The new year is here, seems to come around at the same time every year. Dubrovnik is calm and peaceful at this time of the year. The harsh winter that has embraced most of the rest of Europe has avoided, once again, Dubrovnik. Winter time in Dubrovnik, if you can call this mild weather winter, is a time for reflection, a time for new beginnings. With the start of the new year comes optimism, we have 360 empty pages of our life in front of us. Fill them; fill every minute of every day. Travel as much as possible, make memories, meet new people and dive into new experiences.

So what can we expect from a fresh summer in Dubrovnik this year? Already the international media is falling over itself to heap praise on Dubrovnik. Reports in publications, such as the New York Times and Condé Nast Traveller, have positioned Dubrovnik on their lists of places to visit in 2016. With all this publicity the region is certainly to be near the top on the lists of many world travellers this year. We can expect another great summer.

There will be events, concerts, drama and ballet…and that is just in the Dubrovnik Summer Festival. The number of festivals in Dubrovnik, a city of culture, is growing year on year and we will welcome back many “old friends” this year. Why not jump on a flight and spend a weekend in Dubrovnik whilst a festival is on…you won’t regret it. And with more flights from more destinations expected to land at Dubrovnik Airport this year the opportunities are endless. Fly in on a Friday afternoon, spend a weekend in the Mediterranean sunshine and catch a concert, then return on Monday ready for another working week. Fill some of those empty pages.

We will also be welcoming back our friends from HBO and the whole crew of the globally popular Game of Thrones series. Dubrovnik, which acts as King’s Landing in the serial, is forever bound to the Game of Thrones. And apart from bringing us yet more exposure it has also acted as a fuse paper for many other international production companies. Already, at the beginning of 2016, another film crew will shoot a Greek epic movie, “Alexandra,” in the city’s historic cobbled streets. You can be sure that others will follow.

Make 2016 the year that you fill the pages of your life with a trip to Dubrovnik. If you have already been then you are probably waiting to come back, if you’ve never been then…what are you waiting for.