Tuesday, 31st August 2010
World Bank criticizes Croatia´s budget rebalance
The World Bank is disappointed with Croatian politics, having expected greater expenditure reduction from the budget rebalance presented last week.
The international institution commented that the government had not taken the advantage of the opportunity to decrease spending that the rebalance presented.
The growth of deficit is moving in the opposite direction from other European states that are also working on improving their public finances. The World Bank believes that the rebalance was an opportunity for a turnaround in the economic politics that could have contributed to an establishment of a better investment climate.
The World Bank had expected a reform of the social sector, subsidies and public administration, as well as decrease in public spending, the daily Slobodna Dalmacija writes. Croatiantimes.com

Monday, 30th August 2010
Croatia is not Greece and is not facing bankruptcy,´ Kosor says
The Croatian Parliament has discussed the government's rebalanced budget that features 4.5 billion fewer kunas (618 million Euros) in revenue than its predecessor.
Presenting the government's rebalanced budget to MPs at yesterday's extraordinary parliamentary session, Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said the government had refused to cut payments and salaries because it wanted to protect living standards.
She added that less money in the budget did not mean that Croatia faced either a fiscal crisis or bankruptcy. Kosor said: "Croatia is not Greece, manages its public finances well and pays all foreign and domestic liabilities on time." Kosor added that the government would continue to examine whether banks and other financial institutions could help Croatia emerge from the economic crisis. Croatiantimes.com

Monday, 30th August 2010
Danish JYSK group to open a store in Zagreb
Danish JYSK Group owned by Lars Larsen will open its first shop near Jadranski most in Zagreb in September. The premises have been occupied by Magma, a Zagreb wholesaler of a number of top world brands of clothes and toys. The JYSK group arrived in Croatia in April 2009 and chose Zadar as its first location.
At that time, the group announced that it was planning to open 40 stores in Croatia. It has already opened 11 and will open two more in Zagreb and Imotski, respectively, on 9 September.
Zagreb has also been chosen as the group's headquarters for business in the western Balkans, responsible for the markets of Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. JYSK has approximately 1,650 stores, most of which are located in Europe. The group is the leader in the European market in items for bedrooms, bathrooms, living rooms, windows and patios. Croatiantimes.com

Monday, 30th August 2010
Croatia to compete in Homeless World Cup in Brazil
These days Brazil is preparing for a football World Cup for the homeless, and Croatia is one of the teams that will take part in it.
A Croatian team of homeless people will take part in Homeless World Cup 2010 that will be held from 19 to 26 September in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the second year in a row.
It is an annual, international football tournament, uniting teams of people who are homeless and excluded and who will have a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent their countries. The World Cup will feature 64 teams from around the world. The Croatian team has eight players from Osijek, Split, Varazdin, Rijeka and Zagreb. There are one billion homeless people in the world today. Croatiantimes.com

Wednesday, 25th August 2010
We are ready for Unirea, says Hajduk coach
Hajduk Split will have a rematch with Romanian side Unirea in the first leg of the last Europe League qualifying round in Bucharest on Thursday. Talking about the upcoming game today (Tues), Hajduk coach Stanko Poklepovic said they were ready.
He said: "We are ready to respond to any situation or development in the rematch, and we will not allow surprises, because we have studied our rival well. We know what we need to do."Hajduk defeated Unirea 4-1 at Poljud Stadium in Split in front of 35,000 fans on last Thursday.
Poklepovic said Hajduk’s main aim was to maintain its advantage from the first game and to qualify for the European League.
He added: "This kind of game can bring a lot or take a lot. I am not interested in the game’s result, but I am interested in having Hajduk qualify for the European league. Unirea is an experienced team that should be respected because they know how to engage in surprises and reverse results."
Poklepovic also said it was uncertain whether injured Ivan Strinic would play in Bucharest.

