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

ZAGREB, April 21, 2019 - Osijek-Baranja County wants to utilise the opportunities stemming from China's economic expansion and investment possibilities created in Croatia's cooperation with that country, and one of local projects suitable for such investment is the river port and airport, it was said at a meeting between county officials and the Chinese-Southeast Europe Business Association (CSEBA).

After visiting the sites of the river and air ports, County Prefect Ivan Anušić recalled that contacts with Chinese partners were established a few months ago, primarily regarding tourism and now at the enterprise level.

Osijek's river port at the Drava has potential because it can enable connections to the Black Sea via the Drava and Danube rivers, which is one of the few inland waterways to the Black Sea. The airport is in a favourable location because of its geographic position and potential for passenger and freight transport, Anušić underscored, adding that the county needed investments that won't be solely in buying concessions but investments that will "bring jobs and generate turnover of goods and people."

Speaking about the possibilities of future investments, Chinese entrepreneur Jian Yu said that this is the first visit to Osijek and now the investment team needs to analyse the possibilities and prepare an evaluation as a starting point.

CSEBA president, Mario Rendulić recalled that during his recent visit to Croatia, China's Prime Minister Li Kequiang said that the intention is to included Croatia in investment plans and economic cooperation, adding that this "year is an ideal opportunity for that."

The Chinese are considering possible projects and potential for investments and cooperation and possible joint-venture system or cooperation with local companies that already exist here are not ruled out, Rendulić said.

More news about Osijek-Baranja County and the possible Chinese investments in Croatia can be found in the Lifestyle section.

April 21, 2019 - The 30th round of the Croatian First League was held on April 19 and 20 because of the Easter weekend. It was a rather exciting round that saw Dinamo clinch the Croatian championship title for the 20th time, and Hajduk pull a massive upset and huge win against Rijeka at Poljud. 

Istra 1961 v. Osijek (1:0)

Istra and Osijek opened the 30th round in Pula on Friday, April 19, 2019, in front of 763 fans. 

While the first half went without goals, it was Istra’s Mierez to score with two minutes to go, shocking Osijek for the 1:0 victory. 

Istria is currently in 9th place with 21 points, while Osijek is in 3rd with 50. 

Slaven Belupo v. Dinamo (0:1)

Belupo and Dinamo met on Friday, April 19, 2019, in front of 1,882 fans in Koprivnica. 

It was another game without goals in the first half, though Dinamo’s Gojak managed to score three minutes into the second half for 0:1, which was the final score of the game. With this win, Dinamo also claimed the Croatian championship title for the 20th time. 

Slaven Belupo is in 8th place with 26 points, while Dinamo is in first with 79. 

Rudeš v. Lokomotiva (1:2)

Rudeš and Lokomotiva met on Saturday, April 20, 2019, at Kranjčevićeva street stadium in Zagreb in front of 100 fans. 

Karačić scored first for Lokomotiva for 0:1, though Štrkalj equalized with a penalty in the 32nd minute for 1:1. Rakić retook the lead for Lokomotiva in the 80th minute for 1:2, which was the final score of the game.

Rudeš remains in the last place with 10 points, while Lokomotiva is in 5th with 47. 

Inter Zaprešić v. Gorica (2:2)

Inter and Gorica met in Zaprešić on Saturday, April 20, 2019, in front of 1,224 fans. 

Inter scored first thanks to Serderov in the 13th minute, while Lovrić scored a penalty for Gorica 10 minutes later to equalize. Gorica was given another penalty which Zwolinski nailed in the 58th for 1:2, though Šimunec equalized for Inter in the 80th for 2:2. 

Inter is currently in 7th place with 28 points, while Gorica is in 6th with 46. 

Hajduk v. Rijeka (4:0)

Hajduk and Rijeka met at Poljud to close out the 30th round on April 20, 2019, in front of 14,752 fans. 

Hajduk’s Jurić scored already in the 2nd minute of the famous ‘Adriatic Derby’, forcing the crowd into a frenzy. Hamza Barry scored for 2:0, and it was 3:0 at the half thanks to a goal in the 45th minute by Caktaš. 

But Hajduk wasn’t done yet, and Caktaš scored again in the 50th for 4:0, completely stunning Rijeka and, quite honestly, all Hajduk fans. 

Hajduk is currently in 4th place with 50 points, while Rijeka is in second with 56. 

You can see the full table here. 

