December 22, 2021 - For several years now, the Hvar Tourist Board has been preparing wall calendars, which are recognized as tourist souvenir that wants to have more and more domestic and foreign guests. This year, Hvar and Jelsa primary school students were selected as the artists.

Every year, over 1,500 calendars are distributed, which are the work of Hvar artists. For this year, students from the Hvar Primary School and the Jelsa Primary School - Sveta Nedjelja Regional School were selected as artists from the Hvar Tourist Board, reports HrTurizam.hr.

The Tourist Board of the City of Hvar would like to thank all the Hvar and Jelsa Primary school students and teachers of the Elementary School Hvar with the principal Mrs. Nada Jeličić, as well as the students of the Sveta Nedjelja Regional School with their teacher Mrs. Katija Balić, who made a great contribution to the creation of calendars with their paintings. Many thanks also go to Ivan Zaninović - Grande Design, who managed to combine all the paintings into a beautiful whole, and the town of Hvar. 

“This year the idea was to create something special, so we chose students from the Hvar Elementary School and the Jelsa Elementary School - Sveta Nedjelja Regional School as artists. Through children's imagination and their view of the town of Hvar and Holy Sunday, a "top work of art" was created that will decorate a large number of walls in 2022 after the first reactions of Hvar residents, says Petar Razović, director of the Hvar Tourist Board.

Nada Jeličić, director of Hvar Elementary School, said she was especially pleased with another successful collaboration between the Hvar Tourist Board and Hvar Elementary School, where they want to include all students in the tourist promotion of Hvar, and show how the youngest Hvar residents see the beauties of their city.

The Tourist Board of the town of Hvar ends this year's promotion of the destination and the tourist year by making a calendar, which was certainly one of the "special" and we can say successful because a total of 70% of tourist traffic from 2019, ie. 116,000 arrivals and 520,000 overnight stays were realized in the area of ​​the town of Hvar. 

For all who want to enjoy the work of the youngest Hvar artists, the calendar is available in the office of the Tourist Board of the town of Hvar, and is also available in digital form here.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

January 13, 2021 – On the occasion of receiving the prestigious recognition of the European Heritage Awards 2020, a large article about the famous Hvar Arsenal, the most important public building in Hvar, was published in the renowned European Diplomacy & Economics Online Magazine.

As reported by Branimir Tončinić, Croatian National Tourist Board Director in Austria, the publication was created due to cooperation between the CNTB Representation in Austria, the Hvar Tourist Board, and the magazine's editorial board.

The announcement states that Hvar Arsenal is the winner of the Europa Nostra award, the most prestigious European award in the field of heritage, which the European Union has been awarding since 2002. This year, the award was given to 21 projects from 15 countries, and Arsenal is the winner in the conservation category. Recognition was given for the restoration and strengthening of the load-bearing structure of the Arsenal. Given the current situation, this year's awards ceremony was held virtually for the first time.

The Arsenal building, located in the center of Hvar town, the most important port on the island, has been carefully restored and successfully transformed into a living cultural center for visitors and the local community. The Croatian Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Regional Development and European Union Funds were partners to the City of Hvar in the 30-year project of the Hvar Arsenal reconstruction, which ended in 2019.

An independent jury, made up of heritage experts from across Europe, selected the award winners, following a detailed evaluation of the nominations submitted by organizations and individuals from 30 European countries.

"This valuable revitalization project has adapted a significant building to the modern needs of the community and added a new cultural dimension to the tourism of this area. It represents a long-term effort to ensure Arsenal preservation as a site of high cultural heritage. The stratification of the 16th-century building and later 18th-century theater has been properly recognized in conservation work. Such localities are proof of international trade's long history in Europe, and their location in the port is significant, where they still play an important role as a place of connection," said the jury.

European Diplomacy & Economics is a magazine intended for professionals in diplomacy and a wider audience throughout the European Union. It covers economics and culture, is published twice a year in 10,000 copies, and is headquartered in Vienna.

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

August 4, 2020 – At the beginning of the crisis caused by a coronavirus, in Hvar, they hoped to achieve 30 percent of last year's tourism traffic. So far, they have succeeded, and July is even at 45 percent of last year's traffic. In August, they hope for an additional 15 percent of the increase.

