August 14, 2020 - In August, Split boasts an increasing number of tourists, and since the beginning of the month, almost 160,000 overnight stays have been recorded, which is 51% of the overnight stays achieved in the same period last year.
Dalmacija Danas reports that hotel accommodation recorded 60% of last year's overnight stays, private accommodation 51% of last year's overnight stays, and the most numerous are tourists from Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom, France, and domestic tourists.
“The successful and timely response of all important actors in tourism has led to results that are favorable in the context of a global pandemic. According to the announcements of arrivals in August and the airlines' plans for flights to Split by the end of September, it is to be expected that tourist traffic will continue to grow. The continuation of the season will largely depend on the epidemiological situation for this reason through social networks, and through offline communication, we tell tourists to adhere to the prescribed measures and recommendations. In our info centers, we give them free masks. In this way, we send the message that as a destination, we care about preserving their health, but also that cooperation is extremely important to achieve a common goal. We also take care of safety when organizing events, so all events are held outdoors in compliance with epidemiological measures," said Alijana Vuksic, director of the Split Tourist Board.
August in Split continues with numerous events. Up next is the finale of Split Summer, which, in addition to the traditional Judita Award, will be enriched by the concert of Massimo and Mostar Sevdah Reunion at Sustipan. Urban Culture Revival festival - Evo Ruke! this year entertains many domestic and foreign visitors at the unique location of Split's Djardin, the theater under the stars will bring culture, laughter and fun to the Gripe Fortress, and classical music lovers can enjoy the Summer Charms of Classical Music and the seventh edition of the Piano Loop festival. The Split House of Language and Culture, the Kula Gallery, the Art Gallery, the Galic Salon and the Split Photo Club have prepared interesting exhibitions, and the Bacvice Open Air Cinema offers a diverse and exciting program for all film lovers.
This Friday, August 14, at 8 pm, the favorite event 'Roman Life' returns to tourists in an edition adapted to epidemiological measures. Domestic and foreign tourists have the opportunity to experience the ancient history of Split through Diocletian's footsteps. Every Friday, Emperor Diocletian, with a Praetorian Guard, goes out to the front of the Peristyle and takes a walk of our city.
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August 13, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates for Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, and Brac.
Croatian Aviation reports that Spanish low-cost airline Vueling has announced its flight schedule for September in which it will reduce the number of weekly flights to Split and Dubrovnik.
In July, Vueling had 14 weekly operations from Barcelona and Rome to Dubrovnik, while the number of weekly operations to Split was smaller - 12 times a week. The company will continue to operate to Split and Dubrovnik in September according to the following schedule:
Barcelona - Dubrovnik, twice a week (Tuesdays and Sundays),
Rome - Dubrovnik, twice a week (Tuesdays and Saturdays),
Barcelona - Split, twice a week (Tuesdays and Saturdays),
Rome - Split, twice a week (Tuesdays and Sundays).
In the peak season, the company had four flights a week on the Rome - Dubrovnik route, and three flights a week on the lines Barcelona - Dubrovnik, Rome - Split and Barcelona - Split. As we approach the end of the summer season, a reduction in the number of weekly flights is to be expected, so Vueling's move is not surprising.
Also, the Barcelona - Zagreb line will continue to operate in September, once a week, every Saturday evening. Vueling will thus fly to three airports in Croatia next month, with 18 operations a week.
Furthermore, Croatian Aviation reports that Croatia Airlines will still not use A319 aircraft on a regular route from Zagreb to Brac, and on charter flights from Brac to Austria (Graz and Linz).
Namely, the company previously announced an increase in capacity on these routes, given that the charterer of these charter flights requested a higher capacity aircraft. From the end of August, Croatia Airlines planned to use an A319 aircraft every Saturday on the regular domestic route Zagreb - Brac due to the positioning of the aircraft at this airport, from where charter flights to Graz and Linz were to be made.
The national company conducted training flights with this type of aircraft in the airspace around the island of Brac on July 11 this year, preparing for regular operations.
