May the 6th, 2023 - The brand new HBOR credit instrument boasts an impressive 400 million euros of potential, and large Croatian companies will now finally have a guarantee scheme offered to them by this particular body.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes, after a decade and a half of questions and comments being fired back and forth on this particular issue, HBOR, supported by the operational decision of the Croatian Government, is finally going to start offering a proper guarantee scheme for large domestic companies as well.

As part of the sixth instrument implemented by the NPOO, HBOR has launched an attractive financial product on the market - "a credit guarantee as a way out" for investment projects of large companies in situations where there is a lack of own collateral, either due to the inability to access the necessary loans or owing to a lack of free assets.

For this purpose, nearly 80 million euros were allocated to HBOR from the NPOO, which, for the private sector at least, also comes as a trigger for investment projects with the aforementioned obstacles, but also for the public sector because this will greatly relieve the burden felt by local budgets. Large entities will definitely want to use the new HBOR credit instrument, as the total guarantee potential of this new financial product stands at around 400 million euros.

Beneficiaries of the new HBOR credit instrument can be commercial banks and leasing companies, and HBOR itself when acting as a creditor. With the new product, this institution will become a development bank in the full sense of the word for large domestic companies, and it will also involve taking on new risks in the name of and indeed on behalf of the Republic of Croatia as a nation.

The product became operational with the Croatian Government's decision to appoint a commission that will "nominate" consent givers for guarantees, so that their role becomes crucial in encouraging investments for the purpose of launching, modernising and digitising business as we go forward.

A maximum of 30% of such new HBOR loans can be used for working capital, and the maximum guarantee coverage is up to 80% of the loan principal for investments in special areas of the Republic of Croatia, the green and digital transition, research, development and innovation, while for other investments, coverage is up to 70% of the loan principal.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated news section.

May the 6th, 2023 - British couple Mark and Gilly decided to swap Northern Europe for Strigova in Medjimurje, where life is less expensive and the peace and quiet also offered in the British countryside can be enjoyed for much less. They have also started their Medjimurje glamping business, and it's going very well.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, we're more than often flooded by depressing headlines and stories about Croats abandoning their homeland and heading off abroad in search of a better life and more economic stability, but the opposite story is also being more and more frequently told. A British couple have decided to move to Strigova and start their Medjimurje glamping (luxury camping) business. They're far from regreful about their move.

Due to the nature of their work, Mark and Gilly have already travelled the world, but they said they knew they would one day settle somewhere in Europe, but not necessarily the UK. The final decision ended up being the Republic of Croatia.

"I noticed the vineyards, somewhere around Novi Marof, I think. I thought, this would be an interesting place to live," said Mark.

"It seemed like a very nice place, people take care of their properties nicely, it's very peaceful. We thought this was the perfect place to live," added his wife Gilly Whitefield.

Mark and Gilly have lived in Strigova for three years now, and last year they started their Medjimurje glamping business, which has been going very well for them indeed.

"We have two tents, and this year we will have four. Business is going very well," explained Gilly proudly.

"From our perspective, we wanted to live in a place with a more pleasant climate. We knew it was unlikely that we would return to the United Kingdom, it has become very expensive to live there. In addition, we like the peace and quiet, Croatian culture and the fact that Croats are more connected to nature, working on the land, growing their own food. I mean, that's a nice part of living here," says Mark.

Starting a business in Croatia isn't easy, but this couple had all possible support on offer to them during the often daunting task of getting started, let alone running the business.

"We had excellent cooperation with the local mayor. He was exceptionally supportive, as were all of the other local authorities, the county and the city of Cakovec, urban planning, and tourism. In addition to all of that, we've only had good experiences with the local craftsmen," pointed out Mark.

They visit local manifestations and events, socialise with local people and both agree that the move has been very good for them. Their neighbours, just by a sheer stroke of good luck, are also a couple who chose to relocate to gorgeous Medjimurje from Britain.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated news section.

May the 6th, 2023 - The Croatian catering and hospitality industry has enjoyed 28 percent more turnover in April 2023 when compared to the same month last year. While this is good news, it also speaks volumes about Eurozone accession and price hikes.

As Jadranka Dozan/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, cafes, restaurants and other Croatian catering and hospitality facilities which deal with the preparation and serving of food and drinks and which are in the fiscalisation system registered 221.6 million euros in turnover last month.

