November 24, 2018 - The popularity and success of Advent in Zagreb is providing new opportunities in other sectors of Croatian tourism, with Bagatin Clinic the first to link it to Croatia's huge dental tourism potential. 

Writing about Croatian tourism is a little like watching Real Madrid play at times. A group of world-class individuals who often cannot come together and transfer all that individual talent into something cohesive for the team. And then, on occasion, when it does happen, it is like watching poetry in motion. 

Croatia has some exceptional tourism superstars, which if properly coached and encouraged, could catapult the country towards its goal of becoming a year-round destination. Among these areas I would include gastro-tourism (it is six years since the late Anthony Bourdain was blown away by the 'world class food', 'world class wine' and 'world class cheese'), and medical tourism. 

Croatia also has some great and innovative tourism success stories, none more so than Advent in Zagreb, an event which barely existed just a few years ago, but one which has been voted the best Christmas market in Europe for the last three years running. Zagreb was hardly on the tourism map at all ten years ago, especially in December, and yet this year's Advent will once again welcome hundreds of thousands of tourists to the Croatian capital. 

Advent in Zagreb, another Real Madrid superstar of the Croatian tourism scene. Apart from the tourism experience that Advent in Zagreb brings for the city itself, it is also an opportunity for those other tourism sectors to link up with the welcome surge of winter tourism traffic. Nowhere is this truer than the Croatian medical tourism industry, which operates 12 months of the year, and whose excellence in the fields of dentistry, cosmetic surgery, eye surgery, dermatology and stem cell therapy is well-documented (learn more with 25 things to know about Croatian health tourism). Croatia is currently the only place in Europe where one can take the innovative new Mayo Clinic OneMed RightMed pharmacogenetic test.  

Croatia has some 18 million tourists annually. If just 1% of those pre-planned to get their teeth, eyes or some cosmetic surgery, that would be 180,000 patients a year for the Croatian medical tourism industry. And industry experts agree on the potential of Croatian medical tourism. In a recent interview with TCN, Keith Pollard, Editor in Chief of International Medical Travel Journal, the industry's leading publication, said that Croatia could take 25% of the Hungarian dental tourism market 'if Croatia really got its act together'. The Hungarians are the regional leaders in playing together to develop the industry, something Croatia could aspire to - Pollard said that the quality of the dentistry in both countries is essentially the same.

Leading clinic Bagatin is, I think, the first to link Advent in Zagreb with dental tourism this week, encouraging Zagreb's foreign tourists to visit their clinic while they are visiting Zagreb's famous Christmas market. Bagatin is offering free consultations to foreign guests and also has the capacity to deal with the dental work at short notice, so the chance to come to Croatia for an Advent experience and leave with a brand new smile - the savings of which more than fund the entire trip - is a concept that more tourists will be investigating as word about Croatian healthcare and tourism combinations continues to spread. One man who can vouch for this winning formula is an American called Carl, whose dental experience at last year's Advent in Zagreb was not only the trip of a lifetime, but also quite literally life-changing. It is probably the best Croatian tourism promotion story I have ever read, and certainly a heartwarming tale. Read Carl's story here.  To learn more about dental treatment at Bagatin Clinic, which will be opening a clinic in Split early next year to cater to the huge tourism market in the Dalmatian capital, click here.

While affordability and excellent care are two of the cornerstones of the Croatian medical tourism industry, so too is speed. In Carl's case, above, the prescribed work back in the United States was planned over a two-year period, while he got a completely new mouth in just 10 days in Zagreb last winter. With a little forward planning, the chance exists to get all required dental care done over the holiday period, while still enjoying the magical festive atmosphere. And the medical options are not restricted to dental tourism. Croatia has, among others, outstanding eye laser surgery through pioneering clinic Svjetlost. As previously written, Svjetost produces major savings as well as very quick treatment, including one example of an Italian patient who underwent FemtoLASIK surgery on both eyes. The procedure was entirely painless, took 5 minutes per eye, and the patient was free to travel with perfect vision after a check-up 24 hours later. The cost of the surgery in Italy? About 6,500 euro, compared to 1,700 in Croatia. 

