July 27, 2020 - With four days to go in the month, Croatia has recorded more than two million tourist arrivals in July, which is 54 percent of the arrivals achieved in the same period last year, the Croatian National Tourist Board announced on Monday.

Transmitting eVisitor data, the Croatian National Tourist Board annouced there were also 14.7 million tourist overnight stays, which is approximately 59 percent of last year's result, reports Htz.hr.

Of the total number of arrivals, foreign tourists realized 1.8 million (51 percent of last year's result) and 12.5 million overnight stays (56 percent of last year's result), while the turnover of domestic tourists is at 90 percent of last year's traffic measured by arrivals and 78 percent overnight stays.

In the current part of July, the leading market for arrivals is Germany, where 92 percent of last year's result was achieved, followed by Slovenia with 91 percent and Poland and the Czech Republic with about 82 percent of last year's result measured by arrivals in the same period.

The destinations with the highest number of arrivals so far in July are Rovinj, Medulin, Crikvenica, Poreč, Umag and Split.

"We are conducting intensive promotional, but also those information campaigns in which we communicate that Croatia is a safe tourist destination in our nearest emitting markets. These are, given the circumstances, excellent indicators and a good announcement for August in which we expect the continuation of positive trends. This is confirmed by the number of about 700 thousand tourists who are currently vacationing in Croatia, "said the director of the Croatian Tourist Board Kristjan Stanicic.

He stressed the importance of further responsible behavior in order to maintain the perception of Croatia as a safe tourist destination.

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ZAGREB, July 24, 2020 -  A special edition of the Daily Mail's Check-in supplement focuses on Croatia, praising the country as a dream destination post-lockdown holiday, the Croatian National Tourism Board (HTZ) reported on Friday.

The 12-page travel section highlighted all the main tourist attractions in Croatia which is depicted as a safe tourist destination. In early July, the British government decided that Britons returning from Croatia will not be required any more to self-isolate for 14 days.

The HTZ director, Kristjan Stanicic, was quoted in the HTZ press release as saying that he now expected more intensive realisation of the tourist turnover from that market after the relaunching of flight services connecting London, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Birmingham and Bristol with Croatia's airports.

The e-visitor data show that currently there are about 6,000 British tourists spending holidays in Croatia, and most of them are in southern Dalmatia.

July 23, 2020 - The director of the Croatian National Tourist Board (CNTB), Kristjan Stanicic, said on Wednesday that Croatia was a hit tourist destination and that tourist traffic was already recording 40 percent of last year, and they hoped for further growth. At the beginning of the corona crisis, they did not expect numbers greater than 30 percent.

Vecernji List reports that the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board held a coordination meeting with the director of the Zadar County Tourist Board, Mihael Kadija, and 28 representatives of the county tourist boards of cities and municipalities at the Kolovare Hotel.

On that occasion, he pointed out that in this time of crisis, they focused on the nearest markets - Slovenia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, given that the Croatian coast is mostly an auto destination, which is an excellent thing at the moment.

"We conducted several promotional campaigns in foreign markets, and given the epidemic, we focused on the nearest markets in our area. The proximity of these markets to Croatia, and especially to Zadar County, is now a big plus for us. Growing figures show that Croatia is a hit destination. At the same time, we are ready to respond to articles in foreign media that are focused on keeping domestic tourists within the borders of their countries," Stanisic said.

When asked by the press how he commented on the fact that the Netherlands put Croatia on the orange list, without concrete data on how many people have been infected per 100,000 inhabitants in the last two weeks, he said that it is difficult to give any estimates for the season to continue.

"I believe that the situation will change soon, because every 14 days the list is updated, and the number of infected in our country is declining. I also believe that in good communication and the epidemiological situation, we will return to the green list. As for the criteria, they are not unique for all countries," said Stanicic and emphasized that this is only a recommendation of the Netherlands that their citizens go into self-isolation upon their return from Croatia.

Stanicic also presented the promotional activities carried out by the Croatian National Tourist Board to position Croatia as a safe tourist destination in the current market circumstances and future activities, which will, among other things, include the adoption of new bylaws and regulations that will further improve and regulate tourism processes. The director of the Zadar County Tourist Board, Mihaela Kadija, pointed out that the Zadar area is still a hit destination, and the numbers are much better than what experts predicted in March.

