ZAGREB, March 25, 2020 - U.S. Ambassador in Zagreb Robert Kohorst on Wednesday said on his Twitter profile that he would follow the Prime Minister's example and donate his March salary for Zagreb's earthquake relief.

"Given the challenge Croatia is facing, I will follow PM Andrej Plenković and the Croatian Government and donate my March salary to help those affected by COVID-19 and the Zagreb Earthquake," Kohorst tweeted.

"This is the least we can do, considering how Croatia welcomed us to your country," Kohorst underlined and added #WeStandTogether.

Two strong quakes struck Zagreb on Sunday morning, the first measures 5.5 on Richter scale and the second was 5.0. They were followed by several tremors. A 15-year-old girl was killed in the quake.

Prime Minister Plenković on Tuesday said that he and his government would donate their March salaries for earthquake relief. Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said he would donate his salary too and called on lawmakers to do the same.

More news about the earthquake can be found in the Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, March 25, 2020 - The Croatian National Bank (HNB) stated on Wednesday that all commercial banks in the country had temporarily suspended fees charged for ATM transactions by natural persons at any machine regardless of whether it is their bank or not.

All the banks in Croatia have accepted the recommendation by the HNB to temporarily waive fees charged for ATM transactions by natural persons at ATMs outside their own bank’s ATM network as one of the measures envisaged to minimise movements and social interaction during the outbreak of the COVID-19 infection.

In an effort to minimize the spread of coronavirus infection, the national bank issued "a recommendation to credit institutions to issue debit cards to the most vulnerable consumers and to ensure separate working hours for retirees," the HNB also reported.

Also "banks have been asked to consider the possibility of issuing debit cards to the most vulnerable groups of consumers. This primarily refers to the elderly who do not hold debit cards linked to accounts and to consumers who, due to blocked accounts, opened protected accounts for which some banks do not normally issue debit cards. The use of debit cards would enable these people to access cash and information about their account balance via the ATM network. Banks have also been invited to consider the option of enabling access to branch offices with minimum risk to the health of particular groups of the population (e. g. separate working hours for retirees)," the HNB stated on its website.

Furthermore, the HNB has already advised banks to retain their net profits from 2019, as one of the measures to respond to the disruptions in the market caused by the coronavirus pandemic outbreak.

According to the Croatian Banking Association (HUB), the net profit of banks in Croatia in 2019 amounted to HRK 5.81 billion on the aggregate.

More coronavirus news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, March 25, 2020 - Slovenia's Interior Minister Ales Hojs on Wednesday stated that deploying Slovenia's army on the border with Croatia is essential because of illegal migration and because the police have additional duties during the current epidemiological crisis.

Activating our army to guard our southern border will be essential in the current situation with the spread of coronavirus, Hojs told a press conference in Ljubljana.

The activation of the relevant law that would give the army certain police powers and the possibility of protecting the border requires the support of two-thirds of the legislature. That is why Hojs said that he would meet with opposition caucuses over the next few days in an effort to convince them that the procedure is essential.

He said that the motion to activate the army for tasks on the border has the support of President Borut Pahor and Prime Minister Janez Janša's cabinet, so he believes that the bill will be passed with the necessary parliamentary majority, giving the army powers for a period of three months, i.e. for the duration of the coronavirus crisis.

Hojs said that deploying the army in the current situation is essential because of increased migration and the scope of work the police are involved with within the country related to the spread of COVID-19.

"We do not have any infected migrants in Slovenia yet but the number of illegal migrants caught in Slovenia at the start of the year was 70% higher than last year. There are six thousand migrants in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We do not know where they are located nor whether they are infected with coronavirus. That is why the protection of our border to the south is currently one of the government's priorities," Hojs said and added that while the coronavirus epidemic lasts, the government's main task is to protect Slovenia's citizens.

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

March 25, 2020 - With so many people dependent on tourism as COVID-19 continues to spread, will there even be a tourist season in Croatia and elsewhere this year? Some things to consider. 

