A record-breaking tourist season in Croatia in 2017 brought not only record tourist figures but also started a financial avalanche of new investments in this lucrative economic branch in 2018.

According to a survey carried out by the Ministry of Tourism that included all Croatian counties and tourist companies in the country, around 940 million Euros will be invested in Croatia’s tourism this year.

Out of the total amount of almost a million Euros, private tourist companies will invest around 630 million Euros in their own projects, whilst the public sector i.e. counties, cities and municipalities, will invest the rest of the amount, around 310 million Euros.

Announced investments in the private sector will include investing in hotels, camps, nautical and other types of accommodation facilities, entertainment and attractions, whilst public sector investments include visitors’ centres, beaches, promenades and other infrastructure.

The survey of the Ministry of Tourism also showed that investments in tourism amounted to 817 million Euros in 2017 and 676 million Euros in 2016.

Dubrovnik has so much more to offer to tourists, it isn’t a sun, sand and sea destination, what about abandoned building tourism. As the warm winter sunlight flooded down over the idyllic Adriatic bay we caught up with an English tourist, well traveller would be a better word, who is currently visiting the ruins of the former military resort of Kupari.

“I spend eight months of the year on the road and am fascinated by recently abandoned sites, and in Croatia there are so many because of the war,” commented this cheerful British traveller as his camper van sat parked in front of one of the bombed out hotels in Kupari.

“I have been to Dubrovnik many times before, and on this trip I’ve been to Osijek and Vukovar. I tend to visit outside of the main tourist season so I have time and peace to see what I want,” added the retired photographer from London.

It was certainly unusual to see a British registered camper in Kupari at the beginning of January, but the angles of tourism are far from narrow. There are clubs and associations around the world that have a mutual appreciation of abandoned complexes. Dubrovnik certainly has its fair share, at least for the time being. Apart from Kupari this curious traveller had also visited the former Hotel Belvedere in Dubrovnik, as well as similar sights in Zagreb and Slavonia.

After two years of stagnation real estate prices in Croatia rose last year by 2.32 percent, according to a survey by a specialised Croatian property website. There is a huge difference between house prices on the coast and in the interior and in 2017 this gap increased.

Once again Dubrovnik has the most expensive properties in the whole of the country, the average price per metre squared in 2017 was 2,494 Euros for an apartment and 2,100 Euros for a house. These prices put Dubrovnik way out in first place, double the price of properties in other cities.

The biggest increase in prices was recorded in Pula, 11%, meaning that an apartment will cost you on average around 1,485 Euros per metre squared. The lowest prices are still in the eastern part of Croatia, where the average apartment prices go below 800 euros per metre squared, and house prices do not exceed 500 euros per square.

With the comment “Winter is coming? 11 °C today” this amazing aerial photo quite clearly shows that Dubrovnik is doing its best to avoid winter this year.

Whilst most of northern Europe freezes under a coating of ice Dubrovnik is gliding through winter with blue skies and bucket loads of sunshine.

Even we didn’t believe that the photo was taken today, but the authors of the photo 2thesign, confirmed to us that is was indeed taken high above the Old City today. Truly amazing colours and the contrast between the turquoise Adriatic Sea and the terracotta roofs certainly caught our eye.

And you thought Dubrovnik was only a summer destination.

Amazing shot of Dubrovnik from the air

The Republic of Croatia has allocated slightly more than 2 million Kunas for Croats living outside the homeland.

The Central State Office allocated the funds after it had sent the public announcement for Croats outside Croatia and received 531 applications. The financial support will be allocated to 93 projects in the field of education, culture, sports and other areas of interest to Croats living outside Croatia as well as 16 one-time grants to socially and materially endangered individuals in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Approved grants will go to non-profit organizations and physical persons in 14 countries (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, Austria, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Luxembourg, Slovakia, the United States, Argentina, Chile and Canada) in amounts of 4,000 up to 75,000 Kunas.

These grants for special needs and projects are approved for 2017 and will be paid depending on the possibilities of the State Budget this year. The Central State Office will sign contracts with the grant recipients, associations and individuals no later than the end of January.

At the end of last year, the Ministry of Tourism activated a new website of the Coordination Body for the Development of Croatian Cyclotourism.

The launching of the new website www.cikloturizam.hr was one of the tasks of the Action Plan for the Development of Cyclotourism and the Tourism Development Strategy of the Republic Croatia by 2020.

The Coordination Body for the Development of Cyclotourism in Croatia is working on the implementation of the main tasks and priority activities of Croatia’s Cyclotourism Action Plan such as infrastructure, legal regulations, education, a cyclotourist offer as well as information and marketing.

The establishment of the Coordination Body was enabled by the access to the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF), which is the holder of the EuroVelo project, the European cycle route network connecting the countries of the European Union.
By signing the contract with ECF, the Croatian Coordination Body has taken over the rights and obligations regarding the management of the EuroVelo routes.

Out of the 15 EuroVelo routes, four of them are passing through Croatia; EV6 – Atlantic-Black Sea, EV8 - Mediterranean Route, EV9 - Baltic-Adriatic and EV13 - Iron Curtain Trail.

Apart from defining the national network of cyclotourist routes based on existing county and local routes, one of the basic tasks of the Coordination Body is integration into the European cycle route network and work on its improvement.

The Mayor of the City of Dubrovnik, Mato Franković, thanked all the employees of the emergency service and utility companies that assisted during the New Year's Eve.

In an open letter on the city’s website the mayor wrote -

On behalf of the city of Dubrovnik, I would like to thank all of the emergency services and all the employees of the municipal utility services who spent New Year's night on duty for the smooth functioning of the city as well as the safety of our fellow citizens and visitors.

Dubrovnik showed that it is the most beautiful open stage in the world for New Year's Eve. According to official estimates of the Ministry of Interior there were between 15 and 20 thousand people on the Stradun for New Year, which is the largest organized open event that has been held in our town since 2000. This is also supported by the data of the Dubrovnik Tourist Board, according to which 28% more guests decided to spend their New Year in Dubrovnik compared to the previous year.

Therefore, once again, I express my sincere gratitude to all the public services that ensured that New Year's Eve, and that the New Year's night passed peacefully and with the highest level of organization, just as the City of Dubrovnik deserves, to the pride of all our citizens.

A small family hotel from the Croatian city of Split has been awarded Best Heritage Hotel in the world.

At the end of the tourist season 2017, the prestigious nomination house World Luxury Hotel Awards headquartered in the Republic of South Africa awarded the best hotels in the world in thirty categories at the gala dinner held in Saint Moritz, Switzerland in December 2017.

Several other hotels from Croatia were nominated in various categories, however, numerous international jury i.e. more than 300,000 online voters selected Heritage Hotel Antique Split as the best in the Luxury Heritage Hotel category.

‘’We are very honoured to receive this award. In the first place, we were most surprised by the nomination itself. At the end of last September, the World Luxury manager sent us an invitation to participate at this event. She discovered us thanks to excellent reviews on Trip Advisor’’, commented Jakov Milun, the proud owner of Heritage Hotel Antique Split.

The family-run hotel is located in the heart of the Diocletian’s Palace in the centre of Split. It has eight rooms and is actually a small boutique hotel situated in an antique ‘’facility with patina’’ thanks to which the hotel made it to the additional Heritage Hotel category.

Apart from interestingly decorated rooms, the hotel offers breakfast in a rich Dalmatian style, which, along with an excellent service led this small tourist facility to the prestigious title – the world’s Best Heritage Hotel.

Award winning hotel in Split