We continue to enter one of the busiest months of the year for Croatia, and the favorable epidemiological situation is reflected in the number of flights and stays, mainly on the Dalmatian coast. Regarding sports, the EURO 2020 page has been turned to give rise to wonderful news in tennis, as well as the great expectation for the athletes who will represent Croatia in the next Olympic Games. Likewise, the first weeks of July have given very positive moments for the future with the visit of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Layen, who congratulated the Croatian Recovery and Resilience Plan and showed her support, in addition to meeting also with Croatian genius Mate Rimac, who this week announced the powerful union between Bugatti and Rimac Automobili. Here’s a quick review of this week’s news.
Bugatti becomes Bugatti Rimac with Headquarters in Croatia
Oliver Blume (CEO of Porsche), Lutz Meschke (Deputy Chairman and CFO of Porsche), and Mate Rimac held a live conference at the iconic 14th-century fortress in Dubrovnik. (Credits: Rimac Automobili Official Facebook Page)
At the beginning of last month, Mate Rimac introduced the newest addition to its line of electric hypercars: the Nevera. And it wasn’t the only big news of the year for the genius behind Rimac Automobili after he announced a spectacular new campus on the outskirts of Zagreb, as well as the future robotaxis service in the Croatian capital in 2024. When we were all thinking That Rimac would settle for those big projects, the Croatian pulled another ace up his sleeve and announced the union between his company, Rimac Automobili, and the French giants, Bugatti Automobiles. The union was made public through photos that included cars from Rimac, Bugatti, and Porsche, who earlier this year announced a millionaire investment in the Croatian company. To further celebrate the important agreement, an event was held in the walled city of Dubrovnik, where Mate Rimac, Oliver Blume (CEO of Porsche), Lutz Meschke (Deputy Chairman and CFO of Porsche), gave a press conference at alive.
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Croatia To Be Represented By 60 Athletes in Tokyo Olympic Games
The 20-year-old and first Croatian boxing Olympian, Nikolina Čačić, is among 60 athletes who will represent the country in the biggest sports event. (Credits: Igor Kralj/PIXSELL)
The postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo was just one of the many consequences of a pandemic that profoundly affected the world of sport. However, if there was any way to view the situation as a glass half full, it was from the perspective that it could mean more preparation time for Croatian athletes. The road has been hard, in which teams such as the men’s basketball and handball teams fell in the final stages and failed to qualify. But amid sadness, joys also occurred, such as the gold and classification achieved by Barbara Matić in the discipline of Judo or the presence of the first Croatian Olympic boxer, Nikolina Čačić, with only 20 years. A total of 60 athletes will represent Croatia in the next Olympic Games, which are scheduled to open on July 23.
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Record Weekend at Split Airport with 65,000 Passengers, 160 planes
It was a record weekend at Split Airport with 65,000 passengers and 160 planes, equaling the passenger traffic at Split Airport during the last weekend of July last year! (Credits: Velimir Marinkovic/Pixabay)
It was said, in the months before the beginning of summer in the European continent, that the great advance of vaccinations in their populations would bring favorable results towards the high season. And so it happened… for some countries. Among them, Croatia has seen rising numbers of flights and reservations both in hotels and private accommodations through the eVisitor system every week. Very favorable figures have been reported that, in addition to surpassing those of last year, do not have much to envy those of a normal year such as 2019. It is not only worth highlighting the massive presence of tourists in Istria, Zadar, Dubrovnik, or Split, which reported this week the arrival of 65,000 tourists and 160 planes, but also the diversity of tourists among Germans, Czechs, Slovenians, Poles, and even Americans. However, the virus continues to haunt the continent and with the latent threat of the Delta variant, even more so considering the recent declines in the vaccination process in Croatia, especially in young people. Thus, several ministers and authorities have spoken out to ask the population not only to be responsible and cautious but also to continue being vaccinated, with the aim of preventing the return of restriction measures that could put the Croatian economy in a very delicate situation.
Follow the latest on flights to Croatia HERE and the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.
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European Commission Gives Greenlight to Croatia’s Recovery and Resilience Plan
On Thursday, the European Commission gave a positive assessment of Croatia’s recovery and resilience plan, worth €6.3 billion, which could significantly boost the country’s Gross Domestic Product and create 21,000 new jobs by 2026. (Credits:Goran Stanzl/PIXSELL)
May was a decisive month for the Recovery and Resilience Plan supported by Plenković, which seeks to make a powerful investment in the labor sector, the scientific sector, in education, infrastructure, among others. The package was finally presented by the Croatian Prime Minister at the end of that month and brought to the European Commission in Brussels. A little over a month has passed and the reception has been positive, and it is that within the visit of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the Recovery and Resilience Plan was one of the main topics, and she herself highlighted and congratulated its design and objectives, thus showing her commitment and support to a plan that seeks to generate thousands of more jobs by 2026 and positively revolutionize the Croatian economy. Among the different activities carried out by Von der Leyen in Croatia, it is worth highlighting her visit to the Rimac Automobili headquarters, after sharing a press conference with Mate Rimac and Andrej Plenković.
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Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić Won Wimbledon
Mate Pavić (left) and Nikola Mektić celebrate victory against Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the mens’ doubles final. (Credits: Adam Davy PA Images/PIXSELL)
A great victory for Croatian sport came after Nikola Metkic and Mate Pavic became Wimbledon champions in men’s doubles, after defeating Spaniard Marcel Granollers and the Argentine Horace Zeballos in the final with 6-4, 7-6 ( 5), 2-6, 7-5 after two hours and 43 minutes of play. The Croatian tennis players had been reaping a series of important victories that led them with considerable merit to the grand final, where the Croatian pair finally prevailed. For Pavić, this is the third “grand slam” won in the men’s doubles competition, in 2018 he won the Australian Open with Oliver Marach, and last year the US Open with Bruno Soares, while Mektić won his first “grand slam” in this competition. For Mektić and Pavić, this was already the 10th final of this season and the eighth title, but convincingly the biggest.
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From Monday to Sunday, we list five events featured on the front pages of Croatia’s news portals.
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