ZAGREB, Oct 21, 2020 - The Croatian Tourism Association (HUT) on Wednesday welcomed the government's latest jobkeeping measures and amendments to eligibility criteria with regard to a decline in turnover in the second and third quarters of the year.

In the association's (HUT) latest issue of "Croatia Tourism & Travel", HUT director Veljko Ostojic underlines that the continuation of the government's job retention measures and changes to eligibility criteria with grants in proportion to the fall in turnover in Q2 and Q3 compared to the corresponding period in 2019, has expanded the number of enterprises that will apply for the measures.

"That is the key to keep workers in the tourism sector. Since the outbreak of the pandemic we have stressed that this is the most important link in the chain to keep jobs and in that regard, the survival of enterprises. We welcome the government's decision to continue implementing its measures until the end of the year in the belief that they will be extended to 1 April 2021 or the start of the tourism season," said Ostojic.

He believes that the recovery of the tourist trade is the key to Croatia's economic recovery and that it is essential to avoid laying off workers because that would have a negative impact on Croatia's overall recovery.

 ADAC: Italy and Croatia most popular destinations for Germans

Apart from that, HUT released the latest analysis by Germany's ADAC automobile association on travel by Germans this year noting that Croatia is just a step away from Italy in being the most popular foreign tourist destination for Germans in 2020 as 14.3% of Germans chose Croatia as their holiday destination while 14.9% opted for Italy.

However, according to the survey, Croatia once again surpassed Italy with regard to camping tourism with Istria chosen as the most popular camping region for Germans while Dalmatia 'jumped' from fifth to second place among most favorite regions.

"The results of this survey and the hugely positive step by Croatia's Istria and Dalmatia regions in the eyes of German tourists provides us with a clear direction for Croatia's tourism promotion and communication for next year," said Ostojic.

He added that ADAC's survey showed that Croatia's campsites recorded the best improvement in quality in Europe, including those in Istria which scored an average of 4.2 points on a scale of 1 to 5.

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May 25, 2020 - A favorable epidemiological picture is bringing tourists back to Croatia. There are currently about 22,000 of them in the country - half are domestic guests, and of the foreign ones - most are Slovenes, but also Germans.

Dnevnik.hr reports that in Croatia, they say, they feel safe. A pleasant temperature just above 20 degrees, swimming pools, and good company are the only things that Germans need for a vacation in Croatia.

But to get here, they still needed more paperwork than in previous years. “At all borders, we had to show our reservations, passports and phone numbers,” Ali from Germany said.

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It only took them a few extra minutes of waiting at the borders. They had no problems moving through Austria, Slovenia, and finally to Croatia.

"We left early in the morning, we waited fifteen to twenty minutes at the border with Austria, and about 30 minutes with Slovenia and Croatia. The trip was very nice," adds Ali.

The excellent epidemiological picture in Croatia, which is better than in their country, is the reason why they never thought about canceling their reservation.

"I feel safer here than in Germany because Istria has been without the coronavirus for about three weeks now, while there are many more in Germany," says Werner from Germany.

But there were cancellations and relocations of reservations, especially in the pre-season, that is, in April, May and the first half of June.

"What makes us extremely happy is the fact that we managed to keep about 90% of reservations in terms of transferring reservations to later dates, but also in the 2021 season or through vouchers that guests will use for reservations in the same facilities," said Mladen Bujanic, co-owner of the travel agency Myistria.

The facilities that will be full this season are certainly holiday homes, but also camps that provide guests with isolation and privacy. However, we must accept the fact that occupancy will not be at the level of previous years.

"We hope that from the middle or the beginning of June from the 10th to the 15th, we will really start something that will look like a pre-season and start for the main season with the opening of borders with our most important markets," said Denis Ivošević from the Istria County Tourist Board.

The travel agencies note that the amount of official information and instructions for tourists should definitely be increased. This is a year of struggle for every guest.

"What will help keep guests in the future is certainly unambiguous and clear communication of the conditions under which one can come to the Republic of Croatia as a foreign tourist," said Mladen Bujanić, co-owner of the travel agency Myistria.

There is also an increase in the number of domestic guests, who are currently Croatia's most numerous tourists, along with Slovenes and Germans. "We could hardly wait for these security measures to be lifted, for these county borders to be opened so that we can move a little," Biljana said.

And some traveled even before the measures were lifted in their country, so on their return, they will have to be quarantined, or tested for COVID-19. “When the borders reopen, everyone will come, they’re not really scared now, but the only problem is later, when they get home,” states Debbie from Austria. 

Nautical tourism is among the first to recover. Spanish media report that some multinational companies are relocating their fleets to the Croatian coast.

Guest of Dnevnik Nova TV Sean Lisjak, president of the Marina Association at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, says he isn't sure if it is true, but that he heard the media broadcast the same news.

"We are pleased with the information. It is too early to say whether there has been any official contact with the companies located among our marinas. Tomorrow we will all be informed about all this. If so, we welcome it, our marinas are ready to receive new clients," he said.

For the past weekend, he states that the first modest arrival of clients was recorded.

"This weekend, we have already recorded a more serious arrival of clients in our marinas. No marina has not recorded a more serious arrival of individual guests, boat owners who, based on the decision on the possibility of coming to our country, used it," he said.

"We appeal to speed up the flow of guests with passes and hope that their number will grow every weekend. We also recorded the first charter clients, which makes us very happy because some marinas have vessels in their fleets that sailed. This is at the level of some 200 or 300 clients and there are about fifty ships that have come from central Dalmatia from marina to marina," said Lisjak, adding that he hoped that two ugly months were behind us.

To increase the number of guests, he states that the level of service quality in marinas is rising every year. "We are recognized by that. The Institute of Tourism evaluates services and customer satisfaction every year and we rank very high. There are some shortcomings, but they are not drastic to the point of devaluing us," Lisjak explained, adding that it is important to increase the number of client arrivals.

"It should be possible for vessels smaller than 24 meters, i.e., our real transits, clients from Slovenian and Italian marinas or anywhere in the world, to be able to enter our marinas under the same conditions without any problems," Lisjak concluded.

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