Wednesday, 19 February 2025
Ivana Smilović

Ivana Smilović

Ivana Smilović – a senior journalist at The Dubrovnik Times. Born and raised in Dubrovnik, Ivana (or Smile as she is known to all) graduated Media Studies from the University of Dubrovnik. A book worm, coffee addict and want-to-be world traveller Ivana brings her unique local insight, connections and general optimistic and well smiley feel to the Times.

Email: ivana@thedubrovniktimes.com

Croatian Minister of Tourism Gari Cappelli and Italian Minister of Cultural Heritage, Activities and Tourism Dario Franceschini held a video meeting about measures and plans related to tourism and the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic. The ministers also discussed enabling tourism movements with the development of travel procedures, which was also discussed during the video conference of the ministers of the EU member states in charge of the tourism sector, held last week.

- Croatia and Italy are two friendly neighboring countries and therefore quality cooperation is extremely important to us in the current situation, not only because a large number of Croatians live and work in Italy and vice versa, but also because of our connection in terms of tourism and economy. The Italian market has always been one of our most important markets, and due to the current situation, the joint cooperation of all EU countries, especially tourism leaders, is more important than ever in establishing better financial frameworks for tourism within the EU and establishing standards and procedures to balance health and stabilization of Europe's tourism market. Our initiative is to introduce a common Travel Protocol at EU level with mutually harmonized regulations, with individual countries agreeing bilaterally as needed. In this context, considering the development of the situation within individual countries, it could be considered when the borders would be opened and how to make the whole process more efficient and faster - Minister Cappelli emphasized during the meeting.

Minister Franceschini stressed that all countries are considering the best possible solutions for the activation and stabilization of the tourism market, both domestic and foreign, and emphasized the importance of finding a common solution at EU level in terms of further measures that would contribute to security in the tourism, which would certainly primarily refer to hygiene regulations, etc. Both ministers agreed on strengthening the importance of tourism at the EU level as well as the financial opportunities offered for tourism. Ministers also discussed a possible upcoming meeting to discuss further action depending on proposals to be prepared at member state level in the future.

According to data from the eVisitor system, in 2019 there were almost 1.2 million arrivals and almost 5.5 million overnight stays by guests from Italy in Croatia. It is the market that made the most overnight stays after Germany, Slovenia, Austria and Poland. According to the Croatian National Tourist Board, the revenues generated by tourists from Italy in Croatia in 2019 are estimated at around one billion euros. Italian citizens mostly travel within Italy, while 15 to 20 percent of trips are made abroad.

One of the most watched Belgian commercial television companies - VTM, published a two-minute video in its evening news on Tuesday, in which Croatia was highlighted as a "corona free" destination. As they said, some countries, such as Croatia, Greece and Portugal, are reported to be in a very good situation with the coronavirus pandemic, and all it was accompanied by shots from the beautiful Croatian coast and islands from the latest Croatian National Tourist Board communication concept #CroatiaLongDistanceLove.

-Former Belgian Genk footballer Frane Bucan commented on the current situation in our country for Belgian television, emphasizing that Croatia organized excellent defense against the coronavirus and that Croats were extremely disciplined in implementing all prescribed measures - said the Director of the Croatian National Tourist Board Representation in Belgium Ivan Novak.

Also, the world-renowned fashion magazine Paris Vogue on its Facebook profile, which is followed by more than 5 million followers, posted a photo of a ski jump at Kolovare Zadar swimming pool with the description "A sunny afternoon in Croatia sounds ideal right now".

Vogue HR

The author of the photo is the famous photographer Cameron Hammond, who described the creation of this idyllic photo as follows: -Many ask me if the scene was directed. My wife Rachel and I visited Zadar for the first time and spent hours watching children jump into the sea. Rachel went for a swim and stopped to get a better look at the ski jump, and I just caught her with a camera.

Croatian National Tourist Board Director Kristjan Stanicic is pleased with recent news about Croatia in prestigious foreign media.

-Positive announcements are extremely conducive to the image of our country as a safe destination and increase Croatia's visibility on the tourist map of the world. We hope to continue the positive trends, but also the arrival of guests in our country when all the necessary conditions are fulfilled for that - Stanicic commented.

In the first four months of 2020, the police recorded a reduced number of traffic accidents, fatalities, severe and lightly injured persons compared to last year. There were 6,941 traffic accidents (in the four months of 2019 - 9,128 traffic accidents), in which 68 people died (2019 - 74 persons), 460 (2019 - 573 persons) were seriously injured, and 2,041 (2019 - 2,856) persons were slightly injured.

Measures carried out due to the COVID - 19 virus pandemic, which led to significantly smaller number of vehicles in road traffic, also contributed to the lower number of traffic accidents and the number of people killed in them.

In such circumstances, individual drivers violate traffic regulations and drive the vehicle at a speed higher than allowed, which leads to traffic accidents, often with the most serious consequences.

In the territory of the Republic of Croatia in the past, relatively short period (the past 10 days) there were several traffic accidents with fatalities, in which 12 people died.

Analyzing the accidents, it is evident that most of them were caused by young drivers (up to 24 years of age), driving personal vehicles or motorcycles, primarily due to serious violations of traffic regulations.

Furthermore, the main cause of death was driving at an improper speed (significantly higher speed than allowed) or driving at speed inappropriate to road conditions, during which drivers went off the road, crashed into objects located on the road, or crossed on the opposite side of the road and collided with vehicles coming from the opposite direction.

Vlaho Bupic is well known in Dubrovnik because of his murals, but the latest piece of art really swept the citizens of Dubrovnik off their feet. The wall of the Mokosica playground, that has recently open its doors again after coronavirus restrictions, is more beautiful than ever.

