Over 300 tourists from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary arrived in Split by train on Saturday afternoon, marking the largest group arrival of tourists in the coastal city this year.
They left from Prague yesterday and the Croatian ambassador there, Mirjana Pancirov, said welcoming them in Split that 2021 was the European Year of Rail and that it was important that Croatia contributed to it.
The tourists were also welcomed by Monika Udovičić of the Tourism Ministry, who said the ministry was ready for the tourist season and that more than 15,000 service providers had the "Safe Stay in Croatia" label as part of COVID-19 measures.
She said Croatia currently had more than 300 testing locations for tourists and that in some counties more than 50% of tourism workers had been vaccinated against the virus.
Udovičić welcomed the latest lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in Croatia, saying that would facilitate a more relaxed season.
Organised transport by train to support tourism
Croatian Railways executive Željko Ukić said organised transport of tourists by train supported tourism.
He said 176 trains of the Czech rail operator Regio Jet were planned to arrive in Split from Prague this season and that the goal was to bring over 100,000 travellers. Currently more than 35,000 tickets have been booked, he added.
Ukić said the Prague-Split train would travel three times a week in June and September, and every day in July and August.
A seasonal line has been agreed with Slovakian and Austrian rail operators, staring on 19 June, directly connecting Split with Vienna and Bratislava twice a week, and a Budapest-Split line has been agreed with Hungarian Railways, starting on 2 June, he said.
Asked if this increase in tourist travel by rail would encourage the modernisation of rail transport in Croatia, Ukić said he hoped it would, adding that Croatian Railways would procure 33 new electric trains in the next two and a half years.
The director of the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board, Joško Stella, said the train from Prague also brought about 30 journalists from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary who would report on their impressions of Split and the county.
(Hina)
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