No more room for tourism growth in Croatia, changes ahead

Croatia 

Croatia’s Minister of Tourism and Sport believes that the county’s tourism success highlights the urgent need for balancing growth with sustainability.

After a record-breaking pre-season, we are experiencing an excellent peak season. In August alone, we had 130,000 more visitors, and the outlook for the post-season is promising, Minister of Tourism and Sport to Tonči Glavina told HRT.

“It’s important to highlight that, when tracking spending and fiscal revenues, there’s been a 4 to 6 per cent increase in the number of issued invoices, with their value rising by 10 to 12 per cent,” the Minister added.

He emphasised that, in terms of tourism, Croatia has reached its growth limit, and it would be ideal for these figures to remain at this level.

‘Has Croatia Become Too Expensive for Visitors?’

Given the fact that we had a lower number of visitors at one point during the peak season, the Minister was asked, “Has Croatia become too expensive for tourists?”

“Croatia is certainly not too expensive, otherwise we wouldn’t have these numbers. However, there are certain anomalies in some destinations where the price-to-quality ratio might not be perceived as ideal,” Glavina stated.

Dubrovnik

We Must Offer Value to Our Guests

He further noted that this pertains to seasonal establishments, reiterating: “From day one, I’ve been saying in all discussions with the industry that the price-to-quality ratio is one of our most important factors. We must offer value to our guests because that’s how the quality of a destination is measured.”

Balancing Tourism with the Quality of Life for Locals

“Sustainability isn’t just about protecting the environment; it’s also about safeguarding the quality of life. The era of continuous growth, increasing accommodation capacities, and expanding hospitality facilities is behind us. We are now in an era of management, where we seek the perfect balance between revenue, the positive impacts of tourism, and quality of life,” said Minister Tonči Glavina.

He stressed that Croatia must not find itself in a situation similar to Italy or Spain today, where the local population protests against tourists and tourism itself.

He also commented on the new law regarding building management and maintenance, which, among other things, requires that anyone wishing to rent out their property short-term must obtain 80% approval from co-owners, and the fact that inspections have been a persistent issue.

Rovinj

‘Reforms Are Inevitable – We Have No Choice’

“This is entirely feasible and will be implemented in the future categorisation of new properties. It will be one of the required documents to be submitted. We must acknowledge that tourism, as a horizontal economic activity, cannot be changed solely through tourism laws.

This is why, at the government level, we are implementing activities and creating a legislative framework to ensure sustainability for the future,” he said.

“We have started with the law on spatial planning and housing policy, but changes in regulations concerning spatial planning and stable policy are also expected, as well as changes in fiscal and tourism policies. This is a reform, a shift towards sustainability, and it’s something we must do. We have no choice,” concluded Glavina.