(THIS ARTICLE IS NOW AVAILABLE IN CROATIAN, HAVING BEEN PUBLISHED BY INDEX.HR ON MARCH 27)

One of the more surreal aspects of this current madness is the level of understanding and acceptance of the new reality among people. Some had alarm bells ringing in early January when news broke about COVID-19, while others at the other end of the spectrum expect things to return to normal by Easter when all this nonsense will blow over - including, it seems, the esteemed President of the United States. 

I am genuinely astounded at the number of angry emails I am getting at the moment, from people demanding to know if their holiday plans are going to be ok. Or complaining that their flight has been cancelled in April, as though I should do something about it. Just 11 days ago, I received this, for example, albeit very polite:

I am writing from Virginia in the United States.  We were supposed to visit Split in late April and then embark on a cruise to Dubrovnik.  It now appears that our trip may be in jeopardy.  We are getting ambiguous reports about whether or not American citizens must undergo a 14-day quarantine upon entering Croatia.  Can you enlighten us?

This was the same day I arrived on Hvar with my family to self-isolate for what I knew was going to be a least a couple of months, and someone was worried about a cruise in Dalmatia next month. It is not his fault, it is just not real in Virginia. Yet. In the same way that Italians cannot believe that the rest of Europe did not immediately learn from their tragic experience. 

Wait a couple of months? Yes, that is how long I plan to be in Jelsa, at least I thought so 11 days ago. 

As the owner of a small travel agency who specialises in holidays to Croatia, I'm an avid reader of Total Croatia News for up to date information on all things Croatia. I've just read your article about self-isolating in Jelsa. I notice you've said you're doing this for 2 months? Why that long? Is that your decision or a length of time from what the Croatian government has said?

Timeline March 18 - 7 days ago. I replied quickly that although schools were closed for 14 days initially, I thought this would take a couple of months. 

OK, thanks. What are your views on the 14 day self-isolation for incoming visitors? Do you think this will still apply at the start of May? That of course means pretty much zero tourists and would be disastrous for the local economy.

Yes. Yes it would. And sadly, it will be. Again, I can understand the second correspondent. He has a business to run, bookings made and this thing needs to be over. It is still very remote to him in the UK. Or it was 7 days ago, for a LOT has changed in the UK in the last seven days. 

I think most people would agree that their understanding of the reality of what we are facing is different today than it was yesterday, a week ago, a month ago, two months ago. Every day brings a new realisation. And we are all at different stages on that path of understanding. The Virginia cruise tourist and the travel agency owner will catch up quickly, if they haven't already. 

One of the things that corona is bringing is clarity and the need to deal with the brutal truth. A bit like Trump hopes this will all be gone by Easter because he likes Easter, so too with the tourist season in Croatia. We all want it to start asap, and we all need it to - for it is over 20% of our GDP. 

But is it better to want it to happen, like the Trump Easter Bunny,  or face the (potentially quite frightening) reality of what the tourist season in Croatia will look like this year? 

I decided to write this article because I think we need to deal in realities to get through this. I am not a tourism expert, but I do speak to a lot of people in the industry, and I have been writing about Croatian tourism for many years. I have many, many friends in Croatian tourism here, all of whom have some tough choices to make. Our own apartment rental is seeing its booking calendar empty by the week. Those tough choices have to be made with the best possible information available. A little like the cruise tourist from Virginia, who is possibly not dreaming of that cruise now 11 days later, here are some thoughts on things to consider on when or even if the tourist season might start, written with the best of intentions by someone who is perhaps further down the road of understanding what we are looking at. 

So what does Ryanair think about the resumption of flights to Croatia and elsewhere?

This is the Ryanair homepage, with the first advertising banner on March 25, 2020. The market Europe's biggest low-cost airline is targeting right now is late season breaks in September, six months from now. 

