July 13, 2020 - In their first venture to the Croatian coast, Rešetka's summer menu brings fine-dining quality to seaside streets in 2020

Sometimes you just want a burger, a sandwich, or something you can just eat from your hands. But, just because you haven't got the time or can't be bothered with the faff of fine dining, that doesn't mean you're volunteering for a drastic drop in quality.

That's where Rešetka comes in. Street food providers renowned for sourcing and selling only quality meats, the grill specialists have been a highlight of Zagreb Burger Fest and several pop-ups in recent times. This summer, the experience that has won over the Croatian capital's burger connoisseurs can be found instead along the coast.

Rešetka owner Nikola Božić has embarked on the summer venture with chef Katarina Vrenc. You'll be able to find their new concept 'Fine Street Food by Reshetka & Katarina Vrenc' at several pop-up locations along the Adriatic this summer. They'll be visiting Istria, Kvarner and Dalmatia, including the islands of Cres and Pag.


Rešetka and Đurina Hiža are renowned for using only high quality, locally sourced produce within their dishes including, this year, beef from a hybrid of Japan's famed wagyu and Holstein, sourced from the first range herd of its kind in Croatia © Rešetka

With a commitment to cooking only with high quality, locally sourced produce and ingredients, the team is known to use premium meats and seafood for their dishes. This year they will offer beef from a hybrid of Japan's famed wagyu and Holstein, sourced from the first range herd of its kind in Croatia. Within a summer menu that combines the best of continental and coastal Croatian ingredients, you'll also find superior snacks such as rich pork belly paired with octopus.

Nikola Božić is also the proprietor of Đurina Hiža near Varaždinske Toplice. As recently covered in TCN, thanks to some quick and positive thinking, though the restaurant closed for a while in the Coronavirus lockdown, Nikola was able to adapt his business in order to remain successful during the period; relying on high quality, locally sourced ingredients, he became a bridge between the small producers he'd spent time finding, and those shopping online from their homes. Their 'Deda Goes Around the World' service delivered meats and other produce throughout Croatia during the restaurant's temporary closure.

If you're planning to visit Dubrovnik, Biograd, Pula, Premantura or Split this summer and can't face another pizza slice, kebab or burger of questionable origin, be sure to look out for the Rešetka logo. Fine Street Food by Reshetka & Katarina Vrenc will visit Plavica Bar on island Cres on 7 & 8 August and the Michelin-starred Boškinac on Pag in the middle of September. Further inland, they'll also be available at the High Grounds Festival in Varaždinske Toplice on 31 July, 1 & 2 August. Grab yourself a handful of delicious food and pick a spot to watch the stunning Croatian sunset, the Adriatic coast and its breathtaking backdrop has long been lacking exactly this standard of street food to accompany.


© Rešetka

As Novac/Barbara Ban writes on the 8th of July, 2020, despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a breath of the tourist season is finally being felt in the popular Istrian city of Pula. The stormy weather that arrived recently drove most tourists off the beaches and they decided to finally go into the city.

The main streets and the Forum were full of people, which is really unusual to see during the coronavirus crisis and gives encouragement to continue with 2020's otherwise enfeebled tourist season. Restaurants, bars and shops, as well as souvenir shops in the city centre, which had been eerily empty in recent weeks, began to fill up slowly.

''Yes, we're satisfied with the beginning of July in Istria and all these numbers are growing every day. Last week we had about 90 thousand guests on the Peninsula, and this week we expect about 120 thousand. A slightly longer procedure on the border with Slovenia didn't deter guests from arriving in Istria,'' the director of the County Tourist Board, Denis Ivosevic, said briefly.

Many tourist workers in Istria were afraid of this situation given the health crisis we're still embedded quite deeply in, but fortunately the beginning of the week showed that it will not be an obstacle for the arrival of tourists.

As has been heard from the director of the largest hotelier in Pula, the Arena Hospitality Group's Reli Slonim, the numbers are getting better in camps in the south of Istria and even in hotels.