Advent in Zagreb and medical tourism in Croatia - two Real Madrid stars in Croatia who are beginning to gel together, a partnership which will bring benefits to all. 

To follow the latest from the Croatian medical tourism scene, follow TCN's dedicated coverage here. 

November 22, 2018 — The Croatian tourism apparatus will now endure its annual post-summer evaluation.

Statistics must be dissected: How many arrivals? How much was spent?

The service industry exchanges anecdotes en masse: Which nation sent the most visitors? Who were the biggest spenders?

Reviews and ratings on travel sites such as TripAdvisor and Booking.com are combed for helpful feedback — or dismissed as pointless ramblings.

Yet rarely does one get an intimate look into the experience of a Croatian tourist from beginning to end. Until now.

Refinery29’s Away Game, a series which chronicles millennial women’s travels and expenses, chronicled a 32-year-old life insurance underwriter’s day trip to Croatia.

The unnamed traveler matches a coveted demographic within the Croatian tourism industry: an American millennial from the suburbs of Washington DC earning upper-middle-class  wages.

The resulting travel diary and/or expense report offers a rare look into the experience of a first-time visitor to Croatia — warts and all.

The piece offers a holistic picture of the Croatian tourism experience: A reasonable traveler guided by word of mouth and not jingoistic advertising campaigns can experience unanticipated delights and exceeded expectations.

Croatia’s Infrastructure: The Dalmatian Sardine Can

Throughout the diary, a theme emerges: Croatia’s crowded. Especially during the height of the tourism season. It spills over into infrastructure headaches.

Immediately on her second day, our unnamed tourist encounters the infamous crowding at Dubrovnik’s Pile Gate, a familiar scene for locals and repeat visitors alike. The traveler must let two busses pass before she finally finding room to hop aboard.

Later during her stay, a warning about four cruise ships depositing its crowds onto Dubrovnik sends her hightailing to Montenegro. She spends close to $150 just to escape for a day, trading the “Pearl of the Adriatic” for an daylong jaunt through Perast, Kotor and Budva.

The hordes make cameos again in her travelogue, in Split, Hvar, Plitvice and later in Zagreb.

This sense of overcrowding reemerges in her jaunts from one location to the other. Her trip from Dubrovnik to Split took nearly six hours because of congestion on the highways. Ditto a bus trip from Zagreb to Plitvice, also extended by crowded roadways.

It was all enough to culminate in a catch-all warning to potential visitors:

“Be prepared, in high tourist season it’s very expensive and crazy-crowded on the Croatian coast,” she writes at the end. “If you’re going to Dubrovnik, pay attention to the cruise schedule and try to avoid the days where there are lots of ships.”

Croatian Service: Delightfully Bespoke 

The writer often valorizes locals going beyond a yeoman's effort to please visitors.

For example: during a trip to the Pakleni Islands, she raves of fresh sea urchin “that our guide plucked from the ocean and pried open right in front of us.”

The pattern repeats itself over and over: an Airbnb host in Hvar takes pains to handle logistics; a hotel restaurant in Split makes an off-the-menu pašticada on a whim; a solo tour goes from worrisome encounter to a delightful friendship.

Along the way, the author learns about the life of a local dependent on tourism: “They work 24/7 during the tourist season and it sounds incredibly stressful, but you’d never know.”

Is Croatia Expensive?

As the travel diary continues, a picture emerges of a conscious, selectively frugal spender. Our unnamed narrator carries her own collapsable water bottle; keeps snacks on hand; and chows on hotel breakfasts whenever possible.

“I am not a fan of hostels or shared accommodations, am willing to pay for good location, and the hotel stays included breakfast so this is where I spent the most,” she writes.

