The Croatian cabinet would convene in the town of Hvar on October 26, and the meeting would focus on measures aimed at improving the quality of life on Croatian islands, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Tuesday.

“We want to mark the 150th anniversary of organised tourism on the island on Hvar, and in late October, the Croatian Tourism Days will take place on Hvar, too,” Plenkovic said, adding that the cabinet meeting on that southern Adriatic island would also be dedicated to the tourist industry and the development of Croatian islands.

He told reporters that in July his cabinet had drawn up a new bill on islands, which aims to improve the quality of life for islanders.

“After more than 20 years, we are proposing a comprehensive legislative solution that should upgrade the quality of the life of residents of islands, and improve transport links, local economy, and services,” Plenkovic said while visiting the island of Hvar on Tuesday.

He added that in 2017 investments into projects in Croatian islands reached 1.7 billion kuna (€229 million).

The public sector invested a total of 3.27 billion kuna (€441 million) in Croatia’s islands in 2014 and 2015, and half of the populated islands have seen a rise in their population. However, only two islands – Vir and Ciovo – have registered a positive birth rate, according to a government report on the effects produced by the Law on Islands in 2014 and 2015.

Croatia has 78 islands, 524 islets, and 642 reefs in its part of the Adriatic sea, including 50 islands that are permanently or occasionally inhabited. State subsidies were spent on transport links connecting 44 inhabited islands with the mainland.

According to the latest 2011 census, nearly 133,000 lived on those islands, and on the southern peninsula of Peljesac.

There are four islands in the country connected via bridges with the mainland – Krk, Pag, Vir and Ciovo – and their population increased by 10.3 percent from the previous census in 2001, to more than 42,000 in 2011.

All other islands combined had a total population of almost 83,000, down by 2.1 percent compared to 2001.

Some islander municipalities and towns saw a rise in population in the period from 2011 to 2014. For instance, the municipality of Solta on the eponymous island saw an increase from 1,770 to 1,990, and Pasman on the island of Pasman saw a rise from 2,131 to 2,275.

(€1 = 7.41 kuna)

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