In April of last year, slightly more than 1.3 billion kuna, or 173 million euros, passed through the fiscal cash registers in the Croatian catering and hospitality sector, which means that the value of the bills issued this year is 28 percent higher.

Such an increase in fiscalised turnover was achieved due to a five percent higher number of invoices and bills issued, and in addition to the possible influence of the consumption structure, this also speaks volumes about price hikes and Croatia's new currency - the euro.

In any case, the data kept by the Tax Administration shows that in the Croatian catering and hospitality industry (the activity of preparing and serving food and beverages), fiscalised turnover increased more strongly than at the level of all activities covered by fiscalisation, where turnover which is one fifth higher has been recorded.

The main "harvest" for the Croatian catering and hospitality sector is yet to come, and of course by this we mean the height of the summer tourist season. For example, last year, a total value of 22.5 billion kuna or three billion euros was paid by both cash and card to enterprises across the country engaged in the preparation and serving of food and beverages, and 56 percent of that was paid out in the period from June to September alone.

Cumulative data for this year shows that the beginning of the second quarter of 2023 in the Croatian catering and hospitality industry brought somewhat stronger annual turnover growth than in the first. From the beginning of this year to the end of last month, taxpayers in the catering and hospitality industry reported almost 709 million euros in turnover to the tax authorities, which is 20 percent more than in the comparable period last year.

In the first four months of 2022, more than 4 billion kuna, or 590 million euros, passed through their fiscal coffers.

In the activity of providing accommodation, which is closely linked, April's data signals an acceleration of annual growth compared to the first quarter, which concluded with a 34 percent increase in fiscalised turnover. Last month, accommodation services saw an inflow of cash in the amount of almost 104 million euros, paid with both cards and cash, which is 43 percent more than last year's reported amount of 547 million kuna (73 million euros).

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated news section.

May 5, 2023 - Everyone knows about Agatha Christie's famous novel "Murder on the Orient Express." But did you know that the train which was the scene of the murder was passing right through Vinkovci, on the rails of Slavonia? That train really used to pass there and travel on to exotic places, and Mrs. Christie often traveled on it. And now, just a little slower but equally fun, we're presenting the Vinkovci Orient Express race.

And the second race of the Vinkovci trilogy, which began with the Orion race, was named after the Orient Express, writes Turističke Priče.

Races through the history of the oldest city in Europe

The route of the Orient Express race will explore the streets of Vinkovci on Saturday, May 6. It starts in the city center at 5 p.m., and the length is 10 kilometers.

Pick-up of the start packages is on the day of the race from 4 p.m. and includes the official race shirt, unique start number, finisher's medal, refreshments, and prizes for the first three places in the men's and women's competition. The entry fee is 20 euros, and the announcement of the winners and the awarding of prizes in both categories for the first three places is scheduled for 6.30 p.m., followed by a concert and a DJ performance.

The final treat – Valens Victorius

The Vinkovci race trilogy will end with the Valens Victorius, which will take place on June 18. Valens Victorius is a 4.5-kilometer-long obstacle race. Its name was inspired by the rich Roman history of Vinkovci, where not one but two emperors were born. It is a fun, half-adrenaline race that will decide the overall winner of the Vinkovci trilogy.

This unique and magnificent race in the heart of Slavonia, full of challenges and fun, will be part of the Roman Days, and like every year, in memory of the tragically killed Croatian veteran Nedjeljko Klarić.

At the end of the trilogy, the times of all three races will be added up for the total time for each competitor, and the fastest and most agile will be crowned. The announcement of the overall winners will take place after the completion of the Valens Victorius race on June 18, 2023, at Šokački Stan Vinkovci.

The organizer is the Half Marathon Association, in cooperation with the FCT Citizens' Sports Association. All info about the trilogy and the upcoming Orient Express race can be found here.

Come to Vinkovci, the pride of Slavonia, and take part in this unique race. A city rich with history, which still shapes it, awaits you with a handful of stories about famous characters who created history and lots of sports entertainment.

And don't worry - everyone will leave this Orient Express alive, healthy, and with precious memories of the oldest city in Europe.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Travel section.

Zagreb, May 5, 2023 - As part of the 4th editon of Zagreb Clown Festival, May 11^th to 14^th, world-famous clowns are bringing laughter, fun and good vibes to Croatian audiences!

