As Gordana Grgas/Novac writes on the 28th of April, 2020, Croatian tourism has been dealt a severe blow owing to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and various experts currently estimate that tourism turnover in Croatia will fall by 60 to 70 percent when compared to last year, with revenues dropping by a massive 70-80 percent.

Employment losses of 30-50 percent will occur in Croatian tourism-related sectors (although this will be greatly affected and influenced by state measures and grants). The business operations of collective types of accommodation facilities, primarily hotels, will be jeopardised until a vaccine for the COVID-19 virus is found, and the reason is the high concentration of guests typically staying in these facilities.

This is all part of an analysis conducted in the second half of April by the investment banking department of InteCapital and HD Consulting entitled "The Croatian Tourism Sector - Can it Cope with the Coronavirus?", showing the status and potential impact of COVID-19 on Croatian tourism and its many related sectors.

They stated that the highly reputable consulting firm, Tourism Economics, predicted that a six-month restriction period (from February to July) would result in a 28 percent drop in overall European travel (in addition to other economic effects), while an eight-month restriction period (from February to September) would result in a 48 percent decline. The worst case scenario is that the anti-epidemic restrictions will only be lifted by the end of this year, which could result in an enormous 81 percent drop in travel in Europe.

In previous crises, according to this analysis, what is known as ''V-shaped tourism'' has proven to be one of the most resilient sectors with a relatively rapid return to pre-crisis levels.

"The COVID-19 crisis brings an additional level of uncertainty with it in the context of the global level of travel due to a potential change in the behaviour and preferences of the average traveller or tourist," they note. However, they believe that Croatia has one good opportunity here: it can take advantage of being a dominant auto destination. Until the invention of the coronavirus vaccine, tourists will be motivated to keep all the elements of their travel plans under control, so it's to be expected that destinations that can be reached easily by car from other countries will recover more quickly from the COVID-19 crisis than others.

Croatia should also take advantage of the fact that it boasts the most stringent anti-coronavirus measures in Europe (research by Oxford University) for future marketing purposes in regard to Croatian tourism and luring guests. Of course, immediately after the crisis, the focus should also be on the domestic market, where the possibility of issuing vouchers to residents should be properly explored.

The top ten Croatian tourism companies had about one billion euros in business income last year, holding about 18 percent of total accommodation capacities in Croatia and boasting as many as 18 thousand employees, with pre-tax profit, interest and taxes of about 380 million euros and investments totalling 318 million euros.

The list includes the following Croatian companies: Valamar Riviera, Luksic Group (Blue Laguna and Adriatic Luxury Hotels), Maistra (including HUP-Zagreb), Arena Hospitality Group, Liburnia Riviera, Blue Sun, Solaris, Jadranka Group, Falkensteiner and Turisthotel.

They have taken a number of different operational and strategic measures to minimise the coronavirus-induced crisis, including shifting their investment focus to investments in health and hygiene aspects and IT (digitalisation resulting in reduced contact, personalisation targeting younger guests, and monitoring guest health and safety) as well as repositioning camps, as they believe this segment of Croatian tourism will recover the fastest.

What should hoteliers operating within the Croatian tourism sector primarily focus on after the COVID-19 crisis?

The focus should be on improving personal protection and hygiene measures in hotels, more stringent operating procedures to increase productivity - process automation, monitoring new segments and targeted advertising - especially for the younger population, monitoring changes in guest behaviour and habits, and applying new marketing approaches, investments and the repositioning of self-contained accommodation units, such as apartments, villas, tents, mobile homes and campsites, and additional IT investments (digitisation, and big data for the purpose of better customer segmentation).

Given that investment bankers were involved in the analysis, it is understandable to note in the end that, unless the Croatian tourism sector recovers and returns to its ''historic'' levels, there will be "a potential need for recapitalisations from 2021 onwards."

Otherwise, during the 2009 global financial crisis, Croatian tourism was reportedly not significantly affected - overnight stays and arrivals in Croatia fell by 1.4 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively. In the case of COVID-19, and due to travel bans and restrictions until we find a vaccine, the collapse in overnight stays and arrivals could be significant and lasting, thus affecting business and financial results well into 2021 as well.

Make sure to follow our dedicated section for all you need to know about coronavirus in relation to Croatia. For more on topics like these, follow our business and travel sections.

