ZAGREB, January 8, 2020 - The appointment of the new Croatian ambassador to Serbia can serve as the first test of cooperation between the incumbent government led by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and the newly-elected president Zoran Milanović, the Večernji List daily newspaper said on Wednesday.

Hido Biščević, a journalist and a career diplomat, has already been nominated by PM Plenković for that post and this nomination has been approved by President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović.

However, the whole procedure of Biščević's appointment as the next Croatian ambassador to Belgrade has not yet been completed. It needs to be also approved by the country-recipient and in this case, Serbia has already shown positive response and also the relevant Croatian parliamentary committee is supposed to interview the nominee.

Upon the completion of the whole procedure, the Croatian president signs the decision on ambassadorial appointments.

It remains to be seen whether the procedure will be finalised until 18 February when Grabar-Kitarović's term ends.

Besides, decisions to approve appointments of diplomats towards the end of the term of the outgoing presidents may be ethically disputable. The Večernji List said that Grabar-Kitarović would not rush decisions.

The post of the Croatian ambassador in Belgrade is currently vacant after Ambassador Gordan Bakota was sent to his new ambassadorial duty to Germany.

More news about relations between Croatia and Serbia can be found in the Politics section.

The Croatian EU presidency is now in full swing. Having taken over the EU's rotating presidency from Finland, the next six months will see Croatia partake in influential decisions within the bloc. Not only that, but as Brexit is set to occur at the end of this month, seeing the UK enter into a transitional period, Croatia will take a leading role in helping to negotiate the UK's (hopefully) smooth exit.

Hotels, particularly those in the capital city of Zagreb, are also experiencing a boom which is expected to continue as the city plays host to many EU delegates, and Croatia's presence grows more strong on the European tourist map. Owing to that, the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) has decided to use the Croatian EU presidency as a way to attract tourists from the country in which Brussels is situated - Belgium.

As Marija Crnjak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 8th of January, 2020, HTZ's director Kristjan Staničić has stated that guests from Belgium usually book their holidays between December and February.

HTZ is conducting a major promotional outdoor advertising campaign in Brussels to mark the beginning of the Croatian EU presidency. During January and mid-February, public transport, buses, trams, airports and the most frequent and representative city locations in Brussels will be adorned with Croatian motifs, all with the aim of further emphasising that Belgians should pay a visit to the youngest, and also the most beautiful, member of the EU.

"The Croatian EU presidency is an ideal opportunity for the further promotion of the country, so before the very beginning of the presidency we started this campaign that we believe will have positive promotional effects. We also support the timing of the campaign, which fits in perfectly with the Belgian "tourist" calendar, as market research by the umbrella association of Belgian tour operators ABTO shows that guests from Belgium most often book their holidays between December and February,'' and Kristjan Staničić, adding that more than 220,000 arrivals and almost one million overnight stays were realised in Croatia from the Belgian market last year alone.

As part of the Brussels campaign, 25 buses and trams operate on which citizens of the European Union's capital, as well as its numerous visitors, can see pictures of Croatia with a focus placed on the country's nautical tourism.

Advertising activities are also carried out through large posters located at subway stations in Brussels, in the city centre, and in the so-called "European Neighbourhood", in selected attractive city locations and through large digital screens positioned at the most frequent locations within Brussels Airport, which sees over 26 million passengers annually.

Make sure to follow our dedicated travel page for more.

Croatia is the only country in all of Europe, and not just the EU, which fails miserably in achieving even 1 percent of its annual tourist traffic during the winter months of January and February.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes on the 8th of January, 2020, despite years of efforts to extend the tourist season, either with good ideas or simply bizarre schemes, Croatia still has by far the highest seasonality of tourist traffic of all European countries, this also includes non-EU countries.

The just released Eurostat report based on overnight stays in 2018 showed that Croatia has the most pronounced seasonality curve, with as much as 59 percent of total tourist traffic realised in just two months - July and August, which is as much as fifteen percent higher than the next countries on the list - Bulgaria and neighbouring Montenegro.

