December 22, 2019 – Kvarner is ready for the 30,000 guests that should visit during the Christmas and New Year holidays, which is about the same number of guests as last year.
Novi List writes that about 100,000 overnights will be realized during the holidays, most of them on the Opatija Riviera (45,000). The island of Lošinj has announced 17,000, the Rijeka area 15,000, the Crikvenica-Vinodol Riviera 9,000, the island of Krk 7,000, Gorski Kotar and the island of Rab 5,000 each, and the island of Cres 1,000.
There will be 64 hotels open in Kvarner, as well as three camps, two in Losinj and one in Krk.
Most guests are expected on the Opatija Riviera. In Opatija itself, according to the data of the Opatija Tourist Board, the Christmas and New Year holidays should see13,250 guests, which will generate 37,800 nights. Most overnights will be spent on hotel accommodation. In this period, 27 hotels will be open in Opatija, with the majority expected to be guests from Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Italy and Croatians.
“A rich program of ‘The Most Beautiful Advent by the Sea’ awaits all visitors, which will bring a lot of good music like concerts by Marko Tolja, Martina Majerle, Renata Sabljak and Đani Stipanič, as well as many other renowned musicians who will grace the beautiful winter and summer stage, animation for the youngest and other surprises. As many as four events have been prepared for the New Year – for the youngest at noon on the Summer Stage, to three outdoor parties. All guests who have chosen Opatija for the New Year will be congratulated by the Mayor of Opatija on January 1 at the traditional Mayor’s Toast,” said Željka Stašić, project manager at the Opatija Tourist Board.
The second most visited destination for the upcoming holidays will be Rijeka and its surroundings. According to the long-term trend of growth in the number of overnight stays in the city, the Rijeka Tourist Board emphasizes that the tourist turnover for the holidays will exceed last year’s results.
“The rich Rijeka Advent program will certainly contribute to the positive results, which this year ends with a spectacular New Year’s Eve concert with Nina Badrić, Dubioza Kolektiv and Nikolina Tomljanović. However, there are also New Year’s Eve celebrations at numerous restaurants in the city center and the surrounding area.
Five hotels are open in the city of Rijeka – Bonavia, Jadran, Neboder, Continental and Molo Longo, most of the hostels and a large number of privately owned accommodation, where the highest number of overnight stays has been realized,” said Dominik Damiš, Head of Marketing at the Rijeka Tourist Board. Furthermore, domestic tourists usually achieve the most overnights, followed by foreign guests from Italy, Germany, Serbia, Slovenia and Austria.
In the area of the Crikvenica Riviera, from December 20 to January 6, approximately 1,700 guests will spend 7,500 overnight stays. The Crikvenica Tourist Board states that in addition to the Marina Hotel in Selce, which is always open, the Omorika Hotel, the Mediteran Hotel and the Crikvenica Hotel will be open during the New Year holidays. In addition to hotels, several dozen apartments will be opened. Most guests are expected from Austria, Germany, Italy, Slovenia and Croatia, and the largest number of guests will stay in Crikvenica during the New Year holidays. Guests stay an average of three days. As the Crikvenica Tourist Board revealed, most of the hotel accommodation is already full, while some of the private apartments are still available to guests who want to spend their holidays in Crikvenica, which boasts a unique Advent atmosphere this year.
The largest tourist company on the Riviera, Jadran Crikvenica, is organizing New Year’s Eve at the Omorika Hotel.
“Only this hotel is open to us because we have already started the second phase of the investment cycle in other facilities to be even more prepared to welcome the new 2020 season. The main broadcasting market for us is Italy, and we also have a lot of local guests,” said Lucija Jukić, director of marketing for the Jadran Crikvenica, adding that they offer guests a New Year’s Eve dinner with live music, champagne at midnight, as well as live music.
In Novi Vinodolski, for example, 250 guests from Austria are expected for the New Year holidays in the only open hotel Lišanj and about 100 guests in private accommodation. Guests stay an average of three days, and the Novi Vinodolski Tourist Board revealed, the hotel is fully booked. Otherwise, the organized New Year’s Eve reception is in Marina Nova. And at the traditional Zdravica Nova 2020, about 1,000 foreign guests are expected, or about 8,000 in total.
This year, more destinations became involved in the organization of Advent, so the whole of December was marked by increased arrivals and overnight stays. But as expected, the culmination is yet to be expected. Most destinations have prepared outdoor receptions, with hoteliers and NYE parties for their guests.
The New Year holidays are traditionally the best for Gorski Kotar. This year, for the twentieth time, the people of Fužine and their guests will celebrate the ‘old year’ at noon.
Marinko Jakovljevic, director of the Fužine Tourist Board, said that most of the accommodation for the New Year holidays are reserved in the Gorski Kotar area. As a rule, holiday homes and apartments are full, while there is some room in household accommodation, as well as in hotel accommodation. But in the coming days, all should be full.
“Since we have prepared a four-day program starting on December 29th with a traditional concert of our Wind Orchestra, as a rule, these are stays based on three overnights. We have also prepared surprises to bid the Old Year farewell at noon, and besides, the New Year’s train from Rijeka will come again. The director of the Fužine Tourist Board concluded that guests are coming from all over Croatia, and there is an increase in arrivals from Slovenia.
The Kvarner islands are ready for the busy holidays. This year, for the fifth time, a rich Advent program called ‘The Most Beautiful Island Advent’ was prepared for the coming holidays. This year, the program started on November 30 and will last until January 7 next year, with the extension to the Boškopini Park in addition to the historic city center. Rab’s rich program, as well as hotel programs, will attract more guests this year than last year. Namely, the Valamar Collection Imperial Hotel will open for NYE, while the Valamar Hotel Padova and the Veritas Restaurant and Wine Bar will open before Christmas.
“So, that is one more hotel than last year. Full occupancy is expected, with guests coming mainly from Austria, Germany and France. In addition to all hotel facilities with entertainment and animation programs, guests will also have access to excursion programs and various programs within Rab Advent, which this year deservedly bears the name ‘Best Island Advent’. By the way, the Best Island Advent has been increasingly profiled for several years as an additional motive for the arrival of guests to Rab, and the question is only to what extent the weather will allow its realization,” said the President of the Imperial Riviera of Rab.
On the island of Krk, advent programs for the New Year have been prepared by the tourist boards of Omišlj – Njivice, Malinska – Dubašnica, Krk, Punta, Dobrinj and Vrbnik. A rich program throughout Advent as well as for the holidays themselves was prepared in Mali Lošinj, which this year received new Advent attire and an ice skating rink, as well as a covered space for the New Year’s festivities, so that even the bad weather cannot spoil the fun.
Hotel Aurora in Mali Lošinj and Hotel Televrin in Nerezine are open for New Year’s Eve, as well as two campsites. In addition to Čikat, the Poljana campsite in Mali Lošinj is open, and part of the private accommodation will be provided, with the assistance of local tourist agencies. Vitality Hotel Punta and Family Hotel Vespera are open for closed groups. Talking about the upcoming holidays as well as announcements for 2020, Ricardo Hesky, a member of the Jadranka Hotel Management Board, said that the number of guests coming from Lošinj Hotels & Villas have increased year by year, along with the number of overnight stays.
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