October 7, 2020 - Global Green Destinations has named Lika and Mali Losinj among the TOP 100 sustainable destinations in the world!

HRTurizam reports that Global Green Destinations is an international foundation that brings together the world's sustainable tourist destinations. This week, Global Green Destinations Days released the Global TOP 100 Sustainable Destinations for 2020, which included two Croatian destinations: Lika and Mali Losinj.

The competition for 100 sustainable destinations is organized to show stories of sustainable tourism and good practices, as inspiring examples to other destinations, tour operators, and travelers. According to the evaluation of the TOP 100 Green Destination team, this year, the selection was more than ever determined by the quality, efficiency, and portability of good practice stories submitted by destinations when applying.

Since its founding, the Lika Destination cluster has been guided by the philosophy of sustainable development (Smart Sustainable Destination), and the main activity of the cluster is the tourist promotion of Lika destinations on the domestic and foreign markets based on natural, cultural, historical, gastronomic and health features.

Quality cooperation with 8 protected natural areas, including as many as 3 out of 8 national parks in Croatia, forming a joint ticket to Lika, implementing multi-day programs to stay longer, networking and connecting local producers under a common brand - Lika Quality, opening new markets and encouraging the increase of local production and numerous projects in the field of destination, cultural and sustainable tourism are just part of what the Lika Destination Cluster has been working on since day one, to create conditions for the development of sustainable year-round tourism in Lika.

"Destination Lika in recent years is becoming increasingly recognizable in the tourism market, and this certificate is just further proof of how the Lika Destination Cluster works well on the promotion of the destination and development on the principle of sustainable development," points out the Lika Destination Cluster and emphasizes that this prestigious award is proof of destination development in the right direction and aligned with the latest world trends.

Mali Losinj is again in the group of the best this year, and in 2020, it competed in the categories of Culture and Community and Nature and Ecotourism.

"Sustainable development management, which is a strategic issue and a great responsibility, is carried out at all levels of the destination, as evidenced by the fact that we are included in the Top 100 sustainable destinations in the world," said the director of the Mali Losinj Tourist Board, Dalibor Cvitkovic. The Mali Losinj Tourist Board is among the leaders in sustainable development in Croatia.

“We were among the first to get involved in the European Commission project: ETIS - European Tourism Indicator System for Sustainable Destinations, we participate in the CROSTO project - Croatian Observatory for Sustainable Tourism Development and many others. This year, as an example of good practice, we presented the Integrated Quality Management in Destination (IQM) project, which involves more than 130 stakeholders in the destination to raise quality in all segments, creating quality standards, stakeholder connectivity, and recognizability of Losinj as a destination of excellence. We are glad that, along with Losinj and Lika, the destination was chosen in the Top 100 sustainable destinations in the world because it is proof that our strategy of sustainability and balance of tourism and environmental development is sailing in the right direction," concluded Cvitkovic.

By publishing this annual list and sharing awards of good practice and success stories in destination management, the initiators recognize the steps taken to make tourist destinations more sustainable, responsible, and attractive to visitors.

This leading global conference dedicated to sustainable destination management and competition is held under the auspices of the Top 100 Partnership, with special contributions from Green Destinations, QualityCoast, TravelMole, Vision on Sustainable Tourism, Travelife, ITB Berlin, Asian Ecotourism Network, Ecotourism Australia, and GLP Films.

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As Morski writes on the 25th of September, 2020, reputable professor and tourism expert Terry Stevens has included Zadar, Losinj and Rovinj in his new book "Wish you were here" among the top 50 global destinations. The new book from this famous "veteran" of the tourism industry which covers over 200 pages provides a unique insight into what makes a tourist destination excellent.

''The fact that the world-renowned tourism expert Terry Stevens has included as many as three Croatian destinations among the top 50 global destinations confirms the positive image that Croatia enjoys on the international tourism market, and is also a recognition to all valuable Croatian tourism workers,'' said Croatian Tourist Board Director Kristjan Stanicic, congratulating Zadar, Losinj and Rovinj for their placement on the list.

Based on 40 years of work in the tourism industry in over 55 countries, Professor Stevens' book explains how good destination management and professional and hospitable tourism workers are the most responsible for the success of a destination.

''We're proud of the new success of our destination, which is a wider entity - Zadar and Zadar County, as it is recognised globally. The author emphasises the area's turbulent history, but also fascination with the recovery of Zadar, which rose to its full glory. Old and new, Roman excavations and Basic's ingenious installations are of interest to many travellers and that's exactly what attracts them the most. In addition, the author notes that Zadar is still a place that preserves the authenticity and it showcases Croatia, and not just tourism,'' said the director of the Zadar County Tourist Board, Mihaela Kadija.

Professor Terry Stevens is the founder and CEO of the multi-award winning international travel consulting firm Stevens & Associates which is based in Wales. His company has worked in over 50 countries around the world specialising in destination development and marketing.