Ryanair Group CEO Michael O'Leary issued a press release update about the latest from the Irish airline yesterday. You can read it in full here. This paragraph gives us some clues:

At this time, no one knows how long this Covid shutdown will last. The experience in China suggests a 3-month period for the spread of the virus to be contained and reduced. We do not expect to operate flights during the months of April and May at this time, but this will clearly depend upon Government advice, and we will in all cases comply with these instructions.

So currently, Ryanair does not anticipate returning to its normal schedule until June 1, based on the Chinese experience of 3 months. Which is one benchmark, but then perhaps one should factor in that Europe has not exactly imposed the discipline of the Chinese in dealing with COVID-19. 

(As an aside, because I have had a LOT of emails about Ryanair and cancelled flights, it appears that they have cancelled most of their flights from UK and Ireland to Zadar - but not other European destinations - with the exception of the Hideout Festival in June. You can see more on this in our recent article, Ryanair in Croatia: Almost Total Zadar 2020 Cancellations, But Split, Dubroovnik OK?)

But let's be positive and hope that we can get this sort in time for the resumption of flights by June 1, as Ryanair seems to be aiming for. There are some other things to consider.

How many people will want or be able to afford to go on holiday to Croatia or elsewhere?

If we could all go back to normal on June 1, most of the season would be saved. But it is sadly not that simple. 

The economic fallout from COVID-19 is only just beginning, and people are already losing their jobs, businesses going bankrupt. This trend will sadly only get worse in the coming weeks. And so when this madness is finally over, the good news is that EVERYONE will want to escape their self-isolation reality, and there is no better way to do that than on an idyllic Croatia beach.  BUT how many people will have the disposable income to do so?

We did a quick survey on TCN about people's intentions about visiting Croatia. We got 748 responses, which is not a huge number, but there are perhaps things to think about.  

Two things I take away from this. 

• A significant number of tourists will not travel this year. 
• A very significant number of tourists will wait until all this is over and then decide (more on this in a minute)

Competition for tourists after coronavirus is going to be INSANE

Greece, Italy, Spain, Egypt, France, Turkey, Tunisia, Montenegro and many other countries have very large tourism industries, all of which are in a similar situation as Croatia. They will all be trying extra hard to grab whatever they can from the smaller pot of potential tourists. And one of the key weapons they will fight with is one where Croatian tourism is not particularly competitive. 

Price. 

Expect savage discounts to get at least some tourists to come. Imagine how cheap Italy is going to be, for example, as they need to rebuild their tourism industry. But Turkey, Egypt, Greece - they are better on price than Croatia traditionally, so if there is going to be a tourist season in Croatia this year, there is going to have to be a lot of thought on price. 

Expect tourism countries to appeal to tourists to do their patriotic duty and holiday at home

(Dutch entrepreneur Jan de Jong from Split is already thinking ahead)

Expect Spanish tourists to be encouraged to holiday in Spain, Italians in Italy, the French in France. Croatia is sadly not the only country that needs to recover from this, and supporting local tourism will be a key priority of governments looking to rebuild after corona. 

How many flights to Croatia will there be in 2020 if the season does start?

It is still very questionable how the airline industry will survive this huge hit on their industry. Grounding entire airlines for weeks comes at a huge cost, and without major government intervention, some airlines will go bust. And even it they don't, the schedules will be reduced. 

This is going to be worse news for the likes of Greece, Turkey and Egypt, because the majority of Croatia's tourists arrive by car (about 75% from memory). 

What should Croatia do to attract tourists for the 2020 season after COVID-19?

The Ministry of Tourism and Croatian National Tourist Board have put all promotion on hold for the moment, which is very sensible. But where should they be focusing the efforts when things pick up again?