''It's difficult to predict the season now, but maybe we could reach around 60 percent of last year's turnover. We're satisfied with the situation as the camps are filled, where the largest number of our guests are currently located, and our hotels and tourist resorts have better and better numbers,'' said Slonim.

It's worth mentioning that Istrian holiday homes are currently well filled and have proven to be an ideal choice in a situation where most people are looking for safety and an escape from the crowds. A good part of them have been well filled since mid-June, and if the situation around the coronavirus epidemic remains under control, a good season in this segment of accommodation is expected by the end of September.

According to data from eVisitor, in the first seven days of July, 106,722 arrivals and 638,085 overnight stays were recorded in Istria. Most guests are from Germany, who realised the most overnight stays - 227,276 of them.

As is being said, there is potential for Istria to even reach last year's figures from this period for the beginning of July this year, which is something that was simply unimaginable to most up until very recently.

The Germans are followed by Slovenes with 147,326 overnight stays, Czechs with 55,479 overnight stays, Austrians with 49,031 and Italians with 35,595 overnight stays. The most visited destinations in Istria are Rovinj, Medulin, Umag, Porec, Vrsar, Tar-Vabriga, Funtana and of course, Pula.

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July 5, 2020 - There are currently 354,000 tourists in Croatia - and almost 40,000 tourists enter the country daily.  The Tourist Board Directors of Istria and Split-Dalmatia County comment on the current situation.

Dalmacija Danas reports that most tourists in Croatia are in Istria, then Kvarner, while tourists in the south are still hard to come by, as they mostly arrive by air. But even that should change soon, given the larger number of airlines announced in July. 

Joško Stella, director of the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board, and Denis Ivošević, director of the Istria Tourist Board, spoke about the situation in tourism.

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Ivošević said that Istria currently has about 100,000 guests, mostly Germans, Slovenes, Slovaks and Czechs. Forty percent of tourists are in private accommodation, 40 percent in camps and 20 percent in hotels.

Stella said that at the beginning of June in Split-Dalmatia County, the situation regarding tourism was horrible and that the number of tourists was 10 percent compared to last year.

"When we look at the first six months, we have a turnover of 19 percent compared to last year. That is 770 overnight stays compared to last year when we had 4 million," he said, adding that already now, at the end of June, and at the beginning of July, exponential growth can be seen.

He emphasized that the introduction of new airlines is beginning and that the introduction of routes from Great Britain is especially important.

"According to current estimates, about 200,000 passengers are expected. That is not much compared to last year, which had 700,000 passengers, but it is a lot compared to June," he pointed out.

Slovenia placed Croatia on the 'yellow list' of less safe countries. When asked whether this will affect the arrival of tourists and whether smaller bookings are already being recorded, Ivošević stated that bookings did not fall, but that it was the wrong message for Croatian tourism.

"I believe that after the elections, our Government will be in negotiations with Slovenia. I think it is important to emphasize that no tourist in our country was infected through local transmission, but all these were imported cases," he said, adding that protocols against coronavirus in Istria work very well, so tourists can feel safe.

Stella pointed out that last year in the first six months in Split-Dalmatia County, there were one million overnight stays of guests from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"They are as important to us as the guests from Slovenia. The markets of Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina accounted for over 50 percent of our turnover last year, so we took action to bring journalists and bloggers from those countries in cooperation with the Croatian National Tourist Board to show them that Croatia is a safe destination," he said.

Ivošević said that our priority is to maintain a positive epidemiological situation because it is the largest promotional tool with which we can communicate that we are a safe destination.

"We hope that in July and August, we will reach a figure between 30 and 40 percent compared to the same period last year," he stressed.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has thrown the spanner of all spanners in the works for global tourism and Croatia, for which tourism is the strongest economic branch, has been anything but immune to these pandemic-induced, extremely negative trends. Istria, however, is recovering at a remarkably enviable rate.

