ZAGREB, 17 March 2022 - Two years after the Zagreb earthquake, 70 buildings are undergoing retrofitting on their own and decisions have been made for about 400 buildings to be reconstructed under the Reconstruction Fund scheme in March, April and May, Deputy Zagreb Mayor Luka Korlaet said on Thursday.

"Concerning those 70 buildings, their inhabitants organised themselves, took loans and started with the reconstruction, counting on being refunded by the Reconstruction Fund," Korlaet explained, adding that that was legitimate however the state has to increase the number of decisions through the Ministry and the Fund.

Answering reporters' questions Korlaet said he wasn't satisfied with the pace of reconstruction, two years on since the earthquake which hit Zagreb and northwestern Croatia on 22 March 2020.

"When speaking about the retrofitting of private buildings - a large number of decisions have been made by the ministry and the fund and they are now being implemented," he underscored.

In March and April, works will already be visible.

As far as reconstruction of public buildings is concerned the city authorities are stronger in that regard. "Reconstruction is underway of buildings owned by the city and we are doing the best we can for that to progress at some sort of normal pace," he said.

He underscored that the majority of schools have been reconstructed, with four elementary and eight secondary schools to go.

Koralet announced that it's now time for other public buildings such as theatres and museums and also health institutions.

For more, check out our dedicated politics section.

February 19, 2022 - Luka Kolovrat, director of the Imotski Tourist Board, speaks about Imotski tourism in 2022 and what's in store for the region. 

Despite the pandemic, the past tourist year in the Imotski region was truly memorable. This was confirmed by more than 100 thousand overnight stays, an increase in the number of luxury accommodation facilities, and a record number of visits to the natural beauties of Imotski and its surroundings. All this additionally motivated the tourist workers in the area to prepare as well as possible for the upcoming season, even though the coronavirus could dictate it.

Luka Kolovrat, director of the Imotski Tourist Board, and his associates are currently preparing projects that will further strengthen the good marketing of local values presented to guests. Slobodna Dalmacija reports: 

"The Tourist Board is only a small segment in the promotion of tourism in Imotski and the Imotski region because in the first place there are our renters. Last year we finished with 384 of them, and this season that number will be higher because in this part of the year, according to our data, the number of 400 hosts has already been exceeded.

I am optimistic, and if the pandemic subsides, I think we will exceed last year's record for overnight stays, and in that number, it was over 90 percent of foreign guests. In October last year, all renters received inquiries and booked part of their capacity, and then we had a lull of almost three months. Still, in the previous few weeks, we have seen an increase in inquiries from potential guests and reservations," says Kolovrat and adds:

"However, we must have a slight hesitation, although accommodation in the Imotski region is among the safest in Croatia due to the location of houses, separation from the center, and regular vaccinations of owners and members of their families. Thus, in 2020, at the national level, we had between 50 and 60 percent occupancy of tourist capacities, and in our country, up to 80 percent.

They are preparing several vital projects, too. 

"We have started several multi-year projects, so we received almost 800 thousand kuna from the funds for the united tourist boards and from Split-Dalmatia County through a tender. That’s 60 percent of all our revenue. We expect a similar result this year as well.

Last year we arranged the first phase of the Camino Imota pilgrimage route, marked it, organized the first Camino weekend during which more than 150 pilgrims from various countries came. We also received an award from the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies for this part of the project. This year we are starting with the second phase, and we will organize the target weekend earlier, at the beginning of May, due to the expected excellent summer heat.

In parallel, we begin the third phase with which we close this story: the connection of our Camino Property to the pilgrimage route of Our Lady of Sinj. The Sinj Tourist Board worked on that route from Rama in BiH through Sinj to Solin, and we would now connect to Trin via Trilj.

We also have a long-term destination quality management project called "IQM Imota." Last year we had 30 partners who could educate themselves; they signed a book of standards and a commitment to stick to that level. In addition, more than 1,500 reviews of our guests were collected, and each stakeholder received a written report on how guests see it.

In 2021, we measured quality according to reviews of 95 percent, which is an exceptional result. Our goal is to increase the number of participants and the number of observed reviews.

We are also planning a big bike race that will combine sports, sightseeing of the Imotski region, meetings with our famous winemakers, then a chess game at the entrance to Blue Lake with one of our grandmasters. In addition, we will have a new brochure in collaboration with HGSS.

We are also impatient about entering the Geopark "Biokovo - Imotski Lakes" into the UNESCO system because it is our great asset. We got as many as 885 points from the evaluators out of a possible 1000, which is truly impressive.

We are waiting for the decisions of the UNESCO Council and the Assembly, whose indications are that we still need to finish some small things. There is still hope that we will enter it soon, but if it is prolonged for a short time, our entry is still safe," concludes the head of the Imotski Tourist Board.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

In 2007, there were five or six holiday homes and two swimming pools in the Imotski region. Today, there are 156 holiday homes and swimming pools.

Congratulations to Imotski and Luka for these great results. We wish you all the best in this new year.

Imotski Svitnjak is a great source of information about the Imotski region. No wonder, as the skilled and experienced Imotski tourist board director Luka Kolovrat is keeping the site updated and full of really interesting info about Imotski, both historical and the most recent. Today, we bring you a short, but very important message about the very popular book - Blue Waters of Imotski:

The book can be ordered at Webknjizara.hr.

Although the Blue Lake in Imotski is the one, where most people dive in looking for refreshment during the summer, there are special occasions, when bathing in the Red Lake is possible too.

With the assistance of the Croatian Moutain Rescue Service (HGSS) a large dose of courage and much needed good physical condition, these expedition made of young men (including the actor Vedran Mlikota and the director of the Imotski tourist board Luka Kolovrat) were pleasantly surprised to discover the temperature of the lake to be 25°C on the surface.

A rather interesting way to cool down in Imotski..

(all photos: FB page of Luka Kolovrat)

The numbers for July are out and Imotski has set new records as it has more then doubled the number of overnights in July (from 2258 in 2014 to 4852 in 2015). Most overnights were from guests from Germany (1104), then followed by guests from Croatia (747), Great Britain (443), Netherlands (424), Belgium (352) and Norway (252). The total number for the first 7 months in Imotski is at 7948 overnights, which is 80% more than in the same period last year.

According to the director of the Imotski tourist board Luka Kolovrat there are almost no available beds currently in Imotski as everything is full and the expectations for August are even higher than for July in terms of setting new records for overnights. Congratulations to Imotski and Luka! May you continue this very positive trend.