"Our figures are excellent. We planned to reach 30 percent and realized 67 percent of last year's tourist traffic, of which 60 percent is commercial traffic. As for events, we appealed to partner tourist communities to agree with their organizers a customized program with adherence epidemiological measures. Everyone is of the same view, and that is that we must be responsible," Kadija said.

The coordination meeting also discussed the development of the system of tourist boards with an emphasis on tasks and roles at the local and regional levels and the nautical segment, and announced a performance at the WTM tourism fair to be held in London in November.

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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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ZAGREB, July 17, 2020 - The Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) has launched a website for online payment of the tourist fee for boaters, which until now could be paid only in harbour master's offices, the HTZ announced on Friday.

The website, nautika.evisitor.hr, provides guidance in several languages on how to pay the fee. All major global card brands are accepted.

After paying the fee, the boater is emailed a receipt which they must keep for the entire duration of their stay on the vessel, the HTZ advised.

July 13, 2020 - According to the latest classification of foreign countries adopted by the Hungarian government, Croatia is included in the 'green' category, which means that Hungarian citizens vacationing in Croatia do not have to quarantine or present a coronavirus test upon return to their country.

Thiis news was confirmed by the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board Office in Hungary, Ivana Herceg, who emphasized that all countries are classified into three categories: red, yellow and green, reports Dalmatinski Portal.

"The Hungarian market is entering our top 10 markets and I believe that the news of Croatia's classification in the green category will further encourage our Hungarian guests to spend their holidays in our country. So far in July, Hungarians have made almost 30,000 arrivals and more than 150,000 overnight stays in Croatia, which is approximately 45 percent of the results achieved in the same period last year," said the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board, Kristjan Stanicic, noting that most Hungarians are currently in Vir, Crikvenica, Rovinj, Rab and Krk.

"At a recent meeting with the owner of the company Vir Sziget, which sells and rents real estate on the island of Vir, the great interest of Hungarian tourists in the island of Vir, but also in the whole of Croatia, was confirmed. If the current epidemiological situation remains unchanged, the Hungarian market is expected to retain an interest in traveling to Croatian destinations," said Ivana Herceg.

The visit of one of the most famous Hungarian YouTubers, Magyarosi Csaba, will certainly contribute to the greater arrival of Hungarian tourists in. Croatia. Csaba published a video about his stay titled, 'With a camper in Croatia: What is it like to travel abroad now?', which has been viewed more than 156,000 times so far, as well as two other videos on 'Life in a luxury camp' and 'What is tourism like now and how is returning home from Croatia?' which together achieved nearly 200,000 views.

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July 1, 2020 - The Croatian National Tourist Board announced the latest tourist numbers for the first six months of 2020, which show that Croatia has achieved 30% of last year's tourist traffic.

In June this year, 892,000 tourists who came to Croatia realized 4.8 million overnight stays, which is 32 percent of the overnight stays realized in June 2019. This shows that in June and across the first six months this year, overnight stays have dropped about 70 percent, announces the Croatian National Tourist Board.

"Given the circumstances around the world and in Croatia, we can be satisfied with the realized tourist traffic, which is in line with our estimates. It is important that out of 1.6 million tourists who have stayed in Croatia since the beginning of this year, we have not had any cases of infection in tourists," says Croatian National Tourist Board Director Kristijan Stanicic.

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In the first six months of this year, domestic tourists achieved the most overnight stays, which once again confirms how they've been rejected, especially this year. Of course, about 2 million domestic guests cannot replace the 20 million arrivals of foreign tourists, but they certainly can and should be a great base for the pre- and post-season.

On the contrary, domestic tourists are the bearers of tourism in the interior of Istria, and thus saved the season for various facilities in commercial accommodation, holiday homes, restaurants and wineries in inland Istria.

Thus, domestic tourists in the first half of this year accounted for 31 percent of total overnight stays, which is the highest among all markets and a rarity in the last more than ten years.

Foreign tourists accounted for 69 percent of total overnight stays, with most achieved by Slovenes (26 percent), followed by Germans (25 percent), and Austrians (9 percent), and tourists from BiH and the Czech Republic (7 percent each).