The director of the Rovinj Tourist Board, Odette Sapac, is especially pleased that Rovinj, as the leading Croatian destination, has been recognised in this foreign publication among the 50 best global destinations. Sapac pointed out that the author praised the positive direction of the development of Istrian tourism, at the same time presenting the long history of Istria and Rovinj, as well as their rich gastronomic and accommodation offers.

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August 25, 2020 - While many tourists rushed home last weekend to beat new rules announced by their countries, the season is still in full swing on the Kvarner islands.

Croatia was a dream this summer with no overbookings and undercrowded tourist destinations. However, an increase in the number of coronavirus cases earned the country a spot on the red list of the Netherlands, the UK, Slovenia, Austria, and regionally, the most loyal Germany.

The coronavirus pandemic reduced air travel, which always benefited the most visited Istria and Kvarner, but Dubrovnik, predominantly an air destination, ended at the back of Croatian tourist regions in August, somewhere alongside Lika-Senj County. The Kvarner islands, however, achieved results above their expectations, and the island of Rab is a corona-free zone, reports Glas Istre.

"We have more tourists, and it feels like the tourist season is still going. There are mostly Germans, but there are also Slovenes and Italians. The novelty this year is that Czechs and Hungarians are increasingly coming to us and booking the post-season period," says the director of the Rab Tourist Board Ivana Matusan. However, the City of Rab, for example, had 11,800 tourists on Thursday, 10,900 on Friday and 8.5 thousand on Sunday, which is 55 percent of overnight stays compared to the same day last year. Looking at August, the City of Rab is at 75 percent of last year's results.

There are currently 4,470 tourists in the Municipality of Lopar, which is 56 percent compared to last year, and a thousand fewer guests than on Thursday last week. Most of them were Austrians and Slovenes. In the previous part of August, Lopar achieved almost 73 percent of last year's results.

"We can be satisfied with the results of the tourist traffic, considering the pessimistic announcements at the very beginning of the tourist season, when we planned traffic at the level of 35 percent compared to last year.

Traditionally, Germans made up the biggest number of tourists here, and it is interesting that after the Germans, most are Czechs, about 10 percent, and Croats, also 10 percent. Austrians and Slovenes, who usually participate in tourist traffic with about 10 percent, currently make up 2 percent each. Announcements for September are good, although the San Marino resort is likely to close earlier than planned. There are a lot of cancellations of reservations and the uncertainty is great, because the situation is changing from day to day," the director of the Lopar Tourist Board Marin Musco said.

There are currently 11,000 guests in the town of Mali Losinj, which is 47 percent compared to last year.

We can see a drop in guests since the introduction of special measures of entry into Italy, Austria, and now Slovenia; every day, we have a thousand fewer guests. For example, on August 14, we had 19,631 registered guests. Currently, the island of Losinj has the largest number of German guests, 3,415, followed by guests from Croatia (2,342), 1,616 Slovenes, 1,042 Italians, 510 Czechs, Poles… and now there are 1,600 of them with a tendency of further decline, considering the departures on Monday before the mandatory 14-day quarantine measures," says the director of the Mali Losinj Tourist Board, Dalibor Cvitkovic. He also points out that during August, they realized 413,612 overnight stays, which is 68 percent of last year's result, with the index being 74 in the first 15 days of August.

And the 'golden island' Krk is nearing the end of the season...

"Following the new situations from last week with the introduction of new measures of individual countries, a number of cancellations have started, which will certainly affect the post-season, as well as the further course of the season. Booking has almost stopped, but tourist traffic is still moderately intense, although the decline in traffic is very noticeable. For example, on August 23, 25,410 overnight stays were registered on the island of Krk, which is 49 percent compared to 2019.

In total, there were slightly less than 4,000 arrivals on Krk on Sunday, August 23, which is half of last year's result," says the director of the Krk Island Tourist Board Majda Sale and estimates that the post-season will depend primarily on the epidemiological situation, but also on the weather.

"Domestic guests increased in statistics, in July in arrivals by 20 percent, and in overnight stays by 3.8 percent, while in August they broke into third place with a share of 12 percent. In the first half of August, Slovenes came in second place, and in August, it was customary for the Italians to be in the first place. The Germans, who are also the most represented in terms of the number of arrivals and overnight stays, kept the share of 35 percent, for example, in July, guests from Germany had only 2.6 percent fewer arrivals than last year and 8 percent fewer overnight stays than last year. It is also noticeable that the guests stayed longer on the island of Krk, compared to last year, 6 days on average, and for the most part, they came individually, as many as 83 percent of them.

By the way, about 2.3 million arrivals and 17.6 million overnight stays have been made in Croatia so far in August, which is 67 percent of last year's result achieved in the same period in terms of tourist overnight stays. The highest number of overnight stays in the same period was realized in Istria, which recorded 4.3 million overnight stays, in Kvarner 3.5 million overnight stays, in Split-Dalmatia County 3.4 million overnight stays, Zadar 3.2, Sibenik-Knin 1.4 million overnight stays, Dubrovnik-Neretva 999 thousand and Lika-Senj County 636 thousand overnight stays.