This precise spending reveals itself in her trinket and souvenir expenditures: magnets galore, as well as lavender soaps. But also something more authentic, preferably local. In Dubrovnik, she shelled out extra for filigree earrings and rose moisturizer.

“The earrings and rose cream are very touristy purchases,” she admits, then adds, “but are also so typical of Dubrovnik that they are perfect reminders of my trip.”

She’s also a cost-conscious eater. At no point during her trip does a meal come close to the triple-digit range. Granted, a solo traveler must either splurge on a Michelin Star meal or pig out in excess to cross the $100 threshold in Croatia. She often expresses disbelief at sums on her bills.

Her first meal in Zagreb sets the tone. After people-watching (another cheap-yet-fun experience) on Britanski Trg, she eats at Heritage, a tiny joint specializing in Croatian cuisine which emphasizes the food's local origins.

The bill offers a delightful sticker shock. “When I finish I’m stuffed, and when I get the bill and figure out the cost in USD I’m shocked how much I got for so little.” She paid $9.

Compare that to the $30-plus meals she regularly eats in Dubrovnik and Split.

Price disparities pop up in a myriad other ways. A cab from the airport to the hotel in Zagreb is $30; the same trip cost her $17 with Uber. (Not surprise anymore.)

All told, the traveler spent $4,603.74 in total. That includes airfare, travel, meals, souvenires and accommodations. That’s about $230 per day — days which included trips to neighboring Montenegro and Slovenia.

So... Has Croatia become too expensive?

Avoiding Well-Worn Paths

The tourism industry in Croatia often feels almost obsessed with online ratings and website recommendations. Yet our traveler’s piece limits her tech-guidance and dependency to three main apps: Airbnb, Uber and Viator.

The rest of her decisions are largely based on serendipity and word-of-mouth — either from locals or fellow travelers. It leads her to unexpected places you won’t find in many brochures or promotional videos.

While in Split, she visits Froggyland.

Froggyland?

Yes, Froggyland, “a weird little tourist trap of a museum, but worth the visit and entrance fee,” she writes. “It houses the largest collection of taxidermied frogs, all posed in dioramas performing different activities. 

“It was bizarre, but I kind of loved it.”

She takes a small group tour of the Pakleni Islands run by a husband-wife duo which owns and operates “Amazing Hvar”.

The traveler then goes zip-lining in Omiš. It ends up being one of her favorite and most-dissected parts of her trip, with paragraphs-long descriptions. (Plitvice, by comparison, gets a few cursory and well-worn sentences about natural beauty.)

The tail end of her stay in Zagreb inadvertently coincides with an international street performance festival called “Cest Is D’best”, which provides a fallback diversion on quieter days. She also takes a Secret Zagreb tour, which explores the lesser-seen parts of the city.

Yes, there are obvious overtures to Croatia’s natural beauties and pitstops at all the usual hotspots; Dubrovnik’s city walls, Diocletian's palace and Plitvice all make an appearance.

Yet it’s the strokes of logistical luck which pepper her travelogue with unique and rewarding experiences.

The Intangibles

So what can one learn from this singular, yet instructive experience?

A few choice lessons:

There’s a difference between a traveller and a tourist: Many attempts to guide tourists’ gazes can often backfire, or at least distract people from what they set out to experience. The piece’s author seemed most keen on understanding where the locals ate, hung out and found cool. Some restaurant or dish suggested by a local became a must.

People want to understand and experience the lives of locals and fellow travelers. The traveler in this story seemed willing to assimilate, for however little she visited. She even shelled out $55 for a Croatian language audio course.

“It was surprisingly easy to learn enough to speak conversationally and ask directions,” she wrote (she's in the minority). “But I rarely actually needed to since most people I cam in contact with spoke perfect English.”

There are too many Game of Thrones tours: "I’m going on a Game of Thrones walking tour and am supposed to look for my guide in the square outside the gate holding a GoT flag," she writes, "which isn’t super helpful because there are at least 3 of them.”