By type of accommodation, most overnight stays or 73 percent was realized in commercial accommodation, of which 30 percent in household facilities, 20 percent in hotels and 16 percent in camps. Twenty-four percent of the total six-month overnight stays were realized in non-commercial accommodation, and 3 percent in the nautical charter.

In the continental part of the country, 12 percent of total overnight stays were realized, most of them in Zagreb, which is the leader among all destinations in Croatia, ahead of Rovinj, Vir, Medulin and Porec.

Adriatic counties are still leading with a total of 88 percent of overnight stays in the first six months, and among them, most overnight stays or 25 percent were realized in Istria, followed by Primorje-Gorski Kotar with a share of 21 percent and Zadar and Split-Dalmatia County making up 15 and 13 percent in total overnight stays.

Announcing that tourist demand and traffic are expected to increase in July and August, especially from Central Europe, Stanicic adds that these are the markets of Germany, Slovenia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, and that stronger demand for hotels is expected.

"Although the epidemiological situation at the global level is constantly changing, tourist flows have started and people have started to travel following new circumstances and are adhering to epidemiological measures. Croatia is partly favored over the competition, because it is accessible by car from major European markets, offers a diverse structure of accommodation, and still has a favorable epidemiological situation," said Stanicic.

All things considered, Stanicic estimates that at least a third of last year's record result can be achieved in Croatian tourism this year, but he also expects further recovery of tourist flows and gradual strengthening of traffic within Europe, while accustoming citizens to changed circumstances in which they travel and spend their holidays, as well as the adaptation of the tourism industry to the circumstances of the pandemic and the establishment of better air connectivity of major markets and destinations.

"We hope for good results in the off-season, in September and October, when we could achieve results better than a third of the turnover of the same period last year, and if circumstances allow, the first wave of tourist travel from distant markets could begin at the end of the year," said Stanicic.

He also expects that in July and August, when numerous airlines operate, positive tourist trends will show throughout Croatia, with an emphasis on destinations in central and southern Dalmatia, because most flights are announced by airlines for the summer to Split and Dubrovnik airports, and to Zadar, Pula, Zagreb and Rijeka.

Tourist boards will have more than they're likely to have assumed previously at their disposal to promote Croatia here at home and across Europe to try to encourage foreign tourists.

As Morski writes on the 19th of June, 2020, the 68th session of the Tourist Council was held recently in Opatija, where the members of the council, in the presence of the Minister of Tourism Gari Cappelli and the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ), Kristjan Stanicic, adopted amendments to HTZ's Annual Work Programme and Financial Plan for 2020. The new plan envisions a reduction in total revenues of the Croatian Tourist Board for this year of about 35 percent compared to the original plan, while a reduction of about 40 percent is projected on the expenditure side.

''Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, where tourism is the most affected industry, we found ourselves in a situation of preserving health, as well as jobs, where our government provided direct assistance to half a million employees, as well as a number of benefits for businesses. As such, we've introduced a number of relief measures for those in the business of tourism and hospitality, and we sent those changes via an e-Conference to the regulations on tourist membership fees which reduce the prescribed lump sum amounts by 50 percent,'' said Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli when commenting on the current situation in respect to the economy.

''We approached the amendments to the Croatian National Tourist Board's Annual Work Programme and Financial Plan due to the extraordinary circumstances that arose as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic, which is still strongly influencing global tourism trends. This new plan ensures the continuity of promotional activities on the foreign market through joint promotional activities for the main summer part of the tourist year, which we'll carry out in cooperation with the system of the tourist boards and our key partners in selected markets, for which members of the Tourist Council approved seven million kuna,'' stated HTZ's director, Kristjan Stanicic, emphasising that intensive promotional campaigns on European emitting markets have been underway since the beginning of June, and that the strong promotion of Croatian tourism on the domestic market will begin soon.

By the decisions made by the Tourist Council, budgets for the implementation of new joint promotional activities for the year 2020 with regional tourist boards were readily accepted, with which HTZ will co-finance up to 50 percent of the value of media plans for destination advertising, as well as for cooperation with foreign tour operators and carriers promoting their programmes for Croatia and operating in foreign markets. i

These include numerous European markets like that of Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Italy and the United Kingdom.

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June 4, 2020 - The Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) announced that Croatia has positioned itself as a safe and desirable tourist destination thanks to its excellent epidemiological situation, which is confirmed by numerous airline announcements.

