Cruise ship voyages of foreign ships along the Croatian Adriatic in the first seven months of this year were 4.6 percent or 15 less than last year in the same period, but there were 40 percent more passengers on a total of 314 voyages, 411.4 thousand, according to the State Bureau of Statistics.

On cruise ship voyages along the Adriatic in the first seven months, 60 foreign cruise ships sailed, which is 9.1 percent or six fewer cruises than last year. Unlike last year, these ships stayed in Croatia 11.4 percent or 75 days longer this year, totalling 733 days.

Out of the total of 314 cruise ship voyages of foreign ships in the seven months, 50 percent were in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County, followed by 25.5 percent in the Split-Dalmatia County, while the remaining 24.5 percent were achieved in other Adriatic counties.

Dubrovnik remains the most visited port, with 236 visits by foreign cruise ships, followed by Split with 147 visits, Zadar with 77, Hvar with 63, Korčula with 52, Šibenik with 51, and Rovinj with 35 cruise ship visits.

One of the best basketball players in the world, Bojan Bogdanović, and Dubrovnik native Zrinka Šahurić, got married yesterday in the heart of the Old City.

The NBA star and Croatian national player and Zrinka exchanged their vows at the Jesuit Church in the presence of a large number of guests.

Bojan and Zrinka have already had a civil marriage and have a son named Luka.

This young couple, who has been in a relationship for six years, and keep their private life strictly confidential. They are not active on social media, so very little is known about them. They live in the United States and spend their summers at Bojan's villa in Lozica, just outside of Dubrovnik.

In addition to his sports career, Bojan (34) is also involved in real estate who owns several properties in Dubrovnik, as well as a luxury hotel and restaurant. Despite having multiple exclusive properties in the centre of Dubrovnik, when they are on vacation in the city, the Bogdanovićs mostly spend their time in Lozica, where the athlete bought a villa several years ago.

"I fell in love with Dubrovnik when I was a child, visiting with my parents, and I am thrilled that I was able to fulfil a childhood dream and buy a beautiful house in the heart of the city," said the celebrated NBA player on one occasion. In Bojan's house in the historic centre of Dubrovnik, a restaurant called 'Forty Four' was opened, attracting international sports stars, guests, and locals alike.

Bojan once admitted to the media that he didn't initially have the idea of opening a restaurant, but the key moment was when they decorated the building's walls with two of Bogdanović's jerseys. Sports and basketball enthusiasts immediately recognized the symbols, and since then, 'Forty Four' has become a hot destination.

Friends and acquaintances of Bojan Bogdanović say that despite his global popularity, this native of Mostar remains humble and approachable, just like his closest family members, parents, and sisters.

He plays for the Detroit Pistons in the NBA and is believed to have a salary of around $20 million a year.

Around September 20th, the mandarin orange harvest is expected to begin in the Neretva region's orchards. Overall, this autumn's mandarin crop is about twenty percent larger compared to the previous year, so it is anticipated that 50-60 thousand tons of high-quality fruits will be picked in the Neretva orchards.

Considering the expected yield, this year can be characterized as a good one for all mandarin producers. The fruits are of high quality, with a good balance of sugar and acidity, and most importantly, the mandarins are full of juice. This can be attributed to the rainy year, which reduced the need for extensive irrigation on the orchards, as highlighted by mandarin producer Niko Kapović.

Early mandarins have yielded exceptionally well, and although some positions may have slightly smaller-sized fruit, overall, it's a good year, according to Kapović.

The Mayor of the City of Dubrovnik, Mato Franković, held a meeting in Hamburg with the leaders of the world's leading cruise companies, members of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) yesterday.

The long-standing collaboration and the third meeting in Hamburg on the topic of sustainable tourism resulted in a recap of everything accomplished from 2017 to the present. It was agreed that significant progress has been made in terms of better scheduling of cruise ship arrivals and their longer stays in the Port of Gruž. Compared to the past average stay of just four hours in Dubrovnik, cruise ships now spend a minimum of eight hours at the port, and often even longer.

Mayor Franković highlighted that in 2023, due to adverse weather conditions, there were only a few instances of a third cruise ship arriving at the Port of Gruž.

"In 2023, there were never any enormous crowds in the historic city centre that used to block entrances and exits from the Old City, as we have seen in the past. Such scenes are now a distant memory for us. However, even though we have made significant strides in sustainability, our work is not finished, and we need to continue working consistently on the sustainability of our tourism so that we can continue to be recognized globally as a pioneer in sustainable tourism," Mayor Franković emphasized to the leaders of the cruise industry.

According to data from the Croatian Tourist Board for nautical tourism in the Dubrovnik area, there were 7,223 arrivals and just over 55,500 overnight stays in August, which is four percent less than in August last year.

The most numerous nautical visitors in the city in August came from the United Kingdom, the United States, Croatia, France, Belgium, Germany, and Italy.

Since the beginning of the year, there have been nearly 29,500 arrivals of nautical tourists with 202,500 overnight stays, which is 15 percent more than in the same period last year.

At the beginning of the new school year, the Dubrovnik Sharks American football club is opening registrations for all age categories. If you are a fan of American football or just want to try something new, this is an excellent opportunity!

This sport is new, very interesting, and dynamic, with high-level training led by professional coaches. The possibilities are endless, from competing at the national level, the opportunity to play for the Croatian national team, to traveling to numerous competitions, camps, and tournaments.

Registrations are possible for two age categories: juniors (ages 8-15) and seniors (15+ years). If you want to give it a try or just watch, feel free to contact us during September, and we will arrange a time for when training starts, which is after October 1st. All training sessions will be in the evening, after the end of the afternoon school shift.