Children now can play in company of Orlando, Marin Drzic, Ivan Gundulic and Saint Blaise. Bupic needed one month to finish this amazing mural, which also delighted Dubrovnik Mayor Mato Frankovic, who shared Bupic's work on his Facebook profile.

mural mokosica 1

mural mokosica 2

Even though the situation with the coronavirus pandemic is getting calmer, these are still uncertain times, especially when it comes to travel planning. That's why Bella Magazine published an easy fix, article titled “Travel” Around The Globe Straight From Your Couch. One of the destinations you can 'travel' to is Dubrovnik! 

-The travel bug is hitting us hard right about now. We’re all trying to remain safe indoors and traveling and changes of scenery are not on the calendar for the foreseeable future. Fret not! There are unique ways you can travel the world and fulfill your wanderlust right from the comfort of your own home. Getting dressed isn’t even required – Bella Magazine writes.
The article takes you all around the world, but what made us happy was to see that Dubrovnik is included.

-Croatia is a beautiful country, and one of its most popular coastal cities is now accessible right from your home. Tour Dubrovnik, the beautiful walled city, with 360 degree views. Here you’ll see its tiled orange roofs, boats by the harbor and its archetypal stone walls. If that’s not enough to satisfy your Croatian dreams, head to their capital city’s travel page, where you can find suggestions on how to appease the travel bug from home – the article advices.

You can see the full article here. Take a comfortable pose on your couch and travel around the world.

NEM Dubrovnik, the eighth edition of the most relevant business event specialising in the TV industry in the CEE region, is rescheduled for December 2020, and will be held in Zagreb during the second edition of its sister-event NEM Zagreb, appropriately named NEM Dubrovnik Meets Zagreb.

Sanja Bozic Ljubicic, owner of the Mediavision company, a full-service TV partner specialising in communication, acquisition and distribution services in the TV industry, which is also organising the event, stated: “The current uncertain situation on the global level has prevented the organisation of the event planned for June in Dubrovnik as the traditional venue. We have made this decision in the hope that the situation in the world will stabilise by December. We are pleased to see the joining of the summer and winter editions of NEM into a single event – NEM Dubrovnik Meets Zagreb.”

Zagreb to host both events

The NEM Dubrovnik Meets Zagreb event will be held from December 9th to 11th 2020 in Zagreb. In this way NEM Dubrovnik will join the winter event NEM Zagreb to create three fantastic days devoted to the TV industry in Croatia, the region and the world. The event will bring together representatives from Pay TV channels, FTA channels, streaming services, telecom operators and providers of various television services, as well as numerous creative individuals, actors, producers, directors, screenwriters and others involved in the audio-visual industry seeking new knowledge and ways to develop their skills.

All the elements of the classic NEM Dubrovnik and NEM Zagreb events will be covered. Each day will be filled with panel discussions and presentations by some of the leaders in the TV industry in the world, laying out the direction of its future development, presentations of new projects and enabling us to share their broad experience. Some of the leading television companies have been choosing NEM Dubrovnik as the event where they present their new projects, so that the essential element of all NEM events has been screenings.
There will also be workshops headed by professionals who have made a name for themselves with careers abroad: creative screenwriters will reveal the secret of successful screenplays; professional team leaders will show us how to bring together a quality team and how to manage it. The workshops will also provide insight into the legal aspects of the television business: from managing TV rights, financing and sales to advice on protecting intellectual property.

Every day the diverse programme will be accompanied by relaxing networking events aimed at forming new acquaintances, the exchange of experiences and ideas, as well as making new deals.

An integral part of NEM Dubrovnik is also the TV Market which has also been moved to Croatia’s capital in order to continue the tradition of showcasing new formats and projects at one venue. This year we are introducing a new concept called TV Tech Showcase, aimed at technology companies for the presentation of innovative IT solutions that assist the development of the industry. Each company will have the additional opportunity of presenting its product or service to all attendees during a ten-minute presentation in the main hall. TV Writing Contest will once again gather professional and amateur screenwriters looking for a chance to present their work to big production companies who will grade their TV project ideas.

Just like every year, the aim of all NEM events is to provide positive change, the development of the industry, uniting the region and providing an opportunity for those who envision their projects across the border from their state or region. NEM Dubrovnik Meets Zagreb will strive to meet these goals even during this challenging year 2020

Green and fish market will work again normally: every day from 7 am to 1 pm, except on public holidays and Sundays.

As the prescribed protective measures are still in force, all customers and sellers are asked to adhere to the prescribed disinfection measures and to keep the minimum mandatory distance.

Citizens are also invited to get acquainted with the new online platform, Dubrovacka placa, which is created so that those who want, can continue to buy local products online.
Dubrovacka placa was designed with the aim of preserving the local economy, and through this project the local population will be able to get local, quality and fresh food and thus support local family farms in their production and survival.

This is a modern version of a green market that is a response to the special circumstances, but Sanitat hopes that this professional and easy-to-use platform will soon become an indispensable part of our community.

You can visit the online market here.

The second of three phases of relaxing the COVID-19 restriction measures started in Croatia yesterday and life is slowly, but surely returning to normal. That brings changes in every aspect of our lives again.

At the end of today's press conference of the National Civil Protection Headquarters, one more step was made - a change of slogan that could be read and heard almost every second during the last couple of months.

When it comes to Croatia, the slogan "Stay Home" goes to history today, and the new motto is "Let's stay responsible".

-We must not forget all the instructions of the epidemiologists and staff, in order for our situation to be good, we must continue to follow all instructions, and probably start with a new motto - Let's stay responsible – Minister Bozinovic announced.

 

The Voice of Dubrovnik

THE VOICE OF DUBROVNIK


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