Breaking News - Croatia's First Tourist Exhibition in London "Postponed"

Croatia Online received notification, on 23rd February, of the Croatia Exclusive Exhibition to be held in Earls Court from the 7th to 9th April. We know of a number of Croatian Companies that were flying over to exhibit and, as we understand it, they were only notified yesterday that the event was not starting tomorrow. The following short notice appears on the website http://www.croatiaexclusive.com

"Due to unforeseen circumstances the Croatia Exhibition has had to be postponed.
We will inform you shortly about the new dates and apologise for any inconvenience caused by this."

It is obviously very unfortunate for the companies that have invested time and money to exhibit, and also for those that intended to visit the show. However it is really sad for Croatia as a whole, as it sends out completely the wrong signal to the English audience that it hopes to entice, and suggests a level of organisation which does not inspire confidence. We heard, but have not been able to substantiate the fact, that the show was “backed” by The Croatian Tourist Board and other government bodies. We will let you know more when we can establish the facts.

When we first found out about the show, we looked up the publicly available details of the company that was organising it at Companies House. These may be useful to those affected by the postponement and so we have reproduced them below.

Croatia Exclusive Ltd
19 Bolsover Street
London W1W 5NA

Director
Milica Polovina
5 Bishops Court
Great North Road
London N2 ONP

The company was incorporated in September 2004 and has not yet filed accounts.

We trust that the unfortunate circumstances are not of any personally tragic nature but have to wonder about the scale of such circumstances if they can bring an event of this type and significance to its knees.

Croatia Online - Boat Show Special 2 - A Sledgehammer to Crack a Nut?

Some readers will know that, at the beginning of last year, the Croatian Government issued new regulations aimed at stopping the black market charter business, essentially saying that all boats engaged in charter had to be registered under the Croatian flag. To "enforce" this they legislated for a limit on the number of passengers that could be carried on foreign flagged vessels. We referred to this in a previous posting published on February 6th 2006 - see below or click on http://croatiaonline.blogspot.com/2006/02/tuesday-column-croatia-tourism-2.html. I had a feature, on Croatia for Superyachts, published in the March 2005 issue of Boat International, which referred to the problem, as it also hits the Superyacht Charter industry hard. However, as reported in our posting of February 9th, http://croatiaonline.blogspot.com/2006/02/friday-column-croatia-week-in-review-2.html, there seems to have been some progress in this area.

At a conference at the Croatia Boat Show last year, I sat next to Branko Bacic, the Secretary of State for Maritime Affairs, Tourism, Transportation and Development where we were invited, alongside a number of others, to give a short speech about sustainable nautical tourism. Mr Bacic came under some pressure to review the somewhat draconian legislation as it seemed to be causing hardship to those who were obviously not intended to be caught in its net, eg multiple owners and charitable organisations. There was also much debate on whether indeed there could have been better ways of addressing the black charter problem. At the time, Mr Bacic stated that the legislation was new and was being reviewed to try and address genuine exceptions. However, it is disappointing to hear that very little seems to have been done.

Reproduced below is a comment to our previous posting on the Boat Show, which deserves a wider audience and has triggered this posting. It's one of the many cases we've heard about and the situation, as it stands, can only result in a number of boats leaving Croatia for friendlier waters . I've read Mike's article in Sailing Today and can only applaud him for trying his very best to find a constructive solution so that he, like others, can enjoy the pleasures of private and affordable sailing around one the best coastlines in the Mediterranean.

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"We have a British-flagged yacht based in Split; we share ownership with three other families. I am campaigning to have amended the rules limiting the number of people we can have on our yacht each year. To cut down on black chartering we can only have 2.3 times our legal capacity during the year; reasonable if you're a single owner, but sharing a limit of 28 (in our case) among four families has hit us hard. We do not lend or charter our yacht but like to introduce friends and families to Croatia and its fabulous cruising grounds. I wrote an article for "Sailing Today", April edition, which sets out the problem and our proposed solution - which I learn has just been rejected by the Ministry (MMTPR) in Zagreb. You will understand if I feel that the words of Branko Bacic at the opening of the Split Boat Show rang somewhat hollow." Mike

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Croatia Online - Boat Show Special 1

Those of you who read our posting on Boat Shows will remember that we suggested that they are yet to become a family day out. Well, things are changing with the Croatia Boat Show in Split, on this week. There are more big boats and a number of distractions for those for whom boats are not a major occupation.

From an industry point of view, the improvement in organisation is just as striking as the overall growth in size of the show over such a short space of time. Plenty of time to get stands fitted up, great marketing and not quite such a long queue to get passes organised.

Croatia Online’s biggest problem at the moment is to get hold of the breaking news during the show. If this Boat Show really wants to get itself on the International Map, then it needs to make life easier for those that want to help to promote it in another language other than Croatian. The Press Office is clearly hard pressed for time but the obvious answer is to make the most of the website. When we looked at it last night, it appeared it was last updated in October 2005.

