After the introduction of the new parking system "ParkWallet", which enabled parking payments from a smartphone with a credit card at the beginning of June, the City of Umag has also provided free parking to all its citizens in four additional parking lots, totalling to 5 free parking spaces in the city center area, reports HRTurizam on July 27, 2019.

Namely, since June 1, 2016, the City of Umag allowed all citizens with residence in the Umag area and a driver's license issued by the Umag Police Station to freely access unrestricted parking on the coast, 365 days a year. However, as Umag, as well as its population in the center and settlements,  is rapidly developing and growing, another Decision has been passed that will further please the people of Umag, and which definitively puts Umag on a list of the few towns that grant their fellow citizens free parking in the city center.

Citizens of the City of Umag, namely natural persons with permanent residence or foreigners with permanent residence in the Umag area, are entitled to free parking at the parking lots of Vladimir Gortan Promenade (coast), Vladimir Gortan Promenade (gas station), Ernest Miloš Street, 154. Brigade of the Croatian Army Street (the part not reserved for tenants of POS apartments) and at the parking lot of Ul. Žrtava Fašizma. To exercise your right to free parking, proof of residence or permanent residence in the City of Umag is required along with a valid driver’s license. Information on how to get free parking is available here.

Umag has thus become the first town in Croatia with an organized parking payment system, but also free parking for its citizens in the city center, at five locations.

Bravo to Umag for setting a vital and excellent example in which the direction tourism should be developed. This allows the locals to enjoy a better quality of life amid tourism, as day-to-day errands in the city center no longer have to be an impossible mission. 

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

ZAGREB, July 21, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković attended a Croatia Open tennis match in Umag on Saturday and said sports were an important part of promoting and branding Croatia.

"Sport is one of our main pearls, which is why the Tourism Ministry and the Croatian National Tourist Board are closely cooperating with many sport federations. We must work on making every big sporting event or success part of our promotion and our branding and we are working on that," Plenković told reporters at the ATP tournament.

Asked to comment on Croatian Olympic Committee president Zlatko Mateša's warning that Eurostat ranked Croatia last in the EU in terms of funds set aside for sports, he said his government had adopted a national sport strategy and that never had more been earmarked for sports. "My ministers and I are doing all we can to raise sports to the dignified level they deserve."

Speaking of the Umag tournament, Plenković said it had positioned itself well and that it represented "a real attraction" for Umag in terms of sports and for tourism in general. "The Umag tournament is our only ATP tournament which continually attracts our best players," he said, calling it "a social, cultural, gastronomic, tourist and sporting event."

He recalled the revived WTA tournament in Bol, saying Croatia could position its players through these two tournaments and contribute to the promotion of its sports.

Plenković was accompanied, among others, by Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli, who said events such as ATP Croatia Open and Croatian athletes' successes contributed to the development of tourism and more arrivals.

He said the government had introduced the Croatian Sports programme to finance and cover all major events and as part of which 20-25 million kuna was set aside every year.

The minister said the effects of Croatia's second place at the 2018 FIFA World Cup were enormous, and that currently there was an increase in US, Chinese and German arrivals. "As of today, we still have 2% more German guests than last year, although we projected 5-6% fewer."

Cappelli said all of Europe was "hit" by different tourism trends because of bad weather and different approaches, and that Croatia was not the only country with arrivals and nights at last year's level. In July so far, there has been a 3-4% drop annually, but overall arrivals are up 4% and nights 1%, he added.

Cappelli said the government had a vision of the course Croatia's tourism should take, and that four and five-star facilities were "far fuller". "We have a vision and the development strategy until 2020 and are preparing a tender for November for a new development strategy for the next seven to ten years."

This time two years ago all media said we were bursting at the seams. Today we have as many tourists as two years ago. That's actually Croatia's limit because of the infrastructure of its cities, Cappelli said.

More sports news can be found in the dedicated section.

Croatia’s best tennis player Borna Ćorić failed to advance to the quarter-final of the 30th edition of the ATP tournament in Umag after losing to Italy's Salvatore Caruso 2-6, 6-3, 1-6.