KUC Travno is hosting Zagreb Clown Festival 2023 which will take place from May 11^th to 14th, bringing Croatian audiences the opportunity to enjoy six performances by world-famous figures in the world of clown art. The festival is organized by Triko Cirkus Teatar, and this year the theme is perseverance. The theme will be delivered in six different clown shows coming from USA, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Serbia, France and Croatia. In addition to the performances, the audience will also be able to participate in a panel about the regional clown scene. The panel will be moderated by Barnaby King, and there will also be a master class in clowning and physical comedy by the world-famous artist John Towsen. The festivals’ Clown Cafes will be open for visitors and friends and will give an opportunity for all to communicate, exchange experinece and meet artists.

From May 11^th to 14^th , the 4^th edition of Zagreb Clown Festival will be held in the Travno Cultural Center (KUC Travno). Zagreb will host world-famous names of physical comedy and clown art. According to Iva Peter-Dragan, the artistic director of Triko Cirkus Theater, the organizer of the festival, the theme of this year's festival is perseverance and everything that term implies as a term in everyday life. In the 4th edition of this unique festival in Croatia, the organizers have prepared a great international program with a special EX YU block of performances and John Towsen's clowning and physical comedy master class, which will be held from May 11^th to 13^th as part of the festival. "Preparations for this year's festival began last year with the call for artists. We received more than 50 applications, and based on the theme of the festival, which is perseverance, we selected those that best fit the entire theme and that we found are of exceptional artistic value. The topic is extremely important for a clown. Everyone involved in clowning knows this. Not only is the art of clowning quite marginalized itself, but perseverance in clowns hides in abandoning the most logical patterns of behavior and showing his way of tackling a problem or a challenge and achieving success. This sometimes requires a lot more energy than if we had decided to act ”normally”. But, also investing that energy creates a lot of fun and very often comic situations arise from it. Perserverance in order to make the audience laugh and everything that happens in our failures in order to achieve it, that is the clown's way that leads to success, and that is why it is the theme of this year's festival", explained Iva Peter-Dragan, organizer of Zagreb Clown Festival.

The festival program includes six shows that will make us laugh

During the four days of the festival, the audience will be able to enjoy six shows performed by artists from the USA, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Serbia, France and Croatia. The first day brings the Italian artist Angela Delfini. She will "explain everything to us" in her comedy called "Angela Delfini will explain everything to you". A day later, on May 12th, the Serbian artist Stefan Ostojić brings to the stage his folklore-clown solo show "Lala" to share with us the love for tradition, culture and the history of his native region - Northern Banat and the city of Kikinda in a way that the audience has never seen before. On the same day in front of KUC Travno, Triko Cirkus Teatar will perform their clown show "MMMaid", in which two maids, instead of working as a theme, see each other as competition. The day ends with the Slovenian artist Tina Janežič and her show "The Chair Tamer" who has a special relationship with her chair. On the third day, May 13th, there is a special surprise for those over 18. The world-famous clown troupe The Hot Clown Company from Chicago will take the stage, and their witty performance will have its premiere in Zagreb. The name of the show is "Hot Clown Sex", and the organizers say that it is definitely worth watching. The program of the 4th Zagreb Clown Festival closes on May 14^th with the performance of Tanja Simma, an Austrian clown who will introduce herself to the audience with her hit show "Anna de Lirium - Live Concert!" Anna will make us laugh in her recognizable, authentic way as a wild and lovable clown.

Zagreb becomes the meeting place of the world clown scene with the 4th edition of Zagreb Clown Festival

In the official program of the festival, the audience will be able to participate in a panel moderated by Barnaby King on the state of the regional clown scene. Barnaby King is a world-famous clown and the founder of the "Clown Spirit" platform, which unites clowns around the world and offers both practical and theoretical education. "Festivals are places for socializing and networking, and the arrival of Barnaby King is important for our festival and its recognition in the world. During the festival, he will broadcast live interviews with the participants, and the play "MMMaid" will be broadcasted live as well on his channel Clown Spirit. I am also happy and honored to have John Towsen with us this year. John is the author of a legendary book on clowns “The Clowns”. Lee Delong, an actress and clown who played on the biggest Parisian stages will join us too and the festival also brings a play directed by Jango Edwards, the indispensable figure of the clown theater of our time who made a kind of clown revolution with his festival The Festivals of Fools. With this festival, Zagreb really becomes the centre of the world clown scene", Peter-Dragan pointed out.

During the etire time of the festival, the CLOWN CAFFE will be open. Located in Vlaška 92, that will be a meeting place for artists and the audience.

