May 30, 2023 - Croatia is planning to import donor sex cells from the EU, as there are not enough local donors. The sperm and egg cells should come from licensed banks.

Couples from Croatia who need donor sperm or eggs for this type of medically assisted fertilization to become parents should soon no longer have to go abroad to achieve that, writes Index/Jutarnji. The Croatian Society for Human Reproduction and Endocrinology has begun, in cooperation with the state administration, to prepare the ground for the import of sex cells from highly controlled licensed banks in the European Union, such as those from Spain, Denmark, Italy and other countries that can comply with Croatian regulations.

After the necessary rules are passed and contracts with banks are signed, the procedure is relatively simple. When doctors determine that a specific couple cannot conceive without donated cells, the authorized health institution for carrying out heterologous fertilization procedures will order the necessary cells from the contracted bank.

Deficit of sex cell donors in Croatia

The cells will arrive in Croatia by plane, according to a precisely determined procedure that is the same for donated sex cells as for organ transplantation. They will then be stored in an authorized institution and used for fertilization and embryo creation exclusively for that specific couple.

Further use of the cells, i.e. their repurposing for another couple, will not be possible. The right to a known origin of donated sex cells in Croatia is legally enabled by the Law on Medical Fertilization from 2012. According to Prof. Ph.D. Dinka Pavičić Baldani, president of the Croatian Society for Human Reproduction and Endocrinology, though, since the passing of the law, there has not been a single person in Croatia who would be interested in becoming a cell donor, so Croatia has not had an opportunity to establish its bank of sex cells which Croatians citizens would donate.

The assumed reason for the lack of interest is that, according to the law, the donor cannot be anonymous. In Croatia, it seems no one is ready for that, writes Jutarnji list journalist Kristina Turčin.

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

May 30, 2023 - A survey conducted among Croatian high school graduates shows that a fifth of them aspire to study abroad.

As Index/Večernji List writes, Croatia lost as many as 55,341 students in primary and secondary schools in ten years. At the beginning of the current school year, it had 453,867 primary and secondary school students. Many younger children have moved abroad with their families, and many older high school students see their future mainly in the EU member states where they want to study or work.

On the other hand, international students are an exception at Croatian universities, and even when some come to study, for example, medicine in Zagreb or Split, they return to their countries after their studies.

Neither the Pandemic nor the war in Ukraine have shaken the desire of senior high school students to move abroad. Moreover, the aspirations of high school students to study abroad have increased. In the spring of 2022, almost a fifth of high school graduates (18%) expressed their intention to study abroad, while 15% of high school graduates did so during the Pandemic.

Survey on educational mobility during the Pandemic

This is shown by the survey of Ph.D. Teo Matković from the Institute for Social Research (IDIZ) in Zagreb, which he conducted with his colleague Josip Šabić and colleague Margareta Gregurović from the Institute for Migration and Nationalities.

Matković presented the research "Persistence of educational mobility and migration intentions among high school students during the COVID-19 pandemic" at the recent congress of the Croatian Sociological Society in Split, and his work and that of his colleagues will soon be published in the International Journal of Sociology of Education.

Matković and colleagues wanted to examine whether the difficulties caused by the Pandemic affected the international migration intention of Croatian high school students and their aspirations to study abroad.

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

May 30, 2023 - June is days away, and the main part of the tourist season in Croatia has almost started. The Croatian Tourist Board expects excellent results. The announcements from the most important markets are very good, which was certainly helped by the declaration of the end of the pandemic.

This year, tourism in Europe will reach or exceed the record results from 2019, especially in the Mediterranean, while Croatia has already exceeded these results by June, pointed out the director of the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) and vice-president of ETC Kristjan Staničić, as writes Poslovni.

According to the first data from the eVisitor system, from the beginning of this year until May 27, Croatia was visited by 3.5 million tourists, with 10.7 million overnight stays, which is 27 percent more than in the same period last year and 3 percent more than in 2019.

Almost half of all arrivals, or 1.4 million and 4.8 million overnight stays, were achieved until May 27, which is also an increase of 3 percent compared to the same period in 2019, while this is a 24 percent increase compared to last May, said Staničić for Hina after he was re-elected as the vice president of ETC (European Travel Commission, an association of national tourism organizations based in Brussels).

