New hotels in Croatia are popping up all the time, and some major investments have seen the tourism sector come on leaps and bounds even very far away from the glitz and glamour of the yacht-filled coast. 

Croatia's investment climate has some big improvements to be getting on with, and quickly, but despite numerous issues, large investments in the country's safest sector, tourism, continue to pour in.

The Croatian capital of Zagreb has gone from all but entirely overlooked as a tourist destination to a ''must visit'' continental city which many are referring to as the ''new Vienna'' among other names. The city's dazzling Advent in Zagreb festivities has seen the Croatian capital take the prize for best European advent destination for an impressive three years running, and as the hotels fill up, new ones continue to open their doors.

As SibenikIN writes on the 28th of November, 2018, the new luxury Hotel Capital Zagreb group Amadria Park, to which the extremely popular Solaris Resort near the ancient Dalmatian city of Šibenik belongs, will be officially opened on Thursday in the centre of the Croatian capital. The brand new hotel boasts 112 rooms and the value of Ugo Group's investment, which stands behind Amadria Park, is a massive 14.5 million euro.

The new hotel is located in the building of the former Croatian branch of Wiener Bankverein at the corner of Jurišićeva and Palmotićeva street, and is the first so-called ''city'' hotel of the Amadria Park group.

''[Opening - TOMORROW 29.11.2018] The moment has arrived! It's time to unveil Amadria Park's first Zagreb hotel - Capital.

A heritage hotel with a well-appointed, central Zagreb location, it combines early 20th century architectural grandeur with the upmarket elegance of a modern hotel.

Only 450m from Ban Jelacic Square, it offers 112 rooms, restaurant, bar and cafe, fitness zone, underground garage, upmarket store and meeting rooms.'' wrote an update on Amadria Park's Facebook page.

Make sure to follow our travel and lifestyle pages for more info on new hotels in Croatia, and much more. If it's just Zagreb you're interested in, stay up to date with our dedicated Total Zagreb site for everything going on in the capital.

The answer is yes, Flydubai is returning to Zagreb, but only temporarily.

The largest Croatian software company and the very first one to exceed 1000 employees has allegedly begun plans for the construction of the Infobip Campus Zagreb.

As Bernard Ivezic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 29th of November, 2018, the largest Croatian software company, Infobip, has apparently decided to surpass itself once again and is planning to build an even larger campus than the one that opened its doors last year in Vodnjan in Istria, this time in the Croatian capital.

To briefly recall, at the end of last year, Infobip Campus Pangea was opened by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, and this facility, boasting 17,000 square metres in total, became the largest IT campus in the whole country.

The photogallery entitled "Infobip Campus Zagreb" with dozens of images of the new facility was published on LinkedIn by the multi award-winning Zagreb studio SODAarhitekti. After publishing, the post quickly received more than 200 likes, and among the ''likers'' was Infobip's chief operating director, Robert Kutić. Discussions about the construction of a campus in Zagreb have been going on for some time, but there had not been any actual confirmation of that fact until now.

Among the rumours circulated the information that Infobip was looking for PR agencies to properly ''follow'' this project for the company. The photographs show that the campus in Zagreb is expected to be larger than the one in Vodnjan, potentially twice as large. According to the currently available information, the new campus will be located in Klara in New Zagreb, in the area of the city where Microsoft, DHL, Styria, Croteam, and other companies are based.

Vedran Jukić, owner of SODAarhitektat, who initially published the photo gallery on LinkedIn, was unavailable for comment. Infobip also refused to comment on it.

Despite that, Poslovni Dnevnik was unofficially informed from close sources to the company that "that they're just pictures, and the published work is unlikely to be selected". Infobip already has a smaller office in the old part of Zagreb, near Trešnjevka, but apparently plans to continue expanding rapidly. In early 2017, it became the first Croatian software company with more than a thousand employees, and by the middle of this year, there were already over 1,300 of them, of which around 500 are based here in Croatia.

The largest Croatian software company already has fifty offices across all continents except the Antarctic, and its services are used by as many as four billion people worldwide.

The company reportedly made more than a quarter of a billion euro at the global level in 2016, with 350 million euro in profit last year. As was confirmed by the co-founder and director of Infobo Silvio Kutić, they grew 30 percent last year. If Infobip continues to grow at this impressive pace, this year the company could reach 455 million euro, or 3.4 billion kuna, in total revenue. Despite these educated guesses and calculated estimates, these figures are impossible to check because the company's official headquarters are located in London, United Kingdom.

Make sure to follow our Made in Croatia and business pages for more info on business in Croatia.

Click here for the original article by Bernard Ivezic for Poslovni Dnevnik

Experience one of the best parts of Zagreb Advent at Klovićevi Dvori Gallery and Gradec! 