As Barbara Ban/Novac writes on the 28th of April, 2020, regardless of the ongoing coronavirus crisis, the popular Istrian city of Porec continued to refurbish part the Porec waterfront, continuing with an investment worth as much as 26 million kuna.

Although this is an enormous investment which covers as much as seven thousand square metres in total, which was unfortunately started at the worst possible time - before the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis that has hit the economy of Istria, including that of Porec, the city authorities decided to see the Porec waterfront project through to the end. The project marks the most significant public investment in the old city centre in the last ten years.

''The works were slowed down for a while because we couldn't get the materials we needed, but now everything is back on track and I believe we'll be done in June. And in regard to the horticulture side of things, everything should be completed by July the 1st, 2020.

The original plan for the opening of the Porec waterfront opening was set for June the 1st. We were also slowed down by archaeological works where an ancient vessel which is over two thousand years old was discovered, but also by the fact that our contractor was from Slovenia, so the fact that border crossings were implied slowed down the entire story. But, we've still been working constantly,'' said the Mayor of Porec, Loris Persuric.

Workers have been busy installing stone slabs, and concrete road is being gradually laid... Before that, completely new infrastructure was erected underground, and when the finishing touches were completed, interesting benches, candelabras, light installations with signposts for monuments and tourist attractions were set to follow. Booths/stands will be removed from this part of the waterfront and boaters will be provided with unified booths for the sale of their respective tourist excursions. There will be no parking spaces on this part of the Porec waterfront.

''We wanted our waterfront to become a kind of living room to bring the citizens and guests of Porec back to the waterfront,'' said the Mayor of Porec. There are currently no tourists who would otherwise be walking along this part of the city, so everything is running very smoothly.

''We've only been in this situation for two months and we expect the situation to normalise. It will not be as safe as it all was before, but I believe that we'll all adapt and tourism will start again. When tourism is fully operational in Croatia, I think Istria has an edge over everyone else because it's a destination that can easily be driven to. Tourists who arrive by air represent Istria's tourism figures by six to seven percent. We have a pool of one million guests within a five-hour drive. That was our advantage before, and I believe it will be now. I believe that we'll push through this year and that by July and August, the situation will improve a little. However, when it comes to the question of whether or not it will be as good as last year, we can't be certain. If time serves us and if nothing else happens on the global market, I believe that we'll get something out of this season,'' stated Porec's mayor optimistically.

However, this will be the strangest Croatian tourist season ever since there will not be a single event or manifestation being put on.

''We've cancelled all of the events - from Vinistra to Porec Open Air. Of course, we also expect that our budget will suffer, because there won't be as many employees as there used to be in Porec. Last year, five thousand workers came here from all over Istria. Although the city budget is estimated at 300 million kuna, it will be at a mere 40 to 50 percent of last year's amount of 270 million kuna. And that will also be the case for all other local governments. This means that we'll have to give up a lot, and we've already reduced the wage bill by 17 percent in April,'' said Persuric.

Over recent years, intensive investments have been made in new schools, kindergartens, roads, sewage, irrigation, beaches... Parts of those projects are funded by European Union funds, but not all of them, like the Porec waterfront itself.

''As we're one of the most developed cities in the Croatian framework according to the criteria of the European Union, we couldn't access EU funding for this project. So, we just decided to do it on our own. It will be arranged through 15 phases, and projects are being prepared for each phase. They're all in different stages of preparation. We'll see what will be the further dynamics of the Porec waterfront landscaping will be once this crisis passes, but we certainly won't give up on it,'' said Porec's mayor.

Make sure to follow our business page for more on investments in Croatia.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Bernard Ivezic writes on the 28th of April, 2020, in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus crisis, a new high-tech manufacturing facility is emerging right here in Croatia. The innovative Zagreb-based company, Mareton, has begun the construction of a small, highly roboticised factory that will produce electronics for smart railways.

The Ministry of Economy has sent the aforementioned Croatian company a decision on the awarding of a massive 2.12 million kuna in grants on the basis of the S3 Competition in order for the company to further commercialise its innovation - a bidirectional converter. The rest to the full project value of 5.3 million kuna is funded by Mareton itself.

Marko Stetic, founder and director of Mareton, says that the subsidy will help finance the improvement of this Croatian company's business organisation, the hiring of two experts and the development of software to make the machines for the new plant, which the company has purchased itself, ready for production.

