ZAGREB, January 5, 2019 - Gender equality ombudswoman Višnja Ljubičić on Friday recommended withdrawing controversial education posters against alcohol consumption from trams in Zagreb over their sexist messages that degrade women, such as a warning that women under the influence of alcohol are more likely to engage in sexual intercourse with unknown men without precautions.

The messages on the posters suggest that in men alcohol affects only their bodily functions, while in women it affects their behaviour making them promiscuous, undignified and irrational and making them lose any criteria as to who they have sex with, Ljubičić said after receiving many complaints from members of the public and media.

"Such a sex-based portrayal of women is offensive and degrading and not in keeping with the principles of equality of women and men or with national and international documents that define sexism and sexual stereotypes as one of the serious obstacles to achieving full gender equality," she said.

The ombudswoman recalled that in its Recommendation 1555 of 2002, entitled "The image of women in the media", the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly called on its member states, including Croatia, to condemn sexism in the same way as racism.

The first section of the poster, which refers to men, claims that alcohol has a bad influence on sex life and reproduction of men and reduces their sexual desire, sexual power and erection. That, they say, results in a lack of confidence.

This is followed by a second section, rather absurd, warning that drunk women like to engage in sex with random people. The poster says, "With women, alcohol leads to irresponsible sexual intercourses with unknown persons, menstrual cycle disorders and pregnancy. Through the placenta, alcohol also enters the blood of a child which can cause physical disabilities and mental retardation, the so-called fetal alcohol syndrome. "

According to info on the poster itself, it was created together by the Zagreb City Office for Health and the Centre for Education, Counselling and Personal Development CEDAR. The centre explained that the poster is part of the public drive “Healthy Choice”, which is complementary to the preventive project “Healthy!” which they have been implementing together with secondary schools since 2012. The campaign is aimed at preventing high school students from experimenting with alcohol.

Centre president Ksenija Rissi said that high school students made the posters and that they "wanted to send a message to their peers about potential direct and indirect harmful effects of drinking alcohol.”

More news on the gender equality can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 5, 2019 - The Zagreb city government said on Friday that the daughter of Mladen Mađer, an MP accused of political corruption after leaving the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) to join Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić's party, was hired by the city government last year, while the USKOK anti-corruption office would not say what they were doing about this case, but confirmed they were conducting a preliminary investigation.

The city government told Hina that Tajana Šimunić was hired as a senior associate on October 1 last year after replying to a job ad.

USKOK spokesman Vuk Đuričić told Hina this office had begun a preliminary investigation into alleged political corruption after HSS president Krešo Beljak pointed to possible wrongdoing.

Beljak told the media he began suspecting corruption when Mađer said he had to think about himself and his future.

After the city government said it had hired Mađer's daughter, Beljak told Hina today there had to be more to this story. "A job isn't a good enough reason for what Mađer did."

The HSS said earlier that about ten days before Mađer joined Bandić's party, they suspected something like that would happen because they had information about allegedly serious acts of corruption. "Therefore, HSS president Krešo Beljak personally reported the whole case to USKOK," the party said.

Bandić's BM 365 Party of Work and Solidarity won only one seat in the national legislature in the September 2016 parliamentary election and Mađer is now the 13th member of its parliamentary group.

The ruling HDZ party has said MPs are leaving their former parties for Bandić because of the poor situation in the opposition ranks, while the parliamentary minority says voters are being deceived and that this proves that election legislation is bad.

More news on the Zagreb mayor can be found in our Politics section.

From the beginning of 2019, Korean Air introduced the Dreamliner Boeing 787-9 aircraft for winter operations on the popular Zagreb-Seoul route, reports AvioRadar and Ex Yu Aviation on January 4, 2018. 

Recall, Korean Air launched the route between Zagreb and Seoul in September 2018, which was also the first service between Croatia and East Asia directly. Currently, or precisely during the winter months, Korean Air will operate three weekly flights, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, via Zurich. The schedule has proven very favorable for passengers

“I congratulate Korean Air on introducing the Dreamliner on the flight to Zagreb. This airline became the first to fly the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on a scheduled flight to Zagreb. I believe that Korean Air will continue to strongly contribute to the positive results that Franjo Tudjman Airport continuously records and also further leverage Zagreb’s overall tourist traffic in 2019,” said Huseyin Bahadir Bedir, the president of the company MZLZ d.d. 

“I am very excited that Korean Air is operating the Dreamliner on the route between Zagreb and Seoul and that we are the first to fly this type of aircraft to Zagreb. We will fly this aircraft throughout the winter season, more precisely from January 2 to March 2019,” said Yeong Ho Choe, general manager for Korean Air in the Central and Eastern Europe region. 