The cabins are old, the viaduct must be repaired, and the cabins’ jerking motion should also be resolved – says a technical review report about the Zagreb funicular that was prepared last year and which was again cited by the Ministry of Transport during this year's technical review of the Zagreb funicular, reports Večernji List on November 27, 2018.

At least, this is what the city assembly councillor Renato Petek from the Forward Croatia party claims. He has presented the transport ministry documents which show that the funicular is not in the best possible condition.

“By studying the inspection findings of the transport ministry in the last three years, I have encountered worrying information and items that discuss repeated failures and poor management by the ZET public transportation company,” Petek said, adding that the company had failed to follow any of the recommendations given by the ministry's inspection teams. According to Petek, the recommendation about setting up an expert team to prepare everything needed for the complete reconstruction and modernization of the Zagreb funicular has been repeated in vain for years, even though this would ensure a more longterm safety for the passengers.

“There is also a problem of the control of the facilities and the engine room which can be accessed easily,” said the city councillor, pointing out that ZET representatives were excluded from a relevant committee of the Croatian Institute for Standardization last year. Petek also claims that the funicular has too few employees, who work during the Advent weeks for nine hours a day without any breaks.

The ZET transportation companies responded by saying that there are no problems. “Service on the funicular is done continuously, on a weekly, monthly, semi-annual and annual basis. This year's major service was completed in April, and the company authorized by the competent ministry carried out a technical inspection and gave its opinion and recommendations according to which the ministry issued a decision to allow the funicular to operate until September 1, 2019,” said the ZET, adding that throughout the year “potential minor problems caused by the daily use or the impact of weather conditions” are regularly resolved.

However, the president of the ZET employee trade union Dražen Jović says that the truth is somewhat different. “The funicular will not break down since it still has the license. But it is true that it should be renovated. The stations are derelict, the concrete base is slightly moving because it is being ‘pressed’ by the hill,” said Jović discussing what he has heard from his colleagues, about ten of whom work at the funicular.

“They maintain it, drive it, clean snow and work there for nine hours a day without a break. We have already demanded that at least two more people should be employed there, but the company does not want to do it,” Jović said.

For more Zagreb news, click here.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Mateja Šobak).

The 15th round of the Croatian First League was played from November 23 to 25, 2018, which included the highly anticipated derby between Rijeka and Dinamo. 

November 26, 2018 - With more than 300 exhibitors and a multitude of excellent wines and food delicacies showcased in its 13th edition, Zagreb VINOcom festival has once again confirmed itself as the leading regional festival of the finer things in life.

Much satisfied with this year's attendance, the festival's director and founder professor Ivan Dropuljić said the whole project has been well accepted by people and thus, although wine as a culture was perhaps a little neglected, in recent years we see that trend changing, while events such as VINOcom even more so boost awareness of this culture.

During the two days of VINOcom which once again took place at the historic Esplanade hotel on November 23rd and 24th, festival visitors had the chance of tasting some of the best wines from this part of Europe in an informal walk around the hotel ballrooms which allowed them to sample at their leisure and learn more about their favorite wines by talking to the exhibitors.

When it comes to wines, we could say that Croatia is full of surprises, and the biggest surprise of this year's show was by far the 2015 Amfora bubbly of the Tomac family vinery: this rare gem macerated and fermented in clay amphorae is made with a coupage of 50% Chardonnay and 50% of local grape varieties hailing from the Plešivica hills. The extraordinary Amfora sparkling wine had its premiere at the 2018 VINOcom although the 2010 Amfora Brut Nature was previously listed as one of the "75 Stellar Buys of 2016" in the January 2017 issue of the prestigious Decanter magazine and is the first Croatian wine to receive such recognition.

However, this is not the first wine to put Croatia on the world wine map as our other wine regions like Istria and Dalmatia have been long known to produce amazing, top quality wines that can easily go side by side with their much more famous counterparts from France and Italy. In addition, we shouldn't miss mentioning the coldest wine region of Croatian Uplands which has been pioneering in the domestic production of icewines.

Apart from Croatian wines, at the 13th Zagreb VINOcom, visitors had the chance to taste wines from our neighboring countries like Slovenia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia.

To complement the vino, this year's festival boasted an impressive selection of olive oils and other culinary delicacies. The tasty bites included classics like Istrian and Dalmatian prosciutto, Slavonian kulen, and various other cold cuts; but also smoked fish, as well as truffle-flavored chips, salami, and even chocolate.

In conclusion, the 13th VINOcom was once again a big success, leaving us with the impression that Croatia is thirsty for more of such events.

For more related news, make sure you follow our designated gourmet page, and if you want to know more about what else happens in the Croatian capital, then Total Zagreb is your go-to web destination.

Just a few days ago, a small earthquake could be felt in the Croatian capital of Zagreb, and now just a few days later, the city has been given another small but noticeable shake. The most recent Zagreb earthquake struck this morning, and was felt in the eastern part of the city.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 26th of November, 2018, as has been stated from the Seismological Service, there should be no damage from an earthquake of this magnitude. 