If you have any questions about our club, our work, or the training, we are available for all information through the Facebook or Instagram inbox, at the phone numbers 0915209786, 0992223232, or via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

In addition to on-field training, the Sharks also offer gym sessions in the gymnasium in Gospino Polje (for seniors), most of the equipment for training and games, and our coaches are highly experienced and knowledgeable. However, it's most important to know that we are a team of friends and enthusiasts of this sport, and that's how we treat it and its players.

The Dubrovnik Sharks are four-time silver and one-time bronze medalists in the Croatian championship, while our juniors will defend their title as junior league vice champions next year, and our seniors will, of course, aim for gold!

The tiny British overseas territory of Gibraltar on the southern coast of Spain, home to fewer than 35,000 people, laid the groundwork for what is now a major international hub for online and offline gambling and a respected offshore financial center about 25 years ago.

A strict but reasonable licensing process to protect reputation is balanced with a competitive offer, favorable taxation, and a banking infrastructure to support the sector; all of which makes Gibraltar's e-gaming regulatory regime one of the most effective and respected in the world.

Gibraltar's advantageous regulatory environment has attracted large e-gaming players and led to the country's acquisition of over a third of the worldwide online gambling industry.

Gibraltar may try to repeat this accomplishment in 2023 by promoting Blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

License for Distributed Ledger Technology Providers in Gibraltar

Gibraltar wants to attract blockchain-focused fintech companies to preserve its strong financial services industry.

A financial services license for distributed ledger technology providers (DLT) went into effect in January of this year, creating a regulatory atmosphere conducive to attracting blockchain and cryptocurrency enterprises.

The DLT provider license, issued by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission ("GFSC"), Gibraltar's financial services regulator, provides a regulatory framework that allows businesses to conduct operations using blockchain technology in an authorized and regulated manner. This includes cryptocurrency exchanges.

Creating a exchange outside the United States needs a Gibraltar crypto license at this time. Some of the top cryptocurrency markets are really unsupervised.

The majority of licensed businesses do business with an Electronic Money/Payment Institution License. These licenses allow fiat wallets to be activated and support fiat currencies on the exchange, but their suitability with regard to cryptocurrency activities is unknown, and it is to be anticipated that special rules tailored to this activity will be developed sooner rather than later.

Rather than merely warning of risks and putting the brakes on companies innovating in the financial sector, Gibraltar has taken the bull by the horns and done its homework by introducing a specific regulatory framework for blockchain companies, including exchanges, that are based in the Rock.

Possibly no other jurisdiction is more appealing than Gibraltar for blockchain companies seeking regulation and looking to do business in a sound and safe jurisdiction, thanks to its government's public expression of support and willingness to attract the blockchain and crypto industry and the enactment of its correspondent legal framework and its pro-business environment.

Gibraltar's regulated exchanges will gain three significant advantages from the reduction of regulatory uncertainty: credibility with customers, ease of access to financial services, and fair taxes.

Fiat currencies and banking in Gibraltar

It may not be necessary to acquire an additional electronic money institution license, as is the case in other countries of the EU and the United States, in order for your exchange to effectively support fiat currency, so long as you do not plan to offer fiat money remittance or prepaid cards linked to the account.

Many Exchanges have had their bank accounts frozen in the last year, forcing them to switch to alternate payment methods like payment processors or even just completely suspend fiat deposits and withdrawals. A Fintech law firm can provide support services for registration and obtaining a license.

In order to register a bank account in Gibraltar and run your company legally and ethically while still supporting your customers' fiat currency wallets, you'll need to pass through the regulatory filter.

Benefits of obtaining a license

However, exchanges have often been the target of scams, hacks, and market manipulation.

Being regulated and subject to regular controls, audits, and transparency requirements will help the sector gain legitimacy with customers and attract institutional money, giving it not only an advantage over competing exchanges but also the standards and confidence to propel the industry to widespread adoption.

Valeriy Matyash, a seasoned specialist in intellectual property and compliance matters, authored this article

Employment in the Eurozone and the EU has shown a mild increase in the second quarter, while Croatia was among the countries with the largest decline in the number of employed individuals, according to data released by Eurostat on Thursday.

The number of employed individuals in the Eurozone increased by 0.2 percent in the second quarter compared to the previous three months when it had grown by 0.5 percent, as calculated by Eurostat based on seasonally adjusted data.

In the EU, employment almost stagnated, as indicated by the new estimates, which were half as strong as the data shown in mid-August. The growth rate in the first quarter also slightly decreased to 0.4 percent.

Croatia, alongside Romania, recorded the most significant increase in the number of employed individuals compared to the first three months of this year, with Lithuania, Portugal, and Malta seeing a growth of 1.3 percent, according to Eurostat data.

Conversely, Estonia experienced the most significant employment decline in the second quarter compared to the previous three months, with a decrease of 1.5 percent. Romania followed with an employment decrease of 0.8 percent, and Croatia closely behind with a 0.7 percent drop in the number of employed individuals from April to June, compared to the previous three months when it had increased by one percent, according to Eurostat's tables.

In Croatia, the number of employed individuals increased by 1.1 percent compared to the same period last year, for the period from April to June. In the first quarter, it had increased by 2.4 percent. Slovenia was the closest to Croatia in the second quarter, with a 1.2 percent increase in the number of employed individuals.

Only Romania recorded a decrease in the number of employed individuals on an annual basis, with a 1.9 percent drop.