As Novac writes on the 30th of June, 2020, Istria has recorded some truly encouraging and excellent tourist results for last weekend. Namely, from June the 26th to the 28th, only 6 percent fewer tourists were recorded in Istria than during the same days last year, long before coronavirus was ever an issue one could have imagined.

Last year, on June the 26th, 27th and 28th, 54,000 arrivals and 522,000 overnight stays were realised in Istria, while this year, 51,000 arrivals (index 94) and 300,000 overnight stays (index 57) were realised, which is incredibly impressive. This means that over these three days, Istria has only experienced 6 percent fewer tourists, and overnight stays reached 57 percent, which is much more than the expectations suggested, which went up to a maximum of around 40 percent of last year's, pre-pandemic traffic.

Looking at the whole of the month of June, the numbers are indeed devastating, regardless of this brilliant result for beautiful Istria. Last year, that month held the record with an index of 116 when compared to June 2018, and this year, June is at the level of only 29 percent when compared to last year, local portal Glas Istre writes.

"Overall, June will end at 30 percent of tourist realisation when compared to last year, but the trend that is rising week by week and the announced bookings that continue to arrive give us the hope that July and August could be good. This is all with the clear indication that the situation can change extremely quickly, both in a positive and in a negative sense,'' said the director of the Tourist Board of Istria, Denis Ivosevic.

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June 14, 2020 - European cultural TV channel Arte TV, in its 'Invitation to Travel' show, broadcast a series of reports on the rich cultural heritage of Istria and Southern Dalmatia.

HRTurizam writes that these reports were created as a result of the cooperation and engagement of the Representative Office of the Croatian Tourist Board in France.

"Such shows that reveal lesser-known cultural and historical facts of Croatian tourist destinations are our special challenge and imperative in the tourist promotion of Croatia on the French market, since cultural heritage is the main motive for 60 percent of French people to travel abroad," said Daniela Mihalic. Đurica, director of the CNTB Representative Office in France.

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The Istria portion of the show spoke to the owners of Istrian restaurants, but also winemakers, who testified to the precious eno-gastronomic value of Istria. They presented Rovinj, which they called a mini Venice, Pula, where the gladiator games were evoked, but also the interior of Istria, where the picturesque towns of Buje and Motovun are located. The report also mentions the most common traditional vessel in Rovinj, the batana.

The second report, entitled "French Kisses from Croatia", shows the rich influence of Napoleon in Southern Dalmatia, and through a conversation with historians, the "Adriatic pearls" of Dubrovnik, Split and Trogir were presented, which delighted Napoleon and his marshals, especially Marmont, so much that by their conquest they showed the world their superiority.

"This is another way to maintain a presence and visibility in our important markets and further interest the French, but also the Germans to revisit us as soon as possible," commented CNTB Director Kristjan Stanicic, announcing that the Arte TV team will film four new reports on Croatia in mid-August and early September.

But these are not the only stories about the Croatian coast, which were presented to French viewers. Earlier, a report on the island of Pag was published, in which the specifics of the famous bura wind were mentioned, as well as a report on Pazin with which the famous Jules Verne was enchanted.

Arte TV shows are broadcast six days a week and are watched by over 800,000 viewers a day. The recorded reports are repeated on several occasions and are also available in the Arte TV media library.

Finally, French lifestyle magazine Grazia also published the TOP 9 Croatian destinations that should definitely be visited this summer. On that scale were: Dubrovnik, Rovinj, Split, Zagreb, Plitvice National Park, Zadar, Hvar, Korcula and Krka National Park.

As Novac/Barbara Ban writes on the 10th of June, 2020, this week, the Tourist Board of Central Istria launched its very first promotional tourist video called "Dare to explore", directed and produced by the Labin-based company Level 52. The video presents Central Istria as a magical region with well-known and interesting locations and points of interest.

