August 19, 2020 – The European Union Commission proposal will give Rijeka Capital Of Culture more time to finish its grand plans

The European Commission today said they are proposing to extend ECoC status to Rijeka for four extra months. Authorities recognised that the city's long-planned Rijeka Capital Of Culture programme was not able to run due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier this year, most public institutions – museums, galleries, theatres, music venues, bars, nightclubs, restaurants, hotels and all places of public gathering – were closed in Croatia for many weeks. Much of the Rijeka Capital Of Culture calendar of events had to be postponed or cancelled. Some artists due to visit Rijeka Capital Of Culture were also unable to reach the city. The programme all but ceased between March 2020 and June 2020.

However, some of the programme has since been successfully reinstated. The European Commission proposal may give the city more time to finish its grand plans. The offer is also to be extended to the city of Galway in Ireland, which shares Capital of Culture status with Rijeka this year. The proposed extension would mean Rijeka Capital Of Culture retains the title until April 30 2021. This would give the city one more opportunity to mark ECoC at its biggest annual event, the monstrous Rijeka Carnival, which concludes at the end of February.

Kvarner's tourist traffic numbers continue their upward trajectory. The Kvarner region, located in Northwestern Croatia, finished 2019 with 3.1 million arrivals and 19.1 million overnight stays. Compared to 2018, there were 2% more arrivals and 1% more overnights. Overnights also increased by 3% compared to 2017, 13% compared to 2016 and 50% compared to 2010.

During peak season, overnight stays remained at last year's levels, with an average occupancy of 25 days, and 30 days at hotels. That means that there wasn't a lot of room for growth during the the busiest season of the year, according to MorskiHR on January 8, 2020. Therefore, it is important to emphasize that overnight more stays increased by 1% during pre-season, while the post-season overnight stays increased by 4%. The increase in overnights during pre and post-season is more significant when compared with results from 2010, and it shows that overnights during these times of the year increased by 90%, according to the tourist board.

Germany Traditionally Strongest Market

In 2019, 630,000 German guests visited the Kvarner region, resulting in almost 4.7 million overnight stays. This figure has certainly been influenced by the large number of promotions directed toward the German market.  In addition to Germany, three more markets have reached more than one million overnights: Slovenia (3 million), Austria (1.8 million) and Italy (1.3 million). The share of foreign traffic for these four countries is nearly 70%.

Kvarner’s inclusion on group tour routes which take guests from distant markets to Europe has also resulted in a large increase in traffic from these markets. In the last 3 years, guests from China have almost tripled their number of overnight stays while US citizens have increased their overnights by 50%.

Guests from the United Kingdom are also worth mentioning. They spent 137,000 overnights in Kvarner which is 25% increase from 2018, and 44% increase from 2016! Foreign tourists account for 85% of overnight stays and domestic tourists 15% (3 million nights, an increase of 5%). 

Mali Lošinj

Most Guest Overnights on Island of Krk

Among the subregions, the island of Krk is in the lead, with an increase of 1% and 7 million overnights (and has a 36% share of total overnights in Kvarner).

The Crikvenica-Vinodol Riviera ranks second (3.2 million) followed by the island of Losinj (2.4 million). The number of overnight stays continues as follows: the Opatija Riviera and the island of Rab (2.2 million), the island of Cres (1.1 million), the Rijeka area (925,000) and Gorski Kotar (110,000). The highest percentage increase in overnight stays (14%) was recorded in the Rijeka area.

Mali Losinj (2.4 million nights) and Crikvenica (2.2 million nights) are among the "best" destinations.

Guests Prefer Croatia Family Accommodations

Family accommodations accounted for 40% of recorded overnight stays (7.7 million). Campsites and hotels recorded almost the same number of total overnights: 3.7 million each with individual shares of 19%. 