The B787-9 Dreamliner aircraft is known as an environmentally friendly aircraft that offers advanced Boeing technology. Thanks to larger windows, higher ceilings, and an increased level of humidity, it gives passengers an even more enjoyable in-flight experience. 

The Dreamliner boasts 269 seats, with 6 passengers in first class, 18 in business, and 245 in economy class, which is an increase in capacity from the Boeing 777-200ER aircraft. In March, Korean Air will operate it’s three-class 218-seat Airbus A330-200 aircraft between Zagreb and Seoul. 

Won-Tae Cho, president of Korean Air, said that fuel-efficient jets like the Boeing 787-9 allow the airline to reduce costs and improve business.

"This will give us an opportunity to improve our results and further expand in markets such as Croatia. We will focus on various overseas routes,” Won-Tae Cho concluded. 

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

Another year has passed without the construction of the new Sljeme cable car being anywhere near completion. Actually, the works have not even started. Last year, one of the cabins of the future cable car was presented as part of the Zagreb Advent. The 2.1-metre-tall and 2-metre wide cabin, which was proudly shown at the time, has since been removed so it would not remind citizens about the broken promise of the cable car being completed by the end of 2018, reports Večernji List on January 3, 2019.

The opposition recently organised a fake “inauguration ceremony” to remind citizens about Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić’s unfulfilled promise that the new cable car would be opened on 31 December. On the very same day, the mayor decided to announce instead that he has selected the GIP Pionir construction company to build the new cable car. It should cost 299.8 million kuna and be made in 15 months. The works are expected to start next month, provided there is no appeal against the mayor’s decision.

In the best-case scenario, the Sljeme cable car could be ready for users in mid-2020, if works do indeed start soon. The selected company is the same which, less than two years ago, won a 5.6 million kuna tender to remove 13 steel pillars of the old cable car, of between 7 and 40 metres in height. This is also the same company which worked on the “Bandić fountains,” and it also built a building in which Bandić lives.

The future cable car should have 84 ten-person cabins. The route to the top of the Sljeme mountain, four and a half kilometres long, will take 16 minutes. The upper station will be at the height of 1,030 metres. The new cabins will be larger, and the whole system will be faster than the old one which, after 44 years of use, stopped forever in 2007. That year, a severe engine malfunction occurred on the cable car. It was concluded that the whole system was obsolete and should be replaced by a new one.

At the time, almost 12 years ago, Milan Bandić, who has been the mayor more or less interrupted since 2000, announced that the new cable car would be ready “as soon as possible,” and the initial deadline was May 2009, with works starting “no later than” spring 2008.

It is now early 2019, and nothing has been done since.

More news on the Zagreb mayor can be found in our Politics section.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Mateja Šobak).

Since early morning, social networks users in Croatia are sharing a photo of an unbelievable poster which has been photographed in one of Zagreb trams. The “educational” poster in question should supposedly warn users about the harmfulness of drinking alcohol. However, many believe that the posters actually spread sexism, reports Telegram on January 3, 2019.

The first section, which refers to men, claims that alcohol has a bad influence on sex life and reproduction of men and reduces their sexual desire, sexual power and erection. That, they say, results in a lack of confidence.

This is followed by a second section, rather absurd, warning that drunk women like to engage in sex with random people. The poster says, "With women, alcohol leads to irresponsible sexual intercourses with unknown persons, menstrual cycle disorders and pregnancy. Through the placenta, alcohol also enters the blood of a child which can cause physical disabilities and mental retardation, the so-called fetal alcohol syndrome. "

The ZET public transportation company has confirmed that the posters can be found in its trams. Asked how did they get there, they said that the question should be sent to the B1 company that places posters in trams. The company said that the posters are part of an educational campaign and that they have been prepared by the Zagreb City Office for Health. Reporters have contacted the head of the City Office for Health, Vjekoslav Jeleč, but his answer is still pending.

According to info on the poster itself, it was created together by the Zagreb City Office for Health and the Centre for Education, Counselling and Personal Development CEDAR. The centre explained that the poster is part of the public drive “Healthy Choice”, which is complementary to the preventive project “Healthy!” which they have been implementing together with secondary schools since 2012. The campaign is aimed at preventing high school students from experimenting with alcohol.

Centre president Ksenija Rissi said that high school students made the posters and that they "wanted to send a message to their peers about potential direct and indirect harmful effects of drinking alcohol.”