hotels
Tuesday, 31st August 2010
Good potential for tourist
The first indicators point to a good post-season in tourism, suggesting that the season could possibly be extended this year for the first time ever, the Minister of Tourism Damir Bajs said.
Commenting on the positive results for July and August, Bajs said: "We mustn't be prematurely euphoric, but we must work to the end of the season. Our guests must receive good service and a smile in the post-season."
August is the most important month for Croatian tourism considering that it makes up one fourth of total results. According to the research by the world tourism associations, Croatia and Turkey seem to be the only Mediterranean countries registering an increase in tourism this year considering the number of guests and overnight stays.
The unofficial estimates show that the Spain's tourism fell eight per cent this year, while Turkey and Croatia registered a nine and a five per cent growth, respectively. Croatiantimes.com

Accommodation in Croatia/Alojamiento en Croacia/hotels
Friday, 20th August 2010
Germans top Istrias list of foreign visitors
German visitors predominate in Istria's tourism despite that northern Adriatic region's geographic proximity to Italy.
Germans continue their lead this year after several seasons at the top. They are followed by Slovenes and Austrians.
"The weather is warm, the sea is clean, and people are friendly" says one Frank from Germany.
This year's Ferragosto holidays celebrated in Italy in August have resulted in fewer Italian tourists than in previous seasons. The crisis is to blame, experts say, as well as Italy's efforts to steer Italians to domestic destinations.
Denis Ivosevic, the director of the Istria Tourist Board, is optimistic about the season's outlook. "We hope that, with good weather in September, we will be able to finish the season with at least the same results as last year." Croatiantimes.com

Accommodation in Croatia/Alojamiento en Croacia/hotels
Wednesday, 18th August 2010
Radisson Blu Resort opens in Split
Radisson Blue Resort opens its doors in Split, Croatia today (Tues).
The luxury hotel with a view of the islands Brac and Solta has 240 rooms and two presidential apartments.
The renovated four-star hotel has 120 employees, and its director is German Maik Schaefer.
Radisson Blu Resort Split is 15 minutes by car from the historic city centre and fronts the beach, making it a unique city resort. Croatiantimes.com

Accommodation in Croatia/Alojamiento en Croacia/hotels
Wednesday, 18th August 2010I
Istria´s season atypical owing to large number of interrupted vacations
While the number of tourists this season is likely to be close to the number last year, a large number of curtailed vacations is likely to result in fewer overnights. Denis Ivosevic from the Istria Tourist Board says that the season has been atypical, given the large number of interruptions. "It rained the last three weekends in July, and in August there were two rainy weekends in a row, and many guests left a day or two before they had planned to," he explained. "In July and August, we had 10 per cent more guests, but we are finishing the first seven months with three per cent fewer overnights than last year," he added. Ivosevic is satisfied overall with Istria's season, however, and, even though the numbers point to more departures than arrivals, hotels are full, and there are good indicators for the upcoming weeks, he said. Croatiantimes.com

Accommodation in Croatia/Alojamiento en Croacia/hotels
Monday, 9th. August, 2010
July saves Croatian tourism
July saw record numbers of tourists heading to Croatia and erasing pre-season minuses, the Minister of Tourism Damir Bajs has announced.
"The results show that this year's July is likely to be the best July in the history of Croatian tourism," the Minister said.
Thanks to 2.7 million tourists, fears of pre-season minuses failed to materialise and instead the number of July tourists surpassed last year's July totals by nine per cent.
Nineteen million overnight stays registered this July means a seven per cent increase over the last, Croatian daily Jutarnji List reports.
Bajs added however that Croatia must not relax for the remainder of the season but give its all in the coming months, especially during August's peak.
Some of Croatia's most important markets such as Germany and Italy are still in the minus, he warned.
The Tourism Minister once again reiterated his commitment to maintaining Croatia's share in European tourism, which surpassed two per cent for the first time last year. That meant that every 50th tourist in Europe came to Croatia.
The biggest increase in tourists were registered from Russia, Spain and Slovenia. Croatiantimes.com