The mentioned flights were not canceled. Croatia Airlines will continue to operate on a regular route from Zagreb to Brac, as well as on charter routes from Brac to Graz and Linz, but with a capacity of 76 seats (DashQ400).
Recall, German Sundair announced a regular charter line between Frankfurt and Brač, but that line was also canceled.
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August 12, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates for Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, Zadar, and Rijeka.
Croatian Aviation reports that Polish LOT airlines have announced its flight schedule for September this year, in which it intends to fly on eight international routes to five Croatian airports. We bring you the flight schedule below.
Lines from Warsaw to Rijeka and Zagreb
The Warsaw - Zagreb line continues to operate daily in September, on E170 and 175 aircraft, with a capacity of 70 and 82 seats, respectively.
The Warsaw - Rijeka line will be in operation until September 13, once a week as before, on Sundays. In September, smaller capacity aircraft will operate on the route. The line was originally scheduled to run until October 18, but the company will close it in the middle of next month.
LOT lines to Split
Of the currently active LOT lines to Split, only one will operate in September. The Warsaw - Split line continues to operate once a week throughout September, every Sunday, with aircraft type B737-800 and E195. The following lines end in August:
Lublin - Split will be in traffic until August 28, once a week (Friday),
Katowice - Split will be in operation until August 30, once a week (Sunday),
Poznan - Split will be in operation until August 31, once a week (Monday).
Gdansk - Split will be in operation until August 26, once a week (Wednesday).
Two lines to Zadar
LOT will keep traffic on two lines in Zadar through September; the Warsaw - Zadar line continues to operate once a week, every Saturday, as well as the Rzeszow - Zadar line, which will operate until September 19, also on Saturdays. The following LOT lines end in August:
Gdansk - Zadar will be in operation until August 28, once a week (Friday),
Szczecin - Zadar will be in operation until August 27, once a week (Thursday),
Krakow - Zadar line will be in operation until August 25, once a week (Tuesday),
Bydgoszcz - Zadar line will be in operation until August 29, once a week (Saturday).
Three lines to Dubrovnik in September
LOT will keep three lines to Dubrovnik in September this year, two from Poland and one from Hungary. The Warsaw - Dubrovnik line will operate four times a week (Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays), the Krakow - Dubrovnik line once a week, on Saturdays, while the Budapest - Dubrovnik line will operate once a week, on Sundays, until September 27.
The following LOT lines will not operate in September this year:
Katowice - Dubrovnik will be in operation until August 27, (Thursday),
Poznan - Dubrovnik will be in operation until August 30, (Sunday),
Wroclaw - Dubrovnik will be in traffic until August 29, (Saturday),
Gdansk - Dubrovnik will be in operation until August 25, (Tuesday).
Of the 20 currently active lines to Croatia, the Polish national company will operate only eight next month.
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August 10, 2020 - On Friday, August 7, the 7th EVO RUKE! summer music festival began at Đardin park in Split. This modern urban music festival turns Đardin into an oasis of jazz, blues and rock'n'roll.
Visitors can enjoy the live performances of local performers on 29 summer evenings, starting every day at 21:00. And the best part? The entrance is completely free.
The festival was opened by the band Atomsko Sklonište and it will last until September 6th, when it will be closed by the famous hip hop band from Split, TBF.
„At the first edition of the festival, I came across an Irishman in the audience who asked me what #evoruke means and what is its translation in English. At that point, neither he nor I were able to agree on anything meaningful or similar in English. We discussed for more than half an hour and I don't even remember how many different interpretations I presented to him in Croatian“, explains Stevo Vučković Stivi, the founder and executive producer.
Vučković spent his whole life making music, both in rock and blues bands, such as Vukojarac and Stividen and he also played in the world tours with Goran Karan's band.
„My life choices are music and art, but not overly molded/commercial, but the other one that would like to 'fix things'. I don't need any special motivation, I just hope I'm doing it OK, for general well-being and my motives are not material ones“, Vučković adds.