In the current part of August, most tourist overnight stays were realized from the German market, about 4.3 million, which is 90 percent of last year's result. The domestic market follows with 3.3 million overnight stays, which is the result of last year's level in the same period, the Slovenian market with 2.6 million overnight stays, which is 94 percent of last year's result, and the Polish market with 1.8 million overnight stays, an increase of 5 percent over the same period last year. From January 1 to August 22, a total of 8,855,337 overnight stays were realized in Kvarner, which is 61 percent compared to the same period last year.

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February 29, 2020 - A look at the busy sporting year ahead for Mali Losinj.

After the Mayor Ana Kučić received the Losinj - European Island of Sport 2020 award during the ACES Europe Gala Ceremony at the European Parliament in Brussels last December, the final preparations for this year's biggest sporting events are underway, which are partly responsible for this prestigious title, reports Vecenji List.

“In the coming months, we expect the world extreme cycling Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup Losinj 2020, followed by XCO Losinj - cross country mountain race.

The island town is also hosting the most challenging Central and Eastern European triathlon race in 2020, XTERRA CROATIA! This is followed by the Island MTB Stage Race and Adventure race Croatia 2020. This year, for the first time, the Run 4 Vitality festival will be held, as well as the Jubilee 10th Half Marathon, Cres - Losinj Triathlon and Cres camp; trail weekend, and numerous traditional regattas are inevitable. Indeed, this year there will be no shortage of sporting events,” said Mayor Kucic.

About 900 professional triathletes, women and men, will try to qualify for the XTERRA World Cup in Hawaii. This is also the first time in history that such a demanding adrenaline race is coming to Croatia, and it will be its premiere edition for Central and Eastern Europe in Losinj. The competitors have 41.5 kilometers of offroad track where they must swim 1.5 kilometers in the shortest time and by rules, ride 30 km of offroad bike paths and run 10 offroad kilometers. The XTERRA Croatia MTB Race will be held as part of the race. The length of the trail will be 40 kilometers, with a total altitude difference of 900 meters, with a start and finish in Mali Losinj!

A unique race in the world of mountain biking on four islands: Rab, Krk, Cres and Losinj is the Mitas Adria 4 island MTB stage race, one of the best in Europe. Beautiful and picturesque landscapes and excellent organization put this race on the calendar of many MTB enthusiasts. The race will take place from 21 to 25 April 2020, starting from Baska, and will run on four islands: Krk, Rab, Cres and Losinj.

Through these four stages, the competitors will cross a total of 270 kilometers and climb more than 5,000 meters. The race is intended for all mountain bikers, especially those who are looking forward to the early season opening and accumulating points.

Numerous competitors from all over the world will descend on the1.8 km long trails and sights of the ‘island of vitality’ from May 7 to 10, 2020, competing in the Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup Losinj 2020 Extreme Cycling. Cycling weekends will attract many competitors as well as spectators. Otherwise, extreme cycling competitions or ‘downhill’, will be organized by the Losinj Athletic Club and the Trbovlje Mountain Bike Club, with the full support of the City, Losinj Hotels & Villas and the Tourist Board of Mali Losinj.

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

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.

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January 4, 2020 - Cricket has been a part of life in Croatia for over 200 years, a tradition set to continue in June with the return of the Mediterranean Cricket League in Losinj. 

One of the more unusual things I learned about the islands of Croatia soon after I bought my house on Hvar in 2002 was that the next island boasted some of the oldest history of cricket in Europe outside the UK and Ireland, dating back some 200 years. The story of cricket on Vis back in the early 19th century is a fascinating one, as is how the cricket tradition was continued and lives on today. 

And Vis is not alone. Cricket on the Mediterranean is a 'thing', and this June will see the return of the Mediterranean Cricket League for the fifth year, this time hosted on the Croatian island of Losinj from June 4-11. I am grateful to Jeff Grizinic, Mediterranean Cricket League tournament director, for the following overview of cricket on the Med, the Mediterranean Cricket League, and more details on this event. You can follow the latest from the Mediterranean Cricket League on Facebook. 

Want to learn more about some of the more unusual things to be found on Croatian islands? Here are 25 things to know. 

Cricket has been recorded as having first been played in Europe by Admiral Nelson’s troops and sailors when stationed in Naples, Italy in 1793. The game spread and was played at an amateur level throughout the 19th and 20th century, the most famous of which was the Milan Cricket and Football Club, now known as AC Milan.

The European Cricket Council was founded in 1997 to revive cricket after it had fallen into decline in Europe during the World Wars. After having an initial membership of 14 countries the ECC now stretches to having 37 member countries across the continent, with the Netherlands, Scotland and Ireland having progressed to compete in recent ICC World Cup and Twenty20 World Cup.

