visit.dubrovnik.hr/blog

Shakespeare’s Kings and Clowns and The Return of Sherlock Holmes were presented Lazareti in Dubrovnik by the London theatre company Performance Exchange  as part of a three-day guest appearance.  

Last weekend the acting group from London delighted the audience with their fast-paced and atmospheric performance of The Return of Sherlock Holmes followed by a fun and interactive view of Shakespeare. Daniel Foley, of Performance Exchange, commented that “we are thrilled to be in Dubrovnik and hope this will be the first of many visits here.” The performances are produced by The Dubrovnik Shakespeare Festival.   http://dubrovacki.hr/clanak/50891/sherlock-meets-shakespeare-in-lazareti

Once again Dubrovnik  Museums have enriched the range of their  museum shop in the Rector’s Palace with new silk scarves and a leather collection, a business folder and a document case. The Dubrovnik Republic MAP scarf has been inspired by the map of the Republic that Dubrovnik commissioned from the well-known Venetian cartographer Vincenzo Coronelli.  It was published in the celebrated atlas Isolario dell’ Atlante Veneto in Venice in 1696, and is the earliest extant map to show the territory of the Dubrovnik Republic reasonably accurately and reliably.  A specimen of this map is kept in the Maritime Museum. Maritime States Flags is the title of a scarf inspired by the Table with Flags of the Maritime States, a copy of which is also kept in the Maritime Museum.   Flags of the Dubrovnik Republic are among those displayed in the table, drawn by Vincenzo Scotti in 1804. A wind rose motif of 1571 was applied to a silk scarf back in 2011, but now   it can be found in altered and enlarged dimensions. The scarf is inspired by a depiction of the wind rose in the portulan atlas of Diogo Homem.  Wind roses in general have signs depicting the eight main and eight half winds, and were used by sailors for orientation at sea. The leather business collection Seal of the Dubrovnik Republic includes a document case and a business folder, both displaying the motif of the Great Seal of the Dubrovnik Republic of the 18^th century.  It shows three towers with the likeness of the city’s patron saint, St Blaise (on the central tower) and his initials. The Republic used the Great Seal to authenticate treaties; today it is kept in the Cultural History Museum. Dubrovnik Museums started making unique souvenirs not quite five years ago. Now the museum shop holds collections of jewellery inspired by the archaeological heritage, collections of fashion accessories made of silk – neckties and head squares or scarves with various motifs from the holdings of Dubrovnik Museums, valuable replicas of St Blaise from the portal of the Rector’s Palace as well as of Maro and Baro, the bronze jacks from the city’s clock tower, and many other original souvenirs based on the museums’ collections. Dubrovnik Museums intend to go on with the production of authentic souvenirs from Dubrovnik, thus enhancing the range of souvenirs of the city as a whole.

During the first three months of 2013, the City of Dubrovnik profited HRK 237,810 from sales of Dubrovnik Card, which is 122% more than during the same period of the previous year. Similar increase in sales has been noted for the daily, three-day and weekly Dubrovnik Cards, with the three-day Card achieving the highest share in total sales, ie., 46.2% of total sales of the Dubrovnik Cards.

A significant growth in income is also expected during the upcoming tourist season, considering the remarkable trend in sales of Dubrovnik Cards in the first three months of the current year.

Dubrovnik Airport presented a €220 million worth project of reconstruction and development of 2020 Dubrovnik Airport. The Project, which includes the construction projects of reconstruction of the existing and also the building of new pavement constructions and objects required for safe and undisturbed functioning of the Airport, shall apply for EU funding. It is stated in the Project that the existing capacities will be expanded; environmental protection measures will be carried out; as will the measures which aim to achieve a higher level of energy efficiency: and the necessary equipment and gear will be acquired. Upon presenting the Project, the Manager of Dubrovnik Airport, Roko Tolić, emphasized that, unlike Airport Zagreb which chose its strategic partner and went on to finish its project through a concession, the management of Dubrovnik airport relied on their own knowledge and set of skills, with the conviction that they will be able obtain the necessary resources from the EU funds.

