November 29, 2021 - The latest flight news as London-Rijeka flights are scheduled for next summer thanks to Ryanair, and FlyDubai boosts Dubai-Zagreb operations this winter. 

Low-cost airline Ryanair is selling tickets between London and Rijeka for next summer, binging the Irish airline's second line to Rijeka next summer, reports Croatian Aviation. Recall, Ryanair also announced it would renew the Brussels and Rijeka line next summer.

Along with Brussels, Rijeka will again be connected to London by a regular line next summer. Traffic resumes on March 27, 2022. Two flights a week have been announced, every Thursday and Sunday, until late autumn - October 27, 2022.

On 62 return flights, Ryanair will offer 23,436 seats next summer between Rijeka and London. In addition, Rijeka will be connected to Stansted, an airport an hour bus ride away from central London. 

In the meantime, Ryanair has announced ten more new lines to Zadar for next summer, and several more interesting lines to the Zemunik airport are expected soon.

Croatian Aviation also announced that Flydubai is increasing the number of weekly operations between Dubai and Zagreb in the second half of December. 

After a long break, Flydubai returned to Zagreb Airport on September 23 this year. The airline has since operated between Zagreb and Dubai only twice a week. However, the airline will increase the number of weekly flights between the two cities in December.

From December 27, FlyDubai will increase the number of weekly operations between Dubai and Zagreb from the existing two to four flights per week. In addition to flights on Thursdays and Saturdays, Flydubai will additionally operate between the two cities on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Four flights a week are on offer until the end of May next year, and according to current announcements, Flydubai will operate on this route in the summer flight schedule. Emirates has permanently withdrawn from Zagreb Airport.

An increase in weekly flights had been planned earlier, but the company canceled certain departures.

The Zagreb flights are mainly operated by B737 MAX8 aircraft, which have a capacity of 166 passengers. As Flydubai and Emirates work closely together, Zagreb passengers can easily change flights via Dubai and continue their journey to several destinations.

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

November 29, 2021 - The first phase of the Gourmet tourism project - GoWine - was presented in Samobor. It includes the tourist boards of Jastrebarsko, Samobor, and Sveti Ivan Zelina with the approval of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the support of the Zagreb County Tourist Board.

In the first phase of the Gourmet tourism project GoWine, a map of wine roads was made in a circulation of 5,000 copies, followed by the website www.gowine.hr, the corresponding logo, and an application for an interactive virtual walkthrough of the wine roads. This is the result of several tourist boards carrying out activities together to develop a tourist product and promote the destination, reports HRTurizam.

The GoWine website and an interactive map provide an overview of all members of the three wine roads from Zagreb County, the availability of their direct contacts, and navigation to each of the wineries.

"Zagreb and Zagreb County form a space through which a large number of visitors, businesses, and tourists pass during one year, and the local population often chooses Zagreb County wine roads for their weekend destination. Therefore, Martina Paladina, director of the Samobor Tourist Board, Petra Masnec, director of the Tourist Board of Jastrebarsko, and my little tourist board decided to produce an interactive tool that would allow you to quickly find the desired location and a unified and complete list of destinations. Therefore, in the first phase of the project, we dedicated ourselves to the wine roads of our county, followed by accommodation and catering facilities and rural households," said the director of the Sveti Ivan Zelina Tourist Board and project coordinator Marinka Zubčić Mubrin, adding that the project established a basis for integrated gourmet tourism management to create a recognizable tourist destination product that they believe will be an excellent boost to the competitiveness of Zagreb County tourism.

Reducing the fragmentation of information and a more extensive overview of the gourmet offer of this area makes the decision easier for visitors. In addition, it opens new business opportunities for winemakers and other tourist activities.

Thus, domestic and foreign wine tourists, residents of Bregova Hrvatska, and all other passers-by who want to explore the wine roads of Zagreb County now have a new tool that makes it easier for them to find and travel to their favorite wine destinations.

The interactive virtual walk and web application are done by Otokar Crnalić from the 360 Provideo agency. The logo and wine list were created by Marko Jovanovac from the Symbol agency, while the GoWine website was made by Goran Kukočevac from Getim.

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

November 27, 2021 - Ahead of the opening on Saturday evening, the 2021 Zagreb Advent event features in the online edition of The New York Times.

As Zagreb prepares for the opening of Advent on Saturday, November 27, the award-winning event was featured in the online edition of The New York Times through the presentation of Zagreb fashion accessories and designers, reports Jutarnji List.