He does believe that the time has come to make a move away from the tourist figures themselves and emphasizes the development of new experiences and motivation for arrivals in the pre- and post-season.

"The focus of everyone in the tourism sector must be on the sustainability of tourism and the positioning of Croatia as a year-round destination, which is what most of the activities are aimed at. There is an opportunity in distant markets, and it is also in the trend that more and more tourists see the ideal time for vacation before and after summer, without the high temperatures, crowds, and with lower prices," says Staničić.

"Croatia was highlighted at ETC meetings even during the pandemic as the most successful tourist destination, so expectations for this tourist season are high, but other ETC member countries also expect a good tourist year", says Staničić, adding that according to ETC research the intention of Europeans to travel is strong and that more than half of them have already booked their next trip, while 59 percent of them are planning two or more trips by the end of September.

When asked how the rise in prices in tourism affects demand, Staničić states that according to ETC research, more Europeans are worried about prices this year than last year, 24 percent versus 18 percent. The same is true of the attitude of concern about the general economic situation and personal finances, but they want to travel and think that they will spend more on travel in the next six months than before, but also try to save when planning, for example, travel more outside the main summer months when prices are more favourable.

The trend is that more arrivals of tourists from the USA are expected in Europe this year, where the number of airline seats for this season has increased by 15 percent compared to 2022, i.e. by 3 percent compared to 2019. Investments in tourism marketing and promotion in almost all countries have also increased.

"Most Croatian competitors are investing more in promotion this year than in previous years, they are very active in the market, some have withdrawn funds from EU funds, and some national tourism organizations have joined forces with the private sector, so everyone expects better results," says Staničić.

HTZ's budget this year of about 34.8 million euros is about 4 percent higher than last year, which, he emphasizes, are amounts that certain competitors exceed many times over, so he considers Croatia's success even greater.

Currently, HTZ implements the so-called main invitation campaign in 14 markets, whose messages have been seen by more than 150 million users through social networks and display advertising so far, so Staničić expects great effects through the achieved results of tourist traffic because, for example, HTZ's TV campaign in Austria, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Slovakia and Great Britain encouraged their media to do additional filming in Croatia.

'Testing' of the new umbrella communication concept in the markets until the end of June

By the way, HTZ is in the process of selecting a new umbrella communication concept for Croatian tourism with a new visual identity and slogan, which should replace the current "Croatia, Full of Life". According to Staničić, the solutions of the selected bidders who entered the second phase of the tender have been received, and now the phase of testing the received proposals on foreign markets is coming up, which should be completed by the end of June.

"In the end, the final decision on the selection must be adopted by the Tourist Council of HTZ, and as this is a very important process for us that will determine the communication and promotion of Croatian tourism in the future, we want to be as thorough as possible and choose those solutions that will be best accepted, that is, which will best communicate the brand of Croatian tourism", concludes Staničić.

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

May the 29th, 2023 - The Kali - Return to Tradition from Medveja won the most votes of the expert jury and won the flattering title of the best Croatian product in 2022 for its delicious Kali balsamic fig vinegar.

Kraš’s Dorina and Argeta from the Atlantic Group portfolio might well have also it to the finals, but Kali balsamic fig vinegar took the prize home for this great achievemen, which is absolutely fantastic news for small domestic producers.

Kali Medveja – Return to Tradition deals with the production of food delicacies based on traditional recipes. “In David's fight with Goliath, Kali - Return to tradition with Kraš’s Dorina and Atlantic’s Argeta, we opened the door for all small producer families to turn their dreams into reality,” said Ante Bistre, Kali’s owner.

The golden basket for the best retailer in 2022 was won by Konzum and Studenac, the company Cromaris is the manufacturer of the year, and the best small retailer is Kredenca from Zagreb, the Ja Trgovac portal reported on Friday. The Golden Basket, an annual award for the best achievements in retail and the consumer goods industry, was awarded by the magazine and portal Ja Trgovac.

All categories of awards, as stated in the press release from the award ceremony, relate to achievements in the business year 2022. The winners were chosen by an expert jury made up of members from the market research agencies NIQ, GfK, Ipsos, Hendal, Focus and Valicon, the Deloitte consulting firm, the Zagreb Institute of Economics, the University of Zagreb Faculty of Economics, sector institutions (HGK, HUP, HOK), Croatia association for consumer protection, Trade Union of Croatia and Ja Trgovac magazine.