With the uncertainty of flights, I think it makes sense to focus on the markets which have been the backbone of Croatian tourism for decades, and which can be reached by car. The Germans, Austrians, Slovenians, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks and Hungarians all adore the Adriatic, which is still just a short drive away. Some intelligent campaigns (AND pricing). Croatia remains the best and most attractive sea option for all these countries. There will be strong competition from other tourism countries for this business, but Croatia currently holds a competitive advantage with customer loyalty and that unbeatable Adriatic. 

And I would add Serbia to that list. Of course I understand the issues with Serbs due to the past, but the official approach to Serbia is really rather odd. They are among the best spenders, live next door, and if you get a Serb for one summer on the Adriatic, there is a chance you get them for life. 

(You can learn more about how Serbia ranks in Croatian tourism spend in this article)

Back in 2011, some 16 years after the war, Croatia was the main sponsor of the Belgrade Tourism Fair. No issues with the past nine years ago. And yet two years ago, when I visited the Belgrade fair, there was no official Croatian tourism board presence at all. When I enquired why, I was informed by the Croatian National Tourist Board that Serbia as no longer a strategic market. 

Perhaps now it should be.

So will there be a tourist season in Croatia in 2020?

Yes, I think so. But I think it is important to bear in mind that it will be different. A lot different. 

Paradox Hospitality CEO Zoran Pejovic has a lot more experience in tourism than I do. And, always a positive force, he has written a couple of great articles on preparing for the uncertain future.

Travel Industry: Keep Communicating and Visibility

Build Scenarios! Be Present! Take Time to Think!

There are some very difficult days ahead for Croatian tourism and its workers. I hope this article has given a little clarity on the scenarios of the road ahead, in order to help with some decision making. 

Let's hope for the best tourism season in Croatia that we can manage in the circumstances. 

ZAGREB, March 25, 2020 - The situation concerning the supply chains is stable and shops are well supplied with goods, Agriculture Minister Marija Vučković said in an interview with Croatian Radio on Wednesday morning.

"The Ministry has started maintaining daily records of the most important farm products, so that we have daily updated figures on stocks and can see if there are any shortages in products and raw materials and the situation with the labour force," Vučković said.

She could not specify whether certain products would become unavailable at some point.

"Nevertheless, the situation is stable. The supply chains are functioning and will continue to function," the minister said.

She said that the domestic production in Croatia was not sufficient to meet all the needs on the national market.

"Our aim is to increase our domestic production and lessen our dependence on certain imports," she said.

More coronavirus news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, March 25, 2020 - The Speaker of the Croatian Parliament, Gordan Jandroković, announced on Wednesday he would request an opinion of the Constitutional Court on "restrictions of civil liberties" imposed as part of efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

"I will request an opinion of the Constitutional Court on whether we should apply Article 17 of the Constitution, meaning that the Croatian Parliament should decide by a two-third majority on restricting certain freedoms, or we can do so by directly applying Articles 16, 32 and 50 concerning freedom of movement and freedom of enterprise without Article 17," Jandroković told the press after a meeting of the Parliament Presidency.

He said that after the Court gives its opinion, he will organise a vote. "Protecting the health and lives of citizens is of paramount importance, but freedom, democracy and rule of law must also be taken into account," he added.

"Parliament is extremely important right now because it is a guarantor of democracy and rule of law. We are a law-making body and must insist on this for as long as necessary," Jandroković said.

He said that parliamentary debates will be shortened, each parliamentary group will have ten minutes to present its view on an item on the agenda and each MP will be allowed to take the floor for five minutes. Voting will be conducted by rotating groups of not more than 50 MPs.

Jandroković said that Parliament would sit in the old headquarters of the INA oil company until the quake-damaged Parliament building was repaired.

More coronavirus news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

March 25, 2020 - The results are in for the first-ever TCN survey - how do you feel about the three questions below?

Longterm followers of TCN will know that I am technically challenged, and all these new gadgets and social media platforms frighten the hell out of me. 

I like to pretend that I am progressive, but as my much younger colleagues will happily tell you, I am something of a dinosaur when it comes to change. But I am trying. 