Croatia is the only country in all of Europe (as a continent, not necessarily as a bloc) that fails to generate even one percent of its annual traffic in January and February, and even Greece, a destination that also has longstanding and enormous seasonality problems, is faring better than Croatia. As is well known, the problem of seasonality has an impact on tourism revenue and pricing policy, as well as on the profitability of investments in tourist facilities, infrastructure and accommodation.

The seasonality in Croatia is mostly influenced by the structure of its accommodation capacities, with by far the largest share of beds in private accommodation (as much as 37 percent of it) and only 10.2 percent of beds in hotels. At the same time, according to the Tourism Impulse publication of the Croatian Tourism Association, the annual average occupancy rate for hotels in 2018 stood at 43.2 percent and family/private accommodation at only 18.9 percent, with these figures slightly decreasing last year.

At the European level, August is the strongest month, with 3.5 times more overnight stays realised than in January. Back in August 2018, Croatia generated almost a third of its annual turnover, as much as 30.2 percent of nearly 90 million overnight stays. In the month with the worst traffic, February, Croatia realised a worrying 55 times less overnight stays than it did in August.

When it comes to Mediterranean countries, which Croatia can be better compared with than with Northern European countries such as the United Kingdom and Norway, who have strong economies that rely on far more than just tourism, behind Montenegro, Bulgaria and Greece come France and Italy with a total of 36 percent of their tourist traffic realised in July and August.

Spain, the southwestern European country which has always been a hit with primarily Northern European tourists, acheives 28 percent of the annual share of its overnight stays in July and August. Malta stands out from the trend of the Mediterranean countries as one of the countries with the most even occupancy rate throughout the year. In addition to Malta come the Czech Republic, Germany, Estonia, Poland, Finland, as well as Kosovo, all of which don't rely that heavily on summer tourism.

Greece recorded a significant eighteen times fewer overnight stays during its worst month, which is also January, than it did during the height of the Greek tourist season - August. The Alpine countries, Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland stand out from the rest of Europe, as all of them have two peak seasons, summer and winter.

Make sure to follow our dedicated travel page for more.

January 8, 2020 - Within the project "Get to Know Your Country" organized by the Croatian Tourist Guides Association, and as part of the International Recognition Day of the Republic of Croatia, the Sinj Tourist Board, in cooperation with the Association of Tourist Guides of the City of Sinj "Osinium" and the Sinjska Alka Museum, invites all citizens of Sinj and the Cetina Region, as well as all visitors and tourists, to join a free guided tour of Sinj.

Everyone will gather at noon in front of the Alkar Palace on Sunday, January 12 (TZG Sinj Office and Sinjska Alka Museum), accompanied by a tourist guide. All participants will have the opportunity to learn more about the town of Sinj, prominent figures who influenced its development, numerous public sculptures, the Franciscan Classical High School, which is the first in southern Croatia to teach the Croatian language, the Tripalo Palace, Kamčak Fortress, the Church of Our Lady of Sinj, which houses the image of the Miraculous Lady of Sinj, the votive church at the Grad fortress, the marvelous defense of the town of Sinj in 1715, and the significance of the Sinjska Alka, which is protected by UNESCO.

In order to ensure Sinj is rightfully presented, participants will visit the Grad fortress and the Sinjska Alka Museum, which is unique in its layout and has received numerous awards and recognitions.

Get to know your city and all the hidden stories it tells. Get to know your country! You can confirm your participation by calling 099/4500305.

January 8, 2020 - ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series announces it is returning to the adrenaline island of Hvar for the fourth year in a row. 

No sooner does one high-level international sporting body check out of Suncani Hvar Hotels these days than another one checks in... 

One of the biggest changes in the tourism scene on Hvar in the last ten years has been its gradual transformation from a sun, beach and nightlife destination to additionally offering some of the best adrenaline sporting options on the Adriatic coast. 

