English

Flego: Open your doors to tourists, but keep following precautionary measures

Ilustracija

Both Croatia and Montenegro will have to comply with new travel rules. However, it’s clear that a destination’s safety remains the top criterion for foreigners, so this year’s destination’s attractiveness will be perceived solely through tourism. You mentioned the so-called tourist passport, which was a matter of discussion at the meeting of European tourism ministers in April. One of the proposals for faster and safer travel was the creation of a joint certificate on safety in tourism, i.e. the Covid-19 passports. The document would contain information about health condition of its owner and would enable him to travel to the EU and the Schengen area, a Croatian member of the European Parliament and former Istrian County prefect, Mr Valter Flego, told in an interview for the weekend edition of Dnevne Novine daily.

“It’s very important that both Croatia and Montenegro open their doors to tourists, along with precautionary measures and highest level of safety,“ underlined Mr Flego.

When asked to say whether he believed the tourism season was lost due to the coronavirus, he said: “There will be great losses, we still can’t know their size, but Istria and Croatia, who proved to be successful in responding to the Covid-19 crisis, are upbeat about the decision on the final opening of borders within the European Union, EU.“

On the EU’s assistance concerning tourism, Mr Flego noted: “Negotiations over the new budget proposal are about to start, and I expect concrete funds for supporting tourism. This week, the European Commission also presented a new recovery instrument for the next generation worth 750 billion euro, with the task of restarting the European economy and mobilizing investments. With such a proposal, Croatia receives almost 10 billion euro from the recovery fund – over seven billion in grants and 2.6 billion euro in loans. There will be room for financing the tourism sector, which accounts for almost 20 percent of GDP in Croatia.“

 

 

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