The program of the 4^th edition of Zagreb Clown Festival is supported by the Kultura nova Foundation, the Republic of Croatia, Ministry of Culture and Media City of Zagreb.

You can find the complete program on the Triko Circus Theater website: www.trikocirkusteatar.com

Tickets are available at: www.ulaznice.hr.

You can buy group and festival tickets by contacting Triko Circus Theater at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Venue: KUC Travno, Božidara Magovca 17, Zagreb.

May 5, 2023 - A large fine imposed on the B2 Kapital debt collection agency by thee Agency for the Protection of Personal Data (AZOP), reports Index.hr.

The Agency for the Protection of Personal Data (AZOP) imposed an administrative fine on the processing manager – the debt collection agency B2 Kapital in the amount of EUR 2,265,000.00. It is also about the possible commission of a criminal offense, which is the responsibility of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which will conduct a criminal investigation.

Let's remind you that the B2 Kapital agency, which deals with debt collection, released the data of 77,317 natural persons, which contain first and last name, OIB, date of birth, residential address, name and OIB of the employer, debt to B2 Kapital, the amount of the principal and the amount of default interest, as well as, which is particularly controversial, a mobile phone number and a personal e-mail. Index was the first to write about it in detail.

We emphasize that we warned AZOP that we are in possession of a typed contract on the sale of receivables (assignment contract) between banks and the agency, from which it is clear that the banks also provide the phone numbers of their former and current clients to debt collection agencies. It was clear from the AZOP's response that we received that the banks provided information that they were not allowed to, so the investigation expanded.

The four largest banks operating in Croatia, the Croatian Association of Banks and the Croatian National Bank, which supervises contracts for the sale of receivables between banks and agencies, did not want to answer what banks hand over to debt collectors when they sell bad receivables.

A fine of 2.26 million euros
AZOP has now imposed a fine of 2.26 million euros, and this is because the data controller did not clearly and accurately inform his respondents about the processing of their personal data through the notification on the processing of personal data. Also, they did not enter into a contract on the processing of personal data with the processor for the simple consumer bankruptcy monitoring service and did not take appropriate technical and organizational protection measures when processing personal data.

In the explanation, it is stated that the Agency initiated a supervisory procedure in December 2022 and carried out a procedure in which the three previously described violations were determined due to the negligent actions of the processing manager (claims collection agency).

The processing manager bears the greatest degree of responsibility for not taking technical protection measures, since it was precisely because of deficiencies in such a security system that unsafe processing of a large number of personal data occurred. The debt collection agency lost complete control over the movement of personal data of their respondents and could not explain the causes of unauthorized exfiltration (extraction) of personal data.

They didn't cooperate
Also, as an aggravating circumstance in the conducted administrative procedure, certain shortcomings in cooperation were determined. Namely, to several letters sent by the Agency requesting additional statements or documentation from the processing manager, he responded before the last days of the set deadline and sent letters for the purpose of extending the deadline and clarifying the requested circumstances, although he could have requested the same earlier, which to a certain extent had an effect to the delay of the procedure.

Also, upon repeated requests from the Personal Data Protection Agency for certain documentation (list of system records), the processing manager did not provide it. Also, as an additional aggravating circumstance, the fact that the data controller has not informed the Agency until today that he has taken additional protection measures that would prevent future risks of established violations and has not adjusted the privacy policy available on their website to date has been taken into account.

Report submitted to the police
In conclusion, in this particular case we are talking about the violation of several provisions of the General Regulation on Data Protection, by one of the leading companies in the field of debt collection, which could not allow itself to process the personal data of a large number of respondents in a non-transparent and insecure manner.

Also, the data controller probably would never have noticed the exfiltration of personal data of a large number of respondents, at least for 77,317 of them from their system, if the Personal Data Protection Agency had not received an anonymous report and conducted surveillance activities.

"Until today, the data controller has not clarified all the circumstances of the breach, i.e. the transfer of a certain amount of personal data outside their storage system, which additionally indicates inadequate protection measures on the part of the data controller," reads the explanation of the AZOP's decision.

The explanation also states that it is about possible individual criminal liability, that is, the commission of a criminal offense, which is the responsibility of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which conducts criminal investigations within its jurisdiction.

4th May 2023 - The new B2B travel experience platform Turneo drastically simplifies how hotels and other travel brands offer and manage in-destination experiences.

