Soon in Zagreb
Korean Air will resume its summer charters to the Croatian capital from April 30. The national carrier of South Korea will operate a total of five flights between Seoul’s Incheon Airport and Zagreb’s Pleso Airport until May 28. The service, which will operate every Saturday with the Boeing 777-200ER, will carry hundreds of South Korean tourists to Croatia. Korean Air operated 2 flights to Zagreb last summer. Flights are scheduled to depart Seoul in the evening, arriving in Zagreb in the evening hours of the same day. Flights will depart Zagreb on Saturday evening and arrive in Seoul on Sunday.This summer, Zagreb will also see seasonal summer flights from Barcelona, to be operated by Spanair, Madrid by Iberia, Tel Aviv by Sun d’Or International Airlines and Copenhagen, to be operated by Norwegian Air Shuttle. Croatia Airlines will be introducing seasonal flights from Zagreb to Athens, Brač and Tel Aviv with a new all year round service to Istanbul set to begin on May 17.
Very nice.... so happy about that , maybe they should consider the to fly whole year once per week to ZAG.
ReplyDeleteZagreb Members:
ReplyDeletewould love to see some ZAG KE 777 shots in www.airlinrs.net
thanks if possible
www.airliners.net
ReplyDeletesorry
It's likely to be confirmed the flight KE 777 Incheon-Zagreb during the tourist season,
ReplyDeleteCongrats to ZAG on this development. Let's hope it continues as a summer-long service.
ReplyDeleteGiven KEs 'Pacific' network (BNE, SYD, AKL, MEL), I wonder if they will be targeting any of the diaspora, or may do so in the future?
OU is the key to ZAGs long-haul situation:
- they must do a deal with EK (as JU has done), operating directly to DXB 2-3 times weekly yearly using the A319s. Flight time is ~5.5hrs (about the max for these old birds), looking to catch the 4-6am wave at DXB and promote the Balkan connections in the afternoon wave.
- they must sort out the codeshare arrangement with the new UA. Realistically, JFK/EWR-ZAG using a 767 in the summer months as well as the connecting flights elsewhere in the network (LHR, CDG, FRA, ZRH etc)
Where in Croatia to buy a ticket for the -opposite- Zagreb-Seoul-Zagreb route?
ReplyDeleteAnyone knows?
@Dreamliner
ReplyDeleteNo carrier is considering to operate a whole year long-haul service to any Ex-Yu city (but lets be honest, the only two airports that could attract such services are Zagreb and Belgrade). This 5-time per season charter is enough to make a small amount of money for Korean Air. Ryan's start of flights to BEG were unexpected and I would think that in order to establish such flights you need a market to attracts people.
For Belgrade, its beauty and parties serve as its biggest attraction, and its so cheap to get things there that it makes it a good destination. Not great, but good. It's biggest market is the diaspora that lives in successful places like London, Stockholm, New York, Chicago, etc.
For Zagreb, it has connections with Dubrovnik and all other airports on the coast. Obviously, the coastline is its main attraction. However, people go to Croatia once and rarely go again, so that tourist upkeep will not maintain forever unless they do something about it. Another problem with that is that nearby airports are going to have connections wiht Croatia's coastal airports. The direct and obvious competitor is Belgrade. While this frees up Croatia's aviation market, and attracts more people and airlines, it also diminishes the need to establish a regional long-haul base in any Croatian city.
The first class turist destination nearby is Venice. Go to wiki and take a look how many long haul flights Marco Polo has on yearly basis - JFK only. Venice is also a top starting point for many non europeane turists. This Korean is only charter what means that beds are already sold. Good news
ReplyDeleteanyway for the future.
@Anonymous #1,
ReplyDelete"Ryan's start of flights to BEG were unexpected and I would think that in order to establish such flights you need a market to attracts people."
??? how does Belgrade not have the market? so many serbians live in USA that like to fly to Serbia every summer /winter, pretty much ALL the time , year round they fly through Germany, France and other countries in Europe, and before that a city in USA. or every other summer, including me... next summer for a lot of people is the time they will go, hopefully they will try it then.... plus more and more tourists from USA go there every summer, not a lie i saw with my own eyes.