CEDAR is, according to its website, a centre that "advises, educates and empowers individuals, families and groups in order to achieve a better quality of life and to have an active and responsible relationship with themselves and their surroundings.”

The centre thanks its donors who have supported the implementation of their projects and programmes, and the list includes, among others, the City of Zagreb, its Offices for Social Welfare and Health, and the Ministries of Family and Health.

More news on Zagreb can be found in our dedicated section.

Translated from Telegram (reported by Vedran Vrabec).

A large Šibenik investment is underway, with construction permits expected to be granted in the spring, and works set to begin just after the end of 2019's summer tourist season.

As Suzana Varosanec/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 2nd of January, 2019, Zagreb Montaža Grupa (Montage Group) and ZM Development for design and construction, both headquartered in Zagreb, have gone about preparing the ground in the historic Dalmatian city of Šibenik for this year in order to intensify new, large real estate projects - Draga and Podsolarsko. The total value of the foreseen investments is approximately 110 million euro..

Partnership with the Austrians

Otherwise, this project refers to one of the largest Croatian construction companies with about 1,500 employees, and which is mostly engaged in jobs related to European Union export markets. It appears that the Draga project will be realised in partnership with an Austrian real estate company, while Podsolarsko will be run independently. Judging by what is known at the moment, both projects are gradually moving towards realisation at the same time, a fact which seems to have served as a "trigger" for completing the necessary spatial-planning and other paperwork for Podsolarsko at the end of 2018.

As they are currently navigating through the waters of the highest status of administrative preparation in Šibenik, and a quick procedure for the issuing of the necessary building permits is expected, which according to the current announcements should be resolved in the spring. After the upcoming summer tourist season, these projects are going to be realised with the execution of the first construction work. Thus, newly-built facilities will be built, covering a total area of ​​approximately 70,000 m2.

Within the scope of this project which encompasses a large Šibenik investment, Draga is preparing an additional offer of substantial garage space for the market. The design of the necessary solutions for such an offer is already under way with a design bureau from Barcelona in charge of Draga, while one of Zagreb's architectural offices is undertaking the design work for Podsolarsko.

As part of the Draga project, with a planned investment of about 50 million euro, 40,000 m2 of new garage-retail and residential space in the centre of Šibenik is planned. As the design and plan extends where today's city market currently stands, which will require for it to be temporarily relocated to part of today's parking area next to Šibenik bus station, the first phase of this project must be completed within eighteen months of the beginning of construction.

After the realisation of the main part of the project, the second phase is expected to be the construction of apartments and business premises. There will be a modern residential area boasting an impressive 30,000 m2 of living space, the construction of a mini marina for up to 65 boats is also set to take place.

The second phase of the plan involves the construction of hotels with about 250 accommodation units, they'll allegedly be of a high category, and this stands as an investment that cannot be less than 60 million euro, they say.

Sources close to the Zagreb Montaža Grupa say that both Šibenik investment projects have already attracted the interest of potential buyers.

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated business page for more information on this Šibenik investment, and much more.

Click here for the original article by Suzana Varosanec for Poslovni Dnevnik

The latest statistics of the ninth edition of the Zagreb Advent festival which will end in a few days show further marketing effect from winning the title of the Best European Advent Destination over the past three years, reports Poslovni.hr on January 2, 2019.

However, this Advent has brought about a smaller growth compared to 2017, at least as far as the guests who have been registered with the Zagreb Tourist Board are concerned. According to the eVisitor data, in the first 29 days of Advent 2018, 117,100 visitors realised 214,300 overnight stays, which is 13 per cent more overnights and 9 per cent more arrivals than in the same period of 2017. During this period, the number of Croatian visitors was 38,800 (+9 per cent), and the number of foreign visitors was 78,200, which is 9 per cent more than 2017. Of the total number of overnight stays, Croatian tourists realised 67,200 overnights, which is 14 per cent more, while foreign guests realised 147,000 overnights, which is a 13 per cent increase.

The previous edition of the Zagreb Advent saw a growth of 23%. While in past years, the most numerous guests were those from Italy, this time Italian guests have been overtaken by guests from Bosnia and Herzegovina, followed by Italians, Slovenes, Austrians, and guests from Germany, Serbia, Asian countries (Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines) and Korea, the United States and the United Kingdom. Most of the overnight stays were recorded by visitors from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Great Britain, Serbia, USA, Asian countries and Korea.