Croatian Cricket

Croatia was first introduced to Cricket on the island of Vis some 200 years ago, when the English navy was stationed on the island and played to keep fitness levels and morale high, under the watch of Sir William Hoste. As a tribute to these sporting pioneers, the Sir William Hoste Cricket Club is currently an active Club based on Vis and playing against visiting teams to the island.

During the 1950/60’s a large number of Europeans, including many Croatians, migrated to cricket playing countries like Australia, South Africa and New Zealand and their children took to the game in their new country. Consequently, as these children grew older they would return to their parents’ country of birth bringing with them their new found love of Cricket.

In 1998 a collection of Cricket enthusiasts in Zagreb organised a team to play neighboring Slovenia. From this inauspicious start the Croatian Cricket Federation (CCF) was born, with its headquarters based at the Zagreb Cricket Club at the Mladost Sports and Recreation Centre in Zagreb.

Since 2000 Croatia has been a regular participant in various European Cricket Council tournaments and continues to be active, with regular games played against regional countries Slovenia, Belgium, Austria, Spain, Greece, Ireland, Wales, Hungary, Slovak Republic, Macedonia and Israel amongst others.  Although there have been many tournaments over this time period, there is a requirement and a zest for more competition by all European countries since the International Cricket Council (ICC) scaled back its tournament involvement for many European cricket nations a few years ago.

History of Mediterranean Cricket League (MCL)

The Mediterranean Cricket League (MCL) was founded in 2015 and first played in June 2016, in Split, Croatia. The MCL was founded by Croatian national representative Jeff Grzinic and the Croatian Cricket Federation (CCF) as a way to give Croatian cricketers greater exposure to high class cricket played in tournament conditions to help develop its players and the game of cricket in Croatia. The MCL was designed to be a welcoming event for not only teams and players but wives, girlfriends/partners, children, friends and family alike. The MCL is 6 international team T20 tournament played over 4 days with each team playing 4 games over the 4 days. While developing the tournament structure in 2015, former Australian Test and One Day international cricketer of Croatian heritage, Simon Katich, became the Mediterranean Cricket League Ambassador and continues in the role to this day.

The MCL has quickly developed into a fiercely contested tournament that welcomes all teams from Europe and around the world and has a clear goal of developing Croatian and European cricket through attracting Europe’s (and the world’s) best teams and players to Croatia’s stunning shores with their family and friends. In the MCL’s first year Zagreb Cricket Club, Sir Oliver Cricket Club (Split), Porto-Montenegro Cricket Club (Montenegro), inaugural winner Ukraine National Team, Romanian Bears and Ambassadors of Cricket (India) took part and it was clear to see that there was an appetite for a professionally run and competitive tournament in Europe.

In its second edition at the Resnik MCL2017 hosted Zagreb Cricket Club, Sir Oliver Cricket Club, Romanian Bears, Cricket Timis (Romania) and Saaremaa Kriketi Klubi from Estonia, who won what was a fiercely contested and close tournament that was dominated by the batsman.

The third year of the event, MCL2018 saw the newly formed Australian entity Friends of Croatian Cricket(FOCC) enter a team, the ‘Boomerangs’ (made up predominately of Australian/Croatians) to compete against a local Croatia ‘A’ team, reigning champions from Estonia Saaremaa Kriketi Klubi, Salford Hawks (England), Kensington Cricket Club (India) and the ‘CBB’s’ (Thailand). The competition standard of MCL2018 went up another level with the ‘Boomerangs’ team from Australia taking tournament honors in their debut (as a team) at the 2018 edition of the tournament

MCL2016, MCL2017 and MCL2018 were played in the grounds of the truly delightful and welcoming Resnik Hotel, situated right on the stunning Adriatic Sea. The Resnik Hotel is nestled nicely between UNESCO towns of Trogir and the city of Split on Croatia’s Adriatic coastline and was a tranquil and ideal setting to establish Europe’s hottest T20 cricket tournament. The cricket ground within the Resnik Hotel grounds was purpose built to cater for the MCL and an incredible amount of work went on behind the scenes to develop the ground into a beautiful place to play international cricket and bring visitors to Croatia.

With three memorable tournaments successfully completed at the Resnik Hotel and the MCL quickly outgrowing its current location the MCL, Sir Oliver Cricket Club, Croatian Cricket Federation and Friends of Croatian Cricket set about finding a new location in which the MCL tournament could raise the bar even further and develop the tournament. After much work the Tucepi location, an hour south of Split was chosen as the new venue to take the MCL into the future.

MCL2019 was played in Tucepi, an ideal location with accommodation in a splendid 4 star hotel, outstanding playing facilities and infrastructure that raised the standard, professionalism and profile of the tournament and attracted more teams and spectators than previous years. MCL2019 featured Croatia 'A', last years champions Boomerangs, MCL2017 winners Saaremaa, and 2 of the strongest teams to be seen at an MCL, SledgeHammer Cricket Academy (India) and Warriors Cricket Club Qatar. Former Australian international player Brad Hogg joined the MCL as Ambassador for the event and also played for the Boomerangs which was a sure sign to the cricket world that the MCL had stamped its authority on Europe. The strong tournament was eventually won by Warriors Cricket Club Qatar who just held out pre-tournament favorites SledgeHammer Cricket Academy to take home the coveted MCL trophy.

