New train line brings tourists to Croatia coast

A train carrying some 500 tourists from the Czech Republic arrived in Croatia on Wednesday, as the country seeks to attract visitors to its Adriatic coast after easing lockdown measures against the coronavirus.

The line, operated by a private-owned Czech company, will run regularly for the next two months from Prague and pass through Bratislava and Ljubljana on its 16-hour journey to the northern Croatian port city of Rijeka.

On Wednesday morning, the inaugural train rolled into Rijeka railway station, before arriving tourists - mostly Czechs - were bussed to their destinations along the Adriatic coast.

The Croatian coastline is a leading European tourism destination, particularly for visitors from Central and Eastern Europe who can easily access the country's shores by car or train.

Croatia is hoping to salvage as much as possible of the summer tourism season that has been badly hurt by the virus outbreak.

Figures released by the national tourist board on Wednesday showed that the total number of visitors dropped to just 1.6 million in the first six months of 2020, or nearly 80% down from 6.9 million the year before.

Croatia's economy is among the weakest in the European Union and is largely dependent on tourism revenue, which is thought to account for around 20% of its GDP.

Local media reported that thousands of tickets have already been sold for the train from the Czech Republic which is scheduled to operate throughout July and August, despite a renewed spike in virus cases that followed easing of lockdown rules last month.

As of Tuesday, Croatia has confirmed 2,777 cases, including more than 400 over the past week alone, while 107 people have died.