Croatian Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, Siniša Hajdaš Dončić, who was present at the presentation, commended the Project and the management of the Dubrovnik Airport, emphasizing that it is an excellent project which emphasizes three crucial things: safety, protecting the environment, and energy efficiency.

Almost 1.5 million passengers passed through the Dubrovnik Airport in the last year, which was also the record since the foundation of the Airport in 1962, and the development project for this infrastructure object is in many ways significant for the economy of Dubrovnik and Dubrovnik-Neretva County, especially for tourism in the area.

According to data from The Croatian National Bank (HNB), the income from tourism in 2012 amounted was €6.38 billion, ie. 3,2% more than during the same period in 2011.

 The contribution from travel  to the GDP at the same period amounted to 15.4%, which represents a mild increase in the share as compared to the previous year. After the rise of the income from tourism during the first nine months of 2012, the positive trend continued also in the fourth trimester, when €557 million of income was realized, ie., 2,3 % more than during the same period in 2011. The share in the GDP income amounted by 5.1% during the same period, also a bit more than the share in 2011.
-The fact that income from tourism continues to follow a positive trend, despite the economic situation in whole Europe, proves that Croatia has really become a recognizable and desirable tourist destination on a global scale. The tourist  2013 will be a very challenging year, all the more due to the last years’ exceptional results, but I expect that we will be able to repeat the success of 2012, and that the income from tourism will continue to grow, remarked the Minister of Tourism, Darko Lorencin.

Fancy an evening of Shakespeare whilst on holiday in Dubrovnik? Well the Dubrovnik Shakespeare Festival has just announced that they will be producing two performances in Dubrovnik from the 18th to the 20th of April.

Shakespeare’s Kings and Clowns and The Return of Sherlock Holmes will be presented in Dubrovnik by the London theatre company Performance Exchange. The performances will be held in the Art Radionica Lazareti which is just outside the gates of the Old City of Dubrovnik and a stunning location for Shakespeare. The artistic director of the Dubrovnik Shakespeare Festival, Michael Lederer, commented that “Dubrovnik Shakespeare Festival continues to seek funding to mount a full-scale Festival in Dubrovnik. But we are not waiting. We are already rich in enthusiasm and talent, and we have enough financial resources so that whether in Berlin or in Dubrovnik or in London, DSF is continuing to promote theatre as an integral part of the most beautiful town in the world.”

These two performances are innovative and the Shakespeare’s Kings and Clowns piece is an audience participation play. So whether you’re on holiday in Dubrovnik or are lucky enough to call the city your home why not catch an evening with Shakespeare.

( http://www.englishmanindubrovnik.com/shakespeare-to-be-performed-in-dubrovnik/)

www.aklapela.hr

Aklapela Festival is held from April 5 -7  with its concept promotes and nurtures Klapa singing that has been   inscribed to the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on December 5th 2012 in Paris.

AKLAPELA is the yearly gathering of the most valuable „klapa“ (klapa is a word for company of 5 and more people who sing without any musical accompaniment, it’s a vocal group) accomplishments through few chamber concerts of the selected Croatian men and women „klapa“. The intension is to allow few concert performances in a way or close to the conditions that use to be in terms of creation and performance of the traditional Croatian „klapa“ singing.  AKLAPELA will take place after Easter, for the so called „Little Easter“ in the times when everything is waking up, the times of new beginnings. This gathering is not competition – it is all about presentation of the best „klapa“, mingling of the authors, artists, “klapa” managers with the audience which makes the heart of this project.  With two concerts held in Marin Držić Theatre Dubrovnik, Sacral concert at Dominican Monastery on Sunday April  7, both Saturday and Sunday klapas will sing spontaneously in within the Old City.   Festival’s Selector: Mr.sc. Joško Ćaleta, ethnomusicologist, musical pedagogue and conductor, “klapa” singer and manager. Second  AKLAPELA Festival will host the following vocal groups – „klapas“: Bunari, Cambi, Čuvite, Ćakulone, Dišpet, FA Linđo, Grdelin, Kaleta, Kaše, Kumpanji, Neverin, Subrenum.

