This Summer Season, Croatia Scraps Visas for Russian Citizens Again
BalkanTravellers.com
Entry documents will also not be required from the citizens of the Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
The visa-free regime will be in place between April 1 and October 21, and citizens of those states will be allowed to spend no more than 3 months in Croatia.
The country introduced the same measure last year, with the aim of attracting more tourists amid the economic crisis. The tourism sector in 2009 registered a decrease by 11 per cent.
As BalkanTravellers.com reported in 2008, prior to the economic crisis, the entire Balkans region witnessed a significant surge of Russian tourists in recent years. Croatia saw solid growth – in 2006, the country was visited by 73,621 Russian tourists, while only for the period between January and August of 2007, their number grew almost two-fold, to 122,732, reaching around 150,000 by the year’s end.
The Russian visitors to Croatia were also reported to be transforming Croatian restaurants’ beverage and food choices. In the regions of Istria and Kvarner, which enjoy popularity among Russians, venues last year began to serve Russian dishes increasingly and offer expensive beverages, such as 50-year old rum and cognac or 400-euro champagne.
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In Sfakia: Passing Time in the Wilds of Crete (2008) | By Peter Trudgill
Crete has long been acknowledged as one of the most singular and unique parts of Greece. Its people keep a fierce hold on their traditions, customs and history. Practically a country of its own, this vast island looms over all others in Greece. Nevertheless, as In Sfakia author Peter Trudgill aptly notes in his preface, “some parts of Crete are more special than others, and Sfakia, on the remote south coast, is certainly one of those.” Full Story
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Photogalleries
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A Perfect Shot
Koprivshtitsa Fair, Bulgara. Photographs by Neva Micheva
In Homo Urbanus Europeanus, exhibited May 9-24 in front of the National Theatre in Sofia, Jean-Marc Caracci presents his photographs of people in the urban environment of European capitals.
RED&WHITE SOFIA. On the 1st of March Bulgarians say goodbye to the winter. They buy each other red&white threads to carry around until they see a stork and spring can begin. Photography by Lode Desmet
BULGARIA D'OR: The Bulgarian countryside, patinated with the noble golden dust of the autumn. Photographs by Lode Desmet
360 degrees Bulgaria, an exhibition by photographer Alexandar Ivanov, is on display at the Sea Garden in Varna until August 28. It will be shown at Plovdiv’s Central Square from Sept 5.
The exhibition Photographs of a Trip Through Bulgaria by Hungarian photographer András Balla can be seen in Sofia's Hungarian Cultural Institute, at Aksakov 16 Street, until August 22
Instant Spring in Sofia | Photographs by Lode Desmet
Off-the-season Beauty of Bulgaria's Black Sea Coast | Photographs by Adelina Iliev
Bulgaria's Northern Black Sea Coast
Photographs by Albena Shkodrova
excellent smugs