However, these data do not include a substantial number of one-day trips. Also, when calculating the financial effects, we must not forget the significant contribution of citizens of Zagreb. The study conducted by the City of Zagreb two years ago in cooperation with the Institute for Tourism showed that the 2016 Advent was visited by a total of between 3.3 million and 3.8 million people, and 49 per cent of visitors in the period came to Zagreb specifically for Advent.

Advent also gave an extra momentum to the year-round tourist season in Zagreb, which still exceeds the national average. From the beginning of the year to 29 December, the number of arrivals was 9 per cent higher and reached 1.39 million, while the number of overnight stays was 2.49 million (+10 per cent). Most visitors were from Korea, USA, Germany, Italy, China, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Spain and the United Kingdom.

More news on the Zagreb Advent can be found in our Travel section.

Translated from Poslovni.hr (reported by Marija Crnjak).

Zagreb's Sljeme mountain is a popular destination for many from the city when needing to take a break from the hustle and bustle of life down below in the Croatian capital. 

From skiing in the winter to hiking, biking and various other attractions that Sljeme offers its many visitors, one thing has been missing for a long time, and that is a cable car. Zagreb looks truly incredible from Sljeme, and a cable car would bring in excellent revenue for the capital as tourists begin to discover Croatia away from the coast more and more.

Talk of a cable car for Sljeme has been going on for quite some time now, and while it seemed at one point as if a concrete decision would never be arrived to and that the cable car story would just be another one of those things people discuss but which never actually comes to fruition, the company who will construct it has now finally been chosen.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 31st of December, 2018, the Sljeme cable car will come with a price tag of an enormous 299,790,853.96 kuna, which is the VAT-free cost.

The company chosen to go forth and construct the cable care is GIP Pionir, which removed Sljeme's former, old cable car years ago.

At the tender which was organised by the City of Zagreb, this company received an impressive 100 out of 100 points and was naturally deemed the most favourable offer to build what is likely to be one of Zagreb's top attractions when finished, according to a report from N1.

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated lifestyle page for much more. If it's just the Croatian capital you're interested in keeping up to date with, make sure to follow Total Zagreb for everything you need to know about what's going on in Zagreb.

December 31, 2018 - Great news for Irish tourists and the ever larger Croatian diaspora in Ireland, as Croatia Airlines will operate its Zagreb to Dublin service all year.

Some nice end of year news for those looking to travel between Croatia and Ireland. 

Flight portal Avioradar is reporting that Croatia Airlines will increase the frequency of its service from Zagreb to Dublin in 2019, making it a year-round connection between the Irish and Croatian capitals. 

Next year's flights will begin on April 9, with three weekly flights. The route will then continue through the winter from October 27, with two flights a week. For the full schedule, check out the original Avioradar report. 

With the all-year route will be welcome for Irish tourists, it is arguably much more useful for the growing number of young Croatian diaspora, who have moved to Ireland in recent years. 

With EU entry in July 2013, many European labour markets opened up to Croatians. While the UK has some initial restrictions, Ireland did not, and it was the only English-speaking country in the EU where Croatians could legally work. More than 10,000 have made the move so far. 

To keep in touch with the latest flight news to Croatia for 2019, follow the dedicated TCN flights page. 

December 31, 2018 - The fourth and final video from Gong.hr's satirical look at Madvent in Zagreb, taking a closer look behind the scenes of Europe's best Christmas market.

It has been another record year for Advent in Zagreb, up 12% on last year, and the December boost for tourism in Croatia is more than welcome. 

But is everything as shiny as it seems? Renowned satirists Borna Sor and Domagoj Zovak teamed up with Gong.hr to produce their own Advent calendar. They called in Madvent in Zagreb, and each Sunday they took a look at a different issue regarding the popular Christmas market. 

A look at some of the issues which do not make the tourist brochures were presented with typical humour and biting satire. You can check out the various videos below, and they are presented in reverse chronological order.

The final video, which was published on December 30, looks at the cost of some of the vanity projects of the Mayor of Zagreb, and where the money could have been better spent. 

Such a huge event brings its own waste management issues. Taking a closer look at Zagreb's waste mountain, the fastest-growing in Croatia (from December 23). 

There are plenty of shiny Christmas lights illuminating the Croatian capital during this season of festive cheer. But who is providing them, and at what cost (from December 16)? 

The Madvent in Zagreb series kicked off on December 9 with the first video looking at the economics behind the lucrative Christmas stalls, which provide the backbone of the Advent offer. Who got the stands, what was the process, and how did the official pricing compare to what the end user was charged in the end?

To learn more about Advent in Zagreb, visit the official website. 

To follow events in the capital, check out our dedicated Total Zagreb portal.