A host of events have been quietly added to the sporting calendar over the last few years, which have now become accepted parts of the Hvar tourism scene. Events such as the Hvar Half Maraton, for example, which has now been taking place for more than a decade along surely the most beautiful half-marathon route in Europe, along the old road from Stari Grad to Hvar Town. The event takes place in August, the same month as Hvar's most famous and most demanding race, the 16km Faros Marathon swim from Stari Grad to the top of the Stari Grad Channel in open seas, and back. It is a race which regularly attracts Olympic medal winners and World Champions. 

In recent years, other international teams and organisations have seen the potential of Hvar as a sporting destination. Having welcomed the mighty McLaren name into the sport of cycling last month, the Bahrain McLaren team headed to Hvar Town for the third year of winter training, finding its challenging roads and terrain the perfect test for its cyclists ahead of yet another gruelling season. 

And having said goodbye to the Bahrain McLaren team just before Christmas, the successful partnership of Hvar Tourist Board and Suncani Hvar Hotels is now preparing for a new world-class sporting arrival, as the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series has announced it will be returning to Croatia's premier island for the fourth year, with the Hvar leg taking place from April 17-19. 

What exactly is ÖTILLÖ Swimrun

ÖTILLÖ is the origin of Swimrun, a new endurance sport driven by respect and dedication. Swimrun is about experiencing nature in the purest possible way, with Respect for yourself, for your team partner, for others and for the environment.

The ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series is the premium brand in Swimrun providing sustainable events of the highest quality which challenge your mental and physical endurance. We are dedicated to recreate the ÖTILLÖ experience in unique places around the world and to inspire the growth of a community that shares our values.

About ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Hvar

This race is beautiful but tough. The hills, the long swims and the salt-water will challenge all the teams to put in stellar performances. You will not only have to be strong running in the hills, you will need to be strong in the water to excel in this race.

The course is magnificent and a real challenge. We start and finish in the Main Square of Hvar. We will also pass through the same place once in the race, the course looks like a figure of eight or the symbol of infinity.

A total of 40,4 km with 9 swims of which the longest is 2 950 metres. A total of almost 9 000 metres of swimming. The first part of the course will be a lot of swimming, the second part will be more running.

(Photo credit Hvar Tours)

From the start you will run and swim to the Western-most point of the main island. Where the first cut-off will be. From there every team will get a safety buoy from the organisation to be used for the long swim across to the Paklini Islands. We strongly recommend that you tether up (be attached by rope) for this long swim. Make sure that you know how to swim in open-water and potentially with side-wind, waves and currents. When on the Paklini islands you leave your HEAD safety buoy and continue running and swimming back towards Hvar town.

You go back through the Main Square, here will also be the second cut-off. Then a climb to the two fortresses Spanjola and Napoleon. From Napoleon it is a nice run in the mountains through olive groves, an abandoned village and finally down to the sea again, to the nice village Milna where the third Cut off will be. From Milna you run and swim back to the finish line, which is on the Main Square in Hvar.

This course has everything; fantastic water to swim in. Some rough, some protected. Single track trails and 4×4 tracks through olive groves, lavender and rosemary fields, tough hills up and down. Historical buildings and cultural heritage all around. All with incredible views at all times!

To get more of a flavour of the event, check out the 2019 official video below. 

Think you have the strength and the partner to take part, while enjoying at one of its most beautiful times of the year? Register now.

Learn more about the island in the Total Croatia Hvar in a Page guide.

ZAGREB, January 8, 2020 - Ljubljana District Court on Tuesday upheld a decision by the Slovenian Competition Protection Agency (AVK) on the expropriation of Mercator shares owned by the Croatian food company Agrokor, rejecting the appeal in that case as unfounded, AVK said.

AVK said on its website it had received a decision by Ljubljana District Court regarding an appeal submitted by Agrokor against a decision by AVK to temporarily confiscate Agrokor's shares in Mercator in an effort to secure the enforcement of a misdemeanour decision.

"The agency explains that the decision by the relevant court has entirely upheld the agency's decision and rejected the appeal as unfounded," AVK said briefly.