@Alex Nikolic
ReplyDeletePlease read more carefully. I stated that Belgrade's largest market is the Serbian diaspora in the world. That is what is bringing Ryan to Belgrade, not business nor tourism. Belgrade's only hope to attract big names and start becoming the regional hub it wants to be is by establishing a regional business hub first. It is starting to do that, and it shows through the thousands of people outside of Serbia moving in.
Americans are starting to see Serbia (mostly Belgrade though) for its significant value in terms of potential. It is a fast-rising city, with plenty of influence (Bosnia, Montenegro, Serbia, Macedonia, and parts of Croatia and Romania). It is developing a business network within Europe and is thus becoming an asset for businessmen, but it is still not enough. Croatia as the coast, which is its biggest attraction, but like I said, it attracts "virgins" but it is well known as a "one-time, see-all" destination, and will lose numbers very quickly in 20 years. But they have something other than diaspora. Belgrade needs to find something other than parties and diaspora to bring in people and airlines. Business is the best option (take a look at NYC). Belgrade needs to become a New York City in the Balkans in order to achieve this...and believe me it can in some 20-30 years if they stop fighting over nonsense and actually get work done.
But I would also like to remind all of you that the future of travel is by trains not by airplanes. Once a train is developed to match the speeds of planes, the only need for a plane will be to cross a body of water. the Ex-Yu countries should also prepare for that in the coming years but until then, should focus on regional aviation first.
"Croatia attracts "virgins" but it is well known as a "one-time, see-all" destination, and will lose numbers very quickly in 20 years"
ReplyDeleteThis is totaly bull-shit. Today there are 2 tipes of tourists. Old people who come to one destination for 20 and more years (and lot of tham are "loyal" to Craotian destinations), and younger which change destination every year. I like Teneriffe, Cuba, Tunisia, Malaysia, Gran Canaria, Greece, Hong Kong, Martinique, Turky... but will never come there again because I wont to see as much of the World I can. But, for sure most of my friends will go to destinations I wisit because of my photos, stories etc. On same pattern most of friends and relatives of those that visit Croatia will come here for holiday.
And Belgrade to become New York in 20-30 years is tipical for your nation. That is not funny but tragic how for years you are more and more back and gap over Europe is bigger and bigger. In same time your dream is more unreal.
To the latest Anonymous:
ReplyDeleteFirst of all you dick, I'm Croatian, born and raised in Split. So stop referring to me as a Serbian (no offense to Serbs). Stop assuming so much.
Second, you do not need to believe me, but just say so, and stop using derogatory remarks which make you appear mindless and utterly stupid. Belgrade does have the capacity to become a Balkan New York, if it plays its cards right. Serbia as a whole is too political for that to happen any time soon, so 20-30 years is a solid estimate. The fact that European and now Israeli, Chinese, and American companies are basing themselves in Belgrade to cover the whole region (including Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, and Hungary) signals the fact that the city is establishing some sort of business climate, but it needs to drastically improve itself.
Thirdly, everyone knows that Croatia is a "one-time, all-see" destination. We have a beautiful coast, but it offers only so much. Have you been to Cuba? the situation is similar. Miami on the other hand creates incentives for tourists to come back. Same with Greece. I am guessing you did not visit all of their islands? Believe me, I wish it weren't so, but that's the fact and if you can't get over it, then that's your problem.
And what I meant with Croatia attracting virgins is that the word virgin is used to describe people that have never visited Croatia before. I might have been misquoted, and I apologize.
ReplyDelete@love Korea
ReplyDeleteI doubt you can purchase tickets for these flights in Europe. Check with KE in VIE or FRA, but most probably these flights are sold thru tour-operators in Korea and are pretty much sold bidirectional
@anonymous: I doubt that Croatia is a one time see destination. It develops more and more it s Hotels and general infrastructure as well as the Gastro Scene. High level standard Hotels are a good reason to come back for people and another good reason is the Gourmet-Food including wine/olive oil etc.