 Photos: Kali Medveja & Golden Basket

For more, check out our Made in Croatia section.

May the 29th, 2023 - A big change has finally been brought in when it comes to the Zagreb public transport network, and the launch of the long awaited Moj ZET app (My ZET) has dragged the ticket purchasing process into the 21st century.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, have you recently noticed the stickers placed in Zagreb's public transport vehicles? The new QR codes on the doors of buses and trams didn't end up being stuck there by accident, and it was actually the sign that the official Moj ZET app was finally on its way to passengers who had until now had to purchase tickets either on board or at iNovine or Tisak kiosks. The new Moj ZET app was officially presented today.

It was tested out by Vecernji list journalists, and here's what passengers using public transport in the capital will be able to do with the Moj ZET app as of today.

To get started, the application must be downloaded for free from the Google Playstore (Android) or the App Store (iOS). For easier use of the application, it's necessary to enable the application to use the location. The location-based app offers tickets that can be purchased in the area where the traveller is currently located.

In order to receive warnings about the imminent expiration of an active ticket, the Moj ZET application must be enabled to send the phone notifications. In addition to that, the application is available in both Croatian and English. In addition to buying tickets, traffic notifications about traffic diversions, ongoing works, temporary issues and other changes can be checked in the application.

After downloading the Moj ZET app, and in order to buy an individual ticket for use in a ZET vehicle, you'll need to top up your eWallet funds with a top up of at least one euro, while the maximum amount you can have on your account at anyone one time is 50 euros.

The new Moj ZET application will display all available maps for the area you're in on the screen (so again, turn your location on!). Selecting the desired map starts the process of reading the QR code. If a controller wants to make sure you've purchased and hold a valid ticket at the time of your travel, go to the Maps menu, in the upper left corner, and select the controller icon. A QR code will be displayed on the screen, which the controller will then read and verify with his device.

For more, check out our news section.

May the 29th, 2023 - Could the territory of the Republic of Croatia and its immediate surroundings become an arid, hostile semi-desert in the future as a result of climate change? Dunja Mazzocco Drvar of the Directorate for Climate Activities at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development believes so.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Dunja Mazzocco Drvar, the director of the Directorate for Climate Activities at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, recently commented on what awaits the Republic of Croatia in the future when it comes to the ever-pressing threat of climate change.

"We're moving more and more quickly towards Croatia becoming a semi-arid, semi-desert area, because it's located in the Mediterranean which is an area that particularly feels climate changes when they occur, and generally much more strongly than the global average.

Droughts have already become a very big problem here. We have a situation in which 30 percent of our damages caused by climate and weather extremes are due to droughts, which shows that this is the form the weather disaster with which we already have the most problems.

Immediately after the drought comes the flood. This is what is the key when it comes to climate change, these strong extremes, we've had the opportunity to see what these floods can be like and we can now clearly see that we will have more and more problems with them going forward. After a year that's been extremely dry like last year, it isn't at all surprising that one like this will follow that is extremely rainy," explained Dunja Mazzoco Drvar for N1, referencing the droughts of 2022 and the terrible situation much of the country and nearby Italy has suffered recently owing to very high water levels and flooding.

She also commented on Croatia's climate ambitions and aims, and says that most of the work is currently being done on the adoption of new European Union legislation.

"We'll soon be done with that, now, one by one, these regulations are being passed, and then the next step will be the introduction of these new regulations into the new European climate package Fit for 55 into Croatian national legislation. This will then mean that not only laws and regulations must be passed, but that some kind of implementation mechanisms should also be set up, and we have a long way to go to achieve what we set out to do with the European Green Plan, to turn it into a real action, that is, to legislate it," she concluded.

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

May the 29th, 2023 - Film lovers have begun returning to Croatian cinemas in gradually greater numbers in the post-pandemic period, but we're still nowhere near the numbers of cinema-goers we once saw before the coronavirus pandemic struck back at the beginning of 2020.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, for the second year in a row, people have gradually been returning to Croatian cinemas in greater numbers and more and more films are being watched, but those numbers still haven't reached the levels they were at before the outbreak of the global coronavirus pandemic.