In a very exciting move 2020 will see the Mediterranean Cricket League move to the magnificent island of Losinj, the first time the tournament will be held off the mainland. The MCL continues to grow and showcase new and fabulous locations in Croatia. MCL2020 In Losinj is going to be the most breathtaking yet!

Now with an even higher overall standard the MCL hopes that teams will not only play the tournament once but return to Croatia year after year forming strong friendships and networks, welcoming new teams and players into the European cricket family. So impressed was Brad Hogg with the Mediterranean Cricket League that he has again signed on to play in MCL2020, another positive sign that the MCL continues to raise the bar of expectation.

It is hoped that all teams, sponsors, supporters, family and friends enjoy their time at the MCL and are made to feel a very special part of the Mediterranean Cricket League. The MCL is a family friendly event that welcomes and caters to players’ wives, girlfriends/partners, children, supporters and spectators as well as making the ‘cricket experience’ for players a professional and entertaining one. MCL founder Jeff Grzinic, the Croatian Cricket Federation, Friends of Croatian Cricket, Zagreb Cricket Club and Sir Oliver Cricket Club have invested a great deal of resources to ensure that the Mediterranean Cricket League will remain European cricket’s ‘must play’ tournament for many years to come.

MCL TOURNAMENT BATTING, BOWLING, TEAM and OFFICIALS STATS

ALL TIME MCL LEADING RUNSCORERS Games Inn Runs Average High Score

1. Stuart Hook (SA) 12 11 791 71.90 178
2. Ayyaz Ahmed (ZG/CA)12 11 447 40.63 100*
3. Chris Turkich (BG) 8 5 446 89.20 129*
4. Armaan Peter (ZG) 12 9 407 45.22 97
5. Jeff Grzinic (SO/BG) 16 8 389 48.63 55*
6. Ramesh Satheesan (RB) 8 7 325 46.42 95
7. Dan Lazarides (CA) 4 4 244 61.00 121
8. Azam Khan (SL) 4 3 243 60.75 119
9. Sajjad Tamoor (WQ) 4 0 233 00.00 75
10. Nikola Davidovic (SO/CA) 10 8 227 28.37 55*

ALL TIME MCL LEADING WICKET TAKERS Games WKTS Runs Ave Best Bowling

1. Jeff Grzinic (SO/BG) 16 26 423 16.27 5-11
2. Ramesh Satheesan (RB) 8 18 195 10.83 5-5
3. Chris Osborne (ZG/CA) 11 14 249 17.79 3-58
4. Nikola Davidovic (SO/CA) 11 14 266 19.00 4-40
5. Armaan Peter (ZG/CA) 12 14 338 24.14 3-37
6. Josip Jukic (SO/CA) 13 13 344 26.50 4-20
7. Kalle Vispaluu (SA) 12 13 398 30.62 3-23
8. Ankush Bhan (KC) 4 9 157 17.44 3-45
9. Shiva Arun (SA) 8 9 263 29.22 3-19
10. Tim Cross (SA) 12 9 303 33.67 2-26

MCL BATTING TOP 10 SCORES High Score

1. Stuart Hook (SA) 178
2. Rahul Yadav (SL) 157
3. Stuart Hook (SA) 148
4. Chris Turkich (BG) 129*
5. Dan Lazarides (CA) 121
6. Azam Khan (SL) 119
7. Sattvik Nadigotla (CT) 109
8. Ayyaz Ahmed (ZG/CA) 100*
9. Abishek Sonu (SA) 100
10. Armaan Peter (ZG/CA) & Ijaz Hussain (RB) 97

MCL BOWLING TOP 10 PERFORMANCES BEST BOWLING

1. Ramesh Satheesan (RB) 5-5
2. Jeff Grzinic (SO/BG) 5-11
3. Ramesh Satheesan (RB) 4-10
4. Josip Jukic (SO/CA) 4-20
5. Jason Saywood (PM) 4-23
6. Saket Kumar Malik (UK) 4-29
7. Nikola Davidovic (SO/CA) 4-40
8. Ramesh Satheesan (RB) 4-30
9. Shiv Kumar (RB) 3-3
10. Jeff Grzinic (SO/BG) 3-11 

MCL HAT-TRICKS:

Jeff Grzinic (SO/BG) 3/21 Boomerangs v Croatia ‘A’, MCL2019, Tucepi, 23 May 2019

KEY:

Croatia A- CA Sir Oliver- SO

Zagreb CC- ZG Boomerangs- BG

Ukraine- UK Porto Montenegro- PM

Romanian Bears- RB Ambassadors of Cricket- AC

Cricket Timis- CT Saaremaa- SA

CBB- CB Salford Hawks- SH

Kensington India- KC SledgeHammer- SL

Warriors Qatar WQ

MCL HIGHEST TEAM SCORE:

