According to the latest ITU report, Croatia is among countries with the biggest progress in the development of Information and communications technology (ICT).

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has released a global report on the information society titled ‘’Measuring the Information Society Report 2017’’.

The report analyzes the development of ICT in all UN member countries, whilst the ICT Development Index (IDI) as an integral part of the report serves as a measure to compare countries according to the degree of ICT development.

The Croatian IDI recorded a growth from 6,96 percent in 2016 to 7,24 percent in 2017, thus, the country placed as the 36th in the world and ranked among six countries that advanced on the list for five and more places (last year Croatia placed as the 42nd).

Among European countries, the Republic of Croatia advanced the most on the list (for six places) and placed as the 24th in comparison to the 30th place in 2016. Croatia left many European countries behind such as Greece, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Italy, Hungary and Poland.

The ITU also stated that ICT use in households in Croatia is relatively high, whilst the number of internet users is constantly rising mostly thanks to the significant increase in the number of active users of broadband internet access through the mobile network, whose prices are among the lowest in the world in relation to the gross national income.

At the end of the report, in the part related to Croatia, ITU concluded that the country has a well-developed telecommunications infrastructure and continues to invest in its modernization.

Ed Sheeran, famous singer from England, had an exclusive secret concert in Austria few days ago, where he performed for only a few of the happiest fans. There he received the award of Croatian Discography Association (HDU), because according to their data his album 'Divide' is the best-selling foreign edition in Croatia this year. 

To thank his Croatian fans and HDU, this laid back singer recorded a video, with which the Croatian Discography Association praised on their Facebook profile.

Sheeran did his best to learn couple of Croatian words and his bad pronunciation made the video (and the singer) even more likeable. 

This 26-year old singer learned how to say hello and thank you (or at least he tried) and seemed rather enthustiastic because of the award.

-It's pretty amazing, I can't wait to come over to Croatia, I've never been there so I'm looking forward to it. Thank you for enjoying my music, this is my first platinum in Croatia. You guys rule! – said Sheeran and just delighted the fans who hope that this means that the famous singer will soon have a concert in our country.

What is better than one Santa Claus? Numerous Santas! And it gets even better – they are on motorbikes, they dance and play instruments and of course: they have gifts.

This morning was just perfect for Santas from moto clubs Dvije Rote (Konavle), Nomadi (Zupa) and Libertas (Dubrovnik) to hit the road and bring that special holiday cheer to children. First, they visited Konavle and then headed to Zupa. Everywhere they went they were greeted with happy children's faces from Konavle and Zupa kindergartens and elementary schools. So they danced, sang and made sure that everybody felt happy – even the parents. Every child got some sweets, but what's more important – they got even sweeter memories.

On December 26th Santas on motorbikes will traditionally visit the Old City, exactly at noon and like every year bring Christmas cheer, sweets and smiles. 

State Meteorological Institute issued this morning a warning for the low temperatures that are expected in the next couple of days. In Dubrovnik, 21 and 22 December, a moderate risk of cold that could affect health is expected – State Meteorological Institute and the Public Health Institute of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County warned.

The Public Health Institute warns everybody to avoid exposure to low temperatures during the early morning and night hours, especially if you suffer from heart and respiratory diseases. Layers are the key, with an outer layer that is impermeable to wind and moisture, preferably wool, polypropylene and silk that retain more heat in the inner layers of cotton.

If you are visiting Dubrovnik during this cold, protect your head with a hat, put some gloves on and cover your mouth with a scarf, to prevent direct cold air inhalation.

Do not ignore the shivers when staying outdoors, too long exposure to the cold with a shivering sign is a sign for immediate return to the interior – the Public Health Institute warns.

The Dubrovnik Winter Festival is proving to be a real hit this winter, with countless decorations and events happening throughout the whole city. And it isn’t only the Old City of Dubrovnik that has got into the Christmas spirit; the suburbs of Lapad, Babin Kuk and Gruz are also wearing their festive colours.

And this year in the Lapad region of Dubrovnik there are a few extra special attractions for children. On the beach of the bay of Lapad there is funfair which includes rollercoasters, trampolines and of course everyone’s favourite bumper cars. Jump into a specially designed festive “train” and you will be whisked to the other hit attraction for children this winter – the ice-rink.

 Located on the tennis courts in Lapad the ice-rink is traditionally a very popular attraction and it only costs 20 Kunas for an hour’s skating. And with disco lights and pop music your children will love it. Also in the promenade of Lapad this year there are a selection of colourful Christmas decorations that will light up your holiday album with your children.

 Closer to the Old City the park on Pile has been renamed “Bear” park this year and along with the iconic Dubrovnik Teddy Bear you’ll also find a whole selection of colourful characters that light up the park and your children’s Christmas.

The Croatian Camping Union (KUH) has released a new brochure Croatia’s Best Campsites 2018.

The new brochure was printed in 26,400 copies in five basic language versions – English, Italian, German, Dutch and Slovenian. In 2018, it will be distributed at all tourist fairs attended by the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) and KUH, at selected HTZ representative offices, as well as at fairs in Utrecht, Vienna, Stuttgart, Leeuwarden, Herning, Düsseldorf, Parma, Padova and Munich.

The new edition of the brochure also contains a new road map showing camp locations, all important traffic routes and border crossings as well as most important natural sights in Croatia.

The Croatia’s Best Campsites 2018 brochures can also be found on the KUH’s official camping site www.camping.hr, along with the latest and updated section Best Croatian Camps.

One of the most influential gastronomic guides with a list of the 100 best restaurants in Croatia is to be released in the spring of 2018.

Gault & Millau is a French gastronomic guide which is considered the ''gastronomy Bible'' in the culinary world. Two gastro journalists Gault and Millau established the famous guide 60 years ago. After visiting numerous restaurants in Paris, they began to write about their gastronomic experiences. However, their gastro adventures spread outside Paris to restaurants all over France and led to one of the most influential gastronomic guides in the world.

Today, Gault & Millau guide rates restaurants in all price categories following their slogan ''Luxury is in quality, not in price''.
‘’We are honoured to present the Croatian edition of the Gault & Millau guide which will be released in 2018 and include the 100 best Croatian restaurants according to the choice of inspectors who work in the same way as their colleagues in other 27 world countries’’, announced Ingrid Badurina Danielsson, the director of Gault & Millau Croatia.

It is important to note that rating criteria are the same in all 27 countries where this guide exists, which means that the rating of a restaurant in Croatia is as valuable as in Austria, Germany, Japan or Canada.

This popular guide will surely be a great promotion for all Croatian restaurants and their chefs who managed to enter the prestigious list. The Croatian edition of the Gault & Millau guide and a mobile app in English will be available to numerous visitors to Croatia.

In addition, apart from the 100 best restaurants, this guide will also include 50 most popular pastry shops, bars and bistros in Croatia.