"The minimisation and mechanical compactness of the product requires production with very advanced and precise computer-controlled machines and devices," explained Stetic. Mareton became known to the general public just two years ago when the company became the biggest winner of the second round of IRI tenders.

Then, the Zagreb-based manufacturer, in collaboration with the Faculty of Electronics and Computing in Zagreb, received a million euros in grants to develop the technology Elon Musk wants to offer in cars and households.

Mareton's brand new piece of innovation, a bidirectional converter, is a universal power converter that enables smart grid monitoring and simplifies the upgrade of electrical grids to new energy sources. In the increasingly popular e-car industry, converters are rumoured to be key because such vehicles can return electricity from their batteries back to the smart grid at night.

Stetic pointed out that Mareton has primarily focused on the needs of railways because they use a variety of electrical devices from switches and ramps to signaling, and therefore have increasingly complex energy networks that ensure the continued operation of such devices. Mareton has simplified all of this by replacing all of the different types of converters with one - its very own.

"Siemens from Switzerland and Gustav Klein from Germany have commissioned the development and prototype production from us, and we've borne all of the development costs and the complete risk of placement," noted Stetic.

He added that last year, after testing involving the Koncar Institute, Mareton delivered a test series of seventy bidirectional converters, and they proved to be great. They made them manually, and now they plan to automate that process. Back in 2018, Mareton had revenue of 6.25 million kuna and a net profit of 344,092 kuna. Last year, they said, they continued to grow slightly. With this brand new device, Mareton's growth will likely accelerate to 9.1 percent in two years.

"When this project is completed, we'll be able to offer our converter not only to railways, but also to anyone who needs more stable energy networks and separate industrial systems," concluded Stetic, adding that his company's products are used even on platforms in the North Pole.

For more Croatian innovation, follow Made in Croatia.

April 28, 2020 — Private accommodations along the Adriatic may have to ditch their usual post-checkout cleaning practices to continue using online booking services. Gloves may be worn and then tossed, hands washed repeatedly and disinfectant maniacally sprayed. The early days of tourism during the coronavirus era offers new, still-evolving protocols that may slice into profits even in the best of seasons. Hosts and cleaners along the Dalmatian coast suggest they might be shuttled into hibernation, or worse, close up shop.

New hygienic protocols, like cleaning recommendations Airbnb released on Monday, are designed to lure travelers by highlighting accommodations' cleanliness. The voluntary and extensive to-do list reportedly reads like an obsessive-compulsive germophobes' ritualistic scrub-down, but following it earns a prominent certification which could innoculate against rampant vacancies. The company argues hosts will benefit from the positive feedback of providing clean accommodations while guests will rest easy knowing their room is thoroughly disinfected.

But at the other end stand private cleaning services and hosts along the Adriatic, who consider the measures cumbersome, excessive, and costly.

"It is, in my opinion, pure nonsense," Mira Barbarić, owner of "Čisto," a cleaning services company, told Slobodna Dalmacija, among others who complained to the paper. "I clean as I always clean. I don't know what else I can do that's better than what I've been doing until now, except drew my soul out of my own body. All this together is on the verge of madness."

Barbarić and other cleaning services are sometimes a one-person operation, arriving at apartments just as guests checkout. They transform into a whirligig of spray bottles, vacuums, rags, and mops as they prep for new guests scheduled to arrive in a few hours. All of that work may not be enough anymore.

Airbnb announced its Enhanced Cleaning Initiative on Monday, creating a de facto checklist for all hosts which will affect the flow of guests to their homes. The crib-sheet reportedly reads like a minimal routine at a healthcare facility. Rigorous hand washing is followed by donning personal protective equipment (disposable gloves, masks, and aprons) and opening all doors and windows to let through a breeze.

Surfaces must first be cleaned with water and detergent (or soap), then sprayed with disinfectant which stands for a few minutes before being wiped dry with disposable wet wipes or paper towels, if possible. (Cleaning rags are allowed, but must be clean).

Linens and towels should also be washed at higher temperatures while wearing disposable gloves. Then, empty the vacuum cleaner after each cleaning and disinfect it.

Barbarić said a market already awash in black-market exchanges and deals will only grow thanks to this measure and thinning wallets. She's been in the business for 15 years, currently charging about 70 kunas an hour but expects it to fall.

"Anyone who is relatively healthy can take a cloth and clean," she said. "Of course, someone who has no money won't call the cleaning service."