AVK decided to confiscate Agrokor's shares in Mercator on December 16 in an effort to secure the enforcement of the misdemeanour decision to fine Agrokor 53.9 million euro for not reporting concentration with the Costella water bottling company.

Agrokor appealed against the decision on December 24, claiming that it was legally unfounded, unconstitutional, arbitrary and unlawful.

At the time, Agrokor reported Slovenian agency to the Vice-President of the European Commission and EU competition authorities and institutions for the protection of market competition regarding the transfer of Mercator's assets from Agrokor to the new Fortenova group. Agrokor then said that AVK's decision was contrary to the laws and practice in the EU and Slovenia.

Agrokor on Tuesday expressed regret over a Ljubljana court decision rejecting its appeal against a decision by the Slovenian Competition Protection Agency (AVK) on the expropriation of Agrokor's shares in Mercator and said that it would use all legal means to contest the decision.

"Agrokor expresses its regret over the court's decision and will use all available legal means to have the agency's final decision overturned to ensure its ownership rights in Mercator," Agrokor said in a press release.

Slovenia's Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek on Tuesday supported the Ljubljana court's decision to reject Agrokor's complaint as unfounded.

"Slovenia is a law-governed state and its laws need to be respected," Počivalšek said on his Twitter profile.

More Agrokor news can be found in the Business section.

ZAGREB, January 8, 2020 - Zoran Milanović's campaign staff will continue their work as the President-Elect's Office as of Tuesday, announced Orsan Miljenić who, along with Nikola Jelić, will communicate with the public on behalf of the Office.

"We have held a meeting of the campaign staff, who now continue their work as the President-Elect's Office," said Miljenić, who was Milanović's campaign manager. He will continue to work as the president-elect's chief of staff, while Jelić, Milanović's presidential campaign spokesman, will continue as spokesman for the Office.

Miljenić said that the public will be kept informed of all of Milanovic's activities in a timely manner, and that Milanovic will resign from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) before his inauguration. According to the Constitution, the president cannot belong to any political party.

The inauguration guest list has not yet been agreed upon.

"It is still early for that, but we have started talking about the guest list. We still have a month and a half, we will be able to do everything on time. We will be cooperating with state protocol," said Miljenić.

Miljenić would not discuss possible members of Milanović's team in the President's Office.

More news about Zoran Milanović can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 8, 2020 - Prime Minister and Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader Andrej Plenković said on Tuesday evening that the direction taken by the party had been supported "in unison" by the presidency and the national committee during their four-hour meeting in Zagreb at which they discussed the presidential runoff outcome.

In Sunday's second round of the election, the incumbent president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, nominated by the ruling HDZ for her second term, was defeated by challenger Zoran Milanović, the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and a few more opposition left parties.

"We must see the reasons for this result. We gave (her) a hundred percent support," Plenković said after the meeting of the HDZ leadership.

Answering questions from the press, Plenković said that he did not feel his responsibility for Grabar-Kitarović's defeat.

Plenković said that he had given her full support during her term as the head of state and since the start of the term of his cabinet.

He underscored that the president's agenda for the second term was supported by the party and the HDZ backed her during the campaign in the run-up to the elections.

In the coming days, county branches of the HDZ are expected to make an analysis of the reasons for differences in Grabar-Kitarović's approval ratings now and five years before when she ran for the presidency for the first time.

Plenković said that more meetings would be held in the coming days so as to see which moves to make.

As for the policy pursued by the current leadership of the HDZ, Plenković said that during the joint meeting of the presidency and the national committee, the direction taken by the party and moves on the political, economic, social and foreign affairs fronts had been unanimously supported.

Asked by the press about criticism made by parliamentarians Miro Kovač and Davor ivo Stier about the course taken by the party leadership, Plenković said that he did not know at this moment what Stier and Kovač thought and explained that they had not been at the meeting as they were not members either of the presidency or the national committee.

More HDZ news can be found in the Politics section.