August the 15th, 2022 - Dubrovnik and Porec sustainable tourism is resulting in some excellent numbers this summer tourist season, as both cities, but particularly Dubrovnik, desperately needed a more sustainable strategy than the mass tourism they've become (in)famous for.

As Morski writes, Dubrovnik's deputy mayor Jelka Tepsic has stated that since the beginning of this year, Croatia's southernmost city is at 80 percent of the overnight stays and 70 percent of the arrivals realised back in the pre-pandemic, record year of 2019.

''Currently, 26,000 guests are staying in the City of Dubrovnik and this is a real indicator of the success of this summer season, but also of the good management of the destination, because through our ''Respect the city" project, we want to provide a high quality of stay to our visitors, but also boost the quality of life of our fellow citizens,'' said Jelka Tepsic.

Porec has also achieved two million overnight stays on the same day as it did back in 2019, and Porec sustainable tourism is the new way in which this gorgeous Istrian city is leaning.

''We've reached two million overnight stays, we're also happy that we've managed to reach that number of overnight stays we have at the time we have, even when we have 700 less beds in the city due to the reconstruction of two hotels. We extended our summer tourist season, the pre-season was also good, as even before Easter we had 40 percent more visitors staying in Porec than we did back during the record year of 2019. All this is happening because we combined what's private and what's public, sport and tourism, and in doing so we brought a large number of tourists to the city,'' said the mayor of Porec, Loris Persuric.

One of the key goals for Dubrovnik is the creation of sustainable tourism. Jelka Tepsic explained what this specifically refers to:

''Five years ago, Dubrovnik was highly prominent among European destinations as a city that is actually in danger of being crippled beyond return due to too many tourists. We were almost on the blacklist for many people, so we made a management decision to change with the desire to achieve a balance between the quality of the stay for our visitors and the quality of life of our fellow citizens,'' she stated, emphasising that they managed to introduce rules and restrictions for cruise ships, so now they have a limit of 4,000 guests in one part of the day, or just two cruisers. So this year, she said, we're witnessing the full application of these new rules in Croatia's tourist Mecca. They can now limit traffic around the historic core, have a surveillance system, have improved parking conditions, and the list goes on.

''Sustainable development is also important in Porec, as is Porec sustainable tourism,'' said Mayor Persuric. The basis of everything, he explained, is the spatial plan of the local self-government unit, which, in addition to accommodation capacities, also develops the city's complete infrastructure. They are ready, he says, for a large number of apartments and accommodation capacities to spring up, and although they definitely do have some unfortunate examples of illegal construction, that number is thankfully not that large.

For more on Dubrovnik and Porec sustainable tourism, not to mention that of other Croatian cities and destinations, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

August the 5th, 2022 - Porec tourism is absolutely booming, with 2 million overnight stays having been achieved earlier than last year. While Istria has always been popular, this charming coastal city on the Istrian peninsula is making a massive name for itself and seeing this gorgeous part of Croatia emerge from the shadow of Dalmatia.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, this tourist season is seeing the entire country make a huge tourism comeback, recording better and better results. Porec tourism is doing excellently. This Istrian city is one of the country's most visited destinations and it has achieved two million overnight stays an entire month earlier than it did last year. Everyone hopes that the continuation of the summer season will remain as it is now, as reported by HRT.

"Porec tourism achieved a record three and a half million overnight stays back in the pre-pandemic year of 2019, and this year it seems as if the same is absolutely achievable," said Nenad Velenik, the Porec Tourist Board's director. He emphasised that Porec has defined itself as a 4 to 5 star destination, about 80 percent of the accommodation capacities are of this type and they fill up first. He added that earnings from tourism will be better than they were back in 2019, given that the tourist tax has increased.

Two million overnight stays in the City of Porec have been achieved earlier this year than they were last year, when the same figure was only achieved at the end of August, which speaks volumes about just how successful this season has been and continues to be. It should be added that on August the 3rd of the record year 2019, that same number of two million overnight stays was reached.

Currently, 30,000 tourists are staying in Porec, and they are accommodated primarily in hotel accommodation, then in campsites, and then in private accommodation. The most frequent guests are Germans, followed by Austrians, Slovenians, Croats, Italians, and in sixth place are guests from the Czech Republic.

"We've come to 2019's level, the index is at 100. When we look at the fact that we have 700 beds less in our destination due to work on accommodation facilities, then we can really be satisfied with all of this. The result of all this is sport tourism. We combined public and private, tourism and sport and in this way extended the season,'' said the mayor of Porec, Loris Persuric.