Borna Ćorić, as the second seed of the Croatia Open in Umag, was free in the first round of the competition, while after successful qualifications, the Italian tennis player defeated Frenchman Corentin Moutet in the first round with a score of 7-5, 6-0, reports T.portal on July 18, 2019.

This was Ćorić’s first appearance after he pulled out of Wimbledon this year due to a back injury suffered at the tournament in Halle. 

The 22-year-old Croatian tennis player started the match poorly. Caruso, who is the 125th player in the world on the ATP ranking, already broke Borna in the first game and once again took his serve to make it 4-0. Ćorić came back for 4-1, but failed to compensate for the two lost serves - and after half an hour of play, the first set went to the 26-year-old Italian.

In the first set, Ćorić had only executed 35 percent of his first serve, made three double faults and 15 unforced errors.

The opening of the second set brought a much better game for Ćorić. Borna immediately broke his opponent to lead 2-0, but Caruso returned the lost serve by equalizing to 2-2. However, Ćorić then won three games in a row, led 5-2 and peacefully equalized for 1-1 in sets. 

Unfortunately, Croatia’s best tennis player experienced a new crisis in the third set. Caruso took Borna to lead 3-0. Unfortunately, at the 4-1 result, the Italian once again took Ćorić's serve to reach a considerable 5-1 advantage, and then served for 6-1 and ultimately the win.

Borna Ćorić has played at the Umag tournament four times so far. His best result was advancing to the quarter-final in 2014 and 2015.

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

Marking the 18th anniversary of the Wimbledon final on July 9, 2001, Goran Ivanišević and the legendary Australian tennis player Pat Rafter met once more in an exhibition rematch at the central stadium of the Stella Maris resort in the Croatia Umag Open.

And 18 years after his greatest career success, Ivanišević managed yet another victory against Rafter. While the result of this match wasn’t of so much importance, Ivanišević won 6:4, 6:4, reports HRT on July 18, 2019.

The two tennis legends met in front of thousands of spectators at the Goran Ivanišević stadium on Wednesday - and while the Croatian tennis star and 2001 Wimbledon winner reigned supreme, the 46-year-old Australian reminded the audience just why he was once one of the world’s best. 

Recall, Rafter has spent several years off of the tennis courts, and instead dedicates his time to running a farm in Australia. Goran Ivanišević, on the other hand, has played many exhibitions matches and practices with today's top players such as Marin Čilić, Tomas Berdych, and Milos Raonić - and even helped lead Novak Djokovic to another Wimbledon title just last weekend. 

After the duel, Ivanišević announced that this was his last match in Umag, where he has played over the years with tennis greats such as American Andre Agassi and Spaniard Juana Carlos Ferrer. And we can't forget the 30th anniversary of the Umag tournament,  where he played a rematch of the 1990 final against Goran Prpić.

"I thank him for coming. We have been trying to do this for a long time and after five, six years he finally made it. I thanked him on behalf ofall Croatians who cheered in 2001. For me, this is the cherry on top of the cake. I am retiring from the exhibition matches in Umag - after Rafter that is that,” Ivanišević said.

“This was a match between two old players on clay, and maybe I should have done it before. We played a lot of good tennis. When I hit 15 serves in the net, I no longer hurt, but I am laughing now. I’m glad I came, this is a wonderful place,” Rafter said.

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

ZAGREB, July 5, 2019) - The mayor of the northern Croatian coastal town of Umag, Vili Bassanese, has been voted best mayor in Central and Southeastern Europe, the town's public relations office said on Friday.

Bassanese, who has been running Umag for 10 years, was declared best mayor by an international jury of the Directorate of the European Independent Agency for Central and Southeastern Europe in Sarajevo on Thursday.

The award is given at the proposal of international companies, chambers of commerce, organisations and individuals, and is supported by government departments and jury members from the countries of the region.

In the last ten years, Umag has made huge improvements on municipal infrastructure and economic and social policies, and has been voted best town in Croatia with regard to education, demography, youth policy and social policy.

Mayor Bassanese inherited the award from last year's winner, the mayor of Graz.

"If we want to succeed in life, we have to get out of a comfort zone and have the courage to translate our own ideas and ideals into reality. I managed to do that together with my team and my fellow citizens, and I am very proud of that," the mayor said.