The popular UK airline easyJet has launched six brand new routes from Edinburgh Airport for this summer season and among them is an operation to Dubrovnik. The new flights were announced yesterday at the unveiling of a brand new aircraft “Discover Scotland.” The new routes from Edinburgh include Hamburg, Reykjavik, Berlin, Prague, Copenhagen and Dubrovnik.

Hugh Aitken, the head of Scotland for easyJet, commented that “The introduction of six new routes will make it easier and more affordable for businesses of all sizes to do business in Europe.” The new routes will not only open up Dubrovnik to more Scottish tourists but also Croatians wishing to visit the highland country. In fact easyJet predicts that an additional 140,000 holidaymakers and business travellers will travel to Scotland bringing in around £90 million. Gordon Dewar, the chief executive of Edinburgh Airport, added that “the launch of these six new easyJet routes will strengthen our relationship with Scotland’s largest airline and will enable us to widen our reach as a capital city, opening up exciting new trade and commercial opportunities for our local business partners.”

Flights to Dubrovnik will commence on the 27th of April and tickets start from only £38.99 and can be purchased online at the company’s website: www.easyJet.com

http://www.englishmanindubrovnik.com/dubrovnik-to-edinburgh-with-easyjet/

The 1st of April saw many changes in the Croatian law and one of the most controversial was the introduction of travel visas for Russians. In fact the move to introduce travel visas for Russian citizens was forced on Croatia as part of the European Union regulations. Croatia is set to become a full member of the European Union on the 1st of July this year and therefore the EU visa regime has come into force. This means that all citizens for a host of non-EU countries will now require visas to visit the country. Tourists from Russia are not the only ones that will now require a visa, guests from the Ukraine and Turkey will now also need to take out the travel visa. Ironically tourists from these three countries have been on the rise in recent years, just last year the number of Russian tourists rose by 8 percent and in total they accounted for 1.6 million overnight stays. And in 2012 guests from the Ukraine increased by a massive 25 percent whilst arrivals of guests from Turkey rose by 10 percent. Russian citizens will now be required to apply for a visa with the Croatian Embassy in Moscow or through various tourist agencies that have been accredited by the embassy. Extra staff have been taken on in the embassy to cope with the predicted rush of applications, with the procedure to obtain a visa expected to last five days and costs 35 Euros. The introduction of visas for Russian tourists will probably see a decrease in the number of tourists as well as a drop in the number of Russian investments. It could also play into the hands of Croatia’s neighbours, such as Montenegro, where no such visa regime is in force. The procedure for Turkish citizens will be considerably easier and tourists will be able to obtain the necessary visa at the border crossing. And on the flip side Croatian citizens travelling to Turkey will now be required to take out a visa; again this will be available from border crossings.

(http://www.englishmanindubrovnik.com/russian-citizens-require-now-require-visa-to-enter-croatia/)

The IsKonBar Roadshow (Istria, Konavle and Baranja) is part of a national project to promote rural tourism in Croatia that will be held from 4th – 7th April. The roadshow will begin in Branja, travel through Istria and finish in Konavle, just south of Dubrovnik.

The project is organised by local association Agrotourism Konavle in partnership with the Rural Development Agency in Istria and the association of winemakers and growers in Baranja as well as other agencies.The roadshow will visit the eco-ethno village Star Kapela, Pakovo selo and eco- village Kokorići. The roadshow convoy will consist of 18 specially refurbished Renault 4 convertibles in which journalists from all over Europe will travel whilst getting know some of the most attractive places in Croatia.In this unique and attractive way the projects hopes to turn the focus on to the rural tourism sector in Croatia and promote the industry. Theproject’s slogan is ‘Enjoy Croatia’ and at the same time will promote the new tourism products on offer in the Dubrovacko-Neretvanska County.IsKonBar is a continuation of the project of the same name which joined together three destinations with excellent rural tourism in Croatia in 2011 when a joint enological – gastronomic festival was held under the Scents of Christmas series of events.The partnership between these three regions is ever expanding with plans for other projects in the future.

(http://www.justdubrovnik.com/2013/03/agrotourism-roadshow/10112/)