts can be obtained," said Cappelli.

A couple of weeks ago, Cappelli stated that the CRO card will be used from July 1 and that due to the corona, its realization will be somewhat slower.

“But we firmly believe that with the end of the pandemic, this project, as well as the 'A Week's Vacation is Worth It' project will come to life,” Cappelli said on June 10, when he also said the first 30,000 cards had been printed.

Then, on June 14, in Opatija, Cappelli spoke again about the CRO cards. He stated that the possibility of using the CRO card had been extended to private accommodation, package deals and nautical tourism.

“About 40,000 cards are being printed, the first banks have signed a contract and everything starts on July 1,” Cappelli said.

And while it is clear from these statements that the Ministry of Tourism is managing the project, a ministry spokesperson now claims they have nothing to do with it. And doesn't know the answers to these questions.

The only thing that Vignjevic knew specifically was that the public sector is not included, that is, that employees in the public sector will certainly not receive a CRO card. Index reported about this earlier when Labor Minister Josip Aladrovic's attempt to persuade public-sector unions to agree to the payment of recourse on the CRO card instead of cash was refused.

Entrepreneurs also do not want the CRO card, which was confirmed by Hrvoje Bujas, president of the Voice of Entrepreneurs association. His association surveyed entrepreneurs and more than 90 percent of entrepreneurs said they would not give CRO cards to their employees.

Index spoke again with Bujas, who said that they never received an answer from the Ministry of Tourism as to who pays for the CRO card project, nor who ordered 40,000 cards.

"The CRO card has no benefit for either the employer or the worker; there is no idea. If the state, as Slovenia did, put 200 euro on everyone's card, then it would make some sense, and this makes no sense," Bujas said.

Another amazing thing about the CRO cards is the fact that, according to Cappelli's announcements, they were supposed to go into circulation on July 1, and the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies UHP has a meeting on this project at the Ministry of Tourism only next week.

Tomislav Fain, president of UHPA, told Index that they have a meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Tourism next week about additional clarifications for CRO cards.

"This is not a bad project, but in this crisis situation, we cannot expect employers to take those cards this year. I would, honestly, be happy if there are employers who will be able to pay it off. If it was a normal situation, I believe a large number of employers would pay the money on the CRO card, but now they certainly won’t," Fain told Index.

A big opponent of the CRO cards is Marin Medak, president of the National Association of Caterers.

"This project is illogical and incomplete. The cost is passed on to the employer, that the employer gives a bonus. We do not support the way it is set. Well, I wonder who will be able to give it to workers, possibly state-owned companies. And yes, already in December we told the Ministry that we are against the project. Then it was arranged that if, for example, a restaurant wants to be included in the project, it must give discounts, so it was not profitable for us," concluded Medak.

So, the conclusion of all this is that the citizens still do not know how much the CRO cards project cost, who will get the 40,000 cards that were printed, and in the end - will anyone get them at all? Index only found out that the Ministry of Tourism, which proudly announced this project, had nothing to do with it.

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ZAGREB, June 25, 2020 - Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said on Thursday that currently, 246,000 tourists were vacationing in Croatia.

"Their number is rising by 20,000 to 30,000 on a daily basis," Cappelli said at a government session, adding that this was a sign that Croatia "is a safe and recognisable tourist destination."

Cappelli made the statement as part of a discussion on the adoption of a regulation on amendments to the Islands Act, which increases the annual, subsidised quantity of water for human consumption for residents of islands.

The government today also reduced, by 50%, water supply taxes which investors pay when building a new building, or legalising an existing one.

Environment and Energy Minister Tomislav Coric said that the reduction was in line with the action plan for the reduction of non-tax and parafiscal levies for 2020, adopted by the government in May.

The reduction of water supply taxes, which represent the revenue of the Croatian Waters water management company, refers to all categories of users.

June 25, 2020 - There are currently 246,000 tourists in Croatia, Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli reported on Thursday.

"There are currently 246,000 tourists in Croatia, and the number is growing by 20,000 to 30,000 a day," Cappelli said at a government session, as reported by Glas Istre.

He added that this is a sign that Croatia is a "safe and recognizable" tourist country.

Cappelli presented these data as part of the discussion on the adoption of the Decree amending the Law on Islands, which increases the amount of healthy water for human consumption at a subsidized price from 45 to 85 cubic meters per year per islander.

Novi List reported yesterday that the new border rules would slightly tighten controls on entry into Croatia from Serbia and BiH, where the epidemiological picture has been disturbed, while the rule for 10 European countries agreed before remains the same, Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said during a visit to Crikvenica and a tour of Crikvenica's tourism company Jadran d.d. Crikvenica.

When asked by journalists whether there were cancellations of accommodation in Croatia due to the coronavirus outbreak at the Adria Tour in Zadar, he answered that there were no cancellations, but that there was a little more pressure on questions asked by the media from nearby countries such as Slovenia and Austria.