"We encourage content in the pre-season and post-season where we still have opportunities for growth and development. This tourist season has shown that we definitely do have that potential. Back during the pre-season, we achieved a 30 percent better result than we did back in 2019," said Nenad Velnik.

With Porec tourism booming, they don't plan to stop there. Investments will continue to be made in the city's infrastructure and cultural heritage. In Porec, they expect a good continuation of this situation throughout the month of August, and the announcements are excellent for the postseason as well.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

July the 24th, 2022 - Istria recently introduced measures to limit the use of drinking water in the area, and now the Porec drainage company is offering people their purified water for free.

As Morski writes, after Istria introduced a reduction in the use of drinking water across Istria County, municipalities and cities are all looking for ways to provide residents with water for activities that aren't allowed during the reduction period, such as watering green areas or washing the roads and streets.

Due to the emergency situation involving the water supply, the Porec drainage company would like to informs Istria County's residents and all other interested parties about the possibility of using purified water from their wastewater treatment plants.

Four newly built devices have the possibility of supplying such water; namely UPOV Lanterna (with a treatment capacity for 30,000 inhabitants), UPOV Porec - North (at the Saladinka location with a treatment capacity for 37,000 inhabitants), UPOV Porec - South (at the Mornarica location with a capacity treatment for 48,000 inhabitants) and UPOV Vrsar (at the Petalon location with a treatment capacity for 22,500 inhabitants).

These newly built devices use membrane technology for the ultrafiltration of waste water after it has undergone a biological treatment process, which purifies the water to the degree that it is suitable for irrigating green and agricultural areas and sports fields, for washing streets, roads and undertaking other similar activities which require water. These are the first devices of such technology built in all of the Republic of Croatia.

The total wastewater treatment capacity of all treatment devices is the equivalent of 137,500 inhabitants or approximately 22,000 m3 per day during the summer season, while currently the devices treat approximately 13,000 m3 per day.

The Porec drainage company claims that they have secured all of the technical conditions and infrastructure for the delivery of the purified water to larger consumers from the tourism sector, so that in the future, the full capacity of purified water delivery from these newly built devices can be used, and currently this water is being used by utility companies.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

JULY 22 UPDATE

July 21, 2022 - The fire in Slovenia is the worst in the country's history. A look at the latest updates and the impact it is having on Istria. 

Overnight, 800 firefighters brought the biggest fire in Slovenian history under control. However, the situation is still difficult. Due to the wind, the fire is moving from Italy towards Slovenia.

Latest updates from Index.hr: 

Minister of Defense: The situation has worsened in the last few hours
"In the last few hours, the situation has worsened; extinguishing fires from the air is greatly hampered by poor visibility. The headquarters determines measures depending on the development of the fire. Three settlements have been evacuated: Novelo, Temnica, and Vojščica. At the moment, our main task is protecting buildings," the Minister of Defense Marjan Šarec announced on Twitter. 

According to the locals, the fire has already approached Vojščica - about 300 meters, which can be seen from the increasingly thick smoke, soot, and ash, reports a 24ur journalist.

Helicopters from Austria, Croatia, and Slovakia arrive to help
It is expected that around 1,000 firefighters and several helicopters, including four Slovenian army and two police helicopters, will fight the fire. A helicopter from Austria is already putting out the fire, and Croatian and Slovak helicopters are also on the way.

The fire also threatens settlements in Italy
The fire is threatening the Slovenian Kras region and spreading to the Italian side. It threatens the inhabitants of the villages of Sablici, Jamiano, Medeazza, and Doberdo. Slovenian and Italian firefighters are trying to protect the mentioned locations.

At Medeazza, according to the head of Duino-Aurisina, Igor Gabrovec, the fire is only a kilometer away from the settlement. The highway in the direction of Trieste has reopened today, while the section in the direction of Venice is still closed.

Numerous explosions in the area of the fire, exploding devices from the First World War
A fire in the Kars area caused numerous explosions of devices that remained in that region from the First World War. Commander Darko Zonjič said they no longer count explosions but only mark them along roads so they can be recorded later.

"Even during the night, there were a lot of explosions due to high temperatures in the area affected by the fire. Yesterday, 18 different explosive devices were removed from the villages of Sela na Krasu and Korita," said Zonjič.

