Slobodna Dalmacija reports that the best news for the Croatian tourism sector in the last two years came from Germany and Switzerland. After the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention last week removed the entire Croatian coast from the red epidemiological zone and placed it in the yellow zone, the German state epidemiological institute Robert Koch removed Croatia from the list of high-risk areas on Monday.
Moreover, Split-Dalmatia County, Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Istria County, Karlovac County, Krapina-Zagorje County, and Požega-Slavonia County entered the green zone of this prestigious institute. The whole of Croatia was removed from the list of epidemiologically high-risk countries on Tuesday by Switzerland, with the abolition of all restrictions on completely vaccinated persons, persons who have recovered from Covid-19, but also those who have not been vaccinated or have recovered from Covid, but travel by land.
Since the ECDC map, like the opinion of the German Robert Koch Institute, is considered the most relevant indicator of destination safety for European tourists, the door to a successful season in Croatia in early June is wide open to all Europeans, who no longer have to isolate themselves after returning from the Adriatic. This is the best confirmation that the epidemiological situation is the only criterion that will determine the success of the season and that the effort of reaching the “green” in some regions pays off.
“Given the current epidemiological situation as well as the forecasts for the coming weeks, and if something unforeseen does not happen in the next period, the overall result of the season could be significantly better than last year, but still below the record 2019. What is crucial is that we ensure a quality epidemiological situation for as long as possible, preferably to be “green” at least until October,” said Veljko Ostojić, director of the Croatian Tourism Association.
How important it is for Croatia to be in the green zone of epidemiological safety in Germany is shown by the fact that 1.5 million Germans arrived during last year’s Covid season while we were in the green zone, so even better numbers can be expected this year.
Croatian tourism partners from Germany welcomed three Adriatic counties in the green zone with great pleasure, which is why the airlines will certainly strengthen their routes to Split and Dubrovnik. Thus, Split Airport already has 30 confirmed airlines in June, with the expected 80,000 passengers.
Eight regular lines have been announced to Germany, seven to France, five to Poland, four to Great Britain, three to Switzerland, two to Spain, Sweden, and the Netherlands, and one to Serbia, Luxembourg, Belgium, Russia, Austria, Italy, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Ukraine, Latvia, and Denmark.
In addition to many airlines already operating to Split, Aeroflot from Moscow, Air France from Paris, Iberia from Madrid, British Airways from London, Luxair from Luxembourg, Ryanair from Dublin, Edelweiss from Zurich returned to Split Airport, Ukraine International and Windrose from Kyiv resumes in early June. Last weekend alone, 70 flights landed on regular routes, and 8,000 passengers passed through Split Airport.
“At the moment, bookings for July, August, and September are excellent. For some types of accommodation facilities, it is even at the level of 2019. We are already seeing a much fiercer market competition, considering that we are no longer the only Mediterranean country that can achieve significant international tourist traffic in such epidemiological conditions this year. The whole main season is ahead of us, and we must be careful not to repeat the mistakes of last year,” warns Ostojic.
“Croatia is primarily a car destination, which is why it is logical that guests from key markets first visit Istria and Kvarner and Zadar County. As for our southern destinations, we expect a larger influx of guests after June 15, i.e., from the beginning of July, when over 180 airlines from our most important markets start operating. We are especially looking forward to direct flights from the USA to Dubrovnik,” said Kristjan Staničić, director of the Croatian National Tourist Board.
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