After 13 long years, Zagreb will finally get its aerial tram. Here's what the ride will look like. And, like it or not, we’ll have it for the next 50 years. Zagreb residents will soon be able to take the aerial tram to Sljeme again. And four months before it opens, RTL has a preview of the ride.

The Sljeme aerial tram (cable car) is almost beginning to resemble the plans for the massive project, according to Petra Mlačić/RTL Direkt on January 23, 2020. Over 11 months ago, before the first shovel broke ground, and even before that first shovel, the gondola came with a 375 million HRK (50.4 million EUR) price tag. In December 2019, ZET secured a loan for 537 million HRK (72.2 million EUR) to complete the costly endeavor. So, Zagreb will finally have an aerial tram, and it will be like no other in Europe!

Massive Zagreb Base Station Will House Offices and Parking

The massive building will be the base station, which will have a stylish glass exterior, and will be surrounded by a beautifully landscaped lawn. It will also feature a bear statue and parking for bicycles. The entire project began at the base station and that is why most of it has been completed.

There will be 80 gondolas running each day, and the entire turntable is already set up. In the evening, when the aerial tram ceases operation, everything will go to into the garage.

The gondola garage is located on the ground floor and offices will be housed on the second floor. There are also two underground floors for parking spaces. The 280 parking spaces will be available to the public after March 1.

The steel poles have been installed by the Brestovac intermediate station, the terrain protected, and track installations finished. The poles, which secure the gondolas, are from six to 38 meters high. UPDATE: See an aerial video of the project below, which was released by the City of Zagreb on January 23, 2020.

Brestovac Station Source of Controversy

The Brestovac intermediate station has caused the most public controversy. There has been talk for months about whether this station was necessary or if someone had an interest in the property. A large part of the land around Brestovac belongs to the Srebrnjak Children's Hospital, so it had to handed over to the City of Zagreb to allow that station to be built.

The Brestovac station will be much smaller than initially planned but will still function as an entry/exit station. After Brestovac, the aerial tram continues for another 800 meters to the top. The final station is currently the furthest from completion, but it was also the last to begin construction. Nevertheless, they say it will be ready by the deadline, which is May 31.

Follow our Lifestyle page to keep updated on ambitious construction projects in Croatia.

January 23, 2020 - The Olive Picking World Championship, which takes place in Postira on Brac in the autumn, has been named the most creative event at the Creative Tourism Network awards in Madrid.

RTL.hr writes that the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) is presenting its tourism offer again this year at the FITUR fair in Madrid from January 22 to 26. On the first day of the fair, Croatian Minister of Tourism Gari Cappelli and HTZ Director Kristjan Stanicic visited the Croatian booth. They also met with Spanish partners, tour operators and agencies such as Jet2com, Beautiful Destination and others.

“After Utrecht, Stuttgart, Helsinki, Vienna and Berlin, this month's total Croatian tourist offer is presented at the most important Spanish tourism fair in Madrid. Speaking of Croatia, Spaniards' favorite destinations are Dubrovnik, Zagreb, Split, Zadar, Hvar and the Plitvice Lakes. This year, we plan to improve the network of the Croatian National Tourist Board representative office by launching all the necessary procedures for opening an office in Madrid because of the extremely important Spanish market for us and the fact that the leading international tourist institutions are based here. Spaniards often travel and discover new destinations, and this is exactly the opportunity we need to take advantage of in 2020,” director Stanicic said, adding that last year, 315,000 arrivals and more than 708,000 overnights were generated from Spain, which represents a 10 percent increase compared to 2018.

The Creative Tourism Network awards ceremony was also held as part of the FITUR fair, and the award for the creative event of the year was given to the Olive Picking World Championship in the municipality of Postira on Brac, which took place in October last year. 

The Creative Tourism Network is an international non-profit organization specializing in the development of creative tourism. Among 160 entries and events, their expert jury decided that this Postira event was the most creative of its kind in the world because it innovatively preserves the centuries-old tradition and brings it closer to locals and tourists alike. The event was launched to promote the traditional Croatian custom of picking olives, but also to learn about the traditions of other Mediterranean countries. Twelve teams participated in the competition.

"Spain, together with France, is the leading country for the UNWTO Sustainable Tourism Program, which will work with governments, destinations and tourism companies to reduce the environmental impact of tourism, which is also an important premise for Croatia to pursue as a tourism policy in the future. We used our stay in Madrid, the capital of one of the most visited countries in the world and the seat of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), to exchange experiences in managing sustainable development policies, which are also the backbone of Croatia's EU Council Presidency in the field of tourism. The experiences and best practices we exchanged during our meetings with leading tourism authorities and officials will greatly benefit from the development of a new National Tourism Development Strategy based on quality and responsible and sustainable business, using modern technologies as creative solutions for the future,” Minister Cappelli said.