More Umag news can be found in the Lifestyle sectionc.

Croatian tennis player Borna Ćorić will be the biggest star of this year's ATP tournament in Umag.

After New York, London, Berlin, and Paris, Wu-Tang Clan will perform at the Sea Star Festival in Umag. Their Istrian performance will be exclusive to the entire central, southern and eastern Europe. 

Eighteen years after the 2001 Wimbledon final where one of the greatest Croatian athletes reach his most significant career triumph, Goran Ivanišević and Patrick Rafter will play against each other once again in Umag's Stella Maris for the 30th edition of the ATP Plava Laguna Croatia Open, reports Gol.hr on February 25, 2019. 

It was Monday, July 9, 2001, when Goran Ivanišević and Patrick Rafter met in one of the most emotional and exciting Wimbledon finals. It was a time before the moving roof was constructed at the All England Club central stadium, when the rain made the Ivanašević and Tim Henman semi-final a three-day spectacle, and the Sunday finals shifted to Monday.

Fans waited for hours to get a chance to see the two big players on the court. The final lasted three hours and two minutes, which is precisely when Rafter hit the net on Ivanišević's second service. Goran incredulously collapsed onto the holy Wimbledon grass. In his fourth Wimbledon final, Goran managed to win the decisive, fifth set with 9-7 and thus win his only and much-desired Grand Slam title.

The legendary Australian tennis player suffered his second consecutive defeat in the Wimbledon final, after losing in four sets to American player Pete Sampras the year before. Although he never won Wimbledon, he did achieve two Grand Slam titles at the US Open.

In 2016, 15 years after the triumph over Rafter, the ATP stadium in Umag was named after Goran Ivanišević. Patrick Rafter was also honoured similarly in 2008, when a tennis center in Brisbane was named the Pat Rafter Arena. In July this year, these two tennis legends will have the chance to meet again, at the Goran Ivanišević Stadium, which has welcomed the biggest names in international tennis over the past three decades.

The tournament will be held from July 12 to 21, 2019. The traditional exhibition match between Ivanišević and Rafter will be held on Wednesday, July 17.

Goran Ivanišević will share his impressions about the 2001 Wimbledon rematch and memories of July 9, 2001, and other events that will make the 30th edition of the Umag ATP tournament, with media representatives in Zagreb.

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

Four Croatian cities are trying to make it easier at least financially for parents when it comes to caring for their children. Umag, Belišće, Vrlika and Obrovac are the only Croatian towns to ensure free kindergarten for kids, removing at least one worry from the heads of their parents.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 21st of January, 2019, in addition to employment, decent salaries and a resolved housing issue for young families, a key prerequisite for changing the negative demographic picture in the Republic of Croatia is the development of a network of nurseries and kindergartens which are made readily available to parents in need of them.

The Croatian towns in which parents, when it comes to kindergartens, have at least the financial side of things taken care of for them are Umag, Belišće, Vrlika and Obrovac. These towns are, as previously mentioned, the only four towns in the whole of Croatia that provide free kindergartens for all their children, as was reported by the portal Gradonacelnik.hr.

Until just a few days ago, there were only three towns offering such measures - Umag, Vrlika and Obrovac, and now they have been joined by Belišće, whose administration, headed by Dinka Burić, recently lowered the prices of kindergartens from 410 to 300 kuna. Upon the further analysis of budget items and revenues, they have since realised that they can provide an additional 700,000 kuna, giving parents in the area completely free kindergartens for their kids.

Although a formal decision is still yet to be made on the 28th of January, the move has been effective since January the 1st, meaning that the parents who have children needing kindergartens in Belišće no longer have to think about payments of any kind.

Thanks to European Unoon tenders and intensified local self-government activities in project preparation, nearly 200 new kindergartens are being prepared or constructed in their various different stages across the Republic of Croatia, with lack of capacity and the unavailability of accommodation becoming less and less of a problem.

Give our dedicated lifestyle  page a follow for more on Croatia's demographic problem, and to stay up to date with other Croatian towns and cities which follow in the footsteps of Umag, Obrovac, Vrlika and Belišće.

The 29th Blue Lagoon Croatia Open Umag will be accompanied by the Istria Gourmet Festival.