November the 18th, 2022 - Novi Vinodolski flooding is causing cause for concern among many, and although the Republic of Croatia, at least in some parts, is no stranger to floods, the sheer level of rainfall which has caused this was unexpected.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, it has been raining fairly heavily and continuously since the early morning hours in parts of the country, and in some locations this has been accompanied by thunder and other stormy weather. A huge amount of precipitation fell on Novi Vinodolski, where some roads were closed, and now Novi Vinodolski flooding is another issue for residents.
In some places, the water is knee-deep.
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August the 30th, 2022 - The children of Ukrainian soldiers, police officers and firefighters have been holidaying in Novi Vinodolski this summer thanks to the praiseworthy and selfless efforts of the ''Croatia helps/Hrvatska pomaze'' Association.
As Morski writes, the children of brave Ukrainian soldiers, police officers and firefighters have been enjoying some very well deserved summer holidays in Novi Vinodolski. In this way, the "Croatia helps" Association has been providing the most innocent victims of the Russian invasion of all, children, some play and fun and time to be children. The City of Bjelovar and the host town of Novi Vinodolski helped the most. Thirty-six Ukrainian children between the ages of 9 and 14 were also visited and given gifts by the Croatian ambassador to Ukraine, Anica Djamic, on Sunday.
Ten beautiful days of summer were made better for the children of Ukrainian soldiers, firefighters and police officers, who have gone through what absolutely no child should ever have to.
''The children came from different regions of Ukraine, more precisely from the occupied territories. There are children of Ukrainian soldiers and other veterans, and also children whose parents have been killed. We're very grateful to Croatia and the "Croatia helps" Association for organising this, it's very important for the children that this was done. They got to relax and enjoy the sunshine and sea in Novi Vinodolski,'' said Olesja Cuboha, Head of the Department for Youth and Prevention of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
All of this was done in order to help them forget, if just for a single moment, about the horrors which are still tragically unfolding over in their homeland.
''The children really had a great time and had an active holiday. They were accompanied by social workers, animators and volunteers. They really felt good there and say that they returned feeling better,'' said Djurdja Adlesic Association "Croatia helps".
This is the second group of a total of 86 children from Ukraine who stayed on the Crikvenica-Vinodol riviera, and a visit was organised for them to several locations in the City of Zagreb as well, writes HRT.
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February 23rd, 2022 - Mitan Marina in Novi Vinodolski will soon be the first marina in Croatia to have an equal number of dry and wet slips, with a total count of 320 berths
Located in Muroskva Bay in Novi Vinodolski, Mitan Marina currently has 160 berths for boats up to 15 metres in length and can also accommodate mega yachts on the outer side of the front breakwater.
Following last year’s successful sailing season, a second hangar for dry boat storage is about to opened in their dry marina, writes Novi list. Both hangars are heated, have a surface area of 330 square metres each, and can accommodate a total of 160 boats combined.
‘We’re limited when it comes to expansion on the coast because of terrain configuration and the breakwater at the exit from the marina, but we have a good opportunity to expand our dry storage capacities in the industrial zone of Novi Vinodolski, located in the nearby Vinodol Valley’, said Mitan Marina Director Tomislav Salopek.
Mitan Marina is owned by Croatian entrepreneur Vanja Špiljak, who lives in Switzerland. He supports the initiatives of the management headed by director Salopek, as they work to execute their plans for expansion.
After the second hangar for dry berthing is put into use, Mitan Marina will become the first marina in Croatia to have an equal number of wet and dry slips, 160 each, for a total of 320 berths.
‘Apart from the upcoming opening of the second hangar for dry boat storage, we’re planning to build six new apartments in the vicinity of Mitan Marina, on the shore of Muroskva Bay located at the eastern point of entrance to the city. The apartments will have a surface area of 55 square metres each, with a concrete beach and a sunbathing area built in front’, said Salopek.
He confirmed that the other six apartments they already manage had a great occupancy rate, with half their guests being clients of the marina, and the other half tourists who visited Novi Vinodolski without their boats.
February 15th, 2022 - Novi Vinodolski, a town in the Northern Adriatic, has two interesting projects in development. Both are related to the historical development of fishery and the preservation of maritime heritage and tradition
One is the Klenovica Fishing Centre, an interpretation centre dedicated to fishery as a traditional economic activity; the other is a project that will have tunera lookouts built in Povile village. Both projects are being funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and were approved through the tender of LAGUR Tunera, reports Novi list.