Recently, I have started working with some very clever chaps in order to bring TCN more into the 21st century as a news platform, and I have been hearing phrases such as 'audience engagement' a lot. It has been quite the learning experience. 

And so I agreed that we should try a few experiments, to see what our readers did - and did not - like. 

One of the first things we decided to try was our very first TCN survey, choosing three topical subjects, in order to gauge the mood and opinions of our dear readers. In these troubled times, there has been a lot of reporting, but no time to find out how people are reacting to the new realities. 

You may have noticed the survey at the end of some TCN articles over the last week, and are grateful to the more than 700 of you who took part in the survey. Smallish numbers, but a solid start, and we will continue with the survey and report back in a week or so with any changes. I suspect the numbers in Question 3 of the TCN survey will look a little different as time goes on and we all go slowly nuts. 

Question 1 in our TCN survey - what are you more worried about - the health threat of coronavirus, or the economic impact?

Interesting answers, and again one to monitor as infections rise.  

The big unknown - how will the tourist season be affected in Croatia? We will have a big article on this topic later on TCN (and I will link to it here). Are people cancelling or postponing, or delaying that decision.  

And finally, how is your self-isolation going on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being excellent?

I wonder how that will change in a week... 

If you have time and interest, take the survey below and we will publish an update in a week or so. 

And we also invite contributions to the most innovative self-isolation videos in Croatia, with the aim of creating a lighter-hearted mood. Our first contribution is the video below, which we recommend you watch with sound for best effect. 

Have one to contribute? Send to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Subject Video. 

 

As Index writes on the 25th of March, 2020, after the announcement of measures to assist the economy and subsequent public appearances by Croatian Economy Minister Darko Horvat and many relevant experts, Glas Poduzetnika (Voice of Entrepreneurs) officially requested the dismissal of Minister Horvat and the establishment of an Economic Crisis Headquarters this morning by Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic.

''Dear Prime Minister,

The Voice of Entrepreneurs initiative has brought together more than 60,000 entrepreneurs and our employees, business owners and freelancers in just a few days.

We've been communicating for a week now that we believe the measures taken to help the economy are insufficient and will result in a wave of dismissals. You can see from yesterday's and today's media reactions that we were right.

By adopting these measures, Minister Horvat has rejected the proposal of our initiative, all relevant business associations and experts on the necessity of tax and contribution write-offs, [this has been coupled] with inappropriate public statements, showing that he isn't competent to manage his department in a crisis and that he doesn't represent the interests of the Croatian economy and society in full. We need a Minister who will stand up for businessmen in the same way that Minister Beros stands up for health.

We hereby request that you immediately dismiss Minister Horvat, appoint a competent Croatian Economy Minister and urgently establish an Economic Crisis Headquarters, which must include representatives of entrepreneurs and the economic profession,'' the letter to Prime Minister Plenkovic states.

Within three months, more than 700,000 people across Croatia could lose their jobs.

As a reminder, the Croatian Government presented measures to assist the economy recently, which were met with an array of negative reactions from entrepreneurs at a press conference, who have claimed that the burden of the ongoing coronavirus crisis is falling on the backs of companies, many of which are already looking bankruptcy in the eye thanks to the current work ban.

According to estimates from the Voice of the Entrepreneurs initiative analytics team, 185,000 jobs are already in jeopardy across Croatia at the moment, and that figure could exceed 700,000 within just three months.

A survey of the Voice of the Entrepreneur (Glas Poduzetnika) group - you can follow them here on Facebook - had the follow results to four options asking about Minister Horvat's performance: 

1. Excellent, his new measures are great - 0%

2. He is trying, we need to help him - 1%

3. Just a regular uhljeb - 11%

4. He is incompetent and should be replaced - 88%

Follow our business page for more. For rolling information and updates in English on the coronavirus pandemic in Croatia, stay up to date with our dedicated section.