''In these rather challenging times for Croatian tourism, Central Istria strives to position itself as an ideal combination of specialties, which will keep old and continue to attract new guests - magical landscapes, cultural, historical and natural beauty, and indigenous products and flavours of tradition'' said the director of the Tourist Board of Central Istria, Sanja Kantaruti.

The Mayor of Pazin, Renato Krulcic, added that the first promotional film for the destination was branded a few years ago under the slogan "Central Istria - the original Istria" was designed and realised.

''There is a video slogan which invites viewers to explore the heart of the Istrian peninsula with scenes of undiscovered tourist gems such as the Sopot waterfall near Pican and Badavac near Karojba, but also new views of well-known places in the area of ​​Pazin and the municipalities of Lupoglav, Cerovlje, Karojba, Sv. Petar u Sumi, Sv. Lovrec, Tinjan, Gracisce and Pican, ie, the component of the Tourist Board of Central Istria,'' Krulcic emphasised.

The interior is different from the rest of Istria, so the destination had to get its own approach to promotion, the authors of the film emphasised.

''The goal was to tell our fairy tale that will entice visitors to explore central Istria, especially to locations that are somewhat hidden and out of the way,'' said film co-author Goran Nacinovic.

So far, such an approach has rarely been seen in the tourist promotion of Croatia as a whole, they point out. The video combines attractive locations in Central Istria with interesting characters, as well as with authentic Istrians who work diligently in their fields and live in harmony with nature.

''We wanted to make something different and innovative, aimed at the foreign market, and yet emphasise the uniqueness and beauty of Central Istria,'' says co-author Sanel Isanovic, who, along with Nacinovic, developed the story of the film and composed the music for the film.

Watch it below:

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May 14, 2020 - The third session of the Istria County Tourism Committee was held through a conference call on Tuesday. In addition to the permanent members, it was attended by the Chief of the Istria County Civil Protection Headquarters Dino Kozlevac and the Director of the Istria Institute of Public Health Dr. Aleksandar Stojanovic.

HRTurizam reports that the director of the Istrian Institute of Public Health, Dr. Stojanović, provided information on the epidemiological situation in Istria County, stating that there is no circulation of the virus, and that there had been no positive findings of COVID-19 in Istria for 23 days. However, according to new information over the last two days, two cases of coronavirus infection appeared in Istria. Both cases are related to the flight from Frankfurt to Zagreb, and 19 samples of swabs are currently being examined in the County because of the suspicion of the coronavirus.

Stojanović also referred to two documents that arrived at the Institute for review last week, and these are proposals for epidemiological actions in the ports of nautical tourism - marinas, or travel agencies. Both documents have been agreed with epidemiologists and are ready for submission to the competent ministries and the Central Committee of the Republic of Croatia. During this week, a leaflet will be reviewed, adapting tourist animation to the rules of the Headquarters, as well as a proposal for a protocol of opening water parks.

The issue of readiness of hospital facilities in case of possible infection in guests was also raised, to which Dr. Stojanović said that OB Pula is ready, and currently, there is not a single patient with the coronavirus at the Department of Infectious Diseases. Chief of the Headquarters Kozlevac, on the other hand, commented on the entry of foreign citizens into the Republic of Croatia. According to him, citizens from the EU and third countries such as BiH and Serbia are currently allowed to enter, on 5 grounds:

1.) if you own real estate in Croatia, 2.) if you have a registered company or economic activity whose foreign citizen is the owner or member of the management, 3.) at the invitation of a business entity from the Republic of Croatia for a business interview, 4.) if you are attending a funeral or 5). if you are visiting a sick person.

Also, Kozlevac emphasized that when entering the Republic of Croatia, there are no longer any health measures, such as self-isolation, and that tourist arrivals are currently not possible. MEP Valter Flego added that the European Commission would come up with a more concrete proposal to open the borders (which you can find here). Former MEP Ivan Jakovčić commented on a large survey conducted among Germans and Austrians, which showed that 75% of them want to go on holiday, and of which as many as 65% want to come to Croatia.

