Under the headline “Dubai is out, and Croatia is in”, the American broadcaster CNN has recently televised a feature in which Croatia is ranked as number one among the “new” destinations visited by celebrities this year.

With top-notch hotels, year-round sunny weather, great shopping, picturesque beaches and the tallest building in the world, Dubai has quickly become the favourite destination of celebrities, but the current crisis begs the question where to travel in 2010, and one of the possible destinations is Croatia, reports CNN in the entertainment portion of its program “CNNEntertainment”.

It is not only the couples Beckham and Jolie-Pitt who were some of the frequently spotted members of the jet-set in the tourist mecca of the Persian Gulf, but many other celebrities invested in real-estate over there, until the Dubai Government announced it could no longer return its 80 billion USD debt.

Now that Dubai is in trouble, where will the celebrities hide from the simple folk, wonders CNN and offers Croatia as one of the solutions. Moreover, it ranks Croatia as number one among the “new” destinations to which celebrities will travel in 2010. Croatia is also the only European country that CNN predicts will be in among celebrities.

"The war is long gone and the celebrities are now discovering what the tourists knew back in the 1980s. Croatia, in the Adriatic corner of the Mediterranean, is on the same footing with the other European littoral areas, with beaches, sailing and excellent cuisine, which has attracted superstars like Steven Spielberg, Andre Agassi, Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert de Niro, Clint Eastwood and Sharon Stone,” CNN says.

Among the other destinations competing with Dubai, CNN points out Morocco, where, among others, Jennifer Anniston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Orlando Bloom, Salma Hayek, Miranda Kerr and Juliette Binoche have gathered at the opening of the hotel La Mamounia in Marrakech.  CNN also mentions the Caribbean islands Turks and Caicos, at whose beaches Donna Karan, Barbra Streisand and Britney Spears have relaxed. Then there is the South African Republic, the host of the 2010 World football championship, which will attract numerous tourists, and has already been visited by Oprah Winfrey, Beyonce and Kim Kardashian.

Bora Bora, one of 118 islands of French Polynesia, is the favourite destination of Janet Jackson, Pierce Brosnan, Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz.  Kenya is also the perfect spot for the jet set to hide out, and is the favourite place to visit for Bill Gates, Naomi Campbell, Serena and Venus Williams and Oprah Winfrey.  When it comes to skiing, Whistler in the Canadian province of British Colombia is competition to the world-famous Aspen in Colorado, on whose trails Sandra Bullock and Harrison Ford have been spotted, and in 2010 some of the Winter Olympics’ events will be held.

CNN
www.cnn.com