In July, 16,602 arrivals were realized on Hvar, which is 31.73 percent compared to last year, and 91,073 overnight stays, which is as much as 45 percent compared to last year.

In the first seven months of this year, a total of 19,924 arrivals were realized, which is only 17.28 percent of last year's arrivals. But, there's been 114,661 overnight stays which are 30 percent compared to last year, as they hoped.

More tourists expected to come

"On August 3rd, 4,324 guests were staying in Hvar, which is 62 percent compared to the same day in 2019,“ says Petar Razović, the director of Hvar Tourist Board, adding that compared to the numbers from one month earlier, on July 3rd, when Hvar had only 1,629 guests and only 21 percent of guests compared to 2019, it's an increase of 2,600 guests.

Source: Hvar Tourist Board

Although the majority of guests in Hvar are traditionally foreign guests, especially guests from the UK and the USA, this year most of them are from Germany, Slovenia, and Poland. Also, thanks to the excellent promotional campaign conducted on European markets this year, there's a big increase in the number of guests from the Czech Republic.

"If the health situation remains unchanged, the prediction for August is an increase of an additional 15 percent,“ says Razović explaining that could be achieved because of the arrivals of airline guests from Hvar's traditional tourist markets in the UK and Scandinavia.

Further plans

Out of 13 hotels in the area of Hvar town, only 7 have been opened and their occupancy is 70 percent. Only 40 percent of the capacity is open in private accommodation.

Hvar has always been known in the world as a luxury destination, as well as a party destination. What is surprising this year is nautical tourism, which has recorded an increase in traffic of as much as 40 percent compared to last year. Razović points out that they predicted, "nautical, camping and private accommodation will bring out this year's tourist season“.

Source: Hvar Tourist Board

A plan for further development of tourism in Hvar is to build sustainable, organized, and quality tourism by developing the health, cultural, and sports segment of the tourist offer.

Cultural and sports activities

As for catering facilities, 60 percent of them are open in Hvar, and as Razović explains, their location, price, and type of cuisine have a great influence on their business.

Source: Hvar Tourist Board

All of the cultural and sports events have been canceled, like Hvar Half Marathon that was supposed to be held on June 27th. Only the 12th Lavender Festival took place in July in Velo Grablje, and the 59th Hvar Summer Festival is still going on.

Nonetheless, guests can still enjoy some other activities, such as cycling or sightseeing of Hvar's rich cultural heritage.

Big improvements have been made in the development of cycling tourism, arranging and mapping more than 460 kilometers of bike paths throughout the island. Also, Hvar has been promoted as UNESCO island with 6 intangible assets under protection.

As the Hvar Tourist Board director Razović points out, "guests are most satisfied with the feeling of security related to Covid-19“.

"They have chosen Hvar because of the sun, the sea, wine and food offers, and cultural sights,“ says Razović.

Source: Hvar Tourist Board

April 30, 2020 -  Hvar Tourist Board director Petar Razovic talks about what can be expected in the season ahead. 

"In the best forecasts for this tourist season, we are dreaming of 30 percent of last year's traffic," said Petar Razovic, director of the Hvar Tourist Board, when asked about the expectations for this tourist season.

HRTurizam reports that Razovic said forecasts reveal that they will have between 50 and 60 thousand arrivals and a maximum of 150,000 overnights. 

"I can safely say that in the 150 years of Hvar tourism, the town of Hvar has not been disadvantaged in terms of the tourist season," Razovic said.

Although it is difficult to predict anything as nobody knows what the situation will bring in a month, the reality is that we can hardly expect significant tourist figures this year, assuming that the situation changes significantly for the better and borders are opened.

However, although we need to be realistic, that does not mean that we don't have to be optimistic, do everything we can to try to activate the tourist market, and be ready to welcome whatever type of tourist season awaits.

Thus, Hvar is preparing for the season as if everything is in order, so that everyone, from restaurants to private renters and hotels, will be able to satisfy the measures prescribed by the National Civil Protection Headquarters.

The leaders of Hvar tourism have so far been tourists from the US and the UK (65% of all overnight stays), or regions most affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Now, however, the focus is changing to the markets of Germany, Slovenia, Austria, but also Croatia.

