April 30, 2021 - As tourism chiefs gather in Dubrovnik, several sources indicate that direct flights from New York JFK to Dubrovnik with Delta Air Lines will be announced today.
Apparently the Director of the Croatian National Tourist Board, Kristjan Stancic, is in town, flying into Dubrovnik from Zagreb last night.
And a press conference has been announced.
Perhaps he is going to issue me with another pointless lawsuit, or perhaps he is going to make a public apology to me and the Croatian taxpayer for wasting my time and their money. (Read more in Croatian Media Compares Paul Bradbury Lawsuit to Kafka's 'The Trial')
But I think there is another reason for the press conference, for there are other things afoot.
Ina Rodin, New York Director of the Croatian National Tourist Board, is also in town, along with a group of American travel agents on a fam trip around Croatia.
It is just over two weeks until the elections.
Hmmm. Put all the above together, and I am guessing there is some big announcement coming. A lot bigger than another pointless lawsuit in any case.
The New York connection can mean only one thing - a new direct flight announcement. I did some digging with some New York and aviation contacts, and it appears that we have some big news on the way.
I don't normally report on flight speculation until things are officially confirmed, but my contacts in the States are pretty sure on this one, and I will be offline in a workshop all day at the Dubrovnik Digital Nomads in Residence programme.
From the information I have sourced, I would expect the following announcement:
Delta Air Lines will initiation a direct connection between New York JFK to Dubrovnik this summer. It will be a seasonal line beginning in July and flying four times a week.
Add this to the recent announcement of United Airlines also flying from Newark to Dubrovnik, and this is yet more excellent news for Dubrovnik, which is the most flight-dependent destination in Croatia, as well as the preferred choice for American tourists.
Interest in Dubrovnik has always been strong from the American market, and the city got some great free promo last year via our Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community (which won the 2021 International PR Grand PRix for Crisis Management), as Kresimir Macan, the City of Dubrovnik and Dubrovnik Tourist Board hosted the ABC crew for several days, resulting in 6 features on ABC News, including this one above on Good Morning America, which was watched by 12.5 million people.
One of the first places that could share the news to an American audience once confirmed is the KB and Marlee radio show, which normally broadcasts from Fort Worth in Texas. Marlee is currently in Dubrovnik, however, one of the 10 winners of the inaugural Dubrovnik Digital Nomads-in-Residence programme. Here she is in the old quarantine station of Lazareti, close to the city walls, currently a co-working space for digital nomads.
We will provide an update to the story after the press conference with confirmed details, assuming it is the flight announcement. Or perhaps another lawsuit. Or public apology.
For more flight announcement news, follow the dedicated TCN section.