"The fact is that there is a delay in order to see in a day or two whether something special will change, so far, there are no major connotations and I think that the new climate that has been created could be stopped in a few days.

We have to be ready for such events, either here or on the islands, these situations will be and from the first day, I say that we just have to be well prepared and have quality protocols to know who is doing what at what time. This goes for hotels, camps; everyone has their rules of conduct and what to do in case of infection to make tourists feel safe as if they were in their own country.

For these 10 EU member states, a health care system has been developed for who pays whom," Cappelli said.

Austria and Slovenia have threatened to introduce self-isolation for their citizens when they return from Croatia, journalists reminded him.

"No, today I spoke to my colleagues from Great Britain where we will define the entry of British tourists into the Croatian market so if they still insist on entering, there is no reason not to trust our first neighbors with whom we have very good relations.

A Slovenian government spokesman said Slovenian citizens would not have any restrictions when they returned from Croatia. I visited a hotel in Opatija this morning, it is practically full, there are no free rooms and 99 percent of foreign tourists are in it.

From what I heard in conversations with people from agencies and tour operators, there are no cancellations of arrivals, only now everything is a bit slow. Not that tourists do not want to come, but they want more information and they want to wait a day or two to see if the epidemiological situation in Croatia may worsen," Cappelli said, adding that there are still no canceled flights.

As many as 66 foreign flights will be launched in a few days and 11 Croatia Airlines flights; with Frankfurt alone, we will have 32 lines a week and in this way, we prove that we can connect with the whole world via Frankfurt.

Today, Great Britain is still being specified, so the British should start arriving soon. Jet2.com insists on that and has quite good bookings, especially for Split and Dubrovnik, and I believe that we will achieve good results there," said the Minister, and when asked by journalists how risky it is, considering that Great Britain currently has the most severe epidemiological corona situation in Europe with 2,000 to 2,300 patients a day, the minister said the control rules would apply as everywhere else.

"If our competition opens for Britain - Spain, Italy, Portugal and France, I think it would not be a good message to be the only one to close the door to them, because the British market is very important to Croatia, but with additional quality epidemiological measures that will certainly be in airports. 

After we agree with the British Ministries of Tourism and Foreign Affairs and get the green light to fly to Croatia, then we will further analyze the epidemiological situation. I call on all of us in Croatia to act a little more responsibly, we relaxed, and the recommendations are still valid," said Minister Cappelli.

He pointed out that airlines are crucial for Croatian tourism because Split-Dalmatia County and Dubrovnik are practically dependent on airlines.

"In Split-Dalmatia County and Dubrovnik, America and Britain are the strongest markets, only then do the Germans and everyone else come. The return of tourists from these markets will automatically revive Split-Dalmatia County and Dubrovnik, which is why these flights are important to us.

There is also Zadar for which Ryanair is running 40 percent of its activities compared to last year, and they are opening these permanent lines, to begin with. The fact that we are opening about 90 airlines next week is really good in these circumstances," Cappelli said.

Also, the Minister announced that CRO cards will start on July 1 and that they will already be assigned to some companies.

"The cards have been printed, the first two banks have signed, and later we will contract with other banks, we have talked to eight other banks and they are ready to cooperate. We will discuss giving the cards additional benefits in the future.

In fact, they are now not only valid for catering facilities, hotels and camps, but we have expanded their use to nautical and family accommodation. Due to the situation in the country caused by the coronavirus, we expect a decline in interest in the CRO card this year, according to a survey we conducted earlier this year, there were more than 63 interested in using the card, and now that number will drop dramatically to ten percent," concluded Minister Cappelli.

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The global (and ongoing) coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on the world's tourism and Croatian tourism, which is the country's strongest economic branch, hasn't been immune from the beating it has been given. The economic consequences are harsh in their nature, and for the sector that makes up 20 percent of Croatia's GDP, is there any light at the end of the tunnel for 2020's season?

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 15th of June, 2020, the Croatian tourism sector is slowly beginning to wake up once again. Four and five-star hotels, as well as holiday homes and camps of a higher class are currently the best filled.

"The announcements are good, we're optimistic, there are more and more reservations being made every day, new guests are arriving every day, so we're hoping that everything will be fine," said Ilija Turic, the director of a hotel in Opatija.

"The announcements are very good, the rate of booking has been very good. We could expect 80 percent of the realisation of last year's traffic for July and August,'' the owner of the camp Biserka Komadina stated in a clearly optimistic manner.

Currently, the Slovenes and the Germans are the most numerous campers in Croatia giving the Croatian tourism sector a much needed spring in its step, however cautious that step might be.