Perhaps Croatia’s entire tourism industry can collectively take a few notes.

To read more about tourism in Croatia, check out TCN’s dedicated page.

Ivica Todorić's attorney, Jadranka Sloković, clarified a few things for N1 on the 21st of November, 2018, with regard to what can be expected next in Ivica Todorić's case, as well as on his planned political engagement, which he himself recently announced, much to the surprise of most.

Ivica Todorić is on parole, who can carry out precautionary measures?

"He'll carry them out himself, because he has to obey them - he has to be at his place of residence, in Zagreb.''

Todorić apparently has the right to free movement in Zagreb, but he mustn't leave the city without the explicit permission of the judge, and he's also had to hand over his passport.

''They will check all of that. He's too much of a well-known person to be able to just go anywhere," explained Sloković.

How is the investigation going, when can we expect the indictment?

"So far, between 60 and 70 witnesses have been questioned," stated the lawyer, which means that there are ''more witnesses than were initially scheduled for the investigation." Witness examination is, therefore, at an end. Problems could arise however, due to the situation being to do with a foreign company.

"We really think that this will be a problem, from knowledge of the language to knowledge of the regulations, which must be applied to certain situations,'' explained Sloković. She added that the result of the assessment is not expected to be arrived to particularly quickly, either.

"It's been announced, and a decision may have been reached now, to extend the investigation for another six months, which means that the investigation will last for at least eighteen months, after which a decision will be made as to whether an indictment will be filed or not, and the indictment may be brought by the prosecutor one month after the investigation has been completed, meaning that that period can be extended for another three months, so there's still a long way to go to the indictment.''

"As for the witnesses who've been questioned up to now - given the fact that this is a non-public investigation, I can't go into [can't discuss] the testimonies, but our stance is that the testimonies don't burden Ivica Todorić in any way whatsoever."

Was custody after extradition necessary, what do you have to say about the bail fee?

"Our position was that no detention was necessary and that everything could be solved with the precautionary measures that are applicable in this case, however, the court's view was that prison was needed, and that could be replaced by bail and precautionary measures. Essentially it was the same decision as that of the court in London,'' explained Sloković, adding that a lower bail amount and different precautionary measures were involved.

Ivica Todorić announced his political engagement, yet before him lies a lengthy court process?

"We still don't know in what way this process will be completed. No matter how optimistically it started, the question is what will be proven during the investigation - it's not certain that an indictment will be filed."

As for his announced political engagement, Sloković stated that such a move is entirely Todorić's decision.

"In one thing he's right - despite Agrokor's difficult destiny, he created respectable firms, there's no burned ground left behind him. He definitely has certain qualities and what he decides to do now is his choice," concluded Jadranka Sloković.

Keep up with all things related to Ivica Todorić here.

Click here for the original interview by N1 Hrvatska

Zagreb will become the center of the international ballet and music scene at the beginning of next year, or more precisely on February 16, 2019. 

Ivica Todorić paid his million euro sum and has now officially been released from Remetinec prison. How did he come upon such a large amount of cash, you ask? No idea, I respond. In the paradoxical land that is Croatia, everything is impossible and at the same time nothing is impossible, let's just say that.

Now he's free, at least for now, the former Agrokor boss has one or two new ambitions and obviously needs a new career path to venture down now that he's no longer at the seat of the country's largest privately owned company. What better path to take than the one he says ruined him and then conducted a witch hunt against him? Yes, politics.

Todorić's bail fee was set at 7.5 million kuna, and the catch was that it couldn't be paid in any other way except cold hard cash. His lawyers deemed this clause to be a tricky one to bypass, and Todorić's wish to be free seemed to have had cold water poured all over it, until yesterday when he managed to come up with a million euros in cash. You know, as you do.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 21st of November, 2018, upon being asked just how he came upon a massive one million euros in cash, Ivica Todorić explained that a lot of people who contacted him themselves were ready and willing to help out with the bail fee. 