The highest increase in overnights was recorded in upper-category accommodations:

• Hotels generally realized 1% more overnights. However, 4 and 5-star hotels enjoyed a 6% increase.
• All family accommodations experienced a 1% increase in overnight stays, but 5-star family accommodations enjoyed a 38% increase!
• A similar scenario applies to campsites: there was an overall 1% decrease in overnight stays, but overnights at 5-star camps are up 22%.

Regardless of the type, 5-star facilities have seen 15% increase in overnight stays during the past year and 70% increase overnight over the last 3 years!

Cres

Nautical Tourism Overnights Up Thirty-Two Percent

These figures do not include 24,500 arrivals and 156,000 overnight stays due to nautical traffic, which in has increased by as much as 32% the last year alone. There are about 20 nautical tourism ports in Kvarner, and Marina Punat alone accounts for more than half of nautical overnights.

Kvarner Third to Istria and Split-Dalmatia in Accommodation Capacity

As of 2019, there are 190,000 permanent beds available for tourists in Kvarner which represent a 17% share in accommodation capacity within Croatia. The Kvarner region ranks third in terms of total available accommodation, which is behind Istria and Split-Dalmatia counties in Croatia. 

Irena Peršić Živadinov, Director of the Kvarner Tourist Board, emphasizes that the primary goal is to strengthen the pre and post-seasons, because one cannot always count on a record “peak” season.

Kvarner Tourist Board Expects Long-Term Increase

“In recent years, the Kvarner region has definitely succeeded in strengthening the pre and post-seasons. Compared 2010 to 2019, we have seen a huge increase in overnight stays during both seasons - almost 90%! Over the past 10 years, we have invested in the quantity and quality of the regions’ offerings. We have also focused on joint branding and activities and recognized our strengths regarding products and offerings."

“These steps probably won’t yield immediate results but will take a longer time to have an effect. Taking that into consideration, for example, 12.7 million overnight stays were recorded in 2010, it is clear that in a period of 9 years we have realized 6.3 million more overnights, or the total number of overnights in Kvarner ha increased by almost 50%,” Peršić Živadinov points out.

Follow our Travel page to keep up-to-date on tourism trends in Croatia.

As Marija Crnjak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 2nd of May, 2019, with the launch of Hilton in the Costabella resort between Opatija and Rijeka, Kvarner has gained its first global hotel brand and Hilton is entering the market for summer resorts in the Republic of Croatia for the first time.

As we reported recently, last week, Hilton confirmed that they signed a contract with JTH Costabella on the management of Hilton Costabella Beach Resort & Spa, which should open before the 2020 summer season, and the investment poured into the project by a Czech investor is worth about eighty million euros. The investment was announced as a luxury product since its very inception, and when in search of an operator last year, the investor negotiated with the well known Hard Rock Hotels group. Eventually, the results of the negotiations ended with Hilton entering the resort. The company has more than ten resorts in Europe.

Siniša Topalović, a partner at the Horwath HTL consulting house, believes that opening of Hilton's new resort in Kvarner is a very positive move for a number of reasons.

"The internationalisation of the Kvarner tourist offer, the strengthening of traffic in the pre and post [tourist] season, the raising of the quality of the tourist destination's offer, as well as transferring the knowledge of the workforce and internal education are just some of the expected positive effects of this cooperation," Topalović stated.

He also recalled the fact that Hilton recently updated its concept, and this would be the first regional resort to adhere to the globally respected company's brand new philosophy and standards. Sanja Čižmar also emphasised that the entry of Hilton into Kvarner will contribute to deepening the global recognition of the Croatian tourist offer as a whole.

Josipa Jutt Ferlan, the director of the cluster of Hilton Hotels in Zagreb and the director of Zagreb City Hotels revealed to Poslovni Dnevnik what Hilton had brought to the Croatian capital.

"Hilton brought with it a higher quality perception of Zagreb as an international destination, because with the entry of Hilton, Zagreb gained the presence of yet another, globally strong hotel company. The diversity of hotel deals through the presence of various brands, strengthens the destination compared to its international competition,'' explained Jutt Ferlan.