The Zagreb Tourist Board (TZGZ) reported on Friday, noting that a feature on Zagreb and fashion in The New York Times was prepared by journalist Kristin Vukovic, presenting a tie, handmade bags, hats, and umbrellas as authentic Zagreb fashion accessories.

The report features statements by well-known Croatian fashion brands and designers, such as those from Croata, Ethno Butik Mara, Kobali šeširi, Kišobrani Cerovečki, and goldsmith Marija Nokaj, while Zagreb is described as a city with a style that through influences from nearby Italy and the Austro-Hungarian past, together with traditional symbols combined with contemporary design, creates a distinctive flair.

The Tourist Board points out that The New York Times is one of the most popular daily newspapers in the United States, and that by cooperating with them, as well as many other media around the world and appearing at tourism fairs and congresses, they are working on the promotion of the Croatian capital, noting that the invested funds are returned many times over through various media announcements.

The opening of Advent Zagreb on Saturday, November 27, begins with the symbolic lighting of the first Advent candle on Manduševac on the central Ban Jelačić Square, followed by the illumination of pine trees on the Gradec Plateau, and the main lighting on Zrinjevac.

Advent will be held until January 6, 2022, at multiple central locations.

Every year and despite the pandemic, the Tourist Board believes that the event will attract many domestic and foreign tourists, who are recommended to adhere to the prescribed measures at Advent locations. Note that many hoteliers and caterers in Zagreb are ready for Advent with special offers.

It is also expected that December could further improve the results of tourist traffic in Zagreb. This year, from 1 January to 25 November, it is significantly increasing compared to the same period in 2020.

According to the Tourist Board, by October 25 this year, about 555,000 tourists visited Zagreb, who realized 1.2 million overnight stays, which is an increase of 69 and 63 percent compared to 2020, with both domestic and foreign tourists achieving more overnight stays than last year, i.e., 305,000 and 920,000.

Compared to 2019, the total number of overnight stays in Zagreb this year until October 25 was at 52 percent from that record pre-pandemic year.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

November the 25th, 2021 - Zagreb lighting is about to get a ''do up'' in a large investment. Although in the previous period several EU projects of the modernisation of city lighting were realised in Croatia, the most extensive of which was Newlight from the Elena program in which 57 cities and municipalities from Zagreb and Krapina-Zagorje County renovated 54,830 lamps in an investment of 22 million euros, the new Zagreb lighting project will be a step or two above that in terms of its scope.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, thanks to the European Union programme ''Elena'' and the ''RePubLEEc project,'' the City of Zagreb is launching an investment in public infrastructure worth more than 318 million kuna, and it regards the reconstruction of about 40 percent of the existing public Zagreb lighting across the capital.

The main goal of the RePubLEEc project is to increase the energy efficiency of public lighting systems, reduce the impact on the climate, increase standards and safety for citizens and prepare for the so-called Smart City transition. All this also directly implies the achievement of savings in electricity and maintenance and the operating cost of public infrastructure.

As pointed out by the Regional Energy Agency of Northwest Croatia, which both prepared and operationally managed projects for Zagreb and Krapina-Zagorje counties, and now does the same for the City of Zagreb, the RePubLEEc project is innovative primarily because its implementation doesn't involve any new borrowing.

“The implementation of the modernisation of the public lighting system is envisaged according to the model of the Energy Performance Contracting (EPC). This contracting model is implemented in such a way that the private partner independently designs, finances and performs works on the reconstruction of public Zagreb lighting and guarantees the realisation of the contracted standards (functionality, lighting and minimum energy savings). The energy performance contract is concluded for a period of seventeen years, two of which are intended for the design and the execution of the works, and fifteen years are intended for the provision of the lighting services. Based on the savings in electricity costs, the entire investment will be paid, ie the City of Zagreb won't have to plan to increase the expenditure side of the budget for its implementation, but instead to reduce it,'' they pointed out from the City of Zagreb.

They added that such contracts not only guarantee implementation but also protect public money, because in the case of non-compliance with contracted standards by ESCO partners, failure to achieve energy savings, insufficient lighting, faulty lamps, etc, and the contracted EPC fee is automatically reduced on a monthly basis (in a pay per performance scheme) which isn't in the interest of the private contractor and is a guarantee of a job well done.

As part of the EPC Agreement, the Management and Control Centre of the public lighting system is being implemented, which will communicate in real time with all luminaires in the scope for the purpose of the monitoring and regulation of luminaires - records of failures, energy consumption and so on. Thus, Zagreb will have the ability to manage and monitor all of its new lamps in real time.