As for the audience, it depends on the performer. Considering that the band who was performing at the opening of the festival sing in Croatian, the audience was mostly local. The next day, when the Pink Panther Band was performing, with the repertoire of world hits, 75% of the audience were tourists.
„Last year's edition of EVO RUKE! festival was visited by approximately 220,000 people and the ratio was fifty-fifty. But it's all inaccurate because I'm not dealing with counting, but looking to push the quality to the top“, Vučković says.
Considering the current situation with the coronavirus, the festival has adapted to the measures and recommendations of the Croatian Institute for Public Health.
The number of visitors is limited to 1,000, with maximum respect for physical distance, hand disinfection and other necessary measures to combat the spread of the virus.
„In the first place is the health and safety of visitors, and the further issues is how to achieve the audience-performer interaction and that indescribable energy and love for which we come to watch live concerts. But this is a problem that all artists/performers in the world currently have. We mobilized to the maximum to make visitors feel comfortable as possible, as if there is no epidemic“, Vučković concludes.
The program for this years' edition of EVO RUKE! festival can be found below.
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August 8, 2020 - We are in the midst of another peak summer weekend in Croatia, with big crowds forming at the Split Ferry Port and in Supetar on Brac.
Index.hr reports that summer congestion has been reported at the Split Ferry Port on Saturday, and even bigger crowds were created on Brac.
Namely, cars can be seen waiting in a long column to board the ferry to Brac, but also in Supetar on Brac for the ferry to Split, where a kilometer-long column has been formed. Due to the large crowds, extra lines were also introduced.
"Traffic has increased since yesterday. As for this weekend, we expect 70 thousand passengers and 16 thousand vehicles. Yesterday we had two extra lines to Supetar, as for today we had one at 11:30 and we will have another one at 13:30. For now, two extra lines. We are at 70 percent of the traffic compared to the same period last year," said Jelena Ivulic of Jadrolinija.
There are also traffic jams on the roads to the sea and vice versa.
Traffic has increased on important roads: A1 Zagreb-Split-Ploce and A6 Rijeka-Zagreb motorways, A2 Zagreb-Macelj and A3 Bregana-Lipovac, A7 GP Rupa-Diracje junction, Rijeka and Zagreb bypass, Adriatic highway (DC8) at tourist entrances centers along the coast, especially in the area of Zadar, Sibenik, Trogir, Split, Stobrec, Podstrana, Omis, Makarska, the Istrian Y, the Krk Bridge and at border crossings.
There are also occasional traffic jams, driving on certain sections of motorways - near rest areas and at the entrances or exits of motorways, on the approaches to tourist centers along the coast, border crossings and on sections of roads on which due to works driving with temporary regulation.
Due to the wind, on the Adriatic Highway (DC8) between Senj and Sv. Marija Magdalena, traffic is prohibited for double-decker buses, vehicles with caravans and motorcycles (Group I vehicles).
Strong wind also slows down traffic on the part of the A1 motorway from the Sveti Rok tunnel to the Bozici viaduct (driving at a speed limit of 60 km/h) and in places on the A6 Rijeka-Zagreb motorway between Kikovica and the Tuhobic tunnel.
Today, HAK expects the same number of vehicles in both directions, towards the sea and inland, and will drive as on previous Saturdays with frequent traffic jams and delays. The longest columns in both directions are expected at the Lucko toll on the A1 / A6 motorway, at the entrance in the direction of the sea from 4 am to 3 pm, and at the exit towards Zagreb from 9 am to 6 pm.
Significant crowds during the weekend, and especially on Saturday, are expected at the border crossings with Slovenia (Macelj, Bregana, Kastel, Plovanija and Rupa) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (Stara Gradiska, Slavonski Samac, Slavonski Brod, Maljevac and Jasenovac).
At the Trakoscan toll station on the A2 Zagreb-Macelj motorway, on Saturday afternoon, columns are expected at the exit towards the Macelj border crossing, which could last until night hours, which is why vehicles may turn off at the Krapina junction.
