Skift Take

It's great to make safety measures part of the marketing, but right now those measures are up against spiking infections and death across the Balkans that are at their highest in the past year.

Croatia is putting safety at the heart of its campaign to lure back tourists this year, offering testing at resorts and other preventive measures to combat the coronavirus, Tourism Minister Nikolina Brnjac said on Monday.

The government has launched a “Safe Stay in Croatia” campaign intended to guarantee high safety standards and procedures against COVID-19, she said.

“All tourist facilities, as well as transport companies and facilities like airports, seaports, train and bus stations, can get a ‘Safe Stay in Croatia’ sticker provided they guarantee to implement the necessary health and safety measures,” Brnjac said in an interview.

Join Skift Pro and Read More About Croatia and the Backlash Against Digital Nomads: A Global Backlash Against Digital Nomads Is Brewing

Visitors can find information online about destinations and tourist services which comply with safety measures such as customer numbers, social distancing, hygiene and mask requirements.

Tourists can monitor safety themselves. “The guests will be able to report any irregularities on the web page ‘safestayincroatia.hr’,” Brnjac said.

Tourism accounts for about one fifth of Croatia’s economy and last year tourist arrivals were about 40% of pre-pandemic 2019. This year Croatia is projecting economic growth of 5%, with tourism playing a major role.

Brnjac declined to comment on the number of visitors expected this year.

Like elsewhere in Europe, this month Croatia has recorded an increase in the number of infections, at around 1,100 daily.

This summer’s tourist season in Europe is threatened by a surge in cases in many holiday destinations.

Brnjac said Croatia would organise testing in tourist resorts, offering PCR and fast antigen tests as well as detailed information on what people should do if they experience symptoms.

“We want to make a stay in Croatia safe and pleasant,” Brnjac said.

Visitors to Croatia currently need a negative PCR test. Brnjac welcomed last week’s proposal from the European Commission for digital certificate for EU travellers but said they must not be discriminatory.

(Reporting by Igor Ilic; Editing by Giles Elgood)

This article was written by Igor Ilic from Reuters and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected].

smartphone

The Daily Newsletter

Our daily coverage of the global travel industry. Written by editors and analysts from across Skift’s brands.

Have a confidential tip for Skift? Get in touch

Tags: coronavirus, croatia

Photo credit: The English-language website of the Croatian National Tourist Board promotes its new safety campaign. Skift

Up Next

Loading next stories