"There's no fear, we're well acquainted with the epidemiological picture in Croatia and we came without even thinking about it, we also know the situation with the camp, it has been checked," said Franc, a guest from Slovenia.

"Everything is clean, you can always see the staff cleaning and washing the toilets, the environment... that's very good," said Michael, another guest from Switzerland.

The Croatian Tourism Minister, Gari Cappelli, also appeared very optimistic in front of gathered journalists in the coastal town of Opatija today.

"I'm sure at the moment, according to these first indicators, that in some counties, such as Primorje-Gorski Kotar and Istria, the results may be at the level of 40 percent," said the minister.

The first party called "Let the party begin/Neka party počne" was held on the famous Zrće beach, and the toll on the Krk bridge will be abolished from midnight onwards. On top of that, the popular Dalmatian city of Zadar is also slowly filling up.

“It’s not very far away from Germany and there’s no coronavirus here,” said Rebecca, a guest from Germany.

In Istria, many halved their prices this weekend.

"The attendance is excellent, I can tell you that we were visited by a lot of foreign tourists, as well as domestic ones," said Romina Celija from the House of Istrian Olive Oil.

Due to their locations, the Dubrovnik and Split areas generally depend on guests arriving by air. This is especially true for Dubrovnik and the extreme south of Dalmatia, which is cut off from the rest of the country by a small section of coastline owned by neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina - Neum. This involves crossing a non-EU border and re-entering Croatia once again shortly after.

Minister Cappelli predicts that stronger traffic, especially towards Dubrovnik and Split, will start up again at the tail end of this month. Whether the optimistic expectations of the minister will be fulfilled will be seen as early as the beginning of July.

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June 11, 2020 - Gari Cappelli interviewed with RTL Danas in Pula on Wednesday about nautical tourism, and the border openings with Hungary,  BiH and Serbia. 

RTL reports that when talking about holidays, Germans mostly google Croatia, according to the research of the Arbona agency. Croatia is far more interested in German tourists than tourists from Spain or Italy, and the keyword index vacation and Croatia is higher than 75 percent.

For RTL Danas, Boris Misevic spoke with the Minister of Tourism, Gari Capelli, about whether the tourist season is in sight.

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There are not many tourists in Pula, but there is nautical tourism.

"There are some 67,000 tourists in Croatia, and about 20,000 in Istria," Capelli said.

"The Prime Minister has agreed on all the details and the Hungarians are coming to us as early as this Friday, the border with Hungary is opening, next Monday with Austria and those dozen countries that we listed will open around June 15. We also had the right to open the most important market for us next week, which covers 55 percent of Croatia's turnover," revealed Capelli.

He revealed what happened to the borders with BiH and Serbia.

"At the level of the European Union, it has been agreed that we will open within the EU borders around June 15, and then third countries. It will certainly be open by the end of June, especially hoteliers in Makarska and this part, so they called me personally in the last few days. They insist on opening to Bosnia and Herzegovina as soon as possible because there is a lot of interest, I think that we will open the border with BiH as soon as possible, sometime around the 22nd, 23rd at the latest," Capelli said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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June 3, 2020 - TCN meets the current EU Presidency Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli who kindly agreed to answer questions on the current travel situation in Croatia and the EU.

There is a lot of talk about the internal borders being opened on June 15, but I can't find an official announcement. Are EU internal borders opening on June 15?

We are aiming to reopen internal borders on June 15 or June 16, but this has not yet been 100% confirmed. An announcement will be made shortly. There is also a big meeting of EU members scheduled for June 19. While we all want tourism to start, the epidemiological situation must be under control. Even when we do open borders, I would expect some countries to have restrictions. We are working towards a date of June 15. This opening of borders will be for all EU states, not just those in Schengen. 

What about external EU borders and continental flights?

We are currently working with the airlines towards an opening of external borders on July 1, but ONLY for countries which have a good epidemiological situation.

If an American is already living or travelling in Europe, can they currently visit Croatia?

Yes. If they can get to the Croatian border and fulfill Croatia's entry requirements, they are very welcome. We have had 316 Americans entering the country in recent days. 

There has been speculation about air bridges from the UK to other tourism countries, including Croatia. Can you tell us more?

No. I have been involved in no such discussions, yet.

What is the situation for people wanting to drive to Croatia from across Europe. Are there any problems?

I have heard of a couple of isolated incidents, but in general, there is no problem. My strong advice is to register your details at https://entercroatia.mup.hr/ This is a service that we developed very quickly so that we can facilitate smoother travel for our guests, a quicker border crossing, and the ability to contact our guests in the event of a virus outbreak. If you are driving to Croatia, fill in this form and you will receive a confirmation from the Croatian police. Show that confirmation and proof of paid reservation, and you will have no problem. 

I hope this clarifies some of your readers' questions. I hope you all have a wonderful stay in our beautiful country. You are all very welcome.