On Sunday, August 9, and Monday, August 10, there will be increased traffic all day on all road routes, mainly in the inland direction. Crowds are expected again at Lucko (exit from the A1 / A6 motorway), Istrian Y, Krk bridge, as well as on the A2 Zagreb-Macelj motorway (Trakoscan toll) and A4 Zagreb-Gorican, and on the A3 Bregana-Lipovac (Zagreb-east toll) ).
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August 8, 2020 - Now a symbol of the Split Riva, the first palm tree was planted on the famous waterfront promenade exactly 100 years ago.
HRT reports that the waterfronts of Croatian coastal towns and cities were regularly planted with mulberry trees until the 1920s. Mulberries not only grew quickly, but in the summer, their canopies provided pleasant shade, and in winter, bare and pruned, they let in light and warmth. However, as tourism developed on Croatia's coast, palm trees began to be planted.
And a fun fact? We learn today that the first palm tree was planted on the Split Riva exactly 100 years ago! Today, there are precisely 105 palm trees on the Riva. In 1930, 84 palm trees were counted on the Split waterfront, which were planted in several stages.
"They wanted to have a southern Mediterranean flair, so the idea of planting palm trees came to mind, and in 1910, the first palm trees were ordered from Vis," said Stanko Piplovic, an architect and art historian.
One of the two autochthonous European species, which are a rarity today, was among the first to be planted on the Riva.
"On the Split waterfront, we have five species of palm trees, more precisely from two families of European fan and feather palms. We have three species from the feather palm family, two from the silver family and a date palm among them," said Dr. Mirko Ruscic, director of the Botanical Garden in Split.
A few years ago, due to extremely high, almost tropical temperatures, dates were ripe for the first time!
Palm trees have become a trademark of Split, so it is not surprising that many citizens were worried about their health when the palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus parasite appeared, which is one of two species of snout beetle known as the red palm weevil, Asian palm weevil or sago palm weevil.
The people of Split are lucky to enjoy the 100 palms that decorate the Riva today!
You can see the full video on HRT here.
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August 7, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Split and Dubrovnik.
Croatian Aviation reports that Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) announced its flight schedule for August in which it will significantly reduce the number of weekly flights to Split Airport.
This well-known Scandinavian airline launched traffic at the end of June to Split Airport from three destinations: Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo. Lines from Stockholm and Copenhagen to Split operated daily (mainly A320 aircraft), while the Oslo - Split route operated 5 to 6 times a week.
But that will change from mid-August. Namely, from August 15, the Copenhagen - Split line will operate only once a week, every Saturday, and the same will be the case with the Stockholm - Split line, which will also operate once a week (Saturday).
The Oslo - Split line will operate three times a week (Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays) from 9 August, and from August 15, this line will also run once a week (Saturdays).
The second destination in Croatia for SAS this summer was Pula Airport, where the company operated regularly once a week on the line from Copenhagen (Saturdays). Tickets are on sale for flights until August 15, after which, it is likely, the line will end with traffic for this summer season.
Brussels Airlines has announced its flight schedule for August, in which lines from Brussels to Split and Dubrovnik will continue to operate this month.
As announced earlier, Brussels Airlines launched traffic on the route to Dubrovnik on June 27 this year and operates twice a week, every Tuesday and Saturday with A319 and A320 aircraft.
The line will continue to operate through August, but from August 22, only once a week. Namely, the flight is canceled on Tuesdays and only the flight on Saturdays, A320 aircraft, remain in traffic. Brussels Airlines is holding flights to Dubrovnik until October 10, but we will monitor the situation and announce any changes.
The second Brussels line in Croatia, to Split, operates once a week (also on Saturdays), which will continue until mid-September (September 19). After the mentioned date, the company no longer offers direct flights on the Brussels - Split route.
We remind you that before the corona pandemic, this airline planned flights to Zadar and Zagreb, but those routes were completely canceled. Croatia Airlines operates on a direct route between Zagreb and Brussels.