Airbnb said its protocols align with recommendations from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as epidemiologists and companies in the hygiene and hospitality sectors. Hosts can enroll in the program and earn a certification which signals to guests they're adhering to the new guidelines.

Airbnb's initiative is voluntary for now, but the certification inherently incentivizes enrollment, since guests will likely seek certified accommodations.

The crux of the guidelines for hosts lies in the waiting period after checkout, where a room remains untouched for 24 hours first before cleaning begins. The recommendations follow epidemiological suggestions to reduce the odds of renters contracting a previous occupant's illness. The measure eliminates the chance of stacking guests in rapid succession, building immovable vacancies into a host's schedule. 

Many hosts and cleaners rely on razor-thin margins, high volume, fast turnover, and low overhead to turn a profit. Every night a room stays vacant is a loss. In the corona era, that will happen more and more often as online travel agencies and short-term rental apps continue searching for some semblance of normalcy (and revenues) during the coronavirus era.

April 28, 2020 - What to do when you are an Australian water polo player living in Dalmatia and preparing for Tokyo 2020 as the European flight ban loomed? Nathan Power on his whirlwind life change from Split to Sydney. 

For the last four years of my life I have had the pleasure of living in Croatia. That was brought to an abrupt, unceremonious ending due to the COVID-19 outbreak. I had been playing water polo professionally in Croatia, first for VK Primoje Rijeka and then three years with VK Jadran Split. 2020 was intended to be a big year for Jadran as it marks their 100 year anniversary. Our season had just gone into an international break when the outbreak was blowing up in Italy. We had been on a great stretch of games, including two wins in our final two games against big name team Jug Dubrovnik and Szolnok. Confidence was high and the anticipation was that we could use the free month for hard training, while the various nations yet to qualify for the Olympics were competing, and then we would return to games and make a strong push into the finals.

Because of the scheduled break in the season, my girlfriend and I had planned a weekend getaway to London. The plane was half empty, the airports barely populated and the security checks at Heathrow were insanely quick. These were all a touch harrowing because while the rest of the world had begun feeling the effects of the coronavirus in how their day to day lives were affected, life in Croatia at that point was still regular programming. Although for all the alterations to our travel experience, London was still fully functioning. We were very lucky to be able to attend the Premier League match that we had come to see, given it was the last match day to be played, even luckier that it was a 4-0 victory to Chelsea.

When we returned to Croatia there had still been no movement towards a lockdown from the government, however, my Jadran coach had shifted training to once a day which felt like an ominous sign of what was to come. By the end of that week, it became official that sporting teams and competitions were to stop for an indefinite period. As the Olympics, at that time, were still to proceed, this meant I needed to get myself back to Australia so that I could continue my training.

On a Monday afternoon, we booked my flight for Wednesday morning, just 40 hours away. However, as news broke on the Tuesday that the EU would be closing its borders by noon on the day of my flight (which was meant to leave Zagreb for Doha at 2:30 pm), I needed to find an alternative, which really only meant me leaving ASAP.

My girlfriend and I scrambled to find flights, most of which meant me bussing to Zagreb that night and leaving the European Union on any flight possible Wednesday morning. I called the Australian Embassy in Croatia to see if they had any information, and with so much confusion about what was to come, taking the risk seemed like the best thing to do. I had the Australian Water Polo Federation write me a note requesting my arrival back in the country just in case. 

The next 15 hours were spent packing up my life in Croatia and the Split apartment I had been living in for the last two years. 

In what was a whirlwind of emotions, I was finally beginning my departure at 5 am on a Wednesday from the country I had called home for 4 years. What made this so much tougher was that there were so many friends I had been unable to say a proper goodbye to.

The flying experience on my London trip had been different but nothing like what it was a week later as I tried to get home to Australia. As I flew the day the EU had shut its borders, naturally, there was so much uncertainty and nervousness around how commercial airlines would react. It was scary to see how poorly executed some of the security measures were at airports. In Doha we disembarked our plane from Zagreb and got onto a bus, only for it not to move for the next hour as the 1 doorway they had set up for health screenings was overwhelmed with passengers. To be crammed onto a bus at such close quarters for so long seemed the peak of stupidity, raising the risk of potential transmissions, when the health check was only relevant for passengers staying in Doha of which our plane had one. My flight to Sydney felt different to any flight I had experienced before. There was an air of relief and small joy permeating through the cabin as everyone on board was an Aussie returning home, knowing they could be with their families for the tough period that lay ahead.

