Press release - Croatian National Tourist Office

New flights to Croatia for summer 2012
Dubrovnik will be served by four new routes from the UK next year, as the year-round destination becomes increasingly popular with Brits. Jet2 is set to launch from Newcastle International Airport in summer 2012 whilst Monarch will fly from Manchester, Birmingham and London Gatwick. For more information on Jet2 click here and Monarch click here

Crocktail - Croatia unveils its first national cocktail
Created by multi award-winning Croatian barman and mixologist Marin Nekić, the Crocktail is the first cocktail made exclusively of Croatian ingredients. Made using Zadar Maraschino, sour cherry juice, fresh lemon juice and lots of ice and decorated with arancini, a traditional Dalmatian sweet prepared from candied orange peel, the delightful concoction has been proclaimed Croatia’s first national cocktail. For more information click here

Zagreb unveils QR codes for visitors
QR codes have hit Zagreb’s top tourist attractions, thanks to a city-wide initiative by the Zagreb Tourist Board. Quick Response codes have popped up at 28 key tourist attractions across the city, giving visitors instant access to information, maps and videos via their smartphones in seven languages including English. For more information click here

Silent dancing and Becarac singing receive UNESCO recognition
The unusual silent wheel dance, a traditional Dalmatian folk dance performed without instrumental or vocal accompaniment, has been included on a list of intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO. Passed on from generation to generation, the dance is performed today at local events, before church festivities or at festivals. Also included on the list is Bećarac, a traditional folk song from Slavonia. Croatia already has ten cultural traditions on UNESCO’s list. For more information click here

National Geographic puts Croatia on the hot list for 2012
Croatia’s pristine coastline and national parks have earned the country a spot in National Geographic Traveller’s 2012 Hot List. The month-by-month guide to the world’s top travel spots is based on the opinions of more than 50 experts — from tour operators to travel journalists, tourist boards to guidebook writers. According to the publication, visitors should head to the value-for-money destination in May. For more information click here

Sunday Times Travel Magazine Readers' Awards
Last month readers of The Sunday Times Travel Magazine voted Croatia one of their top European beach destinations in 2011, putting the destination alongside established favourites Spain and Greece in the top three. “To be named in the top three along with Spain and Greece is a fantastic achievement,” says Meri Matesic, UK Director of the CNTO, “we know Croatia is a fantastic destination and it’s great that more and more people are discovering it.”

Events
The Great Masters of the Renaissance
Klovićevi Dvori Gallery, Zagreb, until 22 January 2012
This exhibition brings together 48 pieces by the some of the most prominent Italian renaissance painters of the 15th and 16th centuries. Originally commissioned by Croatian clients, the works belong to churches, monasteries and museums along the entire length of the Croatian Adriatic coast and demonstrate the country’s sophisticated lifestyle at the time, which was not dissimilar to Venice. For more information click here