In addition to the Croatian National Tourist Board as its main exhibitor, ten co-exhibitors are represented at the FITUR fair, including the tourist boards of the City of Zagreb and Dubrovnik-Neretva County and Abacus Tours, Illyria - Camp Soline, Atlas, Olivari, Nave Travel, Uniline, Valamar and HUP Zagreb.

Research shows that the main motives for Spaniards' trips abroad are leisure, relaxation and recreation (54 percent), followed by visits to friends and family (26 percent) and business trips (14 percent). When traveling abroad, Spaniards usually go by plane, and Spain's direct air connection with Croatia improves from year to year, especially in the summer flight schedule. Currently, three airlines are operating in the winter timetable: Croatia Airlines, Iberia and Vueling Airlines on the route Barcelona - Zagreb, Madrid - Zagreb and Barcelona - Dubrovnik.

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.

A woman who lost control of her car, which hung precariously off the side of a wooden jetty in Zadar, was rescued and escaped without injury. Early this morning there was a car accident along the Zadar shoreline for which a picture speaks more than a thousand words.

The dramatic rescue operation and rapid intervention was performed by Zadar firefighters, which prevented a woman and her vehicle from falling into the sea on Trpimirova obala near Starački dom (Nursing Home). The driver escaped without injuries, and firefighters are trying to save the vehicle as well, according to Toni Pajkin/HRT on January 23, 2020

Nissan Hung Precariously Off Wooden Jetty

This morning didn’t start off well for the driver of a Nissan. Going around the bend on Draženica, she lost control of her car, while attempting straighten the steering wheel. Although she didn't end up in the sea; most of her car hung off a wooden jetty suspended over water.

The car had stopped before it crashed. But even a slight motion posed a threat of the car tumbling down into the sea. Although the water is not very deep in this area, crashing into the water would have meant that the woman, who was trapped in the car, could have sustained serious injuries.

She could have sustained arm and leg fractures, head injuries or suffered even more severe consequences. Although the possibility of drowning was ruled out, because the firefighters and ambulances arrived quickly and were already on the scene, it is not difficult to imagine a potential ugly outcome.

Zadar Driver Remained Calm, Didn’t Move, Called Husband

The woman didn’t panic and remained calm in her car. She called her husband – and you can see him in the video wearing a black hat watching the rescue. She stayed still so as not to rock the car and waited for rescuers to arrive. Within 20 minutes, firefighters secured the car and had extended a brace over the water. Then they looped a strap through the window openings and attached it to the crane, which stabilized the car.

After that, the woman climbed out of the vehicle, kissed her husband and breathed a huge sigh of relief. She then spent a few minutes in the ambulance to so that professionals could conduct preventive check-up. But when she came out, she said repeatedly to her husband, "I'm still shaking all over; hold me!"

‘My wife parked the car the wrong way!’

Who wouldn’t shake after this experience on this foggy morning in Drošanjica. At the end of the rescue operation, the husband gave his thoughts on what happened: "Aw, no big deal. My wife parked the car the wrong way!" Both husband and wife were up for a little humor after the successful rescue.

Follow our Lifestyle page for keep track of driver and car rescues and creative parking techniques in Croatia.

ZAGREB, January 23, 2020 - European Commission Vice President Dubravka Šuica on Wednesday presented a document in Brussels according to which the Conference on the Future of Europe would be a new public forum for an open, inclusive, transparent and structured debate with citizens of diverse backgrounds and from all walks of life.

The Commission has adopted the Communication on its ideas on what the Conference on the Future of Europe should look like and proposes that it begins working on Europe Day, May 9, and to run for two years.

"The Commission proposes to launch the Conference on Europe Day – 9 May 2020. This year will mark the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Schuman Declaration and the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. As the launch would coincide with Croatia’s rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU, the kick-off event could take place in Dubrovnik," the EC says in its communication published on its website.

Defining the concept, structure, scope and timing of the Conference must be a truly joint effort by the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission, the document says. EC Vice-president for democracy and demography, Croatia's Dubravka Šuica, has been assigned with the task of organising the conference.

"We must seize the momentum of the high turnout at the last European elections and the call for action which that brings. The Conference on the Future of Europe is a unique opportunity to reflect with citizens, listen to them, engage, answer and explain. We will strengthen trust and confidence between the EU institutions and the people we serve. This is our chance to show people that their voice counts in Europe," Šuica was quoted as saying.