When I landed I was immediately taken home to Newcastle where my two weeks of self-isolation was to begin. The first week I was able to use the Olympics as a motivating factor and it sped fast, however at the beginning of the second week the announcement was made to postpone the Games and I was left looking for a new motivation to get me through. By the time I was out of isolation, Australia had also instigated the social distancing rules that remain in place currently. It is a surreal feeling for me to be home and not burdened by responsibilities yet still be unable to see my closest friends. Like everyone else, I’m looking forward to when we can start getting some semblance of normalcy returning to our lives. Until then, it’s a matter of staying healthy and keeping distant.

For the latest on coronavirus in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN link. 

ZAGREB, April 28, 2020 - The Union of Autonomous Trade Unions of Croatia (SSSH) is for the first time ever organising an online protest on the occasion of International Workers' Day on May 1 due to the circumstances caused by the coronavirus epidemic which does not allow a large-scale gathering,

The e-protest will be organised from 11 to 12 hours this Friday on the Zoom platform and will be carried via social networks.

SSSH wishes to send the message that this crisis is an opportunity to clearly say that there is no going back to old ways and that it is time for a new paradigm of social and economic development.

During the virtual protest, workers will give testimonies about the impact of the crisis on their jobs while the SSSH will present its vision of a world, which suits the man, and the future that awaits us after the epidemic.

SSSH notes that this crisis once again has shown the value of all workers for society. That refers to medical staff but also to those workers who are rarely in focus without whom a normal life would not be possible and that is storekeepers, waste collectors, police officers, fire fighters, construction workers and so on.

Many of them are being thanked these days but above all they require their rights - higher wages and better working conditions including better health protection and work safety, rights that need to be respected, the union said in a press release.

More trade union news can be found in the Business section.

ZAGREB, April 28, 2020 - A HRK 443 million agreement for the construction of the A5 motorway subsection "Beli Manastir - Halašica Bridge" within the pan-European Vc transport corridor was signed on Tuesday in east Croatia.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, who attended the contract-signing ceremony at the Drava Bridge at Petrijevci, underlined that the strategic importance of the construction of the full-profile 17.5 -kilometre-long section of the motorway.

Plenković expressed his satisfaction because the financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) had been secured for the project.

The project is expected to be implemented over the next two years.

He thanked Osijek-Baranja County Prefect Ivan Anušić who had been persistent in highlighting the importance of the project for his county. Furthermore, the route will connect Croatia with Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"I think that investment will contribute to Slavonia's economic growth. It fits in with this government's intention through the Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem project to extend a hand of development to Slavonia and to take a step that will enable Slavonia to develop equally as fast as other area of Croatia," Plenković said.

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Oleg Butković assessed that it was good that works on the Vc corridor were advancing even during the crisis caused by the coronavirus.

That shows, Butković underscored, that the government has not backed down from large infrastructure projects including the continuation of works on Peljesac Bridge, the Istria Y motorway, the Vc corridor but also large railway projects with a total value of HRK 20 billion.

Butković assessed that today's agreement is a step toward Croatia's aim of building its section of the Vc corridor as soon as possible which extended for 702 kilometres from the Hungarian capital of Budapest to the southern Croatian seaport of Ploče. According to Butković, the construction of the pan-European motorway through Croatia, will be completed by the end of 2023.

Butković rejected the idea that the continuation of construction of the corridor was part of an election campaign, saying that the project had been prepared for some time and that it was necessary to obtain all the relevant permits and financial construction.

The CEO of the Croatian motorways operator HAC, Boris Huzjan announced that the project of constructing the final five kilometres of the motorway from Beli Manastir to the Hungarian border is being prepared.

He informed that the Svilaj Bridge across the Sava River connecting Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina has been completed thus completing the 85 kilometres of full profile motorway between the eastern Croatian city of Beli Manastir and the Bosnian border.

More transport news can be found in the Business section.

April 28, 2020 - Continuing his stimulating series look at travel in the post-corona era, Zoran Pejovic of Paradox Hospitality turns his attention to the burning question for many tourism businesses - to open or not to open? 