In-destination experiences remain the single most elusive opportunity in travel. For travellers, they represent the highlight of their holiday; the very reason they want to travel at all. Yet for travel brands, they pose an operational nightmare. Thanks to a lack of digital infrastructure, the $250B experience market remains overwhelmingly offline, complex, and expensive to offer. This is becoming an ever-growing problem, as more and more travel brands are looking to use experiences to differentiate their offering (so-called Experiential Hospitality).

Turneo’s B2B travel experience platform changes that. It enables any travel brand to seamlessly connect to, recommend, and manage the full range of travel experiences: from transfers to tours, from adventurous hikes to relaxing retreats. Previously this type of technology was only available to the largest global players, but Turneo now gives these tools to everyone. Hotels, campsites, and travel brands now have a means of sharing their truly unique recommendations with travellers via a simple booking tool.

The plug-and-play solution can be seamlessly integrated across all customer touchpoints, including the new travel planning chatbots that will soon become standard amongst hotels and OTAs.

“By combining the incredible interactions of ChatGPT with the unique knowledge and insights of local travel brands, guests get what they value most: meaningful, immersive experiences, recommended by a local expert, without any hassle in booking” explains Matija Marijan, CEO and Co-founder of Turneo.

Historically, offering experiences created an operational headache for hotels and travel brands. Overstretched staff were left juggling in-house offers with third-party contracts, tracking availability in real-time, and staying on top of guest requests. Now, Turneo’s platform provides a one-stop shop that centralises the management of all third-party tour and activity providers, as well as in-house experiences. In this way, all experiences can be integrated into a single view for easier tracking of performance.

We want our partners to focus on what they do best, and we take care of everything else. The hotels, hostels, and campsites that we work with today have the most incredible stories to tell about their local area and the best insights into what their guests should do during their stay. Turneo is about providing the tools to help them deliver those experiences.

- Matija Marijan, CEO and Co-founder of Turneo

In addition to their API which can interact with OpenAI’s GPT models, Turneo also offers

no-code tools to build customer-facing experience stores in minutes.“Just as Shopify enables every entrepreneur to create an amazing e-commerce store, Turneo enables every travel

business to create a fully tailored experience store, without the need for tech investment and resources” explains Matija. This means hundreds of thousands of travel brands around the world can now access a wide range of local experience options, and sell them via an intuitive, digital platform.

With Turneo, we can flex to every stage of the journey. For smaller travel brands, just starting out, our set-up takes minutes and doesn’t require any complex or costly integrations. These partners often start selling within the week and are then in a position to innovate and scale. At the other extreme, major hotel chains have seen our solution drastically simplify their operations, whilst also offering a much more sophisticated and seamless guest experience.

- Fran Kauzlarić, Co-founder of Turneo

Turneo was founded in 2022 by Matija Marijan, previously Senior Director at Expedia’s B2B division, and Fran Kauzlarić, previously Innovation Lead at Brussels Airport. The platform is currently live with travel brands across the world, and the two founders closed their first funding round of £695,000 just earlier this year. The round was led by Ascension Ventures and Underline Ventures, with participation from Silicon Gardens and angel investors including Expedia and TripActions (Navan) executives.

To showcase the power of Turneo’s platform when combined with GPT, Turneo has created travel chatbot Marco, which acts as a virtual concierge giving hotel guests bookable recommendations of local experiences. You can sign up for a demo here. 

May 5, 2023 - How to preserve the traditions of Dalmatia and beyond? Meet the concept of the 'Olympics' of Traditional Dalmatian Games.

Dalmatia is a fascinating region with SO much tradition and heritage, the majority of it very localised.

Many events and traditions are specific to an individual village. And many of these traditions are sadly dying out or being lost as young people prefer to be online if they have not emigrated.

Over the years, I have come across so many unique experiences in Dalmatia, (and other parts of Croatia), and I came up with an idea to help preserve some of these traditions, as well as make them more accessible to locals and tourists alike.

Meet the 'Olympics' of Traditional Dalmatian Games.

Do you know of a traditional game played in your village which we could include? We have about 35 already. Please leave info in the comments below.

And if you are interested in helping to make this idea a reality and have something concrete to contribute, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Subject Dalmatian Games.

With thanks to Hvar TV for the excellent footage. If you want to learn a LOT more about Hvar and Dalmatia at a more local level, I cannot recommend this channel highly enough - https://www.youtube.com/@HvarTV

Video produced by Igor Vuk of Wolf Media.

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