May 6, 2020 — Early comments by authorities suggest Croatia’s tourism season will cater to the well-heeled, while also keeping social distancing orders in place.
The director of the Croatian Institute for Public Health, Krunoslav Capak, gave broad-stroke outlines of the evolving epidemiological measures and what life will be like on Dalmatian islands in an interview with HRT.
“We’ve been very successful,” he said. “We have to make sure that there is no second wave because it threatens us with the virus being here.”
Capak urged citizens to remain aware the virus is still present and will be for some time. But loosened restrictions meant to free up economic activity and daily life would slowly reintroduce normalcy.
“Quarantine is good for stopping the rapid spread of infection but is not sustainable. People and social life cannot function in quarantine,” he said.
Capak explained if the coronavirus keeps the characteristics it has now, it will probably return in the fall. Though there also may be an effective drug by then.
He said cafes and restaurants, hotels, kindergartens, and schools are now the focus, and sports competitions are intensively discussed. In collaboration with gyms and fitness centers, they will make recommendations.
As for the islands and going to the islands, Capak said islanders would have to adapt to the new way of life. It will not be as it was, there will be no crowds on the beaches.
“If there is a favorable epidemiological situation, there will be no crowds on the beaches, in the cafes,” he said, referencing the continuation of social distancing measures currently in effect. Municipal guards, beach owners, cities, or hotels would have to take care not to limit contact.
“There will be no towel-next-to-towel,” he said, a nod to the traditional cramming along Dalmatia’s more popular beaches.
He also offered up one more tantalizing prospect: open-air concerts. Capak added the usual battery of caveats.
“Of course, this requires the permission of the Civil Protection Directorate, because there is still a ban on gathering people in the open and the recommendation for a limited number of people is still valid,” he said. “According to epidemiological criteria, it is possible. People need to stick to the distance if they are closer to wearing masks.”
The social-distancing measures will be easier to follow on a specific group of tourists: the yacht clubbers who galavant along the Adriatic in megalithic boats.
The Minister of the Interior and the head of the National Civil Protection Headquarters, Davor Božinović, said yachts longer than 24 meters in length were allowed to enter Croatian ports for berths in nautical tourism ports and ports open to the public. In addition, yachts are allowed to enter shipyards for repairs or repairs, Bozinovic said at a press conference of the National Staff. The measure could make megayachts the first mode of transportation liberated from the ePass system.
One of the first places testing the new, more-relaxed regime will be Krk National Park. After a break of almost two months, the park will reopen its doors to individual visitors on May 11.
The park hopes to spark renewed with promotional ticket pricing until June 18, at HRK 50 for adults and HRK 25 for children and young people from seven to 18 years old.
The Park said it used the break to adapt common areas to the new epidemiological measures, particularly in closed areas. Entry to the rooms will be limited to a fixed number of visitors at the same time, with hand disinfection required at every entrance.