Civil protection headquarters: Three fires are currently active
The Slovenian Civil Protection Headquarters announced that three fires are currently active. Firefighters are most concerned about the fire in Klarići, a hamlet near the Italian border. More than 1,000 firefighters are on the ground.

Sirens sounded for the evacuation of residents
Evacuation sirens sounded in three villages in the Kras region; Temnica, Vojščica, and Novelo. The place for gathering citizens from those areas is the gymnasium in Komno, the Civil Protection HQ announced.

Civil Protection Commander: This is the biggest fire in the history of Slovenia
Civil Protection Commander Srečko Šestan said they had never had so many firefighters on the ground at night. Almost 1,300 people, including 1,000 firefighters, fought the fire during the day. When the fire began to threaten the houses, additional forces were called in. Šestan assessed that it was the biggest fire in Slovenia so far.

"At the moment, the situation is under control; there is no strong wind, which makes it easier to put out the fire because the fire does not spread. Of course, the situation can change quickly because a storm has been announced," wrote Defense Minister Marjan Šarec this morning, adding that he is participating in firefighting with the Slovenian army.

"Since yesterday, the army has been helping with water supply and accommodation, the military ambulance service has been called, and they will also inspect with a thermal camera to detect hidden hotspots. They will also provide meals for the troops on the ground. If necessary, we will also send soldiers," Šarec said. 

A lot of smoke in Istria
"A good part of western Istria is still in smoke; the situation has even worsened. A lot of reports are coming from Poreč," writes Istramet.

After Canadairs, the Ministry of Defense sent a helicopter to the fire scene in Slovenia
During the day yesterday, the water cannon dumped 48 tons of water on the burned area in nine bursts.

Polluted air throughout Slovenia
The fire caused air pollution in the area of Koper, Postojna, and Nova Gorica.

Stronger winds are not expected
"We can look at wind as optimists or as pessimists," says Brane Gregorčič from the Environmental Protection Agency. He said that there really wouldn't be any stronger wind. He pointed out that the problems on Wednesday were caused by the western wind, which spread the fire from Italy towards Slovenia. "We expect similar winds today, but in between, there were about 18 hours of calm as far as the wind is concerned," he said.

Smoke in Istria
A large amount of smoke from the fire raging in the Slovenian Kars region covered Istria with thick smoke, bringing a significant deterioration in air quality, reports Istramet.

The station for measuring air quality in Žužići near Tinjan at 5:15 am recorded a significant increase in floating particles. During most of the night, PM 2.5 particles were below 10 micrograms per cubic meter of air, and after 5 hours, it increased more than three times and reached 40 μg/m3.

This morning, smoke in the form of haze is particularly visible in northern Istria, where there is a strong burning smell 

For more breaking news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

July the 1st, 2022 - Porec tourism so far has been going beyond excellently, with one million overnight stays now having been realised, bringing in better results than the record, pre-pandemic year of 2019.

As Morski writes, according to Croatia's praised eVisitor system for the registration of tourists, the gorgeous Istrian city of Porec achieved its millionth tourist overnight stay on the 28th of June, 2022. Since the beginning of this year, there have been 225,000 arrivals for Porec's tourism ''picture'', which is an increase of 5 percent compared to 2019, which is the pre-crisis year we all keep comparing everything in 2022 to.

An excellent pre-season filled with numerous sporting events spilled over into the now height of the summer tourist season, and 50 percent of all guests making up Porec's tourism statistics are guests from Germany and Austria, followed by the neighbouring Slovenes, guests from other parts of Croatia, and also Italians.

''These are exceptional results,'' said the director of the Tourist Board of the City of Porec, Nenad Velenik, noting that this number was realised on the same day as it was back during the record year of 2019, even with Porec having less accommodation capacities than in 2019 because two hotels are currently out of order.

Judging by the number of overnight stays realised in this popular Istrian city so far, Porec is looking forward to an excellent remainer of this year's tourist season.

''We've been achieving excellent occupancy rates throughout the pre-season period, as well as throughout the month of June, in which we've achieved more than 510,000 overnight stays. Sporting events, which involved the arrival of large sport groups, influenced our above-average pre-season, which in some terms was up to 30 percent better than the same time back during the record year of 2019.