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August 5, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for flights to Croatia with updates from Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik.
Croatian Airlines reports that Aegean Airlines, a Star Alliance member, previously announced the start of traffic to three Croatian airports (Dubrovnik, Split and Zagreb) from September this year. All flights to the mentioned destinations have been canceled for this year.
Before the pandemic, Aegean Airlines planned to operate to three destinations in Croatia from Athens (Eleftherios Venizelos Airport). The start of traffic was first postponed to September, and now all flights to Croatia have been canceled for this year.
Lines to Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik were supposed to operate with a smaller number of weekly flights compared to last summer season, but due to weak demand, the company completely canceled flights on these routes and does not intend to launch them this year.
This left the airports in Split and Zagreb without a direct connection with the Greek capital. Croatia Airlines operates on the route Zagreb - Athens with a stop in Dubrovnik, so the flight between the two capitals is not direct. The Zagreb - Athens (via Dubrovnik) route of Croatia Airlines continues to operate three times a week, every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday on the DashQ400 aircraft, with a capacity of 76 passengers.
It should also be mentioned that Volotea also canceled flights from Dubrovnik and Split to Athens until the end of the summer flight schedule.
Furthermore, Croatian Aviation reported that as of Sunday, August 2, Turkish Airlines is operating fewer weekly flights on the Istanbul - Zagreb route.
In July, Turkish Airlines operated five times a week on the Istanbul - Zagreb route, but since the beginning of August, there has been a reduction in the number of weekly flights. Throughout August, the company will operate on the mentioned line only four times a week, every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, flights will take place on Mondays and Fridays in the evening, and Wednesdays and Sundays in the morning.
Smaller capacity aircraft (mainly A319) have been announced on the route. It is worth mentioning that before the outbreak of the pandemic, Turkish Airlines flew to Zagreb twice a day, transporting a large number of passengers from Asia, and these tourists are almost non-existent in Croatia this year. The company has repeatedly adjusted its capacity on the line by introducing larger aircraft, such as the A330, but this will probably not be necessary this year.
The second line of Turkish Airlines in Croatia, to Dubrovnik, was previously announced for September. However, all flights have been postponed and the company is currently offering flights in October, though they will soon be canceled. In fact, Turkish Airlines will not return to Dubrovnik Airport this year.
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August 4, 2020 - The City of Split has announced they will begin the renovation of seven traditional stone houses in the Marjan park-forest, which were used to store tools and shelter people and animals during storms.
Slobodna Dalmacija reports that the estimated value is HRK 700,000 without VAT, or HRK 875,000 with VAT included. This is a 50 percent increase in costs compared to the 2017 estimate of HRK 501,375, which was stated in the application documents for the EU project "Marjan 2020 - Hill of the Past, Oasis of the Future".
The application document (form B) for the Marjan 2020 project was signed on April 28, 2017, by Robert Koharevic, former director of the Public Institution for Marjan Park and Forest Management, and the city councilors from the opposition managed to get it after a lot of pressure on city structures.
The document states that the houses will be of educational content and show visitors traditional folk architecture. But later, at the presentation of the project, it was noted that they would be used to sell souvenirs. The obvious location for this purpose is the Visitor Center, which has been adapted outside the park-forest, in the former substation under the Marjan rocks, near the former hotel "Ambasador".
However, in form B, it is stated that due to the revitalization of the botanical garden, the houses will be converted into souvenir shops.
Namely, the project, according to which Marjan ceases to be a "hill of the past" and becomes an "oasis of the future", envisages that around 2.4 million kuna is earned annually from the sale of souvenirs. Thus, for the next 11 years, that is a total of about 26 million kuna in earnings, which is approximately the total budget of this project!
Interestingly, the earnings from souvenirs are considered more profitable than the annual earnings that would be realized from the transport of visitors by electric bus (452,000 kuna), transport by new boat that would bring tourists (875,000 kuna), tickets for the adrenaline park (565,000 kuna) and concessions for the paintball field (30,000 kuna).