“Last year, we had 30,000 arrivals and about 100,000 overnights from Germany, Slovenia, and Austria, while from Croatia, we had 10,000 arrivals and 50,000 overnights. These figures are small for Hvar, but if we had that this year, we would be satisfied. Of course, it will be impossible to close the gap with the lack of tourists from those major markets, the US and the UK," says Razvoic.

"Prices will go down 10 to 15 percent on average. There are also plenty of canceled reservations in private accommodation, and guests who have already booked reservations before August and who have not canceled so far are sending apartment owners inquiries about changing their booking as soon as possible. There will be no reduction for hotel accommodation, but there will be an increase in services," Razovic says.

When asked what that means, Razovic points out that guests will get a deluxe room for the price of an ordinary room.

In the end, Razovic emphasizes that they are preparing as if everything is going according to plan.

"We all live in the hope that the coronavirus will go away, that it will simply disappear and that we will have a normal tourist season," Razovic concludes.

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

Just like Goran Rihelj writes in his article for hrturizam.hr, this is a piece of news which we should've read ten years ago, but still - better late than never, and we're happy to report that the tourist boards of Hvar island have finally signed a contract to join forces!

There are five tourist boards on Hvar (Hvar, Stari Grad, Jelsa, Sućuraj and Vrboska), each of them developing their own version and strategy of tourism. Sounds insane and counter-productive, right?

They will continue to exist, but from now on, after they've signed the agreement, they will develop some projects and programmes jointly, as well as marketing and promotional activities. The idea is for them to work together in order to develop and promote Hvar island as a whole.

The presidents of all of those tourist boards signed the agreement - Rikardo Novak of Hvar, Antonio Škarpa for Stari Grad, Nikša Peronja for Jelsa and Vrboska and Ivan Slavić for Sućuraj. Gari Capelli, Croatia's minister of tourism, was also present for the signing, where he said that this agreement finally makes Hvar a unique tourist destination, to be developed and promoted under one name and brand.

Numerous synergic effects should be seen, not only in the quality of the market entrance of the destination, but also in financial efficacy regarding promotion and project management.

This is not the first instance of such cooperation agreements among numerous Croatian tourist boards. But now that Hvar has done it, as one of the brightest stars in Croatian tourism (338.000 visitors were on Hvar in 2018, realising an impressive 1,7 million overnight stays), we can hope that others will follow suit, especially other islands.

Rab, Krk, Brač and others, we're looking at you, synergy and clear branding is the only way forward. That has nothing to do with politics, just the competitive tourist market and market development, which is only possible through branding.

April 24, 2019 - A new direction for one of Croatia's top destinations, Hvar Town? A wide-ranging interview with Hvar Tourist Board director, Petar Razovic.  

It is the destination which truly has everything. I had never even heard of the island of Hvar 48 hours before I arrived on the island and bought a house there. But it turned out to be the best decision of my life. And the more I looked around this spectacular Dalmatian jewel, the more I was blown away. The oldest organised tourism in Europe, the oldest public theatre in Europe, the most UNESCO heritage of any island in the world, the sunniest island in Europe. The list went on and on. 

One of the most attractive aspects of life in Hvar Town was (and is) its egalitarianism. Here was a destination which literally had everything, and tourists would mingle easily, be they celebrities, backpackers or superyacht owners.  There has been a strain on that coexistence in recent years, as the party tourism aspect has expanded, and the town was in danger of becoming better known for its partying than its rich cultural heritage. 

While there is still much to do, it seems that the winds of change are coming once more to this historic town, with the town's chiefs working to steer it back along with the path of more elite tourism. 

Last week, I visited Hvar Town, and it was a pleasure to meet the new tourist board director, Petar Razovic. Petar kindly agreed to an interview to showcase his vision of the destinaton, as well as outline what concrete steps are being taken. 

1. You have been in the job for about one year now. How is it going? How is the reality different from your perception before you took the job?

On 5 March 2019, I marked one year as director of the Hvar Town Tourist Board. I spent six months preparing and presenting my operational programme to the Hvar Town Tourism Council, so I knew the situation in Hvar tourism. The main problem I first encountered was that guests were experiencing and seeing the town of Hvar as a party destination. It was that experience and image of Hvar to the world which we had to start to change immediately.