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

''The most important thing is to have a clear plan and a vision and to be persistent and never give up, because every good idea will find its way to a buyer,'' this was the message sent out to those thinking of becoming Croatian entrepreneurs.

As Ivan Tominac/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 18th of April, 2019, an event organised by Vecernji list and Poslovni dnevnik has the ultimate goal of which is the retention of young educated people in Croatia, and after Osijek, the event will move to Koprivnica, two continental Croatian regions which are often overlooked.

The event will include a tender for student development projects, round tables and forums entitled ''Future in Croatia'' which will be held across six Croatian cities in cooperation with six universities and a traveling exhibition to mark the the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Večernji list. In Koprivnica, the event will be held in cooperation with the North University on Tuesday at 10:00. Croatia's Minister of Tourism Gari Cappelli will give his view of Croatia and available opportunities, and before that, the event will be bringing two stories from Koprivnica that prove that you definitely can succeed in Croatia.

Boris Poljak, the owner of the Pobis company, noted at the very beginning of the conversation that entrepreneurship is not easy but challenging as the market does indeed offer countless possibilities, but whether or not we're successful is down to nobody and nothing but us.

"Being an entrepreneur depends on the person, and not on the place he's in. If one has the will and the desire to be an entrepreneur, then he won't care whether he's doing it in Croatia, Austria, Germany, or elsewhere," Boris Poljak said. For success, it's important to abide by the established plan and rules of the game, ie, certain legal frameworks.

According to him, young people aren't going straight into business today, but instead, they're moving into ''entrepreneurial waters'' because they want to ensure a secure existence for themselves. "The statistics on the opening and the closing of companies is proof of this. Unfortunately, many people don't succeed, but there are many who do succeed and who achieve excellent results here, and more and more are doing so internationally. Running your own business today doesn't require that much capital," Poljak stated with a short and clear message that says that without a clear plan and vision there can be no success.

"You have to work really hard with young people, they're most often not prepared for work and have a lot of prejudices towards employers," emphasised Poljak, adding that in his company he recognised that with the effort and investment poured into young people, he was creating quality staff who could compete on the world market level. Young people are increasingly involved in entrepreneurial ventures, and as a result, there are numerous startups popping up all the time across Croatia, leading to more tenders and investments.

Codebox managed to stumble upon such a welcome fat, the core activity of this organisation is the creation of personalised software, web design, computer equipment maintenance, and processing and data transfer. Martin Kolarić and Filip Stojić began on this path through a startup tender, and today they can safely say that it was a great opportunity to gain new experiences, try out their knowledge and skills and also have some fun.

"For all those who want to be successful, our advice is to work on themselves and their knowledge. A great deal of information is available to all of us and we have the opportunity of continuous learning and training. Innovation and creativity are the most important competencies today, which is why we need to work on our own improvement, this is the only path to real success,'' concluded Martin Kolarić.

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

Click here for the original article by Ivan Tominac for Poslovni Dnevnik

This year, the B2Run Business Race is part of the international B2Run family! Thus, the Croatian edition of the race has made its mark on the world map, as businesspeople from Zagreb, Osijek, Rijeka, and Split will run under the same name as more than 250,000 participants from eleven countries around the world. Recall, in the past four years, this race was held in four Croatian cities - Zagreb, Osijek, Rijeka, Split - which saw more than 20,000 runners from about 800 Croatian companies, reports Dalmatinski Portal on April 18, 2019. 

The HT B2Run race will open in Split this year on Thursday, April 25, at 6 pm - and the Dalmatian capital will also be the first B2Run business race this year in the world! The Split race will feature 750 runners from 54 companies. The race traditionally begins on the Riva, and runs through the whole city on the route: Riva (start) - towards Sv. Frane - Trumbićeva obala - Obala kneza Branimira - Šetalište Ivana Meštrovića - entrance to Vila Dalmacija - Šetalište Ivana Meštrovića - Obala kneza Branimira - Trumbićeva obala - finish on the Riva. 

All the participants of the Croatian HT B2Run race will also run for prizes. Prizes are awarded at the national level after the end of the last race in Zagreb and at the local level after the completion of each of the four races. Awards will be given in various categories including NajFit and KreatTim, the fastest craft, association or club, and the fastest large, medium and small company. All the participants will enter the national final of the fastest runners, the quickest CEO, the fastest state institution, IT firm, beverage producer, food producer, media team, the fastest ‘young lions’, the most motivated team and the best support team. For each of the categories, there are also attractive prizes such as travel insurance, sportswear, food and drink awards, and more.