LAGUR Tunera is a Local Action Group, i.e. a partnership of public, civil and economic sectors in fishing, fish processing and aquaculture. The group was established with the goal of developing local fisheries, and encompasses seven local self-governments: the towns of Bakar, Crikvenica, Kraljevica and Novi Vinodolski, and the municipalities of Fužine, Kostrena and Lokve, which together form a unique fishing area.
Novi Vinodolski Mayor Tomislav Cvitković and project manager Sandra Ristić believe the project in Klenovica will become a new tourist attraction in this coastal town.
LAGUR Tunera has approved funding in the amount of HRK 754,700 for the Town of Novi Vinodolski to implement the project Klenovica Fishing Centre. The funding is intended for the adaptation of the facility and furnishing the interior of the fisherman's house and its grounds, as well as creation of a visual identity, design, and printing of brochures.
‘The main goal of the project is to create an interpretation space that will unite maritime heritage and fishering and present them in an interesting way, but also create a new tourist attraction. Although fishing as an economic activity is much less prevalent today than it has been historically, Klenovica is still recognizable as a fishing village. We can say that we’re known as an exceptional gastronomic destination on the tourist map of the riviera, and we have the combination of fishing and catering to thank for it’, said Mayor Tomislav Cvitkovic, who lives in Klenovica and is a great lover of the sea and fishing.
Project manager Sandra Ristić told Novi list that the interior of the fishing house in Klenovica will be furnished with display tables on which models will be exhibited, while fishing tools will be hung up on the walls. Multimedia panels will be installed to present the intangible maritime and fishing heritage in a modern way, but the fisherman's house itself will retain a traditional appearance, complemented by the exterior decor around the building. Namely, they plan to set up a wooden pergola and build a small square that will be paved with stone slabs and fitted with benches.
‘The residents of Klenovica have kept numerous old photographs that speak of the lives of fishermen and families who dealt in fishing; they speak of the transmission of knowledge and skills in fishing and navigation, of legends and adventures. With a multimedia display we wish to show just how much maritime heritage is ingrained in the identity of Klenovica people and why it represents an important segment of their cultural heritage’, said Ristić.
Tunera in Bakarac / Image by Gargamel, Wiki Commons
There are also plans to set up two tunera in Povile village. Tunera are tuna lookouts, tall wooden towers erected along the coastline to assist local fishermen with tuna fishing.
‘Centuries-old tradition and the unique way of tuna fishing in the Northern Adriatic have left a permanent mark on life in the Kvarner gulf, including the village of Povile that used to have two tuna lookouts. Unfortunately, there is no trace of them today to speak about the past and the most important economic activity in the history of this area, so I believe that the project of building tunera towers in Povile will contribute to preservation of fishing heritage and create a recognizable emblem of the fishery area covered by LAGUR Tunera’, explained Ristić.
Povile will eventually get its own museum of fishing. The project is currently in the works, and once when initial designs are completed, a construction permit will be obtained.
ZAGREB, 11 March, 2021 - Several contracts, worth 17.5 million kuna, for reconstruction of seaports and waterfronts in the broader Rijeka area were signed on Thursday by Sea and Transport Minister Oleg Butković and local authorities.
The contracts envisaging the upgrade of ports on the islands of Krk, Rab and Lošinj as well as the coastal cities of Bakar, Mošćenička Draga, Novi Vinodolski, Crikvenica and Kraljevica are part of the Croatian Coast Renaissance project in which two billion kuna has been invested to date, and the lion's share of this amount has been ensured from EU funds.
Minister Butković said today that investments in seaport infrastructure would continue.
(€1 = HRK 7.582776)
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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.
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
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.
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:
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
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.
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.
“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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One of the finest Croatian tourism promotion events takes place once again on May 12, 2019 - Nikola Tesla EV Rally, the quietest rally in the world.