The first morning after leaving Remetinec prison, Ivica Todorić went to get his hair done. According to a report from 24sata, just as he did before leaving for London last year, Todorić went to one of the capital city's most well known hair salons, located on Bauer street (Ulica Antuna Bauera).

''I've come back with the ''old-new'' hairstyle. As far as bail is concerned, a lot of people helped me out, and they got in touch with me themselves. It's not fair for me to talk all about that now, everything will come to light. I'll win power and start turning Croatia in the right direction, I'm going to the elections,'' said Todorić for 24sata.

Keep up with Ivica Todorić's ever unusual antics by following our dedicated page. Keep up with the Croatian political scene by clicking here.

It works a bit, and then it stops. It starts very fast, but after a few minutes it slows down. After half an hour, it does not work at all... On Friday, some 60 trams and 58 buses started offering free wireless internet access, and in the next three to four months the free internet service should expand to all newer trams and 213 buses. So, does Wi-Fi in Zagreb public transport work, asks Večernji List on November 21, 2018.

On the no. 6 tram from Ban Josip Jelačić Square to Črnomerec and back, the user experience was mixed. At the start, the connection is great, but as the time goes by, it stops, restarts stops again and eventually dies altogether.

Getting connected to the WiFi internet is fast and easy. You just need to press the network connection option on your iPhone or Android smartphone, after which the phone automatically redirects to the ZET (company managing trams and buses) server. One tap and the connection is established, with the warning that after half an hour you will need to reconnect so that the internet connection would continue.

At first, the connection works flawlessly, and you can use Facebook, YouTube, Viber, Instagram and websites without any delays. But the happiness lasts for just fifteen minutes when the first problems begin. Videos on Instagram start to falter, and you have to wait for a second, two or three, while browsers and social networks need a little bit longer to refresh. After that, the connection quality continues to deteriorate, and after half an hour, when it is time to reconnect to the system, it might take up to 30 seconds for a website to open, while videos on YouTube can hardly be played.

Reconnecting after half an hour becomes a challenge in itself because the wireless signal is so bad that the phone can barely recognize the ZET network. Even when the connection is finally established, that does not help at all because the internet has already become so slow that it is completely unusable.

“I use my private internet connection, I am not in the mood to deal with these problems,” said Andrea Jukić, who tried the new service on Saturday. Since it stopped working after just ten minutes, she decided to rely on her internet provider.

“ZET's internet is fine if you have no more room on your data plan and you need to check an e-mail or an important message. Otherwise, it makes no sense to connect to their Wi-Fi,” said Stjepan Višić.

The pilot project for the introduction of the Wi-Fi internet in trams and buses began earlier this year when the free internet access was provided in three trams and three buses. The project proved to be a success, so 19.8 million kuna has been allocated for the introduction of wireless internet in other buses and trams.

For more on local issues in Zagreb, click here.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Hana Ivković).

Ivica Todorić has been spending time in Zagreb's Remetinec prison since his extradition from Britain to Croatia to face trial for his alleged crimes in Agrokor, his former company. The trial however, still appears to have no set date, at least not publicly.

Despite his year long attempts and final appeal while living in London to stop the British decision to extradite him having failed, he continued to fight for his right to freedom following his arrival in Croatia, with his lawyers questioning why he needs to be behind bars when he poses no threat of influence over any witnesses.

In response to this, the Croatian authorities have claimed that while that might be true, his flight risk is still very high, especially given his ''trip'' to London, which lasted an entire year, at a very crucial time. Todorić himself still claims this was a pure coincidence, that he had to be in London for business, and that he wasn't escaping anything.

