Destination Update

Dubrovnik tops Post Office Travel Money survey

According to a Post Office survey, Dubrovnik topped a list of 12 'emerging' city destinations that tourists would most like to visit in 2013, beating Moscow, Krakow and Abu Dhabi. The UNESCO World Heritage site also came sixth for value out of the 25 cities surveyed by the Post Office.

Fourth season of Game of Thrones to be filmed in Dubrovnik 
 
The fourth season of the epic fantasy drama series Game of Thrones will again be filmed in Dubrovnik, Croatia. With the shooting expected to start in August, the producers are looking for locations in the area. HBO's medieval fantasy actors and crew have set up base in Dubrovnik, where the second and third series was also filmed.

Hvar's Gariful restaurant launches mobile app

Restaurant Gariful on Hvar has launched the island's first restaurant mobile app. Customers of this luxury fish restaurant include Prince Harry, Roman Abramovich and Bill Gates. Restaurant Gariful has always been at the forefront of new initiatives to promote the island, and is also involved in the release of a new free app for the whole island called 5 Star Hvar.

Croatia's Eurovision 2013 entry

Klapa s mora will represent Croatia at the forthcoming Eurovision Song Contest with Mizerja (hard times). The song is composed by Goran Topolovac, who hails from Duga Resa and is about love and missing someone. Filmed in Kastela and Trogir, the official video gives a taste of the country's picturesque scenery. Klapa is a form of traditional a cappella singing from Croatia which is inscribed on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Croatia will compete in the Eurovision Song Contest Semifinal on 14 May.

Ryanair opens new Croatian base

Ryanair has opened its new base in the Croatian city of Zadar - its first in the country. The base, which opened early this month, will serve 17 routes across Ryanair's network and serve around three million passengers annually. The airline has said it will invest around £56 million in Zadar Airport, creating up to 300 jobs.

Zadar is the perfect base for some of Croatia's best music festivals this summer; The Garden Festival, Electric Elephant, Suncebeat Festival and Soundwave in The Garden Tisno, near Zadar - see events and festivals below.

Zagreb Airport sees fifth month of consecutive growth

Croatia's busiest airport handled 175,384 passengers in March, a remarkable increase of 12.7 per cent compared to the same month last year. This year, Zagreb Airport has handled 441,508 passengers so far, up 8.8 per cent on last year when it saw 405,940 passengers. The country's entry into the European Union on July 1 is expected to further boost travel.

Opatija and Rovinj Win World Travel Writers Golden Apple Award

The Golden Apple is a prize for excellence in the tourism industry awarded by the European association of professional travel writers and journalists. For the first time, the Golden Apple award for the best tourist destination in the world was presented to two places in the same country, Opatija and Rovinj in Croatia for preserving and enhancing historical, cultural and natural heritage and tradition.

Events and Festivals

31 May - 6 June - Cest is d' Best, Zagreb

The 16th annual international street festival Cest is d' Best is a celebration of street entertainment in the streets and squares of Zagreb city centre. The event was initiated by two popular buskers, Pajo and Hadži, and the festival now involves more than 300 hours of programme performed by artists from across the world.

6 - 9 June - Echo Festival, Kanegra 

After a successful debut last year, the Echo Festival is back with a brand new venue surrounded by pine forests, stunning beaches, on-site accommodation and boat party docks. The intimate festival brings together a varied selection of underground electronic artists from deep house and drum'n'bass to progressive bass. For more information, please see here.

24 - 26 June - INmusic Festival, Zagreb

INmusic is Croatia's largest open-air modern rock and urban music festival. Heralded as 'Glastonbury's sunny Croatian alternative', it attracts over 20,000 festival goers every summer. Previous headliners have included Franz Ferdinand, Jamiroquai, The Prodigy, N*E*R*D, Billy Idol and Lilly Allen. For more information, please see here. 

10 - 13 July - Fresh Island Festival, Zrce Beach, Pag Island

In its second year, the Fresh Island Festival is the only hip-hop festival in the southeast of Europe. Hip hop superstar Snoop Dogg aka Snoop Lion will perform live on the first day and the festival will present the best of hip-hop at four turbo stages in clubs Aquarius and Papaya, during its nonstop day and night program. The festival also offers accommodation packages. For more information, please see here.

18 - 22 July 2013 - Seasplash Festival, Fort Punta Christo

In its eleventh year, the Seasplash festival will take place over five days. This 'dance and lifestyle' festival is unique in the mixture of acts and genres it brings together - reggae, ska, jungle, drum 'n' bass, dubstep and electro, to name just a few! For more information, please see here.

13 - 27 July - Pula Film Festival, Pula

Now in its 60th year, the Pula Film Festival is the most visited cultural event in the Republic of Croatia with more than 78,000 visitors. The 15-day festival is packed with festival events in Pula, and satellite screenings at summer festivals across Croatia, from Dubrovnik, Split, Sibenik and Zadar, to Rijeka and Zagreb. This year's festival will broadcast a thriller by French director Francoisa Ozona - 'In the House' - which won the Grand Prix in San Sebastian and many other awards. The second part of the Festival will be presented in Cannes. For more information about the festival, see here.

-Ends-

For further information please contact:
Helen Batte
Tel: 02034408925
Email: Helen.Batte@rooster.co.uk