July 10, 2021 - German media Bild highlights Croatia as a safe destination in the summer, and according to the first data from the eVisitor system, there are currently around 640 thousand tourists in the country, most of them from the markets of Germany, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic.

Renowned German media have been publishing more information about Croatia in recent days, so one of the leading German weekly Die Zeit published an extensive report on the natural beauties of the Kornati until the highest-circulation German tabloid Bild published an extensive and informative report on Croatia, not only highlighting it as a safe destination in times of pandemic and new variants but also mentioning that around 640 thousand tourists are currently in the country, reports hrturizam.hr.

"The beginning of July is the period in which most Germans prepare for summer vacations, and in the coming weeks, school holidays will begin in a large number of German provinces, which will mark the peak of the summer season. In this context, it is very important that in that period Croatia appears in the national media as a desirable and safe holiday destination",  said the director of the CNTB Representation in Germany Romeo Draghicchio.

In the article  Die Zeita,  journalist Nikola Ljubić describes the unique experience of a relaxing atmosphere, beautiful sea, and excellent food on the Kornati archipelago that delighted him in late spring this year, during a study trip organized in cooperation with the Croatian Tourist Board and Šibenik-Knin County Tourist Board. and thanks to the cooperation of the CNTB Representation in Germany with the author of the article. A report on Croatia entitled "Last Minute Check" was published in the online edition of  Bild which informs the readers in detail about the current situation in Croatia. The article describes our country as a safe destination and states the conditions for entering Croatia and returning to Germany. This article is the result of the cooperation of the CNTB Representation in Germany with the Bild editorial office, ie with the author Marco Oliver Rühle, who has been following the events in Croatia since the very beginning of the pandemic.

Let us add that  Die Zeit is a high-value edition followed by almost 1.7 million readers, and during the corona crisis, its circulation increased by almost 25 percent and now amounts to almost 600 thousand copies. On the other hand, Bild.de is one of the most-read online portals in Germany with a reach of  24 million unique users.

"It is extremely important to adhere to all prescribed epidemiological measures in order to maintain the most favorable epidemiological situation in the country and thus attract as many tourists from our most important emitting markets to Croatia,"  concluded the director of the Croatian Tourist Board Kristjan Stanicic. According to the first data from the eVisitor system, there are currently around 640 thousand tourists in the country, most of them from the markets of Germany, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic.

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September 28, 2020 – The tail end of 2020's unparalleled summer offers opportunity for pause, contemplation and appreciation, as it's loyal and not luxury guests that have saved this year's Croatia tourist season.

In this day and age, things always have to get better. There's no room to sit still. Life without improvement is deemed a failure. Nowhere is this more true than the Croatia tourist season.

The numbers of overnight stays in the Croatia tourist season sometimes seem to be the only measure by which its success is judged. Year after year, the numbers must rise. Any decrease is unthinkable. At the same time, hungry eyes still want more. Some want to reposition themselves. A new class of guest is wanted, from faraway nations. They must be of a better quality. They must stay longer, in more expensive dwellings. They must spend more.

Incredible initiatives are undertaken to turn this want into a reality. But, at the end of the 2020 Croatia tourist season, perhaps it's time to pause and reflect. For this year, it is undoubtedly loyalty and not luxury that's saved the Croatia tourist season.

In the year the coronavirus pandemic hit, arrivals by charter plane and cruise ship were seriously curtailed. So much for the flying visits of premium guests from far-flung lands. Instead, the tourists who came were from much closer to Croatia.

The English language that most on the coast are so familiar with was this year useless. On the beaches of Istria and northern Dalmatia, it was Slovenian, Polish, Czech, German, Slovakian and Italian that was heard. The packed bars of Makarska echoed with the familiar call of 'Đe si, bolan?' (where are you, bro? - in Bosnian dialect). Many of those who came drove to Croatia. And many do so every year.

© Jeremy Segrott

Sighs and light-hearted jokes about some of these guests persist in some places. “That family come every year, but they only ever order one pizza to share between the four of them.” The choice of footwear of some German-speaking and Czech visitors frequently draws chuckles, in particular, the classic sock and sandal combo. But, just where would the 2020 Croatia tourist season have been without the 60,000 Czech and Slovak visitors who this year arrived by train?

Just two days ago, Jutarnji reported on phenomenal numbers of Polish visitors this year. Would anyone else really have taken the place of the returning family of four sharing a pizza? Just what would the season in Makarska have looked like without bolan?

Croatians are famously very appreciative hosts. On the ground, there's no doubt that such loyal guests are warmly welcomed and thanked each year by accommodation renters, restaurateurs and others. They greet returning visitors with smiles of familiarity and reserve for them their favourite place. In September 2020, gratitude to such guests was echoed by The Croatian National Tourist Board as they launched a new campaign 'Thank you', directed at the tourists who this year chose Croatia.

Perhaps it is time to ensure that this gratitude extends into any grand new initiatives for growth in the Croatia tourist season? Such loyal guests should not be taken for granted, nor forgotten.

Initiative within the Croatia tourist sector is vital. The unlocking of continental Croatia's potential is simply a must. That too of the Dalmatian hinterland and inland Istria. The exploitation of world-class Croatian assets such as nature, agriculture and health and wellness services are also perfectly on-point. The desire to attract a better class of bigger-spending visitor to luxury holidays on the Croatian coast should surely be a lower priority. After all, eyes that covet can all too frequently fail to appreciate that for which they should already be thankful.