The European Parliament has already defined its position in a resolution adopted on 15 January, and the document calls for "an open and transparent process which takes an inclusive, participatory and well-balanced approach towards citizens and stakeholders."

The Council will discuss the topic on January 28. Croatia's presidency is tasked with harmonising proposals and positions by member states in that regard.

After the Council adopts its relevant document, all three institutions -- the Council, the EC and the EP -- need to adopt a joint statement defining the concept, structure, scope and timing of the conference.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said that all Europeans will actively contribute to the Conference. "It is only together that we can build our Union of tomorrow," von der Leyen said.

The Commission proposes two parallel work strands for the debates.

The first should focus on EU priorities and what the Union should seek to achieve: including on the fight against climate change and environmental challenges, an economy that works for people, social fairness and equality, Europe's digital transformation, promoting our European values, strengthening the EU's voice in the world, as well as shoring up the Union's democratic foundations.

The second strand should focus on addressing topics specifically related to democratic processes and institutional matters: notably the lead candidate system and transnational lists for elections to the European Parliament, according to the information on the European Union's website.

More news about Croatia and the EU can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 23, 2020 - Spaniards like to travel a lot and discover new destinations which is an opportunity for Croatia to utilise also because of the scope of the Spanish market and therefore the Croatian Tourism Board (HTZ) intends to open an office in Madrid, Director Kristjan Staničić said on Wednesday at the 40th edition of the FITUR.

FITUR, the largest tourism fair in Spain with 165 countries attending, is running from 22 to 26 January and the HTZ and some ten other exhibitors are presenting Croatia's tourist sector at the show.

They all expect positive trends from the Spanish market and forecast that there will be a growth of 10% in tourism compared to 2019.

Tour operators and partners in Spain who talked to Staničić and Croatian Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli also expect positive trends to continue this year.

Dubrovnik, Zagreb, Split, Zadar, Hvar and Plitvice Lakes are the most sought-after destinations in Croatia for Spaniards. This year we plan to additionally improve our network of branch offices by opening a branch in Madrid particularly since leading international tourist institutions have their main offices here, said Staničić.

He informed that last year, 315,000 Spaniards visited Croatia and generated more than 708,000 bednights, which is an increase of 10% compared to 2018.

Minister Cappelli said that Spain and France were the forerunners in the UNWTO Programme for sustainable tourism, which is being implemented in cooperation with governments, destinations and tourism companies in an effort to reduce the impact of tourism on the environment, which is an important presumption for Croatia's future tourism policy.

"We are using this visit to Madrid to exchange experiences in conducting a policy of sustainable development which is the linchpin of Croatia's presidency of the Council of the EU in the field of tourism. The experiences and examples of good practice we exchanged with leading tourism authorities and officials will be of great benefit in preparing a new national strategy for tourism development which will be based on quality, responsible and sustainable business with the use of modern technology as creative solutions for the future," Cappelli underlined.

HTZ informed that Spaniards usually travel to foreign countries by plane and each year direct flight connections between Span and Croatia are being improved particularly during the summer timetable.

FITUR introduces itself as a "global meeting point for tourism professionals and the leading trade fair for inbound and outbound markets in Latin America."

"At its staging, FITUR broke all previous participation records with 10,487 companies from 165 countries and regions, 142,642 trade visitors and 110,848 visitors from the general public," according to the information provided on the fair's website.

More tourism news can be found in the Travel section.

ZAGREB, January 23, 2020 - Michael Mueller, the president of the management board of the Raiffeisen Bank (RBA), resigned on Wednesday in the wake of the negative perception in public regarding a tender to procure the services of a PR agency, the bank has reported.

I am aware of the strong negative perception generated of Raiffeisen Bank and its management and I stress that the said document in no way reflects the intention of the bank's management. I have decided to resign in order to protect the bank's reputation, Mueller said.

The press release notes that Andreas Gschwenter is Chief Operating & Information Officer at Raiffeisen Bank International AG and Chairman of Raiffeisen Bank Zrt has accepted Mueller's resignation.

Following approval by the Croatian National Bank (HNB), Liana Keserić will be acting president of the management board at RBA, the press release notes.

Mueller's resignation comes after it was disclosed the RBA was seeking a PR agency that would exert pressure on the Croatian Constitutional Court over the case of the Swiss franc-pegged loans.

The Index news portal on Sunday reported that RBA was seeking PR agency for crisis communication regarding Swiss franc-denominated loans and that one of its tasks includes "exerting pressure on the Constitutional Court and other courts in Croatia."