The annual income from these services would be 1.9 million kuna, which is about 400 thousand less than what would allegedly be sold from souvenirs.
However, there are no Marjan souvenirs that would ensure the profitability of the project yet. Or at least we haven't seen them yet.
Namely, according to the EU program, the competition for souvenirs and their presentation was to be held by June 2019 for 80,000 kuna.
During this period, "designing 3 site-specific souvenirs" had to be done. It was also necessary to "make one special souvenir that will contain the text in Braille". In addition to the above, it is calculated that "T-shirts, USBs and the like as souvenirs and a reminder to visit the park-forest" will be sold at the Visitor Center on Trumbiceva obala, at the foot of the Marjan steps.
Recall that in 2019, a vessel for the transport of visitors had to be procured, the price of which, according to the documentation, is 3.75 million kuna for an electric or solar-powered vehicle , as well as an electric bus for a little over one million kuna.
The EU project Marjan 2020 will create more jobs in the park-forest. For this, it is necessary to hire seven people indefinitely - an electric bus driver, skipper and sailor who will operate the electric/solar boat, informants and sellers of various park-forest facilities, while over the summer, two more people are expected to help. The botanical garden would employ the head of the interpretation center and one gardener. HRK 1.26 million should be allocated annually for all employees, while the total annual project costs would amount to HRK 3.7 to 4.3 million.
In the best years, which is the first few years, the project would bring in 800,000 kuna per year, while after that, it would drop, and after seven years, it would drop to 400,000 per year. In the 11th year, it would amount to only 25 thousand! It is clear that such a calculation significantly depends on the sale of souvenirs. Namely, the profit that would be realized from their sale should amount to more than 50 percent of total revenues.
That is, souvenirs would have to bring in 2.4 million kuna every year so that the total annual income of the project would be around 4.3 million. However, the profit would be the highest at the beginning of the project.
The planned investments of the City, the Split Tourist Board and the Public Institution were around 6.6 million kuna, while the total return of money (cumulative) after ten years would amount to approximately 6.2 million.
It is interesting that in the same document, it was calculated that the City would be in a substantial deficit of 13 million kuna after 11 years, if it invested everything itself, or that it embarked on such a project without EU assistance.
But even with EU assistance, the project is walking a thin line in terms of sustainability as total souvenir earnings in 11 years (26 million) should be higher than 75 percent of grants received from the EU. Can souvenirs, which are yet to be made, save this project from losses?
Whether this Marjan project has the potential and magnetism to attract tourists remains to be seen.
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August 3, 2020 - Shortly after 1 pm, a fire in Split was reported on the famous Riva.
Police say a report arrived that two motorcycles were burning at the southern entrance to the basements of Diocletian's Palace. Eyewitnesses say that the electric scooter caught fire and that the fire spread to the other vehicles.
Slobodna Dalmacija reported that the thick smoke spread in all directions. Ivan Kovacevic, the commander of JVP Split, said that details will be announced later. Eyewitnesses testify that six or seven engines burned, and there is considerable damage.
Dalmacija Danas reports that flames also affected nearby palm trees, and the terrace of a nearby cafe was also damaged. JVP Split firefighters rushed to the intervention and quickly extinguished the fire. The cleaning of the Riva is in progress.
"At one point there was smoke in the air. We realized that the engines on the Riva had caught fire. The flames engulfed a dozen motorcycles and other parked motors that had already begun to melt. We moved one car so firefighters could approach to extinguish the fire. Firefighters arrived very quickly and everything was resolved in half an hour. The damage would have been much greater if we had not reacted quickly," said a man from Split who witnessed the event.
Interestingly, this fire broke out on the same date as last year’s fire at Peristyle. Recall, an apartment on the second floor caught fire, owned by the City of Split, where the Ivo Pilar Institute is located. With the quick intervention of firefighters, the fire was extinguished in no time.
Firefighters are at the scene, and the police will investigate the incident once the area is extinguished.
More info soon...