Make sure to follow our dedicated travel, business and lifestyle pages for much more.

Click here for the original article by Marija Crnjak for Poslovni Dnevnik

As Morski writes on the 25th of April, 2019, over the Easter holidays, 28,500 guests stayed in Kvarner, accounting for 99,000 overnight stays, which is a massive 100 percent increase when compared to the same period back in 2018, according to the Kvarner Tourist Board.

According to the official data from the eVisitor system, 28,500 guests spent 99,000 nights in Kvarner over four Easter holiday days (from Friday to Easter Monday).

The numbers from not only last year, but also from 2016 and 2017 prove the fact that during the Easter season this year, Kvarner was visited by a record number of guests. Thus, this year, 37 percent more overnight stays were realised when compared to 2017, when the Easter holidays fell during the same period of April, and even more incredible 147 percent more than 2016 were recorded, when the Easter holidays fell earlier, at the end of March.

In more than 100 of Kvarner's hotels and in as many as 25 camps, as well as a large number of holiday homes and private apartments, guests from Germany, other parts of Croatia, Austria, Italy and neighbouring Slovenia made up large numbers. German guests realised 25 percent of the total number of overnight stays, while domestic guests and guests from Austria realised 14 percent of the total number of overnight stays, with guests from Italy making up 11 percent.

Most of the overnight stays were realised on the island of Krk (32,300), followed by the Opatija riviera (23,400), the island of Lošinj (15,500), the Crikvenica-Vinodolski riviera (10,000), Rijeka and its surroundings (6,300), on the island of Rab (5,500), the island of Cres (5,300) and Gorski Kotar (850).

Nearly half of the overnight stays (49,000) were realised in hotels across Kvarner, most of which open on the Opatija riviera. 23,000 overnight stays were spent in private accommodation and in camps, most of them on Kvarner's numerous islands, account for 22,000 overnights.

In the spirit of the Easter holidays, Kvarner's hosts across the region prepared a large number of events for guests, from traditional cultural and entertainment events to gastronomic, religious and nature-related activities.

''In the last eight years, if we only look at the [main tourist] season, we're talking about a jump of as much as 90 percent, while in terms of the total number of overnight stays for the same period we've seen an increase of 50 percent. This marked increase in the number of guests, both foreign and domestic, shows us that we have a well-established development strategy based on our activities and programs, with the emphasis on filling out the period outside of the main summer tourist season.

The performances at this year's fairs and presentations on our strongest markets - Germany, Austria, Italy and Slovenia - gave us a good insight into the beginning of this tourist year and what those employed in tourism in Kvarner can expect,'' stated dr.sc. Irene Peršić Živadinov.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more.

Just how close are we to a real digital Croatia? The answer is unclear and as varied as ever, but some Croatian cities have shown promise with some rather impressive and encouraging results.

As Novac/Gradonacelnik.hr writes on the 23rd of April, 2019, although more and more cities are gradually digitising their business and investing in smart city solutions, and some of the most advanced have almost completely switched to doing solely digital business, generally speaking, Croatian cities are only in the very early stages of the much needed digital transition, just as Croatia is, as a country, at the very bottom in Europe in terms of the digital readiness of general society and the economy.

As the methodology for ranking cities in terms of digital readiness is only at its very beginning even at the European level, stories and analysis of the "smart city" concept development here in Croatia are still very much based on individual experiences, examples and projects.

That is why, in order to gain a real elementary insight into the digitalisation of Croatia's services and the communication of the country's many city administrations with citizens, experts from Apsolon, a consulting company specialising in digital business development, has undertaken the very first major study of the ''digital readiness'' of twenty of the largest cities across Croatia. This study, according to project manager and smart management director at Apsolon, Ivana Novoselec, is the basis for the further development of research tools and methodology that will track the development and progress of Croatia's cities on an annual basis.

