June 8, 2022 - Tourist interest in Pelješac is increasing and the peninsula is already recording good tourist results. The opening of the Pelješac bridge, which will bring Croatia's second-largest peninsula closer to the mainland, will shorten travel time. This will surely mean the arrival of even more guests.
Peljesac attracts more and more guests from all over the world, reports HRT News.
''We love Orebić! It is very nice here: the weather was good, the food was delicious, all over Pelješac. We are really enjoying it, and maybe we will be back in September''., says Mihael from Poland.
''We have been coming to Viganj since the '80s, for surfing, so we are actually at home here. We will stay for about 3 weeks.'', says Vladimir, a Croat from Germany.
''We travel along the entire Croatian coast, from Zadar to Dubrovnik, we stay in every place for 2-3 days. We decided to come here because we did not know this part of the coast.'', adds Pasqual from France.
Tourism seems to have returned to the "old normal". The numbers in the pre-season are getting closer to the record ones.
''At pre-season, the index is 200 percent better than last year: 52 thousand overnight stays and I can tell you that we achieved 90 percent of turnover compared to 2019. Now, most foreigners in the pre-season come from Germany, so we hope it will continue in the high season.'', said Mladen Đeldum, director of the Orebić Tourist Board.
For two years in a row, the best small hotel in Croatia is an eco-hotel. The first season with the Pelješac bridge will surely remain in good memory. The changes are already visible.
The Pelješac bridge. Image was taken on May 27th. (Photo: Miroslav Lelas/PIXSELL)
''This change has already begun even before the pandemic when houses on Peljesac began to be bought en masse. We are witnessing this because, as the hotel is open all year round, all those foreigners who come in the winter to look for a property stayed with us.'', says Sabina Mikulić, owner of the Adriatic Hotel.
The changes will be most noticeable in Ston, where they are afraid that, until the Ston bypass is completed, it will become a traffic bottleneck on the way to Dubrovnik.
The first cars over the Pelješac bridge should start transiting in the middle of summer. Hopefully, full of tourists eager for vacations.
The Pelješac bridge has been completed, and its commissioning requires the completion of at least some access roads.
''We are located in Zaradeže, a place where in a few months, cars that will first pass through the long tunnel Debeli Brijeg will connect to the road across Pelješac. As we can see, the road is paved at the moment, everything is ready for the fence, and everything should be completed by July 13, when the access roads, together with the Pelješac bridge, should pass a technical inspection.'', the central Dnevnik told HTV's Vicko Dragojević.
Ing. Davor Perić from Hrvatske ceste says that the works at the Zaradeža hub are the most active.
''In this part, from the Pelješac bridge to this place where we are now standing, at the Zaradeža junction, the works are currently the most active. More than 500 people have been hired and the contractor has invested great resources and efforts to reach the July 13th deadline.'', Perić said.
He points out that certain parts of the section are being worked on day and night.
''In some parts of the section, primarily in the longest tunnel on the access roads, the Debeli Brijeg tunnel, work is done 24 hours a day. There are also teams for the completion of construction works, as well as electricians. There is a big crowd on the route and the contractor is really making every effort to finish on time.'', he says.
''Following the Zaradeža junction, the first 10 kilometers of the Ston bypass are expected to be opened this summer, which is about half of the part of the project carried out by the Greek contractor, Avax, and we expect that part, those 10 kilometers, will be ready this summer together with the Pelješac Bridge and the access roads.'', Perić said.
Ston will become a traffic bottleneck on the way to Dubrovnik this summer until the Ston bypass is completed.
''The traffic will end at the Prapratno junction, where it will be directed to the town of Ston, and that will be the case until the complete completion of the project, until the connection to the highway. For that, the last section of 8 kilometers remained, which includes two tunnels and the Ston bridge, and we expect that to be completed by the end of the year.'', concluded Perić.
For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