The German and Austrian markets are dominating Porec as a destination, which gives us a spring in out step in terms of our successful marketing activities in cooperation with the regional tourist boards. There have also been some very encouraging results coming from the nearby Italian market, which is once again back to what it was, and it seems that the trend of Croatian guests from other parts of the country speaks in favour of the fact that throughout two coronavirus-dominated years, we still succeeded in luring the local population, the numbers from which are cumulatively better by up to 32 percent when compared to 2019,'' said Velenik, who, given the pace of capacity filling for July and August, expects a better year for Porec tourism than 2019.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

June the 30th, 2022 - Porec and several Istrian municipalities have decided to fund the employment of more staff in order to have emergency medical services made available all year.

As Morski writes, the City of Porec and the nearby municipalities of Tar-Vabriga, Funtana, Vrsar, Visnjan, Sv. Lovrec, Vizinada and Kastelir-Labicni recently signed a contract on financing the additional employment at the Teaching Institute for Emergency Medicine of Istria County.

Almost 10% of all Croatian tourist traffic is realised along about 70 kilometres of the coastline of Porec. It's an area which, during the very height of the summer season, goes from 40 thousand inhabitants to hosting about 150 thousand people.

''Unfortunately, the state doesn't recognise that and we have an insufficient number of emergency medical teams, and we're talking about the healthcare services that our fellow citizens have already paid for by paying their taxes into the state budget. In order to have a service equal to other cities of our size in the rest of the country, we came together and decided to set aside about two million kuna a year for something that isn't even within our jurisdiction.

On top of that we're additionally paying for apartments for deficient doctors, the purchase of vehicles, the purchase of equipment, two weeks ago we even paid for the accommodation for additional police officers due to the expressed need for them - all of these are services that should be being provided to us through the state budget, because if we're taxpayers, we the citizens of Porec have already paid. We wonder where the end to all of this actually is because the needs are becoming greater from year to year,'' complained the mayor of Porec, Loris Persuric.

The director of the Teaching Institute for Emergency Medicine of Istria County, Dr. Gordana Antic, pointed out that it's actually only Istria that hasn't received an increase in the latest changes made to the emergency medical care network, unlike other Croatian counties. They have since been doomed to try to find funding for additional teams throughout the year, especially during the summer tourist season.

''Just as an illustration, last year, the Porec health centre had to deal with almost 5,000 interventions throughout the year, and this year we've already reached 3100 incidents. There were 36 resuscitations performed throughout the past year, and this year we've already reached 27. Our volume of work is drastically increasing, especially in the area of ​​Porec,'' Antic emphasised.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

June the 25th, 2022 - The Porec adrenaline bike park is now officially open, and it's the very first of its kind on the entire Croatian coastline which will certainly push this Istrian city's tourist offer further.

As Morski writes, the Porec adrenaline bike park has been opened at the Porec City Beach on the site of the former Colonia Iulia Parentium beach bar, the first of its kind on the Croatian coast.

With this move, Porec has enriched its overall tourist offer, which can be enjoyed by both all kinds of recreationists, as well as participants of the summer camp there. The Porec adrenaline bike park, which includes a pump track and skills polygons, is intended for bikes, scooters, skates and rollerblades, and is located near the beach. There's also an outdoor gym, a pump track and a newly renovated children's park.

The pump track extends to 902 square metres and is intended for all generations. It's a track that looks like a continuous loop of flatter planes and hills that can be ridden without pedaling. The shape of the track allows users to just have fun, and also functions as a relatively safe sports activity covering an area that can be smaller than a basketball court.

The pump tracks are suitable for all sizes of bicycles, skateboards, rollerblades, scooters and the like. Cyclists of all ages and technical readiness can ride on the track, and it's perfect for learning basic skills and tricks, as well as for training top cyclists, as it requires agility and speed. Instead of pedaling or pushing, users on the pump track track start by switching the position of their bodies up and down.

The city beach was chosen as the location for the new Porec adrenaline bike park due to the high frequency of cyclists which head in this direction, and the study of cycling development predicted a bike park right there, in accordance with current urban plans and with the approval of the Local Board of Anka Butorac, would do very well. Porec is continuing to invest in its cycling infrastructure, so the plan is to brand the Mirna - Limski kanal trail, install new signalisation, print new bike maps, arrange promotional actions for cyclist safety on the road and engage in similar infrastructure investments.

The pump track is integrated into the environment, and during the arrangement, the trees were not felled, but new ones were planted.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

June 19, 2022 - Porec is set to welcome the World Karate Federation! Typically seen as a popular Istrian summer holiday destination, Porec is also known as “a city with a thousand-year history”. This year, the city is looking forward to the Croatian Karate Union’s second spectacular World Karate Federation Youth League Tournament.