4/376 (20 Overs) SledgeHammer Cricket Academy v Saaremaa Kriketi Klubi, MCL2019, Tucepi, 23 May 2019

MCL LOWEST TEAM SCORE:

All Out/ 68 (18 Overs) Zagreb Cricket Club v Ambassadors of Cricket, MCL2016, Resnik, 4 June 2016

MCL TOTAL GAMES PLAYED:

16- Jeff Grzinic (SO/CA)

15- Chris Osborne (ZG/CA)

13- Josip Jukic (SO/CA)

12- Mate Marovic (SO/CA), Ayyaz Ahmed (ZG/CA), Armaan Peter (ZG/CA), Tim Heath (SA), Stuart Hook (SA), Marko Vaik (SA), Kalle Vispaluu (SA) & Tim Cross (SA)

MCL GAMES UMPIRED:

MCL2019- Alex Mackay 5, Shrikant Ramadurg- 5, Bob Belcher- 5 Rex W. Evans- 5

MCL2018- Alex Mackay 8, Steve Tripp- 8, Tom Polich- 5, Rex W. Evans- 3

MCL2017- Alex Mackay 7, Steve Tripp- 7, Tom Polich- 6

MCL2016- Alex Mackay- 8, Steve Tripp- 8, Clive Puttock- 5, Posh Tim- 3

MCL TOTAL GAMES UMPIRED

• Alex Mackay (Switzerland) 28
• Steve Tripp (Belgium) 23
• Tom Polich (Croatia) 12
• Rex W. Evans (Australia) 8
• Clive Puttock (Montenegro) 5
• Shrikant Ramadurg (Australia) 5
• Bob Belcher (Australia) 5
• Posh Tim (Montenegro) 3

TOTAL MCL GAMES SCORED (Official)

• Lidia Kucharska (Poland) 31 (MCL2017- 11, MCL2018- 10, MCL2019-10)

MCL2019 Final Results

Play WON LOSS BONUS PTS

Warriors Qatar 4 4 0 2 18

SledgeHammer 4 3 1 1 13

Boomerangs 4 2 2 0 8

Saaremaa 4 1 3 0 4

Croatia 'A' 4 0 4 0 0

MCL2018 Final Results

Play WON LOSS BONUS PTS

Boomerangs 4 4 0 1 17

Kensington 4 2 2 1 9

Saaremaa 4 3 1 0 12

Salford Hawks 4 1 3 1 5

CBB 4 2 2 0 8

Croatia A 4 0 4 0 0

MCL2017 Final Results

Play WON LOSS BONUS PTS

Saaremaa 4 3 1 0 13

Romania Bears 4 3 1 2 12

Zagreb CC 4 2 2 2 10

Cricket Timis 4 2 2 0 8

Sir Oliver CC 4 0 4 0 0

MCL2016 Final Results

Play WON LOSS BONUS PTS

Ukraine 4 4 0 0 16

Romania Bears 4 3 1 2 14

Sir Oliver Split 4 2 2 2 10

Ambassadors 3 2 1 0 8

Zagreb 4 1 3 0 4

Porto Montenegro 4 0 4 0 0

MCL2016, MCL2017, MCL2018 & MCL2019 AWARD WINNERS

MCL2019 TOURNAMENT CHAMPION Stuart Hook- SA

MCL2019 BEST BATSMAN Stuart Hook- SA

MCL2019 BEST BOWLER Owais Ahmed- WQ

MCL2019 SPIRIT OF CRICKET AWARD (Best ‘team’ at MCL as voted by the Umpires) Warriors Cricket Club Qatar

MCL2019 VUJNOVICH BEST CROATIAN PLAYER AWARD Dan Lazarides (CA)

MCL2019 ALL STAR TEAM

1. Stuart Hook (SA)

2. Dan Lazarides (CA)

3. Azam Khan (SL)

4. Sajjad Tamor WQ)

5. Rahul Yadav (SL)

6. Chris Turkich (BG)

7. Owais Ahmed (WQ)

8. Nived Mishra (SL)

9. Jeff Grzinic (BG)

10. Pradeep Mohanty (SL)

11. Brad Hogg (BG)

12. Daniel Turkich (BG)

MCL2018 TOURNAMENT CHAMPION 

Chris Turkich (BG)

MCL2018 BEST BATSMAN 

Chris Turkich (BG)

MCL2018 BEST BOWLER

Jeff Grzinic (BG)

MCL2018 ‘SPIRIT OF CRICKET AWARD’ (Best ‘team’ at MCL2018 as voted by umpires)

Saaremaa Kriketi Klubi

MCL2018 VUJNOVICH BEST CROATIAN PLAYER AWARD

Chris Turkich (BG)