2. Hvar is a destination which is dear to so many people, and its direction has come under media attention in recent years. Share your vision of Hvar the destination.

My vision of Hvar as a destination is that it must be recognised throughout the tourist year as a place where art, culture, nature, sports and social life for all generations magically meet.

The town of Hvar must restore its old glory and again become the most desirable luxury destination on the Adriatic.

3. Bringing change always takes time, but can you tell us a little about what you have achieved so far and what you expect to change in 2019?

In the coming years, Hvar will experience significant changes as we have started two projects for the development of sustainable, more responsible and higher quality tourism, involving private rental owners, agencies, hoteliers, caterers, retail businesses and wellness workers.

The first is the IQM destination Hvar (Integral Quality Management) – systematic promotion and implementation of quality management at the destination, and the other is the CROSTO (Croatian Sustainable Tourism Observatory) – a project for measuring and monitoring the sustainability of tourism.

Also, by conducting surveys of Croatian and international guests, we will get the results we will use to develop the destination further.

4. Hvar as a party destination, coexisting with its more elite and cultural tourism, has caused tensions in recent years. I hear that plans are in place to bring more control to this. Can you elaborate?

At the end of last year, members of the Hvar Town Council agreed with the owners of the nightclubs in Hvar the organisational rules for their operation. In the town centre, loud music will be allowed until midnight, and after that, the parties will move to the club on Pakleni Islands until 5.00 am or to a disco club. 

There will also be changes in the schedule of transfers by boats to Pakleni Islands. They will start at midnight. Communal officers and security guards will take care of the behaviour of young people during late nights.

5. 2019 sees the reopening of the oldest public theatre in Europe in Hvar Town, which is excellent news. Tell us more about that and how and when people can visit the theatre. How often will plays be performed?

After 20 years of restoration, we will open the oldest public theatre in Europe on 1 May. In the tourist sense, this will provide us with the most valuable cultural treasure in the town of Hvar. For this tourist season, it is planned that the theatre will be open for tourist visits throughout the day, with the possibility of expert guides being engaged.

Performances themselves are planned as part of the 58th Hvar Summer.

6. 2019 also sees the opening of the first 5-star hotel on the island, as Palace Elisabeth, heritage Hvar hotel opens its doors this summer. How important is this for the development of Hvar tourism?

The opening of the first 5-star hotel in Hvar – Palace Elisabeth – is the most important event for further development of luxury tourism in the town of Hvar. With its opening, Hvar will be placed on the world's 5-star tourist destination map, and I believe that in the coming years the profile of guests coming to Hvar will be drastically changed. The whole destination will have to make an additional effort and invest financial resources to keep up with the further development of the tourist activities.

The promotion of the town of Hvar will be richer for one more perfect postcard, a joint photo of Fortica and the new 5-star Palace Elisabeth Hotel.

7. You have been working hard to improve connectivity to the town, and with some success with more catamarans planned. Tell us more.

Until two years ago, Hvar was connected with a maximum of 4 catamaran lines during the season. For this tourist year, we have already confirmed 15 catamaran lines that will stop at Hvar, with the possible increase of that number.

Due to the construction of the new airport in Kaštela, we have connected Resnik and the town of Hvar with catamarans, which will facilitate the transfer of guests coming to Split and then to Hvar by plane. Due to the introduction of the Philadelphia-Dubrovnik flights, there has been a 75% increase in the catamaran traffic on the Dubrovnik-Hvar route, so three new lines have been introduced for this year compared to the last year.

Last year, an extension of the Hvar waterfront was built, so it now provides much better operational capacities. Two catamarans can dock at the same time, reducing the crowding in the port. 

We are planning to improve the signalling in the Hvar port as soon as possible (by setting up a display with all catamaran lines), and some changes have already been made in the Split port in cooperation with the Split Port Authority.

8. I must ask you about the famous signs threatening fines for people improperly dressed and drinking in public places in the centre. The story went around the world. How effective has the campaign been, and what is the official advice for tourists coming to Hvar?