We’ll be pursuing this issue during the week but in the meantime, our on the ground research reveals that the government suggested today, at the conference on strategy for the nautical tourism industry, that a further 22,000 berths could become available in Croatia. It was not obvious what plans there were to achieve this.

Goran Ivanisevic, a great and charismatic tennis champion, spent a long time at the show over the weekend and was a true gentleman when asked if he would have his photo taken for Croatia Online. Read more about him on http://www.goranivanisevic.com/.

Saturday Column: Brac Stone at the White House?

Much has been made about Croatian white stone from Brac being used to build The White House in Washington, especially after an infamous president said "there would be no white wash at the White House". However, we have recently read a correction to a July 2005 New York Times news item on Croatia which seems to explode the myth. The correction stated that the stone had come from Maryland and Virginia. We have emailed the New York Times to ask for clarification and further information.

In the mean time, we are endeavouring to find out about other Croatian materials used in famous buildings and have so far discovered that there is a rare form of glass, formed on certain pebble beaches in Croatia by the tides and currents. It appears that this material has unique qualities to maintain its teflon like finish, despite the erosion caused by changing conditions. Such is the ability of this material to deflect illumination in scattered directions that it was used by Peter Mandelson to great effect in the construction of the Millenium Dome. Despite its obvious intrinsic potential, no one has so far been able to put this exceptional discovery to any commercially viable use.

Friday Column - Croatia, The Week In Review 6

I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s postings which have covered the usual broad range of subjects. Sibenik was the topic of Monday’s destination column, a fascinating city which is often overlooked by tourists. We looked at Croatia’s boat shows in Tuesday’s tourism column, specifically the Croatia Boat Show in Split which starts this Saturday. Wednesday’s business column was dedicated to Croatia’s Hotel industry – on the brink of some dynamic growth if it can adapt to Croatia’s new position at the forefront of European tourism and the government can make life a little easier by removing some red tape. Finally this week, Thursday’s lifestyle column looked at driving in Croatia. This is one of my few bête noirs about living in Croatia and I make no apologies for a slightly personalised view though I did try to be as objective as I could!

Croatia Online will be spending most of next week at the Split Boat Show and we’ll be reporting on the highlights as a change from our standard format postings.

Finally, a reminder that Time Out Publications will be launching their first Croatian products this year – a Guide Book, a Magazine for Visitors and a web-site. We’re very happy to be working with Time Out in a number of areas and are certain that the arrival of such a reputable international name on the Croatian travel and entertainment scene marks a quantum leap in the growth and stature of Croatia’s tourism industry.

News and Views

1. Eurovision Song Contest

Not such a frivolous leader as it might seem, but rather an illustration of the problems that still exist in resolving territorial and political divides in the region. As most of you will know, Serbia and Montenegro are one political nation but Montenegro would like independence from Serbia. The two regions could not agree on which song should represent them in the Eurovision Sing Contest, with various allegations of skulduggery being levelled by both sides. Serbia and Montenegro therefore withdrew from the contest, leaving Croatia to fill the vacant place. Unusually, and perhaps equally controversial, it is rumoured that Serbia and Montenegro will still vote in the contest. What are the odds on Croatia getting any of their votes? For more background to the politics of Serbia and Montenegro, click on http://www.oikotimes.com/site/index.php?id=118. For the full and intriguing story on the Eurovision Song Contest withdrawal, click on http://www.oikotimes.com/site/index.php?id=4407. Both these pages are part of a very comprehensive Eurovision Song Contest web site which was featured in News and Review 2 posted on Thursday February 9th.

2. Property Prices

Croatia Today surprisingly reported a decline in Croatian property prices in 2005 although there was an increase in volume resulting in an overall growth in the market of 16.4%. The report suggests that sellers expectations are well over the prices actually achieved and there is much recent anecdotal evidence to suggest that sellers are being more realistic in setting prices. Hopefully that means the property market will settle down a little in 2006. Go to http://www.reporter.gr/fulltext_eng.cfm?id=60329163621 for the full report.


The View From Here

I’ve flown back to Split today, direct from Gatwick, on one of British Airways first flights of 2006, and can thoroughly recommend the food! Coming back this morning it was a 4 course lunch of smoked salmon, steak and kidney, cheese and biscuits and a delicious passion fruit fool. I’m not sure whether last year’s baguette pizza and snack box was a result of the ongoing dispute with the caterers or whether BA are trying to differentiate themselves more from the low cost airlines that will be coming in from May. Whatever the reason, it was a nice surprise on a flight that cost £100 return!


Enjoy your weekend and please let me know what you think of this week’s postings.