MCL2018 ALL-STAR TEAM

1. Chris Turkich- (BG)
2. Jeff Grzinic- (BG)
3. Ayyza Ahmed- (CA)
4. Stuart Hook- (SA)
5. Jason Cook- (CB)
6. Abishek Sonu- (SA)
7. Viraj Sawant- (KC)
8. Rohit Sashadri- (KC)
9. Rylan Cannell- (BG)
10. Shiva Arun- (SA)
11. Ankush Bhan- (KC)
12. Pipin Pappachan- (SH)

MCL2017 TOURNAMENT CHAMPION

Armaan Peter (ZG)

MCL2017 BEST BATSMAN

Armaan Peter (ZG)

MCL2017 BEST BOWLER (tied)

Ramesh Satheesan (RB)

Nikola Davidovic (SO)

MCL2017 ‘SPIRIT OF CRICKET AWARD’ (Best ‘team’ at MCL as voted by the Umpires)

Saaremaa Kriketi Klubi

MCL2017 VUJNOVICH BEST CROATIAN PLAYER AWARD

Armaan Peter (ZG)

MCL2017 ALL-STAR TEAM

1. Armaan Peter (ZG)
2. Ramesh Satheesan (RB)
3. Stuart Hook (SA)
4. Nikola Davidovic (SO)
5. Ijaz Hussain (RB)
6. Sattvik Nadigotla (CT)
7. Jeff Grzinic (SO)
8. Vineeth Govind (SA)
9. Chris Osborne (ZG)
10. Saad Mohsin (RB)
11. Max Walsh (SA)
12. Kalle Vispaluu (SA)

MCL2016 TOURNAMENT CHAMPION

Ramesh Satheesan (RB)

MCL2016 BEST BATSMAN

Ayyaz Ahmed (ZG)

MCL2016 BEST BOWLER

Ramesh Satheesan (RB)

MCL2016 ‘SPIRIT OF CRICKET AWARD’ (Best ‘team’ at MCL as voted by the Umpires)

Porto-Montenegro Cricket Club

MCL2016 VUJNOVICH BEST CROATIAN PLAYER AWARD

Ayyaz Ahmed (ZG)

MCL2016 ALL-STAR TEAM

1. Ramesh Satheesan (RB)
2. Ayyza Ahmed (ZG)
3. Farahan Khan (UK)
4. Abey Kuruvila (AC)
5. Nikoloa Davidovic (SO)
6. Waseem Mehmoob (UK)
7. Jeff Grzinic (SO)
8. Darren Gibson (PM)
9. Shiv Kumar (RB)
10. Josip Jukic (SO)
11. Pero Kastelan (SO)
12. Armaan Peter (ZG)

ZAGREB, September 16, 2019 - The Museum of Apoxyomenos in the town of Mali Lošinj on the northern Croatian island of Lošinj has become a part of the tourist itinerary within the European project called KeyQ+ that promotes points of reference for tourists and general public interested in culture and gastronomy, the local tourist authorities have recently reported.

The official name of the project is "KeyQ+ Culture and Tourism as keys for quality cross-border development of Italy and Croatia", and the tourist board in Mali Lošinj is one of the nine Italian and Croatian partners in the project.

The main results of the project are a gastronomic guide and an itinerary for tourists, as well as workshops for the exchange of experience between workers in the hospitality industry.

The project KeyQ+ is aimed at protecting and preserving historical traditional cuisine and less-known cultural heritage sites, in order to foster the cross-border economy.

"To that scope the project will ensure the definition of innovative tourist itinerary that will be focused on enhancing the local wine-gastronomic attractiveness, and supporting synergies creation among the didactic kitchens, local producers and cultural sites operators," according to the description of the project.

Apoxyomenos Museum in Kvarner Palace in Mali Lošinj opened in 30 April 2016 and Apoxyomenos, which is the ancient 192-centimetre bronze sculpture weighing 300 kilogrammes and the only one of its kind found on the eastern Adriatic coast, is put on display in the reconstructed Kvarner Palace which has been transformed into a museum.

More news about museum in Croatia can be found in the Lifestyle section.

September 3, 2019 - For eleven consecutive years, the town of Mali Losinj has reached 2 million overnight stays.

This year, by September 1, Mali Losinj achieved 2,013,495 overnights, making it one of the top ten Croatian destinations with the most, reports Novi List.

Thanks to the promotion of key attributes of the image of Losinj island, as well as the efforts and activities invested in organizing events and enriching the year-round offer, from January to August 2019, there were 262,898 arrivals and 1,998,235 overnights.

Guests from Croatia recorded a 4% increase in overnight stays, while foreign guests recorded a 2% decrease in overnight stays, with an average tourist stay of 7.6 days. When looking at the age structure, leading guests are over 35.

The share of total overnights spent by Croats is 14.5%, while foreigners occupy 85.5%. Almost 67.4% of foreign guests came from already four traditionally important broadcast markets; Slovenia, Germany, Italy and Austria. It is led by guests from Slovenia (26.5%), Germany (19.3%), Italy (12.2%), Austria (9.4%), Czech Republic (2.8%), the Netherlands and Poland (1.7%), France (1.5%) and other countries (10.4%).