I started writing about the post-coronavirus future of the travel industry back in mid-March, as countries throughout Europe went into lockdown, one by one. I have written on the importance of staying visible, maintaining the communication, protecting the team, building scenarios, protecting your cashflow, thinking long-term, rethinking your product, process as well as business model, and a number of other things. And then I stopped. The cacophony of information had gotten to me to the point that I thought the best thing to do is follow my own advice and take time to observe and to think.

In the meantime, the industry has contracted between 60 and 90%, and we in the travel and tourism industry are all hurting globally as never before. However, this global context should not prevent us from looking more carefully at local responses and local specific implications. We have gone down globally, almost simultaneously, but we surely will not be rising again globally and simultaneously.

A lot of friends and colleagues from the industry, from all over the world, have been asking me for advice whether or not to open their businesses, restaurants, cafes and hotels once the governments allow it - or to wait. Honestly, I do not know. I do not believe that there is one simple, straightforward and encompassing answer. What I do know is that opening in Portugal might mean something completely different than opening in Croatia or in Italy. In order to make this decision, you must look both inwards and outwards. I guess the most difficult point here will be to resist the peer pressure from the industry once your colleagues start opening or the guests start calling and inquiring. Also, there is the fear of missing out in case you decide to wait a bit longer. If you have done your scenario planning and crafted your cash flow predictions based on those scenarios, and have protected your team, you should be able to focus a bit more on understanding the outside factors that will drive this decision making. Besides the biggest questions that are on everyone’s mind that deal with the restoration of international travel and opening of the borders, I am going to list three factors that can help you inform that decision:

Country Reputation

Highly-prized Michelin starred restaurants as destinations, luxury boutique hotels as destinations will have to make way again for countries as destinations. People will first look to the country, its response to the coronavirus crisis, at least the one visible via media platforms, number of cases, strength of the countries health system, overall safety and security and the measure put in place for tourists and travellers. Then, within those countries they will look for places to stay, places to eat and so on. If you are dependent on international travellers, look to your partners and ask them how they and their guests perceive your country right now, safe or not. It is all about perception now, not so much about the actual situation. If your country has managed to get through the crisis without tarnishing its reputation, by luck or by good crisis management, the likelihood is that travellers will want to come to your territory. However, if it was luck that helped your country preserve its reputation, be aware that it can easily be lost. As they say, no amount of careful planning will replace dumb luck, however, that does not mean that planning is not paramount to long term success.

New Health & Safety Standards and Clarity of Instructions

This is a big one, or rather two big ones. Based on the instructions proposed by different governmental bodies in your respective countries, you will have to calculate the level of investment you will have to put forward in order to comply with the new standards. This might mean investing in the training of people, hiring specialists in hygiene and safety, implementing physical barriers, improving your HVAC systems, adding disinfectants all over the place and so on. However, you can make this calculation only and only if the instructions are clear, easy to understand and make sense. This is really paramount to your decision making. If you are going to open the business based on loosely defined, perhaps even contradicting instructions, either plan a line in your budget to pay for the fines and penalties or wait it out, until the instruction becomes clear and understandable.

Government Interventionism

While I personally don’t support major government interventionism that favours one industry over the other, or the model of subsidies, it is also important to recognize that these are extraordinary times in which businesses are not allowed to work and compete on the open market, based on quality and price. Hence, the reality is that many governments and tourism and travel bodies will be implementing different measures to save the travel industry, which account for about 10% of global GDP and accounts for 11% of the global workforce. These decisions are not global and unilateral, but country or region-specific. While the big companies will try to negotiate rescue packages directly with the governments, independent hoteliers, restaurant owners and other travel and tourism businesses will have to rely on the major government decisions. For example, we can read that the authorities of Sicily at the end of the pandemic will provide travellers with a 50% discount on tickets to the island. Decisions like these can help inform your own decision whether to open or not. However, you should not rely on these decisions, as they will be very temporary and might not even reach you due to the layers of bureaucracy involved in the process…

Good luck! We will all need it!

You can read more on this subject of post-coronavirus travel from Zoran here:

Travel Industry: Keep Communicating and Visibility

Build Scenarios! Be Present! Take Time to Think!

Post-Coronavirus Travel and Tourism: Some Predictions

Croatian Tourism 2020 and Coronavirus: Let’s Postpone the Season

Post-Corona Tourism Planning: Hope is Not a Good Business Strategy

Travel in the Post-Corona Era: Health and Safety

You can connect with Zoran Pejovic via LinkedIn.