It is an event in his homeland that would have made Nikola Tesla proud. An event whose past participants have included the mother of Mr Modern Day Tesla, Maye Musk, the new king of electric supercars, Mate Rimac, and the first buyer of the Rimac Concept One. An event which takes place in a country of staggering natural beauty, 10% of which is given over to national and nature parks. It is an event in his homeland that would have made Nikola Tesla proud. An event whose past participants have included the mother of Mr Modern Day Tesla, Maye Musk, the new king of electric supercars, Mate Rimac, and the first buyer of the Rimac Concept One. An event which takes place in a country of staggering natural beauty, 10% of which is given over to national and nature parks.
Welcome to the Nikola Tesla EV Rally in Croatia, officially the quietest rally in the world.
Now in its 6th year, this unique rally comprises a luxury tour of the finest sights, nature, hotels and gourmet experiences that Croatia has to offer. An 8-day luxury electric vehicle rally over 1,500 km taking in Croatia's fabled coastline and islands, 6 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 4 national parks, 3 Game of Thrones filming locations, and the birthplace of Nikola Tesla himself in Smiljan.
Starting at luxury Novi Spa and Hotels Resort in Novi Vinodolski, the rally will be based at Sun Gardens Dubrovnik, before heading north to Sibenik, then inland to Smiljan, Plitvice Lakes and finishing in Zagreb.
The electric vehicle revolution is taking off in Croatia, largely due to the efforts of the rally organisers, and full charging options are catered for. As just one part of its contribution to sustainable tourism, the Nikola Tesla EV Rally is the only rally in the world which leaves infrastructure for e-vehicles behind. This includes a charging station donated at the birthplace of Tesla in Smiljan.
The rally attracts a truly international field each year, with many from Austria, Belgium, Germany, Finland, Switzerland and Norway, as well as further afield from Canada and South Africa.
Last year's rally saw the remarkable sight of 50 Teslas alone on a ferry at one time. The rally is not a race as such (although there are 3 speed races included), more a leisurely drive admiring one of the truly more glorious natural paradises in the world.
If you are interested in seeing the magic of the country which gave the world Nikola Telsa in a manner in which he would surely have approved, learn more about the Nikola Tesla EV Rally on the official website, and check out the 2019 itinerary below.
"NIKOLA TESLA EV RALLY CROATIA 2019"
12.05.2019. START Novi Vinodolski (hotel Novi Spa Hotels & Resort)
13.05.2019. Novi Vinodolski – Klis - Dubrovnik
14.05.2019. Dubrovnik Old Town – Lokrum island
15.05.2019. Dubrovnik – Cavtat
16.05.2019. Dubrovnik – Ston - Šibenik
17.05.2019. Zadar – Šibenik – Skradin – NP Krka
18.05.2019. Šibenik - MC Nikola Tesla-Plitvička Jezera - Zagreb
19.05.2019. Zagreb- FINISH
Award and celebration ceremony
Lunch- FINISH!
See you in 2020.
Nikola Tesla EV Rally Team!
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.
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Good news for Novi Vinodolski as the construction of the much anticipated port in Povile begins within the scope of a wider project which encompasses ports up and down the Croatian coast.
As Morski writes on the 2nd of March, 2019, the Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butković, signed a contract with the director of Zadar County Port, Velimir Antić, on the co-financing of the "Port of Povile - Phase 1". For the realisation of the Povile project, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure assigned 8,000,000.00 kuna to ŽLU Novi Vinodolski.
The funds are intended to co-finance the realisation of the first phase of the works in Povile, which are being realised within the project for the construction and reconstruction of substructure facilities in ports across the Republic of Croatia which are open to public traffic, and which are considered at both the county and the local level as important. Within the same scope, the modernisation, reconstruction and construction of fishing infrastructure will also take place.
The move which took place in Povile itself was marked with the signing of the framework agreement for the procurement of works on the construction of the breakwater and shoreline area in the port of Povile, and the contract between the Novi Vinodolski Port Authority and the contractor for the Povile port project, which was signed by the director of the County Port Authority, Velimir Antić, with Radojko Brnčić, the director of the company SUN ADRIA d.o.o., which is the selected contractor for the job.
With the signing of the above mentioned contracts, the local authority of Novi Vinodolski County Port, in cooperation with the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, will achieve their goal of increasing the capacity of boats for the local population, as well as the realisation of berths for the needs of sport and other types of boats, the facilitating of further access for excursions and other types of tourism, primarly referring to liner ships, by increasing the safety features of the port and the access to thecoast, reports the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure.
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