Croatia’s Minister of Tourism Nikolina Brnjac explains how her country wants to start the season as a “safe travel destination”.

From Christian Wehrschütz | 5.30 a.m., March 15, 2021

“Croatia, your safe travel destination” – this is how Croatia is already attracting guests for Easter and the coming summer season on the Internet. In English the motto is “Safe stay in Croatia”: This is the inscription on a sticker that is affixed in hotels, museums and all major holiday destinations, all of which adhere to strict hygienic measures. Will Croatia regularly monitor the measures?
NIKOLINA BRNJAC: This label is checked three times, by the Ministry with random samples, by the tourism experts, but also by the guests, who can give their impressions on the website as to how these epidemiological measures are being adhered to. On the website you can see which measures apply to which property – from the port to the hotel to the restaurant. By observing all measures, we want to show that we are a safe destination.

In the previous year, Croatia offered an internet platform on which tourists could register before the start of the trip. The respective destination of the trip and the passport number had to be stated. Will this platform exist again this year?
The digital platform “Enter Croatia” makes it easier to travel to Croatia, because then there are no bottlenecks at the border crossings. This year, too, there is this possibility of registering before the start of the journey, making it easier for you to enter the country. However, this registration is not mandatory for our guests.

A negative PCR test is currently required for entry. The specific conditions for entry during Easter and in summer naturally depend on the corona situation. When returning home, however, there were sometimes bottlenecks in the PCR tests, which were also expensive, unless hotels took over the costs. Will there be more and cheaper tests for incoming guests this year?
After the experience with last year’s season, we are now talking about how we can offer more tests and faster processing of the tests as quickly as possible. This should apply to all of our tourist destinations so that we can offer even more PCR tests everywhere.

In the previous year there were completely uncoordinated regulations for the return of tourists in the EU countries. Will that be different this year?
At the moment, common rules for traveling are being negotiated at the EU level, which should apply to all member states. We see it as extremely important that there is a uniform regulation. There were different guidelines last season and that led to a rather chaotic situation. Such a situation can be avoided with a unified attitude and Croatia supports unified access.

How does Croatia feel about an EU-wide corona vaccination pass?
We support the project of an electronic vaccination certificate. This certificate is intended to make traveling easier and not difficult for everyone. This is not supposed to be an additional condition for traveling, but to make it easier – if so, then definitely, yes.

In the previous year, there was a sharp rise in corona numbers in individual holiday destinations, primarily due to well-frequented bars and nightclubs. Will Croatia take tough action in these locations this year if the pandemic situation requires it?
If necessary, this will be taken into account – should the epidemiological situation require it. The most important thing is to preserve the health of our citizens and our tourists. On the basis of the corresponding experience in 2020, we must take this very seriously.

You will soon be visiting Austria as Minister of Tourism. Last year, the government in Vienna put your country on the red list overnight at the end of August and called its tourists back. This also led to chaotic situations at the borders. What will you talk about when you visit Vienna?
We will talk about this tourism year 2021 and how we can better promote Austria and Croatia together in third markets: I believe that there is great potential for joint advertising.