Each lamp in the range will have a place to receive various sensors such as the measuring of noise, air temperature, humidity, vehicle flow, lighting, the monitoring of electric charging stations for vehicles and more. The reconstruction of about 40 percent of the Zagreb lighting fixtures according to the model of the Energy Performance Agreement will achieve savings in electricity consumption in the amount of about 75 percent or about 21 GWh per year.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

November 24, 2021 - The latest flight news to Croatia as Croatia Airlines Copenhagen-Zagreb flights are boosted this December, while Ryanair has announced two new lines to Zadar Airport next year.

Croatian Aviation reports that Croatia Airlines is increasing the number of weekly operations between Zagreb and Copenhagen in December.

The Zagreb - Copenhagen - Zagreb line was among the first to return to traffic last year after the end of the lockdown in Europe. The line was operated daily in the summer season, and Croatia Airlines additionally operated in the summer flight schedule on the regular line between Split and Copenhagen.

At the beginning of the winter flight schedule, the number of weekly operations between Zagreb and Copenhagen was reduced, but there will be an increase in the number of weekly flights in December, and the capacity itself.

From November 29 to December 5, Croatia Airlines will operate on this route 5 times a week, every day except Tuesdays and Saturdays, while 3 out of 5 flights will be operated with A319 aircraft, significantly higher capacity than DashQ400.

Daily flights were announced from December 6 to 12, but with smaller DashQ400 aircraft, while a week later (December 13-19), 6 flights with the A319 and one with the DashQ400 were announced.

From December 20 to 26, 6 flights have been announced, and Zagreb and Copenhagen will not only be connected on Christmas, but four of the six flights will be operated with the A319. Five flights have been announced from December 27 to 31, with three flights currently scheduled with the A319.

From November 30 to December 31, Croatia Airlines will operate 30 return flights between Copenhagen and Zagreb, currently offering almost 6,900 seats, most on A319 aircraft. 

Furthermore, Croatian Aviation announced that Ryanair launched two new routes from the UK to Zadar next summer, both operating from the end of March next year.

Ryanair will now connect Birmingham and Bournemouth to Zadar. While there are already scheduled flights from Birmingham to Croatian airports, this will be the first flight from Bournemouth to Croatia.

The Birmingham - Zadar - Birmingham will operate from March 30 to October 29, 2022, twice a week, every Wednesday and Saturday.

The Bournemouth - Zadar - Bournemouth line will operate from March 29 to October 29, 2022, twice a week, every Tuesday and Saturday.

There are an additional 45,000 seats between the UK and Zadar, or almost 130 more return flights from these two new routes alone. Zadar currently has 7 Ryanair destinations in the UK announced for next summer season.

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

November 22, 2021 - Zagreb Digital Nomad Ambassador Rax Suen announces two events this month - a drinks meetup on Wednesday, followed by a Nomad Panel and afterparty on November 30. 

It has been quite a year for Zagreb on the digital nomad scene, and we are not quite finished yet. After the success of the inaugural Zagreb Digital Nomad Week in June, a collaboration between Saltwater Nomads, TCN and Zagreb Tourist Board, the Zagreb Digital Nomad Ambassador Project began in July. This brought 6 nomads to spend one calendar month each in the Croatian capital at Doma Zagreb Aparthotel. 

So far, we have had nomad ambassadors and their partners from USA, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Israel. This month's ambassador, Rax Suen from Singapore, is bringing a little colour to the streets of Zagreb, and not just with his funky yellow glasses.

In association with the Digital Nomads Croatia Facebook group, TCN, Saltwater and the Zagreb Tourist Board, Rax will be holding two events this month, both of which promise to be enlightening. 

The first coincides with the monthly drinks meetup by the Digital Nomads Croatia Facebook group at Bustan Bar in Varsavka. An evening of travel stories, networking and general fun awaits. There will be speakers with their travel tales, and then an open mike to the floor. 

And then on November 30, at BIZkoshnica coworking space at Ilica 71, Rax will be hosting a Nomad Panel night with afterparty, as he hands over his ambassadorial duties to December's new arrival. The 'How to Become a Digital Nomad' panel will offer insights and tips into building remote careers and a travel lifestyle.  It all starts at 18:00, and if you are curious about the nomad lifestyle and wondering how you might get started, this is a great networking opportunity.  All welcome. 

For more about digital nomads in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section. 

November 22, 2021 - Air Serbia Belgrade-Zagreb flights will run daily in December, so long as the Zagreb fog allows it! 

