Unlike rest of Europe, Croatia opens arms to travelers from U.S.

The “Pearl of the Adriatic” had waited 28 years for a direct line to America, and when it arrived, it was historic.

Last year, American Airlines began operating three weekly trips between Dubrovnik, Croatia’s seaside vacation hub, and Philadelphia, serving travelers from June until September — at which point it added a fourth trip. According to data from the Croatian National Tourist Board, Americans were the secondnumerous guests in Dubrovnik in 2019, with nearly 160,000 arrivals and more than 442,000 overnight stays. It was yet another record-setting year of overall visitors to the city. Plans for this year were even bigger.

“Americans are one of the most desirable guests in Dubrovnik,” said Slavica Grkeš, the owner of Dubrovnik-based Dominium Travel, an agency that does frequent business with Americans. “When on vacation, they are always in a good mood: very interested in getting to know the people and culture they are visiting, and willing to pay for a good experience.”

The pandemic, and harsh disappointment, materialized in 2020 instead. As American Airlines grounded its Philadelphia-to-Dubrovnik line indefinitely, tourism in the city cratered to a point not seen since the war of the early 1990s. And in a country like Croatia, which draws one-fifth of its gross domestic profit from tourism, such a drop-off is a hard blow.

But Americans, even without a direct flight, have softened it.

“This summer I guided around 20 tours — not a lot, really — but the majority of my guests were Americans,” said Tomislav Matana, a longtime Dubrovnik tour guide. “They all had a big will and desire to come to Croatia. And although it was [anything] but simple for them to come to Croatia and Dubrovnik, they all say that it was worth it.”

Croatia, which closed itself off early in the spring to keep coronavirus infections low, hit zero reported cases within its borders in May and reopened to visitors from all countries in July, with testing requirements in place. The move made Croatia the only nation in the European Union to accept travelers from the United States.

That continental distinction has not changed, even as Croatia’s cases have risen and as it implemented a partial national shutdown last week that included closing bars and restaurants and banning weddings through Christmas.

A largely seasonal location, Dubrovnik expects fewer visitors this time of year anyhow. But the closures have made Americans’ warmer-weather spending all the more vital.

According to Matana, most of his American guests in 2020 have been people who had COVID-19 and recovered, remote workers or people who couldn’t stand to give up traveling. Nikša Klecak, CEO of Croatia’s Kompas Rent a Car, has noticed similar trends, plus one more of note: “This time,” he said, “the Americans, when they found an alternative way to come to Europe, were not here to spend just a couple of weeks, but rather several months.”

Sarah Morlock, a 31-year-old freelance writer and social media manager from Indiana, is one such case. A roaming remote worker, she spent October and November working from Croatia with her partner.

“Dubrovnik has always been on our list of places to visit,” Morlock said. “It’s a beautiful city, and it has better weather this time of year than many other places in Europe. Personally, when choosing a place to stay and work, I often look for historical cities with decent infrastructure (such as good WiFi), a foodie culture and access to nature. Dubrovnik checks all those boxes … Plus, we’re not a fan of crowds, so the reports of a nearly ‘empty’ Dubrovnik were quite appealing to us.”

In February, Dubrovnik Mayor Mato Frankovic greenlit a project to bring ultra-fast broadband Internet to the region. In October, the city held a “Dubrovnik for Digital Nomads” virtual conference, to pitch workers on its initiatives and the virtues of making it their next remote office. And at the beginning of 2021, Croatia is set to introduce a hotly anticipated digital-nomad visa, which will make it the second country in Europe and the fifth in the world to do so.