The signs with rules of behaviour and dressing in public areas were often photographed and shared on social networks and were featured in the global media, so they did attract some media attention. They will remain for this summer as well and serve as a guide to how to behave and dress in a town that has a 150-year-long tourist tradition. I do not advocate punishing the guests but prefer them to be educated. If needed, the town does have communal officers who will be able to issue fines as a final measure after a warning.

Last year, the Tourist Board distributed official t-shirts as part of a campaign in which we dressed people in swimsuits, and this produced excellent results since the guests also received a memento of their stay in Hvar.

9. Hvar is a town of great culture, and the Hvar Cultural Summer has been taking place for over 50 years. Many tourists may not be so aware of it. Tell us about some of the fantastic locations where performances are held, and what is in store for this year's cultural summer?

This year, we will organise the 58th Hvar Summer which will be held at several locations in the town of Hvar.

After 20 years, we will have performances in the theatre and Arsenal, and we will continue with Veneranda, the mansion of Hanibal Lucić and the Franciscan monastery. Many events that will be held in these areas will open these valuable cultural and historical monuments to guests and revitalise them after the winter period.

I am particularly pleased that we will realise international cooperation through the visit of the Lviv Theater from Ukraine, on 30 June at Veneranda.

10. One of the great debates here is whether the island of Hvar should be promoted as one destination, or Hvar Town as its own destination. What is your view?

By the end of this year, the Hvar Island DMO should be established that will have as its task a joint promotion of Hvar island in tourism markets. Given that I have been involved in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism on the drafting of all documents since the very beginning, my opinion is that it is necessary to promote the island of Hvar as a single destination jointly, because only together can we offer guests the complete atmosphere and all the beauties that Hvar has to offer.

The entire Hvar island has 6 UNESCO monuments of intangible cultural heritage that every guest wants to see, and only one of them can be seen in the town of Hvar (the Hvar lace in the Benedictine monastery). This example shows why we should promote the island of Hvar as a unique tourist brand.

Also, the development of cycling paths and cycling tourism must be done for the whole island of Hvar.

What we will leave for the Hvar town are significant events that raise the quality of the Hvar town tourism (OTILLO, Bahrain Merida Camp), as well as promotions in the British and American markets, since guests from these markets mostly come to the Hvar town.

 11. And finally, your favourite places on Hvar, and why?

You have left the toughest question for the end. The father’s side of my family comes from a small town of Vrbanj, located in the middle of the island, while the mother's family is from Vrboska, a place that was created as a port of Vrbanj, and is known to guests as "Little Venice". I like Stari Grad due to its fantastic history and great significance for the formation of the island of Hvar, Jelsa attracts me since last year I was a cross-bearer as part of its 550-year-old “Za Križen” tradition which is UNESCO protected, and I adore the town of Hvar because it is the place where I have achieved my professional success as the director of the Hvar Town Tourist Board.

Yet, on this perfect island, there is a place I would not exchange for anything. It is a small cove on the northern side of the island where I learned to enjoy excellent fish and wine, sun and sea. Once you jump into the sea there, you feel connected with the whole world and all the guests who have come or will come to visit the town of Hvar on the island of Hvar.

Want to learn more about Hvar? Check out the Total Croatia guide, Hvar in a Page.

February 12, 2019 - The Hvar Tourist Board has finally launched a new website. It might have been better if they hadn't. 

Let's start with the good news, as I always try and be positive. The Hvar Tourist Board has issued a tender looking for help from a PR company for 2019. Hopefully, this will finally lead to a proper promotional campaign for the town, which has so much potential to grow as a quality destination, but which has ambled along through accidental tourism for years now. 

Because the Hvar Tourist Board certainly needs help. 

It is more than two years since I left my adopted island after writing over 9,000 articles about Hvar, bringing the New York Times to meet the Mayor of Hvar, The Sunday Times and Travel + Leisure to name but a few. A lot of my energy was invested in tourism on Hvar for the longest time. No longer, as I am working on other projects these days, with more of an international feel based up in northern Croatia. But I still have a soft spot for sunny Hvar and want to see it do well. 