© Oddman47

Lead image adapted from an original photograph by © Marco Verch

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September 3, 2020 – A bold and open gesture from the winemaking industry on the Pelješac peninsula to appreciated neighbours – cost-free accommodation will allow free holidays for Austrians and Slovenes in September and October 2020

Of all the incentives to assist Croatian tourism in the troublesome year of 2020, this one may be the boldest. In order to show appreciation for visitors from two of Croatia's nearest neighbours, winemakers from the Pelješac peninsula are arranging to offer free holidays for Austrians and Slovenes in September and October 2020.

In an interview published in Slobodna Dalmacija just yesterday, famous Pelješac winemaker Mato Violić Matuško revealed the plan. Matuško is also president of the Pelješac Wine Routes, a forward-thinking initiative in and of itself. It has massively increased wine tourism on Pelješac with its joined-up approach and has managed to bring together many individuals operating with the winemaking and tourism sectors of the region. Who better to organise free holidays for Austrians and Slovenes at harvest time?


Just one of the breathtaking views available on Pelješac. The peninsula is most famous for its incredible wines © Romulić & Stojčić

Winemakers who are members of the Pelješac Wine Routes Association are those who will be involved in offering the free holidays for Austrians and Slovenes. The plan is to offer free accommodation to Austrian and Slovene tourists in order to thank them in particular for their returning custom. Visitors from these nations are among the most frequent to come. The incentive also aims to bolster tourism numbers well past the point of late summer.

Although some revenue in accommodation rentals may be lost due to the offer, the idea is startlingly inventive. It is hoped money put into the local economy by visitors taking advantage of the free holidays for Austrians and Slovenes will benefit the wider population in what has been a difficult season for many. Austrians and Slovenes taking advantage of the incentive will also surely be offered some excellent Pelješac wine on their visit.

You can read here a TCN interview from August 2020 which also shows how the wines of Dubrovnik Neretva County have assisted in keeping visitor routes open during a difficult year for tourism in south Croatia  - Croatia Wine: ”Every Visit Is A Voyage Of Discovery”

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August 18, 2020 - Health Minister of Slovenia, Tomaz Gantar, said on Monday that he would propose that the government introduce quarantine for Slovenes returning from Croatia by the end of the week, stressing that this was the "unique opinion" of medical experts.

T.portal reports that if the government makes such a decision on Wednesday or Thursday, then tourists from Slovenia who want to avoid quarantine would be given "another two or three days at most" to return home, Gantar said on television.

The minister does not believe that this could change in the event of a drop in the influx of coronavirus through Slovenian tourists spending their summers in Croatia, or if a decrease in the number of daily infected occurrs, because Croatia "already has an exponential growth" of the coronavirus infection recently.

He also pointed out that it is not possible to introduce a "selective" approach, according to age and quarantine, only for those aged 15 to 35 who are most often infected or to those who come from epidemiologically less risky counties, for example from Istria.

Gantar explained that the first would be irrational because most families with children travel to Croatia, while regarding the second option, he said that Slovenia has always applied a single criterion by country, not region, to compile a list of risky destinations.

However, he failed to say that a month ago Slovenia put the whole of the Czech Republic on the "red" list, and after a letter from Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis to Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, it kept the warning for only one mining region where infections jumped.

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April 30, 2020 - On Wednesday morning, Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli announced that the border with neighboring Slovenia would be the first opened, which is Croatia's second most important market, generating 10% of overnight stays in the country last year.

HRTurizam reports that Slovenes have a great desire to come to the Adriatic, at least according to the current interest of the media. Still, of course, two crucial preconditions must be fulfilled: a satisfactory epidemiological situation and opening the borders.

Otherwise, the epidemiological situation in Slovenia is better than in Croatia, and with 10 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday, there are a total of 1,418 patients and 89 deaths.

On the topic of opening the borders, Minister of Tourism Gari Cappelli met with Minister of Economic Development and Technology of the Republic of Slovenia, Zdravko Počivalsek, Wednesday afternoon.

Croatia and Slovenia have had excellent tourism cooperation for many years, not only because they are presented together to distant markets, but also because guests from Slovenia are one of the most loyal and numerous guests in Croatia, Minister Cappelli said during the meeting, adding:

"We are actively discussing the possibilities of opening borders, as well as ways to secure all the necessary measures and processes for Slovenian citizens to spend their holidays in Croatia. We especially addressed Slovene citizens who own real estate in Croatia and are trying to find solutions for them to come to their property, in compliance with all prescribed epidemiological measures. We have a common desire to initiate mutual tourist flows when circumstances permit, and we also want to find ways to ensure the highest level of health care for Croat and Slovene citizens in the event of a possible tourist exchange."

The ministers also discussed facilitating tourism with the development of travel procedures, which was discussed during a video conference of tourism ministers of EU member states, held earlier this week. They also stressed the importance of strengthening the position of tourism, i.e., the availability of funding for the tourism sector through future EU financial frameworks, as well as in the current situation to maintain the stability of economic operators and jobs in the tourism sector.

"There are approximately 110,000 private properties owned by Slovene citizens in Croatia and it would be appropriate to allow them to visit their summer residences. In Slovenia, we are optimistic about the possibility of at least partially establishing cross-border tourist traffic between our two countries, at least in the late summer and under special health care conditions," said Slovenian Minister Počivalšek, noting that Slovenia and Croatia are traditional tourist and friendly countries and that both nations are good hosts.

According to data from the eVisitor system, in 2019, almost 1.6 million arrivals and almost 11 million overnight stays were generated in Croatia by guests from Slovenia.

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