With the new winter holiday schedule, skiers will pay 40 percent more for packages

On the platform e-savjetovanje there is a dynamic discussion about the Decision on the start and end of the school year issued by the Ministry of Science and Education, specifically regarding the change in the schedule of school holidays. The discussion will last until April 21. The most significant change concerns the winter holiday schedule, which, instead of the previous three weeks in January, 'is split' into two parts, from December 27 to January 5 and from February 20 to February 24. Among the comments, there are differing opinions on whether children should interrupt their acquired continuity in learning or if it is good for them to have more shorter breaks. However, these changes have also raised concerns among travel agencies, which see this as a significant blow to the ski season. The cancellation of the third week eliminates the popular 'Croatian week', during which Croatians could ski at more favorable prices.

–  Croatians who travel for skiing have been accustomed for years to booking their ski/winter holidays during the low season, i.e., at the lowest prices. This new winter holiday schedule will make it impossible for many. Both periods of winter holidays (both the first and second parts) fall within the peak seasons, i.e., the highest prices, which are up to 40 percent higher compared to the low season, and in some establishments even more than that. We in tourism  want to enable as many citizens as possible to go on winter holidays, and this is only possible if the winter school holidays „return to the old ways“, i.e., not being split into two parts but extending the January part by one week and canceling the week in February – emphasized Nevenka Belančić, ski manager from Ban Tours agency.

After discussions with numerous partners from Slovenia, Austria, France, and Italy, she concluded that such school holidays hinder the availability of free accommodation capacities because, according to the long-established rule, each season has its guests. – Croatians have been booking two weeks in January for years, and that week has been dubbed the „Croatian week“ while the financially stronger markets of Europe book peak season dates, even while still departing from accommodation facilities. With this winter holiday schedule, we are categorized into the winter holiday period of the financially most powerful countries such as Germany, Austria, Italy, France, the Netherlands, etc. Due to this proposal for the winter school holiday dates, many children will be deprived of a winter family holiday. Countries like Austria and Slovenia pay special attention to winter sports, considering the health benefits achieved through outdoor sports during the winter period and looking at the holiday schedule during which children are organized to engage in winter sports. Since we do not have such programs, at least parents who allocate funds for such holidays should be facilitated through the winter school holidays as we had in previous years – concludes Belančić.

In the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies, they have also announced their official statement on this Decision, with which they disagree for the aforementioned reasons. They emphasized that agencies have fought hard for the 'Croatian week', which did not exist before, and that they will insist on it this time as well.