Serbian national airline Air Serbia will increase the number of operations between Zagreb and Belgrade, operating daily in December, reports Croatian Aviation.

Since the pandemic's beginning and immediately after the lockdown, Air Serbia resumed traffic between Belgrade and Zagreb, constantly changing the number of weekly operations and adjusting them to the demand itself. Until December 5, six flights a week have been announced, every day except Tuesdays, and from December 7, Air Serbia will introduce a flight on Tuesdays, meaning they will run between the two cities every day. 

From December 10, there are two flights a day on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays, which will increase the number of weekly frequencies to 10!

Namely, on certain days, Air Serbia will land late at night in Zagreb, while the return flight to Belgrade will be before dawn, around 4 am. Given that the difference between the incoming and outgoing flights will be short, it is to be expected that the crew will wait for the return flight on the aircraft.

ATR72 aircraft with a capacity of 70 seats have been announced for all flights. However, Croatian Aviation states that the problem for the airline is the weather conditions in Zagreb, i.e., the thick fog due to which ATR72 aircraft are often unable to land in the Croatian capital. In that case, the airline is forced to either cancel the flight, delay the flight and wait for the weather to improve, or do what was done last night due to fog - replace the aircraft on the line with a larger type for which fog is not an obstacle.

For example, the visibility in Zagreb last night was only 200 meters, so instead of the ATR, the A319 landed in Zagreb with an hour delay, carrying 52 passengers. As a result, only 30 passengers left Zagreb for Belgrade on Sunday night.

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

November 21, 2021 - John Malkovich performs at Lisinski Hall in Zagreb this December in 'The Music Critic,' a comic performance insulting some of the greatest musical works.

Debussy, Brahms, and Schumann are just some of the great names of classical music composers that Hollywood actor John Malkovich openly says are - a handful of misery, reports Vecernji List.

Of course, it is part of a comic performance called 'The Music Critic,' which comes to Lisinski Hall in Zagreb on December 4. It combines theater, music, and comedy, mixed into a performance in which the main narrator, Hollywood actor John Malkovich, will enter the role of a sharp music critic and deliver salvos of unpleasant comments about these great composers. The whole concept was designed by Aleksey Igudesman, who will accompany John Malkovich on violin with the ensemble during his performance.

Although John Malkovich is insulting in this work, the original intention is not to resent but to realize that there are people who do not like something that is considered a masterpiece. While working on this project, Igudesman used drastic examples from Nicolas Slonimski's Lexicon of Musical Insults. Lisinski will resonate with comments such as "unnatural, disgusting music" and the like, and this performance has already succeeded in many other cities, where it received a standing ovation from the audience.

Malkovich claims that the author Igudesman is a very bright guy, but he believes that this work is still in its infancy and that it is better and more interesting with each new performance.

Insults, although packed into a comic performance, are not always met with approval. Thus, Turkish director, critic, and actor Nedim Saban wrote in his critique of the play that it was too late to deport Malkovich from Turkey since he had already packed his suitcases and left. In his criticism, he begged the authorities there never to allow Malkovich to perform with what he called a poor show. Malkovich has no problem with criticism. On the contrary, he argues that critics should do just that - criticize. In his own words, he was trying to get into the role of the strictest critic and merge all the critics into one place in a humorous way. This was not a particular problem for him, given that he also played much more dangerous characters.

It is interesting to point out that Malkovich, a famous actor known for his numerous roles in Hollywood, is, in fact, of Croatian origin. As he says, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro can also fight for him, but he feels like an American. He once visited the village where his grandfather allegedly lived, but he does not feel the nationality of Croatia since he has spent his whole life in America.

Lisinski Hall is grateful to INA for its support as the golden sponsor of this event. This is nothing unusual, considering that INA has proven to be a great friend of culture and cultural development in Croatia since its beginnings. Thus, it supports over 10 important events for local culture, such as Đakovo embroidery, Vinkovci autumn, and many others. 

"INA has continuously provided support to cultural and artistic institutions for years, and we have a special friendship with the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall. 'The Music Critic' by John Malkovich is just one in a series of performances that we have supported, contributing to the diversity of the cultural scene in Croatia. By investing in cultural content, we also have a positive impact on the quality of life, and we will continue to do so in the future," said Tamara Karagity, Director of Corporate Communications and Marketing at INA.