Looking at the results by accommodation, the most visited were camps (35.3%), followed by households (18.7%), hotels (18.3%) and other types of accommodation (27.7%). Also, the most overnight stays were in Mali Losinj (51.1%), followed by Nerezine (17.8%), Veli Losinj (11.9%), Punta Kriza (6.7%), Osor (4.6%) and other places (7.9%).

In August alone, 762,351 overnights were recorded, which is an increase of 1% compared to the previous year. The arrivals in August totaled 85,382, which is an increase of 5%. The highest percentage of overnight stays in August 2019 was realized in camps (285,454 nights - 37.4%), followed by visits to domestic and private accommodation (152,320 nights - 20%), by hotels (104,408 nights - 13.7%), other hospitality accommodation (82.738 nights - 10.8%) and non-commercial accommodation (137.431 nights - 18.1%).

Many options and events are available for guests who choose to spend their holidays on the ‘island of vitality’. Namely, from September 7 to September 21, 2019, the festival “Losinj sails around the world” will introduce visitors to the golden age of Losinj seafaring through various sport, gastronomic, cultural, entertaining and educational events. The 9th Losinj Half Marathon is also held in September, followed by the 37th Arbunada and the Cres-Losinj Triathlon in October, the 21st Lošinj Cup - Optimist Regatta, and in November, the Cres-Losinj Trail weekend.

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

Jadranka Hotels, based in Mali Lošinj, were recently given the certificate to prove that they are managing the energy efficiency of their hotels properly, which made the group the first hotel chain in Croatia to be awarded the ISO 50001:2018 certificate. It's the international energy management and efficiency improvement standard, hrturizam.hr writes.

By applying it as a part of their everyday business, the organisations make sure that the energy spending is actively managed, emissions are reduced without a negative impact, the awareness of the importance of the sustainable energy management among the employees is strenghtened, as well as the improved reputation among the clients, business partners and other interested parties.

To get the efficient tools for efficient energy management, which includes environmental protection, Jadranka Hotels went through a demanding audit of the systems for energy management performed by the SGS Adriatica company, from Italy.

At the ceremony of the awarding of the certificates, member of the board of the Jadranka Hotels, Rikardo Hesky, pointed out that the energy efficiency and environmental protection are part of the long term strategy and business plan for Jadranka Hotels, but also their parent company, Jadranka Group.

The efficient energy management strategy is aligned with the Group's vision, and they remain focused on the further protection of the amazing nature of Lošinj, as well as applying the best practices to stay true to all of the principles of environmental protection. He added that their goal is to set an example for all hotel companies in Croatia, as well as other businesses in other industries, and to spread the message that efficient energy management is the only way to make sure your business is sustainable.

The contributions of the aforementioned certificate to the everyday business of Jadranka Hotels are: the improvement of energy efficiency, the defining of the base level of energy spending, identifying critical areas as well as areas where improvements are possible, as well as the foundation for the implementation of sustainable planing in terms of investments and planned spending.

After the Evaluation Commission of ACES Europe (President Gian Franco Lupatelli, Secretary Hugo Alonso, Bilyana Mircheva, Luke Vorel Adams and Danilo Montanari) visited the island of Lošinj from May 28 to 30, 2019, when, on World Sports Day, the entire sporting offer of the island and all sports clubs and associations was presented, Mali Lošinj has officially been given the title of the European Island of Sport for 2020, reports HRTurizam on June 15, 2019. 

During their stay in Lošinj, the commission gained insight into the entire sports infrastructure of the island, and besides the terrain, it was crucial to demonstrate that a large number of islanders of different ages use their leisure time engaged in various sports activities. The highlight of the event, along with the official presentation of the candidacy at the Museum of Apoxyomenos, was a presentation in the Bočac sports hall where all sports clubs and associations that are professionally or recreationally engaged in sports were presented.

“A great thanks to all sports clubs, institutions, and individuals who were involved in marking World Sports Day and thus helped us in the candidacy for the European Island of Sport in 2020. Conquering this title is a great opportunity for positioning and branding the entire island of Lošinj as a sports destination, with easier access to significant European funds for further investment in sports and sports infrastructure, i.e., the construction of a new sports hall, football field, swimming pools, and bicycle paths. Our island has a long history of sports, numerous teams, and champions in various sports, and each success has contributed to winning this title,” said Mayor Ana Kučić.

Gian Francesco Lupatelli, president of ACES Europe, stressed that the association is honored to proclaim Lošinj the European Island of Sport in 2020. Mali Lošinj is an excellent example of a place that demonstrates how to engage everyone in sports, and is actively involved in raising the health of all its inhabitants, their education and their self-esteem, which are the main goals of the ACES association in Europe.

The award ceremony will be held in November this year at the European Parliament in Brussels when they will also declare the European Capital of Culture for 2023. Namely, in 2020 it is Malaga, in 2021 Lisbon, and 2022 Den Haag.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.