English
French
Coronavirus Update – May 12, 2020
As we continue with our weekly travel update we want to wish all of our readers and travelers continued best of health and hope you are all staying safe, wherever you are in the world.
On May 11th we were thrilled to see Croatia move into the third and final stage of easing its measures that were put in place to limit the impact of COVID-19. For many, this signifies the country’s relative return to normalcy for most of its citizens with bars and restaurants open as well as national parks and cultural and heritage sites.
Through handling the threat of COVID-19 extremely effectively in terms of rapid response and effective communication, Croatia was able to minimize the severity of the health crisis there, and avoid what occurred in nearby Italy. As a result, both the number of cases and fatalities continue to remain well below European and global averages. With a number of prevention measures now able to be lifted, Croatia nonetheless continues to adhere to strict containment policies to minimize the risk of local transmissions to avoid any sort of second peak.
In this travel update we wanted to answer some of the common questions that we are receiving to ensure you are well-informed about current events.
How Safe Is Croatia?
Through its extremely efficient handling of the virus at such an early stage Croatia has seen just 2,196 total cases that have resulted in less than 100 deaths. Most importantly, the vast majority of these cases have now recovered, with just 333 people in the whole of Croatia considered to have an active case of COVID-19. The number of cases continues to decrease and we are hopeful that it will not be long until the virus is a thing of the past in Croatia.
One very positive note is that the famous and popular tourist destination islands of Croatia have remained almost entirely free of COVID-19 cases. In short, Croatia has been recognized and commended as one of the most effective countries worldwide in its management of the virus and should be considered as safe as anywhere on a global scale.
How Are You Supporting Bookings For This Year?
Over the past few weeks our team has been working tirelessly with clients that need support or have questions around their trips booked for later this year. We are fully understanding and appreciative of the current situation and our team will work with you as closely as possible to help amend, re-create or move your trip to a future date, if possible. Adventures Croatia will be as flexible as possible and will do everything within our direct control to protect your travel investment and move trips forward where we can.
What Should I Do If I Require Support While Traveling?
In the unlikely event of any difficulties that arise or for just making your trip as smooth as possible, our 24/7 ground team in Croatia as well as the United States are here to help and ensure anything you need is treated as a priority. With over 20 years’ experience in the travel industry and being destination experts in Croatia and the Balkan region, we are on-hand to assist and facilitate you with ANYTHING you might need during your trip.
Can I Book For Later This Year Or 2021?
Yes – absolutely! At the moment we are seeing two key trends among travelers looking at options in the fall (a beautiful time to see Croatia) and also looking ahead to 2021. In particular, 2021 has already seen a surge of interest and bookings with many people looking to reschedule trips with others inquiring about custom itineraries they can plan to give them something inspiring and exciting to look forward to in the future.
The Current Situation In The US
With the sun shining in Croatia and shops and restaurants open for business we are now increasing our focus on the current travel situation in the US.
As of March 19th, the US Department of State has advised US citizens to avoid all international travel due to the ongoing global impact of COVID-19. This guidance also extends to US citizens who live abroad.
However, just like we saw in Croatia around a month ago, we are beginning to see real positives emerge in the United States. May 10th represented the lowest total number of deaths since March, as the US starts to see progress in its effort to contain the virus. Additionally, the United States has made strong advancements in testing with nearly 10 million tests carried out, by far the largest number in the world.
With ongoing reasons for optimism being seen around the globe, our CEO Pamela Robinson wanted to share her thoughts.
A Note From Our CEO
”We continue to see that Croatia’s exceptional response to the COVID crisis will allow Croatia to recover much more quickly than other areas of Europe. Due to Croatia’s popularity as a world class travel destination, we are also experiencing an increase in inquiries, as well as bookings for fall 2020 into 2021. As specialists in the region, we know that there are still excellent opportunities to create customized affordable travel packages for our clients. However, as a result of the COVID crisis, 2021 will fill up quickly with the large number of 2020 trips being pushed into 2021 by our team and many other travel businesses. We are here to make sure you make the most astute travel plans as we excitedly await the time when we can again travel safely. Please take care of yourselves and your family and exercise appropriate precautions as our world reopens. Hope to see you in Croatia!”
As we continue to see progress in the recovery against COVID-19, we remain encouraged and hopeful that travel remains on the menu in the near future. Our team is busy crafting bespoke itineraries and journeys to keep your spirits and desire for travel alive during this difficult time.