Although the earthquake wasn't strong in itself or in its effects, it was enough to unnerve some of Zagreb's citizens who say they heard and felt the unexpected rumble. The epicenter of this earthquake, the magnitude of which was measured at 2.5 degrees, was somewhere between Sesvete and Kašina.

It was felt by citizens in the eastern part of Zagreb.

"This one didn't last for very long either, but it seems to me that it was longer than the one from the other day was," one reader of Poslovni Dnevnik wrote.

To briefly recall, a slightly bigger earthquake, of a 2.7 magnitude,shook the area of Velika Gorica just two days ago, and the unwelcome effects of that, however small, could be felt by Zagreb's residents as well.

No damage, physical or otherwise, has been reported as a consequence of either of these earthquakes.

Are you currently in the city, and did you feel this most recent Zagreb earthquake? 

Make sure to keep up to date with news from up and down the country by following our dedicated news page. If it's just Zagreb you're interested in, keep up with everything going on in Croatia's capital by following Total Zagreb.

The 13th annual Zagreb VINOcom wine and culinary arts festival was opened yesterday, November 23, 2018 at the Esplanade hotel, HINA reported.

At the opening ceremony, more than 300 exhibitors of this year's VINOcom were welcomed by Deputy Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister Tomislav Tolušić who took the opportunity to express his hopes that the new Croatian wine law will right the wrongs of some past injustices, and financially unload domestic winemakers. In addition, Tolušić stated that his only goal in the winemaking sector is to make winemakers' more successful and their businesses more lucrative, assuring them that the Ministry of Agriculture would do its best to help them. He also said that thanks to its winemakers and top quality wines, Croatia is becoming a recognized enology and wine tourism destination.

In his statement to the media after the festival opening, Tolušić said that the new Croatian law is set to establishment four marketing and wine regions, announcing the decentralization of the wine-rating system as well as an increase in production control.

Following the minister's statement, Vice President of the Croatian Chamber of Economy Dragan Kovačević said Croatia has a tremendous potential for wine growing, however, with annual production of 70-80 million liters of wine, and with our exports covering in value only 45% of imports, Kovačević concluded that we certainly cannot be satisfied.

He hopes that the new wine law, as a prerequisite for the growth of the winemaking industry, will soon result in positive changes, and act as a flywheel for the Croatian economy. Also, he believes that in the future, our gastronomic offer together with the wine industry will play a much greater part in building Croatia's tourism identity, contributing to the extension of the tourist season.

The participants of the 13th VINOcom festival were also welcomed by Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić, and Ambassador of the Russian Federation Anvar Azimov, since Russia plays an important role at this year's VINOcom as a partner country.

Stay tuned for more related updates by following our designated gourmet page, and if it's just Zagreb you're interested in, make sure you follow Total Zagreb.

The story of "Success" has begun! It might sound like an invitation to a self-help course, and that is not completely off the mark, as you will be able to see soon when the first HBO TV-series filmed in the Croatian language is broadcast. The screenplay written by Marjan Alčevski is directed by Oscar-winning director Danis Tanović, and HBO is finishing the production of the TV series filmed in Zagreb, reports Večernji List on November 24, 2018.

“I often worked in countries of Central and Southeast Europe where we filmed screenplays written by famous screenwriters, but I noticed that we actually did nothing for the local authors. It was undeniable that there is raw talent here, and it was certainly possible that there were very good screenplays being written. We have therefore organized the First Draft competition, and now we have the first TV series from this language area, which has been selected among 400 applications,” said HBO Europe’s Steve Matthews.

Marjan Alčevski is understandably excited ahead of the launch. “First of all, it was hard to believe my screenplay would be filmed by Danis Tanović. I am happy with what has been done, I can see my story was made right, but the real excitement has only begun today because what the audience says is the only important thing,” said Alčevski.

The series filmed in Zagreb primarily deals with the life in the city through the stories of four characters that will be interwoven, but HBO expects that other cities from the neighboring countries will also be able to see themselves in Zagreb. According to Matthews, they did not look for a series that would deal with local political events, but an author who has something to say. For Tanović, this is the first TV series that he directed.

Ana Balentović of HBO Adria explained that they want to sell the series to other markets as well, adding that there is already interest in buying the rights for the United States. In addition to the casting that was extensive and thorough, the producers had other challenges as well.

“We had to change the shooting schedule a bit. When we started shooting, Zagreb looked more like Vladivostok, it was covered with snow and the temperature was extremely low. So we first filmed indoor scenes and then filmed all the night scenes outdoors in just ten days. We would like to thank the citizens of Zagreb who welcomed our production, but also the town and state authorities which allowed us to close the Youth Bridge for the shooting,” said Nebojša Taraba of the Drugi Plan production company.

For more on filming in Croatia, click here.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Zoran Vitas).