Croatian cinemas were of course closed due to epidemiological measures in force at the time which prohibited, among other things, the gathering of larger numbers of people indoors. According to the CBS data, compared to 2021, last year, the number of films shown increased by 9 percent, and the number of visitors to Croatian cinemas by 22 percent, while compared to the pre-pandemic results, the number of screenings almost reached the levels we saw back in 2019.

In accordance with the return of viewers to Croatian cinemas, income from ticket sales also increased by 25 percent. The biggest growth of all was recorded by concerts, plays and other alternative events, which increased by 138 percent compared to 2021, but they have the smallest share in the entire structure.

The number of Croatian cinemas has also increased, and the country is currently richer for three more than it was back in 2022. It's also interesting to note that the City of Zagreb isn't home to the largest number of Croatian cinemas. There are twice as many cinemas in Split-Dalmatia County, 16 of them in total, and 9 in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County.

However, Zagreb still has the largest number of movie theatres with the largest number of visitors. Of the 189 cinemas across the Republic of Croatia, 52 of them are located in Zagreb, 34 are in Split-Dalmatia County, and 20 can be found in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, and the ratio of the number of films shown and viewers of them in those cinemas is similar. A total of 181.6 thousand films were shown last year, with 3,159 viewers, and of these, the most films shown (67.5 thousand) and viewers (1.4 million) were in Zagreb's cinemas. Four Croatian counties - Krapina-Zagorje, Koprivnica-Krizevci, Pozega-Slavonia and Brod-Posavina - all have at least one theatre hall each, with Krapina-Zagorje having the smallest number of films screened.

Most Croatian cinemas boast between 200 and 300 seats, and only one has more than two thousand in total. It's also worth noting that 508 people were employed in various Croatian cinemas, almost all of them on full-time contracts, and from the sale of tickets last year, Croatian cinemas earned a total of 111.2 million kuna gross, while alternative content brought them 1.7 million kuna kuna.

Back in pre-pandemic 2019, there was actually a record number of viewers recorded visiting Croatian cinemas, higher than in the previously record year of 1994, a total of 5.03 million of them, but as a result of the global public health crisis, that number fell to 1.5 million.

For more, check out our news section.

May the 28th, 2023 - The Maksim Mrvica North American tour concluded in New York City on Saturday. This was otherwise the first North American tour by the renowned Croatian classical crossover pianist who enjoys international recognition.

New Yorkers, including a lot of Croatian Americans and their friends, enjoyed an evening of unforgettable music as virtuoso pianist repeatedly caused stormy ovations from the cheering audience. New York concert took place in the United Palace, which is Manhattan’s 4th largest theatre featuring a distinctly unique fusion of decorative styles and symbolic motifs.

Maksim, who has made a famous name and reputation over the last two decades with his curated collection of crossover performances, started his North American tour on May 17^th in Vancouver, followed by concerts on May 19^th in Toronto, May 23^rd in Seattle, and May 25^th in Chicago.

With a crossover show, 'The Collection' showcased the greatest hits of all time by Coldplay, John Legend, and Queen, themes from movies like Godfather, Pirates of the Caribbean, Game of Thrones, some classical masterpieces by Liszt and Chopin along with the biggest pieces from his previous ten albums like Flight of the Bumblebee, Exodus and many more. Maksim performed with his full band and brought to North American audience a dazzling, overwhelming performance.

After a pause of almost 3 years, he started the world tour ‘The Collection’, which began in Australia in September last year, followed by tours in Asia, Europe, and in North America. It’s been more than 20 years since he started to play crossover music. During these years he has recorded 10 studio albums and with this tour ‘The Collection’ he has chosen some of his most popular and famous pieces to perform together with the band, all around the world. When performing crossover shows, he uses the opportunity to play one or two pieces from his classical repertoire. For this tour, Maksim has chosen Liszt Ballade No.2.

Maksim was born in Šibenik, Croatia, and has received numerous accolades for his music, including an MTV Award and a double-platinum album. He is currently in the process of recording a new album. He has already recorded a new song and now work on choosing and recording some new pieces for his next album, which is expected to be released by the mid of 2024.