After an extremely triumphant event last year, Porec will be hosting the championship once again. Despite the global coronavirus pandemic and all of the issues it caused, the organisers are excited to welcome a larger and more successful event to be held between the 1st and the 3rd of July this year.

The tournament will take place at the Intersport Sports Hall and recreation centre in Porec, and the organisers are hoping to break the world record for the number of competitors, and simultaneously raise the standard of the tournament's overall quality.

Over six days, ambitious Karateka (karate students) will be given the opportunity to learn and train with world-class athletes and renowned coaches in the training camp, which takes place before the tournament. The 2022 Youth Camp will be open to receive competitors and athletes between 10 and 20 years of age. There are over 500 youths from 36 countries that have enrolled in the training camp as it is, which bodes very well.

Originally staged in Umag, the training camp and tournament were moved to accommodate the overwhelming number of athletes expected to participate in these events for the second year running.

The Karate Youth League tournament was conceived to emphasise the influence of karate on youths globally, and the tournament will highlight those athletes who are aiming to reach higher positions in their World Karate Federation international ranking. This league aims to become a platform to develop the skills of these young athletes and their sporting careers with maximum progression at the fullest potential.

Since the Japan 2020 Olympic games, and with the increasing interest of youth in this sport, it's more than inspiring to see that the organisers of the event are taking extra measures to ensure that the competitors participate in an experience that they will never forget.

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

ZAGREB, 6 May (2022) - Vinistra, Croatia's largest and oldest regional wine fair, opened in the northern Adriatic town of Poreč on Friday, with more than 110 exhibitors, including 80 winemakers, taking part.

"Istria County has been financially supporting Vinistra since its very beginning because wine and winemaking are part of our tradition and regional identity. Today we can proudly say that Istria is a world brand, both for our wines and our olive oil," said Istria County Prefect Boris Miletić.

The State Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Šime Mršić, underscored the importance of the fair for the promotion of wine, while the head of the Vinistra association, Nikola Benvenuti, confirmed that the interest of exhibitors had never been higher.

Among the participants in this year's edition of Vinistra are the international partners on the project "The Malvasia Myth", which aims to valorise and brand all wines carrying the name Malvasia and to promote their areas and producers.

As a partner in the project, the local action group Central Istria will host, in cooperation with the Vinistra association, representatives of the partners from Greece and Italy and acquaint them with the area and the characteristics, development and importance of Malvasia in Istria County. The partners will present their wines at the Vinistra fair.

For the first time, Vinistra will also feature a stand dedicated to evaluation, the World of Malvasia, where visitors will be able to taste Malvasia wine from ten countries with guided tasting in cooperation with the Croatian sommelier club.

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

March 19, 2022 -  Nikolina Ćaćić, an Olympian and Croatia's best female boxer, secured Croatia's first medal at the Under-22 European Boxing Championships in Poreč by qualifying for the semifinals.

Nikolina Ćaćić, who has already achieved historic achievements at the age of 21, brought the first medal to Croatia women's boxing and placed as the first Croatian female boxer in history at the Olympic Games. 

Ćaćić was the world and European runner-up in the juniors, and she added another big medal to the already impressive collection. After winning the quarterfinal fight in the category up to 52 kg against the three-time European and world champion in the junior categories Marie Moorehouse, Nikolina now awaits an even easier fight on paper. Ćaćić will fight Ukraine's Sabina Novosad for the finals on Sunday. While she came two steps away from gold, she has ensured a minimal bronze medal. 

Unfortunately, the other two Croatian boxers were not equally lucky. Dea Bolanča was stopped, while Pitbull Split member Ana Stojanović also lost in her debut performance at the European Championships in the category up to 63 kg after a great fight against Finland's Naiima Bulhan. Stojanović, a former taekwondo fighter and kickboxer with a short boxing experience and too few fights at the international level, firmly opposed the excellent Finnish boxer. 

Saturday brings an opportunity for Croatian boxers to secure three more medals. The most is expected from the World Championship quarterfinalist, Gabriel Veočić, who will face Lukas Ferneza from Slovakia in the category up to 75 kilograms. Noah Ježek will also fight his quarterfinal match against Mateusz Urban from Poland in the 71 kg category, while 18-year-old Deni Alagić will look for a way to the medal in the 63.5 kg category against Kerem Ozmen from Turkey.

Source: Fight SiteFight Site

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