Despite the global coronavirus pandemic, which still has a strong impact on international tourism trends, Croatia has additionally positioned itself as a safe and desirable tourist destination due to its excellent epidemiological situation in the international market. This is confirmed by numerous announcements of airlines that will connect Croatian destinations with key markets during the main summer months. According to information gathered by the Croatian National Tourist Board through its representative offices, most flights have been announced for the second half of June and early July for the airports of Split and Dubrovnik, as well as for Zadar, Pula, Zagreb and Rijeka. Most flights to Croatian destinations were announced from the markets of Germany, Benelux and France.

"Most tourist traffic in Croatia is realized through road traffic, i.e., through arrivals by car, which, with a share of about 75 percent, is the most common way to come to our country. However, in recent years, Croatia has positioned itself as an air destination, and this is especially important in the current circumstances in which our offer, safety, but also transport accessibility we have to fight for our share in the tourist market. Awakening air traffic again will help Croatian destinations, especially Dubrovnik and Split, to be more accessible to many travel enthusiasts," said Croatian National Tourist Board director Kristjan Staničić.

Among the announced routes to Split are Austrian Airlines flights from Austria, Luxairtours, Transavia and easyJet from Benelux, Transavia and easyJet from France, Condor and Eurowings from Germany, easyJet and Wizz Air from Great Britain. Confirmed is also a Croatia Airlines flight that will connect Split with Rome from mid-June. Austrian Airlines flights from Austria, Luxairtours, TUI, easyJet, and Brussels Airlines from Benelux, Transavia and easyJet from France have been announced for Dubrovnik, as well as flights from Germany, Hungary, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

According to the announcements, Ryanair, Luxairtours and easyJet will connect Zadar with the Benelux market, while Ryanair will also connect this Croatian destination with German destinations, including Stuttgart, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Karlsruhe and Cologne. According to the announcements, Pula will be connected with Ryanair, Luxairtours and easyJet flights to the Benelux market, and flights from Paris, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and London have also been announced. Flights from the markets of Germany, Great Britain and Benelux have been announced for the airports of Rijeka and Zagreb.

We would like to remind you that Croatia Airlines, in addition to the existing international routes from Zagreb to Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Zurich, will also offer flights connecting the Croatian capital with Brussels, Munich, Sarajevo, London and Rome from June 15, from Zagreb to Dublin on June 16, and to Vienna from June 18.

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June 1, 2020 - The Croatian National Tourist Board is conducting a large promotional campaign titled 'The Vacation You Deserve Is Closer Than You Think' in seven European markets - Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland.

Dalmatinski Portal writes that the campaign will be active during June and July, and is carried out by intensive advertising on Facebook and Instagram, advertising on YouTube, placing ads through the most-watched TV channels, most read portals and newspapers in each market and through outdoor advertising on billboards, city lights and digital panels.

Promotional materials and ads created for advertising are adapted to all six language variants and include tourist products that are best accepted in certain markets and are the motive for the arrival of guests at this time of year, namely the sun and sea, nautical tourism, natural beauty, active tourism through cycling and camping, but also the cultural offer. As part of the campaign, a new promotional video of 30 and 15 seconds was created, which will be used for advertising on online and offline channels in these markets.

"The first reactions to the launched campaign are extremely positive and we believe that they will encourage our traditionally loyal guests from the surrounding markets to spend their holidays in our country. Along with the campaign we are conducting, on a daily basis, we communicate to numerous partners, tour operators, agents and tourists through the network of our Representative Offices the latest information on the possibilities of crossing the Croatian border, the readiness of accommodation facilities to receive guests, and epidemiological guidelines on beaches, swimming pools and restaurants. With each new day, optimism is slowly awakening and I believe that in the end our tourist traffic during June, July and August will be much better than we hoped a month ago at the height of the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic," said CNTB Director Kristjan Stanicic, noting that when good epidemiological conditions and a positive atmosphere for travel are created, the same campaign will be launched in the markets of Italy, France and the Netherlands.

Markets that are primarily air destinations for Croatian tourism, such as Great Britain, Scandinavia, USA, Canada, China, South Korea, are targeted through the campaign 'Enjoy The View From Croatia', in which all stakeholders can participate with their photos and videos.

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