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June 3,  2020 - On Tuesday in Pula, Minister of Tourism Gari Cappelli assessed that the fact that 33,000 tourists are currently staying in Croatia is a good start, and that number is increasing day by day.

"If someone had told us two months ago that we would have between 30,000 and 40,000 tourists in early June, we probably wouldn't have believed them. However, these figures are good and represent a good start, and we got this credit thanks to people from the Civil Protection and health workers," Cappelli said on Slobodna Dalmacija, adding that Croatia, unlike other competing countries such as Italy, Spain and France, prevented the pandemic from spreading in time.

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Commenting on the information that the influential American magazine Forbes listed three Croatian destinations among the 20 safest and best European destinations for post-corona travel and tourism - Zagreb, Cavtat and Rijeka, Cappelli pointed out that Croatia created a great program and received 'credit in tourism'.

"We have always been recognizable for the safety and nature in Croatia. Now it turns out that security is again the strongest asset of Croatia for this season and I believe that this is the main reason for coming to our country. Croatia managed to defend itself from this pandemic and organize very well," Cappelli asserted.

He also spoke about the Croatian application for travelers, which he assessed as unique in Europe, because "you can make an announcement in advance and enter the country in five seconds".

He also mentioned that Croatia is now at 12-13 percent in terms of tourist traffic compared to last year, and he believes that it will reach 30 to 35 percent in the second half of July and the beginning of August.

"It is interesting that in some continental counties we currently have 50 percent of the turnover compared to last year, because in these counties there are mostly domestic guests," said Cappelli.

On Tuesday in Pula, the Minister of Tourism signed a contract with the director of the School of Tourism, Hospitality and Trade Orhideja Petković to award grants for the Regional Competence Center in Pula worth 44.7 million kuna, and visited tourist facilities in the municipality of Bale where he talked to investors and owners about the state of reservations and expectations from the tourist season after the resumption of tourist activity and the opening of borders.

He also visited the recently completed tourist investment at Villa Noble, worth 13.5 million kuna, and the Meneghetti Wine Hotel and Winery, where an investment worth over 35 million kuna in accommodation and other facilities was also recently completed.

May 20, 2020 - Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli announced on Wednesday that Croatia would open the border to citizens of Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria on May 29, and before that, an application would be published that would allow faster flow through the border.

Sibenik.in reports that Cappelli made the statement at the National and University Library following a video conference by EU tourism ministers, the second held in the last month as part of Croatia's EU Council presidency.

He said that when there are similar epidemiological situations in certain countries, according to the principle of non-discrimination, the possibility of opening borders will be agreed bilaterally.

"We had this agreement with Slovenia and it works for a start," says Cappelli, announcing that the same will be done on May 29 with four or five other countries, about which details are still being agreed, and that will include Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary and Austria.

"The citizens from these countries, for economic reasons, owners of houses, ships and the like, can come to Croatia, similarly to Slovenes, without being quarantined," Cappelli explained.

With the opening to these Central European countries, along with Germany and later Poland, Croatia completes more than 60 percent of its total tourist traffic, says Cappelli, adding that guests from Italy can be expected later.

He notes that everyone agrees that the countries are going to bilateral agreements on the arrival of tourists, and says that most EU countries are announcing loosened measures in the tourism and hospitality sector by June 15.

He also announced that the Ministries of Administration and Tourism, together with the Ministry of the Interior, are preparing an Internet application for the fastest possible flow of citizens across the border and facilitating control, and will be completed before May 29. It will be made for entry into Croatia and will be offered to other countries.

The Commission's Economic Recovery Package on May 27

The meeting of the Ministers of Tourism was attended by, among others, the European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton and the Commissioner for Transport Adina-Ioana Valean, in the context of the fact that tourism and transport were most affected by the coronavirus crisis.

The publication of the Commission's proposed measures for the recovery of the European economy is expected on May 27, when it should be known how much funding each country will receive, including Croatia, and how much it will be possible to help these two sectors.

Namely, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday proposed the establishment of a fund of 500 billion euro for the most affected regions and economic sectors in the Union. This is financial assistance, not credit, and the Commission should raise that amount through common bonds.

Vouchers were also discussed

European tourism ministers also discussed the issue of vouchers at the meeting, and no consensus has been reached, with some countries supporting their introduction.

“There we were still in some way at odds, this will be discussed in another two to two weeks and then some conclusions will be drawn based on which we will take a common position,” Cappelli said.

Namely, the Commission recently announced that it maintains that consumer rights must be protected, which stipulates that money must be returned for canceled flights if the passenger insists, with the proviso that it is allowed to offer a voucher, but only if the passenger agrees.

Also, the Commission proposes that the vouchers offered by travel agencies for canceled tickets be attractive enough so that citizens do not insist on a refund, which remains an unquestionable right.

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