Among the runners will be 44-year-old Marin Koceić, the winner of last year's B2B RUN race in the male category of big companies and the famous Croatian triathlete from Ericsson Nikola Tesla.

“We have a strong and good team. Wherever Ericsson Nikola Tesla competes in full, we want to win. The B2Run is a superior race, as far as organization and atmosphere are concerned. Everything works as it should,” Koceić said.

Up to now, Marin has worked on almost all the releases of the HT B2Run Business Race, which proved to be a useful tool for building corporate culture, employee satisfaction, business community connectivity, and encouraging employees to adopt healthy living habits. Last year he won the 5k in 16 minutes and 40 seconds which is among his best results in that regard.

"I'm not sure if I will break my record this year, but regardless of it I always have the chance to compete in this race in Split with my colleagues," added Koceić, who also emphasized the value of running and moving:

“In the 21st century, because of their sedentary lifestyle, many are turning to run because it is the easiest way to be active. People want to stay in nature and take care of their health. This race is great because it encourages business people and business colleagues to socialize, move, entertain.”

The HT B2Run race this year distinguishes itself from its previous charity thanks to its main partner HT. All the runners of the HT B2Run business event this year will participate in a significant running humanitarian challenge - in the city that records the fastest running time, Hrvatski Telekom will launch a digital literacy program for the local population through free educational workshops in city libraries.

After Split, the B2Run business race will continue in three other Croatian cities - Rijeka on May 23, Osijek on June 12 and Zagreb on October 3rd. The competition in Split was organized in cooperation with the Split Triathlon Club.

You can read more about the business run here. 

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

In the upcoming summer flight schedule, which is from March 31 to October 27, 81 new routes will operate to Croatian airports, including regular, low-cost and charter lines, from 24 world markets, reports Dalmatinski Portal on April 15, 2019. 

Additionally, the first week of the summer flight began with a record 252 flights, which displayed a 30 percent increase compared to the first week of the summer flight schedule last year. Most of the flights in the first week were recorded at the airports in Zagreb, Split, and Dubrovnik.

“New airlines and increasing the number of rotations are, among other things, the result of the activities of the Croatian Tourist Board. We collaborate with airline companies through strategic promotional campaigns in important markets, aiming to position Croatia as an attractive and well-connected year-round destination. We are particularly pleased with the new intercontinental line between Philadelphia and Dubrovnik, which joins Croatia and the United States market for the first time in 30 years,” said Croatian Tourist Board director Kristjan Staničić, adding that this year he has strategic marketing partnerships with tour operators and over 40 million kuna was provided to airlines.

Looking at the markets, most of the new lines, or 14 of them, are from German cities, followed by 12 new lines from the UK market, 8 lines from France, 5 lines from Italy, and 4 lines from the Netherlands. Analyzing the summer flight schedule by the number of rotations, most rotations are planned between Croatia and Germany, the UK, France, Austria, and Switzerland. Most new lines will fly to airports in Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik, Pula, and Rijeka. Most Croatian airports this year also recorded an increase in the number of rotations when looking at the previous season, and according to the absolute number of new rotations, the Zadar airport has a 25 percent increase, while Pula follows with a 7 percent increase and Dubrovnik with 4 percent.

When looking at airlines, most new routes were launched by Ryanair, namely 15 of them, followed by eight new lines from Volotea, six new lines from TUI and five new easyJet lines.

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

What do Croatian and international travellers think of their hosts when staying in private accommodation? How do they rate them, how much interaction is too much and are privacy and inside information the key?

As Lea Balenovic/Novac writes on the 9th of April, 2019, almost two thirds of Croats believe that the host is a key factor when staying in an accommodation facility, and those who are the best rated in the Republic of Croatia, both from domestic and foreign guests, can be found in in Rakovica, Osijek, Bibinje, Korenica, Kaštela, Makarska, Brela, Senj, Trogir and Podstrana.

They are the results of research conducted by the world's leading rental company, Booking.com, on a sample of 21,500 travellers worldwide. As the survey showed, 63 percent of international travellers and 62 percent of Croatian travellers think that their stay was better because of their engagement of the host who did everything they could to make it a better stay for them.

Most travellers want to feel "at home," as they have indicated in such surveys. For 62 percent of international travellers, the main advantage of non-hotel accommodation is the ability to take advantage of the knowledge and information available from the host and decide to stay in a property owned by someone who actually comes from the region in which the property is located. The same goes for 48 percent of Croatian travellers.

