March 19, 2021 - At the 6th Family Accommodation Forum, Split-Dalmatia County COVID-19 testing points were announced for the season. 

HRTurizam reports that the 6th Split-Dalmatia County Family Accommodation Forum was held earlier this week, which brought together Split-Dalmatia County representatives - the County Tourist Board, the Split Tax Administration, the Split Airport, and the County Teaching Institute for Public Health.

The Forum aimed to offer renters answers to many questions related to the season ahead. The main topic of discussion was safety, i.e., focusing on the fact that compliance with epidemiological measures will be the main prerequisite for the season.

”For six years now, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce - Split County Chamber has organized regional Family Accommodation Forums to gather and support this important and growing segment of our tourist offer. Namely, micro-entrepreneurs in family tourism give a great deal of effort in achieving significant results of Croatian tourism, so in 2019, private accommodation in Split-Dalmatia County participated with almost 60 percent in overnight stays and proved to be extremely flexible in the past, challenging year," said the president of ŽK Split Jozo Tomaš.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the number of private renters in Split-Dalmatia County decreased by 11 percent, and in the city of Split by almost 15 percent.

"That is why preparing for another specific season is very important to us, and that is why we organized the Forum so that renters, who are in direct contact with guests, get clear and current information," said Gordana Piteša, head of the Family Tourism Association - Split County Chamber.

The President of the Family Tourism Association of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, Martina Nimac Kalcina, emphasized how important such events and the work of the Association and professional associations are to achieve common solutions and joint measures that will be the goal of all of us.

"This year, we are not talking about the promotion of our beauties, but about the promotion of safety, simplicity of procedures and travel, good organization. By mid-May, when the trips should start, we have time to prepare as well as possible, but we have to put it in fifth gear," said Nimac Kalcina.

Director of the Split-Dalmatia County Teaching Institute for Public Health, Dr. Željka Karin, and epidemiologist Diana Nonković, once again appealed for respect and adherence to all epidemiological measures.

"Testing points will be on Brač, Hvar, Vis, Makarska, Imotski, Trogir, Sinj and Split. A testing point of the Teaching Institute for Public Health is always open in Split; in a month, we will have to relocate the testing point that is now in the ferry port because of cruisers, and we are also talking about a testing point at Split Airport," said Karin.

The director of the County Tourist Board, Joško Stella, said that this year, as well as last year, they are ready to co-finance testing points for tourists.

"However, it is essential to be a green zone, that is, to have as few infected as possible and then to do strong marketing. The problem is partly that our major markets, primarily the Czech Republic, Poland, and Germany, are in a difficult epidemiological situation. Still, I hope that this will change for the better in the next two months," said Stella and announced Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board training and projects.

Pero Bilas from Split Airport confirmed that the Airport is ready for the season, that they are in continuous contact with all carriers, and that all companies are interested in flying.

"We have announcements for many airlines for April, but we will see which of them will be realized. In any case, the whole industry is ready for the season and is waiting for a low start," said Bilas.

As much as their areas of activity were different, all participants agreed that there is still time until the beginning of the season for the numbers to improve. The situation to calm down, and for that to happen, the basic cooperation and personal responsibility of each of us, i.e., adherence to epidemiological measures which will paint Split-Dalmatia County as a green destination.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

New towels and bedsheets have been purchased, the walls are freshly painted, and the weeds in the garden have been picked. In short, pre-season preparation in family accommodation has begun in Split. The situation in Greece and Turkey has stabilized, the mentioned destinations have again jumped on the list of priority countries for summer holidays, and we are often left wondering if Croatia is still a European hotspot, if the summer will be a hit for Split renters, or if we'll be wishing for better times.

In the City of Split, there are currently 22,421 beds in family accommodation alone, and 5,726 private renters, as officially confirmed by the Split Tourist Board. We also know that according to the current status of registered beds for rent, the number is smaller than it was last season. However, it should be emphasized that these are the current statistics, and we must remember that the office continues to come up with solutions for categorization and the number of renters grows every day, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on April 25, 2019. 

“The number of beds is at the same level, and even less than the summer of 2018. However, this data does not show a realistic situation because solutions on categorization are ongoing and the number of registered facilities for this year is still unknown,” said the Split Tourist Board. 

Among the so far reported family accommodation units, most have three gold stars plastered on their front door.

“In family accommodation, there are mostly objects with three-stars, however, given that it is only the first half of the year, the comparison is not realistic,” added the Split Tourist Board. 

Martina Nimac Kalcina, president of the Family Tourism Community Section at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, commented on the status of bookings and what renters of family accommodation should expect this season.

“The comments of renters are good. They say that bookings are good and they are not worse, as it was described recently. I would say that the deficit is worse at the level of the whole country, and on the city level of Split and the whole County, it is the same as last year, if not better. From communication with some of my colleagues, I even heard that in Split-Dalmatia County this summer, there would be a double-digit percentage increase in bookings in all forms of tourism and capacities compared to the last tourist season. For family accommodation in the area of Split, so far only positive comments have been made to me about reservations,” says Martina Nimac Kalcina, who adds that there are always exceptions and it is already clear that there will be a lot of last minute bookings.

"If you do not do enough work in service, have poor reviews, do not offer a special location or facilities or are new renters who do not yet have comments and ratings, it is, of course, more difficult to be fully booked than those who have made an effort to be evaluated, provide additional services, and are in a good location,” concluded the president of the Community of Family Tourism at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, stressing that Split is still a different tourist hub than Croatia as a whole.

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