And it can only do well if it can recognise its mistakes and learn from them and improve. My experience after 8 years writing online in Croatia is that the only way to effect any sort of change is to do so publicly. And, with no pleasure on my side, let's take a look at the new website, recently (and presumably expensively) launched by the Hvar Tourist Board. Some comments, which are intended to be helpful. 

1. Remember the purpose of the website - to give information to tourists.

The English text on the site is terrible. What, for example, does this opening sentence about the town even mean? We have dealt with the bizarre notion of branding Hvar as Genuine Hedonism while the tourist board stated that they are not looking to promote its image as a party island. But a mundane, tourist present? And this is the opening sentence. 

How much does it cost to get a native speaker to read through and edit text? Rather than wasting money on private parties in Belgrade, a fraction of the money spent could have resulted in an engaging website in native speaker English. Simple first impressions. It is a real turn off to the people looking to use the service - tourists. 

2. Don't launch a website if you don't have enough material

I fell out with the Hvar Tourist Board a few years ago through sheer frustration with their inactivity when I pointed out that the latest news from Hvar Town on their website was that it had snowed in Jelsa 16 months previously. it seems that this love of news from previous years continues into 2019:

There are just three items in the news section, two which took place in 2018, and one in Spring 2017. 

Similarly with events, just three on the site, and only one still to come. 

As for what others say about the Hvar Tourist Board, perhaps the less said the better. 

3. At least get the information correct

It can't be that hard to get the information correct if you live in the town and have the resources of the tourist board. But apparently so?

How many clubs does Hvar have? According to the new site, there are four - Carpe Diem, Laganini, BB Club and Top Bar. No mention of Pink Champagne, SEVEN or the strip club at the top of the hill, whatever it is called these days. And if Top Bar and Laganini are clubs, where does that leave the likes of Kiva, Nautica, Hula Hula?

And even if the information was correct, how hard is it to get the right pictures? Top Bar was renovated in the winter of 2017. 

4. If you are going to recommend island businesses, don't forget to recommend the best ones

I was surprised to see the tourist board recommending individual businesses over others, and even more surprised at the ones not recommended. For the wineries for instance, the Tomic winery is the most visited by tourists, as well as having wines in over 500 locations all over Croatia. Similarly, Vino Ahearne is run by one of less than 400 Masters of Wine in the world, and the only Master of Wine, who is making wine in Croatia. Jo Ahearne MW is currently on a wine tasting tour of Australia and Japan, where she is exporting her wines from indigenous Hvar varieties. One of her wines was named in the top 10 in all Croatia in 2018. But not good enough to get a hallowed tourist board recommendation. 

5. Are you Hvar Town or Hvar Island?

One of the many crazy things about life in The Beautiful Croatia is that there seems to be a local tourist board for almost every village. I am exaggerating, of course, but the island of Hvar has five separate tourist boards, which means five separate websites which focus almost entirely on those five individual areas. And yet there is some overlap. So here we have a situation where the Hvar Tourist Board is recommending winemakers from Jelsa, Vrboska and Sucuraj, but there is no mention of the towns whatsoever on the site as they are in different districts. The Stari Grad Plain gets a mention as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but not the oldest town on the island next to it. A unified website for the whole island would be a logical (and cheaper) option to help the end user, the tourist, but there are too many politics to make that happen. 

Enough. There is a lot more which could be written, but hopefully the new PR company hired will be chosen on merit and not other reasons, and will have the experience to put a lot of this right. 

It is a big year for Hvar Town, with the opening of Hotel Palace Elisabeth, the first 5-star hotel on the island, as well as the reopening of the oldest public theatre in Europe and the 13th-century Arsenal. I had a phone call from Hvar last week asking for advice on what to do for the opening of the theatre. The person (not an official) was surprised to hear that I had brought the billionaire Norwegian philanthropist who had invested heavily in the Shakespeare Globe Theatre in London to visit the Hvar theatre. What a tie-up that could be for the reopening of the oldest public theatre in Europe. 

Instead, we will probably be treated to the same lack of visionary celebrations that accompanied the 400th anniversary of the theatre in 2012. Perhaps the new PR company will be able to do something a little more inspirational. 

I certainly hope so. Hvar deserves so much better. 

Hvar Tourist Board has posted a job opening for the director of the tourist board office of Hvar town.