In its study, Apsolon divided the cities into three categories - large (Zagreb, Split, Rijeka, Osijek), middle (Zadar, Velika Gorica, Slavonski Brod, Pula and Karlovac) and smaller cities (Sisak, Varaždin, Šibenik, Dubrovnik, Bjelovar, Kaštela, Samobor, Vinkovci, Koprivnica, Đakovo, Vukovar.)

The digital readiness index at Apsolon was set based on several criteria - the availability of e-services (the number of administrative services and their digitalisation rate in Croatia), the availability of site service information and the development of unified services for making payments in the city, then came the availability of city data, the level of citizen participation in decision making and communication channels between the city administration and citizens, ie, the availability of data and time in which citizens receive answers to their various questions. At this stage, Apsolon hasn't entered into the internal processes in Croatia's city administrations, but rather focused on what services are offered to the city's citizens and how long such things typically take.

After this type of indexing and ranking, the title of the ''digitisation champion'' among the Croatian cities was awarded to the City of Rijeka, thus confirming its status as the best city in the Smart City category which it won last year. Apsolon pointed out that the City of Rijeka has achieved the greatest advances in the systematic raising of the quality of its services, but also the opening of data and communication channels to citizens.

"Rijeka as the most advanced city in Croatia in terms of digitisation and is characterised in particular by the emphasis on openness and communication with its citizens. Its administration is oriented towards clear communication (a very clear centralised e-services approach with well-organised access to all automated services and available forms), openness and participatory management," said project manager Ivana Novoselac.

In many categories, especially those relating to the functional aspects of digitisation (advanced digital services, e-citizen connectivity, etc.), Rijeka is followed closely by the City of Zagreb.

The city of Pula is the most advanced middle-size city in Croatia, which also presents its services and available information to its citizens in a systematic and very detailed way, raising standards in terms of transparency and interaction with citizens, and is certainly a champion among cities with between 50.000 and 100.000 inhabitants.

In relation to the criteria relating to specific functional and technological solutions, Karlovac, Velika Gorica and Zadar follow. For the City of Karlovac the large number of available administrative procedures on its website and responses to citizens' inquiries are generally quick made it stand out from the crowd.

Among the small cities in Croatia, there is no distinctly dominant digital champion, but according to research findings in different aspects of digitisation, Dubrovnik, Samobor, Sisak, Koprivnica and Varaždin appear to be the most successful ones, according to this research. Among the prominent representatives of this category, Dubrovnik is strategically trying to profile as Smart City and has a high quality City Card, e-Visitor platform, is very active on social networks and it continuing to develop innovative application solutions. When it comes to the number of digitally available services, Koprivnica ranks above all.

Samobor, which is particularly active on social networks and is the category winner for social networking, has a very comprehensive and interactive website which separates the site accordingly and has adjusted all of the information for citizens and for visitors, as well as separating foreign visitors from domestic ones.

It should also be noted that Bjelovar is extremely proactive in the field of the digitalisation of its administration, it is working on applicative transparency solutions as well as on internal digitalisation processes. What is particularly commendable is Bjelovar's focus on the digitalisation of its internal processes.

Make sure to follow our dedciated lifestyle page for much more.

Click here for the original article by Novac/Jutarnji/Gradonacelnik.hr

As Suzana Varosanec/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 25th of March, 2019, under its new administration and new owners, the popular Jadran hotel group from Crikvenica is expanding rapidly and after taking over Club Adriatic, it is continuing to introduce new facilities in Baško Polje, and is now expanding to the Kvarner region.

Based on the ten-year lease of the Hotel Delfin in Omišalj, business for Jadran is beginning on the island of Krk. The offer was favourable, as can unofficially be revealed. The Crikvenica-based hotel group also signed a long-term lease for three pavilions in Crikvenica. Owing to these business moves, Jadran's accommodation capacities will increase by a significant 139 accommodation units, in Baško Polje there are about 440 new units, and this season Jadran will be able to boast about having a 36 percent higher capacity compared to last year.