Thursday Column - Croatia Lifestyle 6: Driving

You can divide the two schools of thought on driving in Croatia quite clearly by gender. The men seem to love it and women tend to dig a lot of holes in the upholstery with their fingernails – daring adventure versus self preservation! The scenery is picturesque and the traffic is generally light, as long as you stay at home in July and August, but there are a number of white knuckle rides and a series of hazards.

As you may imagine, this article is written from a female perspective so lets be fair and put the macho view first. As I understand it, it’s touring driving like it used to be with plenty of overtaking and bends, not too many traffic lights and, especially inland, some good long straight overtaking places. And of course, around every corner is a magical village or a spectacular view. Until last year if you wanted to get quickly from Split to Zagreb, you were confined to the single lane coast road but now the first motorway has been built and that makes it a lot quicker and safer. Although I’m trying to be generous and unbiased, that’s pretty well it on the upside as far as I’m concerned.

On the downside, it’s difficult to know where to start. I would say that, on the whole, Croatian drivers are quite considerate, but they’ve grown up with their road system and that makes them necessarily a little aggressive by English standards. On some stretches of road, there is little opportunity to pass completely safely. Faced with the choice of having to stay behind a lorry for three miles of hairpin bends, or creating an opportunity from nowhere, the decision is normally to overtake, regardless of how near the approaching bend might be. As someone with an imaginative mind, I’ve often wondered what choice I would make, faced with a driver approaching me on the wrong side of the road, and a sheer drop about six inches away from the passenger’s side of the car, often with no crash barrier.

Such was the mesmerising effect of the bends, on the final leg of our otherwise gentle 5 day journey from London, when we first came over, that I was eventually only appeased at a speed of 20 miles an hour. The ravines, so close by for so long, gave me the first real vertigo attack I have had. The feeling, though dampened by time, still stays with me every time we take the coast road, though my confidence has grown considerably over the three years we have been here. On that final long day of our journey, we took the inland road to Trogir. This is a long straight Roman Road but it was dark and raining. Cats eyes have not been heard of in Croatia, white lines fade very quickly and when it rains it can really rain. So, tired and wanting to get to our new home, we drove in pitch black at speed, through deserted villages, and managed to stay on the road. I’m still not sure how though John’s remarkable driving vision had something to do with it.

Unfortunately, there are other hazards to watch out for. Many roads have uncovered ditches at the side for drainage and we’ve seen the odd vehicle get stuck in them when driving rain has camouflaged them as puddles. The lack of pavements in many places also means you need to watch out for pedestrians, particularly at night. As for the main coast road, there are more left turns off it than seeds in a pomegranate, so never get too close to the car in front. The Croatians are excellent at indicating but their lights don’t always work. You’ll need a good map as well, as the signage on the older roads isn’t that great, and be prepared for nice wide roads to suddenly shrink so there’s maybe just enough room to squeeze your car between two old stone houses.

Finally, just to depress you further, you’ll need to watch out for the police. They’re generally a fairly friendly bunch, though with limited English, and a belief that tourists are fair game to replenish the coffers. Croatia has recently introduced zero tolerance for drinking and driving, compulsory seat belt wearing, and compulsory dipped headlights at any time. All sensible measures but there’s a policeman round most corners waiting to catch you either for foe something. Even given the roads, the speed limits seem to be quite low and it’s easy to be caught off guard for speeding which means paying cash for an instant fine. If there is an accident, it seems to be standard local practice not to move the vehicles, however obstructive they are, until the police arrive on the scene.

Please take all the above with a strong pinch of salt. I certainly wouldn’t call myself a nervous driver but I’m not that used to being a passenger and you tend to think a bit more when you’re not at the wheel. I’ve also spent most of my pre Croatian life in London so country roads are a dim distant memory. However, when you’re driving in Croatia you do need to compensate for what other people might be doing a little more than in the UK. Croatia is well aware of the fact that its roads and road safety need attention and the government has already taken a number of steps in that direction. However its difficult to see where they will find the land to build pavements where they might be needed and more overtaking places on the coastal roads. Crash barriers are however going up in a number of places and traffic lights are popping up from nowhere in a few days. Other positive signs, on the first ever motorway, are the good netting of rocky areas and the general high standards of build and signage. It’s truly an amazing engineering feat given the proximity of the mountains to the coast and indentation of the mainland, requiring every conceivable combination of tunnels and bridges.

Wednesday Column - Croatia Business 6: The Hotel Industry

This is another ambitious subject for a brief posting in the Croatia Online business column and we’re not going to pretend to do anything but scratch the surface, ready to delve deeper in future postings. One thing is abundantly clear: the Croatian Hotel Industry is in a period of rapid change, where innovators will do very well and those that find it hard to change will undoubtedly suffer.

