News

Tourism minister says arrivals down 5%, overnight stays down 3% Croatian Tourism Minister Damir Bajs said on Friday that in the first seven months of this year tourist arrivals and overnight stays had dropped five and three percent respectively, which he said was not bad in comparison to other Mediterranean countries. In the first seven months of this year, 5.3 million tourists vacationed on the Croatian Adriatic coast, a 5% drop from the same period of last year. They generated 29.7 million overnight stays, a 3% drop from last year, Bajs said at a news conference in the national park Krka. In July, Croatia saw 2.5 million tourist arrivals, a 3% decrease in relation to July 2008. Overnight stays also dropped by three percent to 17.7 million.
07.08.2009. | Page

First passenger ship sails in Osijek Harbor after 90 years The first cruise ship has sailed into the northern Croatian city of Osijek after nearly 90 years on Monday. There are nearly 150 passengers on board the Amadeus Diamond, mostly from the United States and Europe, sailing along the Danube River. The ship started the cruise in Vienna, Austria with stops in Budapest, Kalocsa, Osijek, Croatia, Belgrade, Kostolac, Rousse, Hirsova, and Bucharest. (Hina)
20.07.2009. | Page

Officials say high season turning for better The tourist season is developing according to forecasts and the tourist sector believes that the high season will turn for the better so that the results from June, July and August will cover the minuses from the previous months, officials of the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) said at the board's convention in Zagreb on Friday. In case that the downturn in the tourist trade is between 5 and 10 percent this year, it will still be regarded successful against the backdrop of the global economic crisis, the convention heard.
03.07.2009. | Page

Tourist arrivals in Croatia on decrease, but better than in other countries, says minister BajsCurrent bookings for the peak tourist season in Croatia are on the rise, even though they have not reached last year's level, and the highest numbers of bookings refer to high quality accommodation, private accommodation and marines, Tourism Minister Damir Bajs said at a news conference on Tuesday, at which a new promotional campaign for the tourism sector was launched. Recalling that this year's main goal was ‘to be more successful than the competition’, Bajs said that the latest available data, those for the first four months of this year, showed that tourist arrivals in Croatia were six percent down. However, according to currently available data, the decrease in arrivals is much bigger in other countries which represent Croatia’s competition in the area of tourism industry (f.ex. Greece, France, Italy, Montnegro).
09.06.2009. | Page

Tourism minister opens Vespera hotel
05.06.2009. | Page

This year's first direct charter plane from Japan arrives in Zagreb The first direct charter plane from Osaka, Japan, to Croatia in this season landed in Zagreb on Thursday.
According to the Zagreb tourist board the flight had 350 passengers and crew members aboard and it was organized by the Japanese Hankyu travel agency.
04.06.2009. | Page

Both tubes of Sveti Rok and Mala Kapela tunnels formally opened to traffic The second tubes of the Sveti Rok and Mala Kapela tunnels on the A1 Zagreb-Split motorway were formally opened to traffic on Saturday by Transport Minister Božidar Kalmeta.
So far, only one tube in each tunnel has been in operation and two-way traffic has caused jams during the peaks of tourist seasons.

30.05.2009. | Page

43 foreign journalists to be presented with Croatian tourism awards on Friday The Croatian National Tourist Board (Hrvatska turistička zajednica - HTZ) will present awards to 43 foreign journalists for their reports on Croatia and for their contribution to the promotion of Croatia's tourist trade.
The award-giving ceremony will be held in Dubrovnik on Friday, HTZ Head Office director Niko Bulić said on Thursday.
This year the Golden Pen awards will go to two reporters, while the others will receive the so-called Small Pen awards.
Recipients are journalists from Austria, Italy, Germany, Russia, the United States, France, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and some other countries where HTZ has its representative offices.
The HTZ created the awards in 2005.

28.05.2009. | Page

LA Times readers include Croatia among top 40 tourist destinations Los Angeles Times readers included Croatia among top 40 must see tourist destinations in the world, according to a poll published in May.
The daily's recommendation refers to the entire county, the coast and the mainland. Croatia, with its cuisine, climate and hospitality is an exceptionally desirable tourist destination, the daily said. The article in the LA Times is yet another confirmation that Croatia is a popular tourist destination for US travelers.
27.05.2009. | Page

ADAC says Croatian car rental companies best in Mediterranean The biggest European auto club, Germany's ADAC, has published the results of a survey of car renting in the most popular Mediterranean destinations among German tourists, with Croatian providers showing the best score, it was said on Tuesday.<br>The Hertz branch in Dubrovnik rented the highest quality car in the overall survey, ADAC said in a report, adding that Croatian car rental companies scored the most points in terms of the technical quality of cars, while the overall impression was spoiled by poor service, which includes proper customer information and kindness of personnel.
24.05.2009. | Page