RBA explained that it had advertised the tender to engage a PR agency with the aim of the bank's stance being equally represented in the case CHF-pegged loans.

"The task of the agency was solely intended as a way to make the other side of the case gain more publicity, since it has not had much of a reach so far. In all activities, including this tender, we have sought legitimate procedures as our solutions, that is, communication activities which would reach their target audience through the media," RBA said.

However, the tender came across negative reactions and the Franak association on Monday reacted sharply to the news of the tender. The SNAGA party and the Franak association on Tuesday asked the Office of the Chief State Prosecutor to investigate an attempt by Raiffeisen Bank (RBA) to hire a PR agency to put pressure on courts in a case in which bank contracts on loans pegged to the Swiss franc were nullified.

The HNB on Monday reported that it was unpleasantly surprised by that commercial lender's advertisement for a PR agency and that it would urgently conduct an inspection of RBA and take the necessary steps.

More news about banks can be found in the Business section.

January 23, 2020 - Marin Cilic and Donna Vekic have advanced to the third round of the Australian Open.

Marin Cilic is in the third round of the Australian Open! After five-sets, Cilic found his way to victory against the 21st best player in the world, Frenchman Benoit Paire - 6:2, 6:7(6), 3:6, 6:1, 7:6(10:3).

The match looked promising for Cilic at first as he easily won the first set. However, in the second, Cilic had a 5:2 lead and allowed Paire to get back in the game. The Frenchman returned with a break, and after the tie-break at 3:5, he won the second set. 

Cilic lost the third set thanks to a break in the eighth game, but after that moment, he did not lose his serve for the rest of the match. 

In just 27 minutes, Cilic took the fourth set, while the fifth set went to an extended tie-break in which Marin reached his fifth victory in his sixth meeting with Paire. Marin totaled 17 aces (Paire had 30) with a first-serve percentage of 67%. Marin’s rival in the fight for the round of 16 will be the 9th best tennis player in the world, Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut.

Donna Vekic will join Cilic in the third round of the Australian Open for the first time in her career. The Osijek native and 19th-seed of the tournament defeated French player Alize Cornet, the 61st best tennis player in the world - 6:4, 6:2 without any problems.

Donna had a bit more work to do in the first set, where, after a 3:1 lead, she allowed Cornet to return to 3:3. However, immediately in the next game, Vekic broke her opponent, which was enough to win the first set.

In the second set, Donna was up 4:1, which was an unattainable advantage for Cornet. This was their second match and the first victory for Vekic, who will play Iga Świątek in the third round on Saturday. 

Petra Martic is out of the Australian Open after losing to Julia Goerges 4:6, 6:3: 7:5. This was Goerges third victory in their third meeting. Ivo Karlovic is also out after losing to Gael Monfils 6:4, 6:7(8), 4:6, 5:7 in the second round. 

Source: HTS

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.

January 23, 2020 - The latest news from around Croatia’s airports for new flights to Croatia with updates from Zagreb and Rijeka.

Avio Radar reports that the new Danish carrier Great Dane Airlines will fly on a new charter line from Denmark to Rijeka. Namely, the line will operate this offseason between Copenhagen and Rijeka, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from September 10 to October 15. 

This service is operated by Best Travel tourist agency, and is also the airline's first charter flight to Croatia. The Embraer ERJ-195 will fly on this route. It is also currently the only direct route from Denmark to Rijeka. 

Avio Radar also reports that Tunisia’s national carrier Tunisair will again fly on the Zagreb-Monastir charter service, which will operate once a week, on Wednesdays, from May. 27 to October 7, 2020. The line was last in service in 2014, and will currently be the only direct line from Croatia to any destination in Tunisia. An Airbus A320 aircraft will operate on this line.

Furthermore, HRTurizam writes that beginning May 4, 2020, Air France is offering another direct flight from Zagreb to Paris.

In addition to the existing two direct flights, one of which is in cooperation with Croatia Airlines, a total of three flights to Paris are on offer on daily. The new flight allows passengers to depart and return to Paris in one day, but also to board a flight to North America.

Namely, the new airline will provide quality connectivity to North America for all travelers continuing to these destinations, which is certainly an interesting combination and a benefit for Croatian tourism.

"I am very pleased to introduce this additional flight with a night stop in Zagreb. This flight offers excellent connectivity via Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to other destinations. Going to Paris and returning to Zagreb on the same day is an added benefit for Croatian travelers. With the new Alloff flight schedule, you can more easily access - among other things - North American destinations, such as New York, Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco or Seattle and Vancouver,” said Ildiko Kiss Country Manager for Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia.

The new flight will be operated by Airbus 319/320 with 137/166 seats.

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.