The session also discussed the possibilities for the arrival of guests by air, especially in the case of flights of low-cost airlines, which the Croatian National Tourist Board deals with, while the Istria County Tourist Board is in charge of communication with easyJet, said Denis Ivosevic. Furthermore, there was talk about measures to act on the beaches, and it was said that controls would be performed primarily by the State Inspectorate, and then the municipal security guards and the beach concessionaires themselves, with patrols by the police and the Civil Protection Headquarters.

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May 5, 2020 - At the 2nd session of the Istria County Tourism Committee, held Monday through a full conference call, members discussed the epidemiological situation in Istria and future activities after the borders open, as well as expectations for the 2020 tourist year.

HRTurizam reports that at the very beginning, the Acting Prefect and the President of the Committee, Fabrizio Radin, emphasized that they had asked the National Civil Protection Headquarters when the borders would open, that is, the date and conditions of the eventual border opening of the Republic of Croatia to other European countries.

"We have received a reply that the topic of the eventual opening of internal borders within the EU will be on the table of tomorrow's summit, which will be held in Brussels. At that meeting, guidelines and indicative dates for the opening of borders should be defined," said the prefect of Radin.

Following the protection measures for hotels and camps, those for nautical, private accommodation and travel agencies are being developed. 

The session was also attended by the Director of the Institute of Public Health of Istria County, Dr. Aleksandar Stojanovic, who commented on the epidemiological situation in Istria, as well as the proposals for protection measures for camps and hotels.

"Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have had 87 COVID-19 positive people, and as you can hear, a few days ago, the last patient in Istria County was cured, or he was discharged from the Pula General Hospital. As of Thursday, we have no more positive patients in Istria County. At the moment, we have about 1300 people in self-isolation, 200 of whom are contacts of positive people, while others have received an epidemiological measure of self-isolation because they crossed the border," said Dr. Stojanovic.

Regarding the proposals for protection measures and operational procedures drawn up by the Croatian Camping Union and the Croatian Tourism Entrepreneurs Association, Dr Stojanovic said that they are professionally based and mostly cover potential risks. The measures will be presented after an agreement with the National Headquarters and the Ministry of Tourism.

It was agreed at the session that a proposal for measures for nautical tourism, private accommodation and travel agencies would be drafted by next week, in cooperation with the above sectors and ZZJZIŽ.

Regarding the expectations of the tourist year, it was emphasized that everything depends on the date the borders open for both Croatia and the main markets, i.e., Slovenia, Austria, Germany Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Furthermore, from Monday, May 11, hotels and campsites would operate, with all their facilities, which will open gradually, depending on the opening of state borders, or market demand.

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As Barbara Ban/Novac writes on the 28th of April, 2020, regardless of the ongoing coronavirus crisis, the popular Istrian city of Porec continued to refurbish part the Porec waterfront, continuing with an investment worth as much as 26 million kuna.

Although this is an enormous investment which covers as much as seven thousand square metres in total, which was unfortunately started at the worst possible time - before the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis that has hit the economy of Istria, including that of Porec, the city authorities decided to see the Porec waterfront project through to the end. The project marks the most significant public investment in the old city centre in the last ten years.

''The works were slowed down for a while because we couldn't get the materials we needed, but now everything is back on track and I believe we'll be done in June. And in regard to the horticulture side of things, everything should be completed by July the 1st, 2020.

The original plan for the opening of the Porec waterfront opening was set for June the 1st. We were also slowed down by archaeological works where an ancient vessel which is over two thousand years old was discovered, but also by the fact that our contractor was from Slovenia, so the fact that border crossings were implied slowed down the entire story. But, we've still been working constantly,'' said the Mayor of Porec, Loris Persuric.

Workers have been busy installing stone slabs, and concrete road is being gradually laid... Before that, completely new infrastructure was erected underground, and when the finishing touches were completed, interesting benches, candelabras, light installations with signposts for monuments and tourist attractions were set to follow. Booths/stands will be removed from this part of the waterfront and boaters will be provided with unified booths for the sale of their respective tourist excursions. There will be no parking spaces on this part of the Porec waterfront.