Nearly half of the international travellers who partook in the survey, or more specifically 45 percent of them, and 59 percent of Croatian travellers consider the local knowledge and information at their disposal from their host important for their overall budget because they hope to be given insider advice that will help them save some cash and avoid potential tourist traps.

However, while it seems that all travellers who took part in this survey generally consider the same things to be significant, each traveller is looking for a different type of engagement from their host. Therefore, some travellers are satisfied with a simple warm welcome, while others have slightly higher expectations from their hosts.

For example, 52 percent of international passengers and 40 percent of Croatian travellers believe that their host should only be seen once during their stay in order to make them feel welcome, and more than a third of international travellers and almost the same number of Croatian travellers expect their hosts to contact them only during their arrival, registration, and then again when they eventually check out and leave the premises.

What is often even more challenging to hosts is the fact that many travellers also expect them to have some sort of sixth sense and know just how much of a personal touch is needed for each traveller. 69 percent believe that hosts should intuitively know the right amount of time they should be spending with their guests, and that is also what 73 percent of Croatian travellers think. For four out of five international travellers and the same number of travellers from Croatia that means respecting their need for personal space, which means that the feeling of privacy is key.

The hosts also agree. Namely, nearly 80 percent of Croatian hosts think that the most important thing for guests is to be able to properly ensure their privacy.

"Our research reveals that it's very important for the owners and managers of accommodation facilities to find a balance which ensures the best experience, regardless of whether guests are staying in a vacation home, an apartment, in accommodation with their hosts or any other type of facility," explained Olivier Grémillon, the vice president of Booking.com, adding the fact thatt "what is crystal clear is that there is nothing like the ability of ordinary people to turn something into an unforgettable experience."

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

Click here for the original article by Lea Balenovic for Novac/Jutarnji

April 9, 2019 - The 27th and 28th rounds of the Croatian First League was held from April 2 to 8, 2019, for one very busy week of Croatian football.

April 1, 2019 - The Croatian First League returned for the 26th round over the weekend after the international break. It was a rather exciting weekend for Hajduk who moved into 4th place, which currently secures them a Europa League spot. However, things are not as optimistic for Osijek, after coach Zoran Zekić turned in his mandate. 

March 24, 2019 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for new flights to Croatia with updates from Osijek, Rijeka, Pula, Dubrovnik, and Split.

AvioRadar reports that Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air has withdrawn all tickets from Osijek to Basel this summer. Namely, the last flight on the summer schedule is planned for June 14, 2019. The route will be traded twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays, with additional flights scheduled on Wednesday, April 24 and May 1 this year. We should expect Wizz Air’s return on this line this winter, though flights from Osijek in October are not yet in the airline's offer. 

Wizz Air will operate this route using the Airbus A320.

AvioRadar also reports that last year’s charter line from Sweden to Rijeka on the Slovenian airline Adria Airways was taken over by Czech airline Smartwings. Thus, Smartwings will increase the capacity on this charter line, and instead of using the smaller Airbus A310, they will use the larger, Boeing 737-800 between Sweden and Rijeka. 

Swedish tourist agency Travea organizes these charter flights. They are scheduled once a week, on Tuesdays in early May and after the summer season in September and October. On the charter line between Gothenburg and Rijeka, there will be four rotations in the pre and postseason. Charter lines from Karlstad, Kristianstad, and Stockholm-Arlanda will fly one group of tourists in the pre and postseason, while the Norrkoping-Rijeka route will have just one charter flight in the preseason. 

In other news, there will be six new lines from France to Croatia this year, reports HRTurizam. 

Namely, Volotea airline will open routes from Lyon to Dubrovnik and Split, from Marseille to Rijeka and Bordeaux to Pula. Air France announced a new direct line to Split from Paris, and Easy Jet opened a direct line from Nantes to Dubrovnik.

Director of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce in France, Danijela Mihalić Đurica, emphasized that the arrivals from the French market are continuously increasing, as well as the interest of French tourists for the discovery of lesser-known Croatian regions. 

"Arrivals and overnight stays from the French market have been steadily increasing in recent years, and the French are increasingly coming to regions where there have not been many guests so far, such as Kvarner, Zagreb, Istria or Slavonia. All this is the result of expanding the production of existing tour operators, but also opening Croatia as a completely new destination for some of the new French travel organizers. According to the information we receive from regular meetings with tour operators, the forecasts for the 2019 season are good and good sales trends should continue in this year,” Mihalić Đurica pointed out.

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