And while Hotel Delfin can't be renewed this season for various reasons, this is thankfully not the case for the three pavilions that were once owned by Jadran. Since they are situated at the location of a common entity whose renewal is already in full swing, a makeover awaits.

Namely, from the Adriatic highway to the coast, Jadran's property in Crikvenica is having works carried out at Hotel Ad Turres and on thirteen pavilions, each with 27 rooms as well as works at Hotel Omorika, which will be completed in ten days.

Last year, this hotel group grew by 10 percent more than it did back during 2017, and realised an impressive 416,000 overnight stays, in 2019 they're planning for 437,000 overnight stays, marking an increase of about 6.6 percent. Slovenian guests and Croatian guests have primarily been the main group to stay in Jadran's numerous accommodation facilities, followed by those from Austria and Germany, and a similar tourist structure is expected this season as well.

Congress tourism is still being developed, and after the completion of the welcome renovation of the Omorika and Katarina hotels, Jadran is expecting an increase in those niches, too. In the health sector, however, Jadran has some big plans in synergy with some local health institutions.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business page for much more.

Click here for the original artice by Suzana Varosanec for Poslovni Dnevnik

One of the City of Rijeka's biggest problems is the parking situation. Just like many other cities across Croatia, sometimes drivers are left with little choice other than to get a bit creative with how and where they leave their car, but that harmless couple of minutes in which you think you'll get away with leaving it parked where it shouldn't be could cost you thanks to Rijeka's new cameras.

Just when you thought Big Brother couldn't possibly think of anything else, he does. New parking cameras have found their way to Rijeka, and some of them even send photos of your crime directly to the police while you remain clueless. One trial camera is already in operation in the city.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 21st of March, 2019, failure to comply with traffic regulations when it comes to improper parking is still being listed as one of the biggest problems in Rijeka according to the traffic directorate's data for the year 2018, Novi list writes.

Given the fact that no new job positions will be opened and therefore no new employees will take up work, there will still be twenty employees in Rijeka's city administration. Therefore, the City of Rijeka plans to quickly set up five quality high-resolution cameras in numerous places across Rijeka's city centre to keep a watchful eye on any unsuspecting drivers who are illegally parked at bus stops or at delivery places and drop-off points.

One test camera is already in operation at Fiumara and the system is allegedly working very well, despite the fact (in reality, especially because) drivers who have parked illegally are still blissfully unaware that their vehicle's license plates are being photographed and that the system then sends the images any any additional data directly to the traffic police in order to have the appropriate punishment written out.

Make sure to follow our dedicated news and lifestyle pages for much more.

February 12, 2019 — Another favorite winter warmer hailing from Primorje, batuda or Primorski lonac is a traditional one-pot stew made with white and green beans, barley, sweetcorn, potatoes, and various smoke-cured pork meat like belly, ribs, shanks, or trotters.

Batuda is only found in Primorje, where it was traditionally prepared for the blue collars, whereas the word itself has its roots in the Italian word battuta which translates to "playing the trump card." It is one of those humble dishes that originated out of necessity rather than luxury, and was prepared for feeding the workers after a hard day's labor.

Nevertheless, being such a hearty yet healthy dish, batuda remains a favorite in numerous Primorje households. Here's the basic recipe:

Ingredients
200 g white kidney beans*
200 g barley
150 g sweetcorn
2 large carrots
300 g potatoes, cubed
100 g green beans
100 g tomato puree
250 g pork ribs
150 g pešt/zaseka
20 g parsley, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
1) Start by cooking the beans. When they are half cooked, add barley, sweetcorn, and all other ingredients, except tomato puree and pešt.

2) When the meat and vegetables are almost cooked, add tomato puree and pešt. Stir well.

3) When the meat is almost cooked, remove it and cut it into smaller pieces. Return to the pot and cook all together for about an hour. Batuda must not be too thin nor too thick. Enjoy with some country-style sourdough bread.