Istria was just named as the 2nd best worldwide olive oil production place and more and more Gourmet Fans are heading towards Istria. Especially North East Italians, Austrians, Bavarians, Czechs or even Swiss have discovered the all year destination Istria which can be coupled easely with Venice, Verona, Trieste or Udine for a short gourmet trip.
Regading BEG: Until today I have in Switzerland never seen an official tour operator catalogue with Belgrade as a city break destination. Where Dubrovnik and sometimes even Zagreb can be found more and more. Still Belgrade thru its history has somekind of a special soul which not every city can offer.
Since it has not cultural heritages like Prague, London or Vienna, it will need to invest much into the infrastructure so it might could become an economical and cultural center of the Balcans. But to become this, you need to drastically change your politics (also towards Kosovo) and especially keep politics out of business. But until you will held a world renommee film festival or held a champions league final, it will take many years to come....
@JU520
ReplyDeleteYou get my position. Belgrade's biggest market is the Serbian diaspora which I must say is advertising Belgrade well, but like you said, it needs to be found in catalogs and such in order to develop a tourist-based industry.
Belgrade cannot rely only on parties and diaspora though. It's only chance is to develop a business center much like New York did. NYC has no fancy touristy sites to offer. It is just a big city with soul and that attracts people. Belgrade could absolutely do the same thing, but it needs to improve its image and politics. However, (not to get too political), when China takes over as the global power, its politics will not be so much of concern as they have excellent relations with the Chinese, and more Chinese are moving to live in Serbia. But Belgrade needs to start attracting big names like Hollywood stars and billionaires to its city. The only way to do that is create business incentive. So far the EU is paving the way for such a district, as more banks and corporations are opening bases in Belgrade to cover all of Ex-Yu and Balkans, but they need much more. Like I said, in 20-30 years, it could happen. But not in 10 for sure.
As for Croatia, it is unfortunately known for its limited-ness. It is beginning to get a name for itself which is good, but if you read all the travel magazines, and look more closely at the surveys, around 96% adore Croatia's coast and say it is spectacular, but only 13% return at some point. And in terms of gourmet, it is difficult to compete with the French and Italians, which are known world-wide for its food.
Also, Serbia could use its food for attraction. Some American businessman discovered kajmak on his business trip to Belgrade, and has acquired the paperwork to start importing it to the USA. Not to mention that Rakija is a popular drink and Serbia has been recognized as the founder of the drink including the ever so popular Slivoviza.
What I do not understand is why don't Serbia, Croatia, and Montenegro work together to promote each other? Why are Slovenia and Croatia co-sponsoring each other? What attraction does Slovenia have to offer? Serbia has spas, one of the best countrysides, food, and Belgrade. Montenegro and Croatia have the coastline, so why not promote all 3 together? The smartest investment that they could ever make is to create a high-speed train line connecting Budva, Split, Dubrovnik, Pula, and Belgrade.
As for Istria, even I am willing to admit that it is pretty much Italian cuisine that they have. So really, its basically like we have our own Little Italy.
Slovenia surely doesn't have "its own Belgrade" or a nice coast, but it does have to offer a lot. Spa tourism is very well developed for example. Not to mention Alps, carst&caves, countryside...If you don't know a certain country it doesn't mean it is boring!I think all of ex-Yu has a lot to offer when talking about cuisine.Of course we cannot compete with Italy or France, and some parts surely lack of local speciality on a high level, like the last anonymous discovered about Istria.
ReplyDeleteThank you JU520 BEGLAX. I will check.
ReplyDeleteI would add here that many many Koreans in Korea know about Croatia and hope to go there even if once only.
2nd last anonymous:
ReplyDeletewe hope very much that BEG will succeed and be the shining lighthouse of the region. And you are absolutely right, they could merge and promote them together as other regions such as the Alpe Adria Region for example is doing..
I was in Cuba and in 5 Greece islands... You guess wrong! But I did that just because I am on crusing at least once per year, and most of East Mediterranean route visit at least one Greek island. And I can not see your point on that.
ReplyDeleteAny exYu city will become Balkan New York never maybe not even than. Stop dream!
And I am Serbian, born and raised in Kragujevac... so stop presume so much...