''We wanted our waterfront to become a kind of living room to bring the citizens and guests of Porec back to the waterfront,'' said the Mayor of Porec. There are currently no tourists who would otherwise be walking along this part of the city, so everything is running very smoothly.

''We've only been in this situation for two months and we expect the situation to normalise. It will not be as safe as it all was before, but I believe that we'll all adapt and tourism will start again. When tourism is fully operational in Croatia, I think Istria has an edge over everyone else because it's a destination that can easily be driven to. Tourists who arrive by air represent Istria's tourism figures by six to seven percent. We have a pool of one million guests within a five-hour drive. That was our advantage before, and I believe it will be now. I believe that we'll push through this year and that by July and August, the situation will improve a little. However, when it comes to the question of whether or not it will be as good as last year, we can't be certain. If time serves us and if nothing else happens on the global market, I believe that we'll get something out of this season,'' stated Porec's mayor optimistically.

However, this will be the strangest Croatian tourist season ever since there will not be a single event or manifestation being put on.

''We've cancelled all of the events - from Vinistra to Porec Open Air. Of course, we also expect that our budget will suffer, because there won't be as many employees as there used to be in Porec. Last year, five thousand workers came here from all over Istria. Although the city budget is estimated at 300 million kuna, it will be at a mere 40 to 50 percent of last year's amount of 270 million kuna. And that will also be the case for all other local governments. This means that we'll have to give up a lot, and we've already reduced the wage bill by 17 percent in April,'' said Persuric.

Over recent years, intensive investments have been made in new schools, kindergartens, roads, sewage, irrigation, beaches... Parts of those projects are funded by European Union funds, but not all of them, like the Porec waterfront itself.

''As we're one of the most developed cities in the Croatian framework according to the criteria of the European Union, we couldn't access EU funding for this project. So, we just decided to do it on our own. It will be arranged through 15 phases, and projects are being prepared for each phase. They're all in different stages of preparation. We'll see what will be the further dynamics of the Porec waterfront landscaping will be once this crisis passes, but we certainly won't give up on it,'' said Porec's mayor.

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April 28, 2020 - At its first session on Monday, which was held through a conference call, the Istria County Tourism Committee stated that the priority is to prepare Istria for opening the borders and the arrival of guests.

Index.hr reports that members of the Committee unanimously stated that an agreement was needed between the public health system, i.e., the epidemiological and tourism experts, which should enable the protection of health and realizing part of the tourist year. As stressed at the session, tourism stakeholders are in the final stages of preparing their business in new circumstances, but expect the epidemiologists' instructions so that they can start opening facilities from May 11 and welcome foreign guests after the borders open.

In support of this, the Committee adopted four conclusions, the most important of which is the need to define epidemiological conditions under which tourism and catering activities (hotels, camps, family accommodation, restaurants, marinas) can be performed, with all its contents, and with the coordination of the Civil Protection Headquarters and tourism professionals.

The second conclusion relates to inquiries made to the National Civil Protection Headquarters on opening borders, that is, the date and conditions for opening borders of the Republic of Croatia.

"If it is not possible to define the exact date of border openings yet, then we will request at least a date when this information can be expected. Also, for the necessary preparations, information on opening borders of the most important markets for Istria County, such as Slovenia, Austria, and Germany, is necessary," said members of the Istria Tourism Committee.

The third conclusion relates to preparing a promotional campaign that would target the most significant markets for Istria County and would further promote Istria as an auto-destination, while the fourth conclusion relates to cooperation with Istrian units of local self-government, which refers to defining specific measures for the use of beaches, squares and other public spaces, which have been places of mass gatherings of guests in recent years.

To actively monitor the further development of the epidemiological situation and achieve maximum results in the realization of this year's tourist season, it was agreed that the Committee would meet at least once a week, Istria County said.

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