Croatia is the “it” place at the moment and the hotel industry is poised to be one of the biggest winners from this. However it’s a very different market from just a few years ago, when the holiday makers were largely Eastern European or Germans and Austrians with holiday homes. When we first visited Croatia five years ago, there was hardly another Western European in sight, particularly from France and England, and no American twang to be heard. Now, particularly with the arrival of low cost airlines, and a number of additional routes to the main Croatian airports, Croatia is near the top of everyone’s list and, at last, serious thought is being given as to how to attract more visitors, outside the packed high season of July and August, and how to extract more value from tourists. Those thoughts need to be put into action sooner rather than later. When we travelled round Istria three years ago, we could only find one apartment owner entrepreneurial enough to heat up his holiday apartments so they were comfortable in February and we’ve been going back to him, every six months, ever since. Two Christmases ago we were the only guests in the only hotel open on the island of Vis, and only last year, in a gloriously sunny and hot first week of September, not a single restaurant (hotel or otherwise) was open for lunch on the island of Pasman.

Eastern Europeans have been very faithful to Croatia and it would be a great shame to see them priced out of the market. However, they’re not traditionally big spenders and the cheap apartment accommodation and package resort hotels are not always to the taste of the new type of tourist. The Americans are going to be a particularly hard market to attract and retain. They tend to “do Europe” rather than just pick one holiday destination and there’s a high probability that any international chain that establishes itself in Croatia may clean up on this market by being able to book the whole tour. Now is therefore the time for good Croatian hotels to put themselves on the map with the American market. Encouragingly, Time Out Publications are launching a Guide Book, a Magazine for Visitors and a Website this year in Croatia and that should go a long way to putting Croatian Hotels on the map with American and English Visitors.

It is also very encouraging to see new boutique style hotels sprouting in a variety of destinations and some established hotels recognising the need to change. Hotel Split, with it’s own beach, in Split, is a good example of this. It’s been bold enough to recognise the need to appeal to the changing market place and is undertaking major refurbishment in 2007 to gain it’s fourth star. It’s already a cut above the average older style “beach hotel” and therefore has succeeded in attracting business visitors as well as holiday makers. Art Hotel, nearer to the centre of Split, and only in it’s second year, is also aiming at the business market and has a business centre as well as good internet facilities in the rooms, something quite rare in Croatia. Given the size of Split, good hotels are fairly sparse but we hear there are plans for 15 new ones and that Le Meridien has made its first major step into the hotel market by refurbishing a large hotel just outside the town to turn it into a quality conference centre, amongst other things.

In Zagreb there are some good business hotels to choose from and the classic Hotel Esplanade, by the train station, built in 1925. In the other cities and larger towns, it is much more difficult to find anything other than the large resort style hotels, quite a few of them state owned. Trogir is an exception and now has about four small good quality hotels.

So what exactly does the future hold for the industry? Much of the answer to that is tied up with how Croatia decides to deal with the bureaucracy that paralyses a lot of its economy and deters entrepreneurs. Bureaucracy is a particular nightmare for any businesses where property is a large part of the investment. Time scales for planning permissions are erratic and uncertain which makes it extremely difficult to respond to market changes and to plan new investment or refurbishment. The next major issue is good quality market research – who exactly is the new “average” tourist, what do they want and how much will they pay. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the new breed of tourist finds it hard to spend their money in Croatia which suggests they are looking for better quality, more entertainment, better services and something a bit different. Internet services are increasingly expected in any hotel of three stars and above and not always very easy to find. A little more proactive assistance from some reception desks would help bring a smile to guests faces and a few more innovative local activities would help to provide amusement. If the more demanding American visitors do start to come in force there will no doubt be a bit of a culture shock on both sides.

The length of the season is a chicken and egg conundrum. Many hotels shut at the end of August because nobody comes; nobody comes because there’s nowhere to stay. A limited season might be the right decision for some of the more remote island hotels which depend on the weather for tourism but, with cheap flights all year round now, many of the larger towns and villages would make great weekend break or conference destinations and that’s where good marketing, advertising and delivery comes in.

Above all, if the industry can’t move fast, it may quickly loose the goodwill which it has recently re-acquired. As a relatively new top ten destination, expectations are high and disappointed visitors won’t come back. Worse they won’t be giving good reports to their friends.

In a country with so much potential as a top quality tourist destination, abundant natural assets and a relatively cheap and skilled labour force, the Hotel Industry just has to concentrate on managing its resources well, understanding and meeting the needs of its new customer base and making sure the world knows exactly how much it has got to offer. It’s only fair that the government should assist in this process where possible by taking away some of the red tape, helping to make sure the best training and education is available and co-ordinating the vast state owned tourist board network. The Tourist Offices could be much more proactive in projecting the right image internationally, rather than when people arrive, and assisting its “clients” to offer the appropriate and relevant services.