Dobar tek!

*Beans: if you're using dried beans, you will need to start making your batuda the day before because they need to be soaked in cold water for at least 12 hours before they can be cooked. Alternatively, you can use canned beans and simply add them halfway through cooking time.

Stay tuned for more recipes by following TCN's gourmet page.

As Morski writes on the 2nd of February, 2019, the I Love Beli (Udruga Volim Beli) association was founded spontaneously back in 2011 and since then has been operating in the northern part of the beautiful island of Cres, Tramuntana. For years, the association's active work, creative ideas and various projects have been committed to revitalising that part of the island where the growing population exceeds the average of other rural areas.

In many conversations with Cres-based entrepreneurs, as well as visitors and other locals, a great need for the area to maintain its existing natural resources, to expand the supply, and to ensure the safety of recreants and hikers was felt.

This is exactly how the ideas for an association between PD Kamnenjak, Tomislav Bandera Anić, and the author of "Tramuntana Hike&Bike", was born. The idea represents a network of hiking and cycling trails on Tramuntana, as was reported by Pokret otoka (Island movement).

Tramuntana is one of the few examples in Kvarner and beyond, where such projects are carried out in accordance with the practices of the Croatian Mountaineering Association, which also approved this project and included the hiking trails in the register of hiking trails. The Kamenjak mountaineering club is responsible for the supervision and the execution of all the work on the footpaths and hiking trails on the island of Cres, to which the Croatian Mountaineering Association assigned this function.

There has been a very good response from volunteers from both the island and the mainland, without which this action would not be possible to undertake. People recognise the important of the project, respond with enthusiasm and are happy to do what they can to help it along.

Many entrepreneurs have been providing financial support through donations for both this project and numerous other activities the Volim Beli association is carrying out.

The project of marking out the hiking trails and footpaths has the full support of the Cres Tourist Board and has received donations from many local business owners, entrepreneurs and companies, and further cooperation with many other island business owners is expected.

The "Mystical Trails of Tramuntana" project is partly a continuation of the "Tramuntana Hike&Bike" project, which will work to offer nature lovers, hikers and other lovers of the great outdoors increased safety and far more opportunities to enjoy everything the stunning island of Cres has to offer.

Make sure to stay up to date by following our dedicated lifestyle page for much more.

Click here for the original article by Pokret otoka

The German carrier is one of the largest providers of passenger transport services in Europe, employing more than 60,000 people and achieving more than 2.2 billion journeys. Is Rijeka's Autotrolej, which has found itself enfeebled by a lack of drivers, forcing it to cut certain routes, in for a stroke of luck?

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 17th of January, 2019, the Croatian subsidiary of the popular German carrier Arriva wants to take over Rijeka's Autotrolej, as has since been confirmed by Arriva Croatia itself, which has already acquired ownership of Autotrans, one of the largest passenger carriers in the segment of passenger transport in the Republic of Croatia.

"We're interested in all forms of cooperation, so taking the entire share of ownership of KD Autotrolej also comes into it, of course, provided that there is a common interest and a healthy economic base," stated Marina Pandurević, Managing Director of Arriva Croatia for Novi list.

This very concise response came after the company was asked about the situation following information about Arriva's taking over of Autotrans and potential interest in taking over or entering into some sort of business partnership with Rijeka's Autotrolej having surfaced.

The large transport company confirmed that they are definitely interested in buying Autotrolej or entering into a sort of partnership with the current co-owners, therefore entering into business with Autotrolej as a logical continuation of their business in the Republic of Croatia, based on the experience of public transport in very many other European cities.

As stated, Arriva is one of Europe's largest passenger transport service providers, employing more than 60,000 people and achieving more than 2.2 billion journeys. The group operates in fourteen European countries offering a wide range of public transport services to suit all needs.

Make sure to stay up to date with the situation with Autotrolej and on public transport in Croatia in general by following our dedicated news, business and lifestyle pages for much more.