Recently, his freedom had a price of 7.5 million kuna placed on it, and while the former Agrokor boss may indeed possess that in assets, the clause was that it had to be paid in cold hard cash, which looked like it was about to throw a wet blanket on the entire idea. Until today.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 20th of November, 2018, Ivica Todorić's defense team sent their proposal to Zagreb County Court, and a confirmation of the payment having been paid is now being awaited, according to N1.

What this means is that Ivica Todorić has paid the one million euro bail fee, and Agrokor's former owner will likely soon be released from Remetinec. This information was confirmed to Telegram by a source close to the Todorić family.

Make sure to follow our news page and keep up with all things related to Ivica Todorić here.

More taxis in Croatia will make the capital city richer for transport possibilities as Ridecar has entered Zagreb's taxi market with 35 of its vehicles, by the end of the year, there will be a hundred of them across Croatia.

As Darko Bicak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 19th of November, 2018, Zagreb is now richer for another player on its market taxi, which is "Ride2", the Ridecar rent-a-car's brand. The first 35 vehicles, along with a large media campaign in daily newspapers and promotional discounts for first-time users, has started its operations in the Croatian capital, giving users of taxis in Croatia yet more choice. Marijan Babić, the director of the company, said that by spring 2019 there will be a hundred of their vehicles present.

How Ride2 distinguishes itself from the competition is as they say themselves, is that a third of their vehicles, and in the future a larger part than that, will be electric cars. In addition, drivers can choose between five categories of vehicles, from standard, electric, to van and premium van.

"We were afraid that we wouldn't manage to complete all of the IT preparation for ordering and paying for the ride in time, but that's all working perfectly. The last obstacle was the Apple Store, which only included our application in its offer Sunday,'' Babić stated.

He added that their application (app) for ordering rides was downloaded 500 times by the early afternoon yesterday, and in the coming days, that number will likely be multiplied. For now, they have ten electric vehicles in their taxi fleet, mostly Renault ZOE's, and by the end of the year, the Hyundai KONA should arrive and their fleet of electric vehicles should climb at least thirty cars. Babić pointed out that they expect the existing electric renault cars to be able to deal with a whole day taxi service in the city, but with the Hyundai, they will increase their operations even more because those cars boast a 500-kilometre autonomy.

"We've invested almost 150 million kuna in our fleet, and only about 25 million has been poured into the taxi business itself. By the end of the year, electric cars will make up 30 percent of our taxi fleet, and finally, we plan to completely exhaust fossil fuel vehicles. Of course, a small part will have to be kept because some of the premium customers look for specific types of vehicles, which aren't currently made in any electric versions,'' explained Babić.

He mentioned that the company's decision to enter the taxi segment was initially decided on after the changes in the Road Traffic Act which gave them a bit more breathing space, but at the same time it caused issues with one of their more profitable services, which was hiring a vehicle with a driver.

"At the request of our partners, which are mostly British agencies, we had an offer in which you could have a package where you rented a car with a driver. The plan was initially to have about 1,000 orders per season, but last year it went up to 6,000, and it managed to reach an amazing 25,000 this year. This is a service that is being sought, but as Uber drivers had to, it was necessary to bring in regulation and now it's possible to do such a job only by renting a limo, knowing which types of cars can and can't enter this segment, this can only really be done by a hotel or a tourist agency. Everyone else had to enter into the standard taxi framework,'' Babić said.

"Getting the workforce has been a big challenge so far, and I'm afraid it will remain the biggest challenge in the forthcoming period. We've a good image among drivers and the backbone of Ride2 are those we engaged over the summer season,'' Babić concluded.

Make sure to follow our news page for more information on taxis in Croatia and much more.

Click here for the original article by Darko Bicak for Poslovni Dnevnik

• Spaces for individual work and group work
• Charging stations for phones and laptops
• High-quality technology, with computers suitable for editing videos and photos
• A fast internet connection
• Large areas for conferences, meetings, and exhibitions
• A chill-out space  for students to socialize
• A green screen studio, ideal for creating videos and editing purposes