INA proved to be an accessible and socially responsible company during the devastating earthquakes in the most challenging moments for the whole of Croatia, including the cultural sector. At that time, INA donated a little more than 2 million kuna to cultural institutions. The company's management said they had high awareness and respect for culture and cultural institutions and were particularly affected by the loss of numerous cultural features of the city of Zagreb. Therefore, the donated money was used to renovate the most urgently needed cultural institutions.

In addition to rehabilitating the earthquake-stricken institutions, they helped numerous Croatian theaters, and thanks to their sponsorship, many plays were performed in various Croatian theaters. Their awareness of the importance of culture is apparent if we consider that INA is one of the founders of the Foundation of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts. For all previous collaborations, especially at the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall, the directors have only words of praise and more than positive experiences. 

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

November 20, 2021 - The latest flight news to Croatia as reduced Qatar Airways Zagreb flights have been announced in December, and Croatian Airlines remains the only route between Zagreb and Heathrow... for now. 

One World Alliance member Qatar Airways is reducing the number of weekly rotations between Doha and Zagreb in mid-December, reports Croatian Aviation.

The news does not come as a surprise as the occupancy of aircraft on this route is relatively low, with few arrivals from Asia. Qatar does not have a wide base of transfer passengers that were the backbone of the line to Zagreb before the pandemic.

Until Saturday, December 18, Qatar Airways will run three flights a week between Doha and Zagreb, every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. From mid-December, flights will be canceled on Mondays and the line will operate only twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The same number of weekly rotations is planned until the end of January next year.

Qatar Airways uses A320 narrow-body aircraft on this line, the smallest in its fleet. Until there is a significant opening of countries in Asia and until passengers from these countries visit Croatia in greater numbers, the number of weekly departures will remain uncertain. 

Furthermore, Croatian Aviation reports that British Airways has again canceled all flights on the Zagreb-London route at the end of this month. Consequently, only Croatia Airlines operates between Heathrow and Zagreb. 

British Airways again canceled a number of flights between Zagreb and London, as the airline is dissatisfied with the demand on this line, and ticket prices between the two cities have never been more favorable. Namely, before the pandemic, British Airways came to Zagreb with A321 aircraft, when more seats were required due to frequent overbooking.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Zagreb line has not functioned well, thanks in part to the strict measures in the UK. British Airways operated to Zagreb until the beginning of November, then all flights were canceled at the end of this month. There were plans to return in December with a smaller number of flights, but that is currently still in question.

Croatia Airlines operates between Heathrow and Zagreb four times a week, every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. One more flight per week is available compared to the summer months. All flights depart from Zagreb in the afternoon, with an evening return from London.

Ryanair also operates between London and Zagreb daily, but to Stansted Airport, which is approximately 65 kilometers away from the center of London (Heathrow is only 22 kilometers away from the center).

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

November 17, 2021 - The Croatian capital will be busy this holiday season with an increase in Ryanair Zagreb Christmas flights from Dublin, Eindhoven, and Stockholm! 

The Irish low-cost airline is offering a number of weekly flights around Christmas and New Year on several existing routes, as well as on routes running in early December, reports Croatian Aviation.

In addition to the new lines announced for next summer, Ryanair is also preparing for increased demand on European lines around Christmas and New Year and has thus made several operational changes to the lines from its Zagreb base.

Ryanair is showing great interest in the line between Dublin and Zagreb, which will run from December 2 this year, three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. From December 20 to January 9, Ryanair will increase the number of weekly flights on this route to a total of four, operating between the two cities on Wednesdays, too!

On the new Ryanair line between Eindhoven and Zagreb, which runs from December 3 (twice a week, Monday and Friday), there will be an increase in the number of weekly rotations on this line from December 20 to January 9, totaling four-weekly flights with additional flights on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

There will also be an increase in operations on two lines to Sweden, to Gothenburg and Malmö. The Gothenburg-Zagreb line currently runs three times a week and will run four times a week around Christmas, additionally on Tuesdays. From January 3 to January 9, six weekly flights have been announced, every day except Saturday.

Finally, on the Malmö - Zagreb - Malmö line, there will also be an increase in operations at the very beginning of January, and four weekly flights have been announced on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The line currently operates twice a week.

More good news: Ryanair introduced a line between Rome (Ciampino Airport) and Zagreb this summer, though the flights were transferred to Fiumicino at the end of October due to work at Ciampino. Now, Ryanair will stay at Fiumicino and will operate to Zagreb from there until the end of the winter flight schedule. This is great news for travelers given that Fiumicino is significantly better connected to the center of Rome than Ciampino.

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.