Dogus Group to Invest €350 Million in Croatia’s Tourism Sector

Dougus Group’s D-Marin Mandalina marina

Turkey’s Dogus Group are set to invest more than 350 million euros in Croatia over the next few years, the group’s regional director for Croatia and Montenegro, Burak Baykan, told Hina in an interview…

Dogus, who have invested around 250 million euros in Croatia’s tourist sector already, plan to invest in a number of large-scale projects in the coming years. Baykan says that 2016 will be a ‘dynamic’ year for the group with around 80 million euros set to be put into converting the Maraska factory building in Zadar into a five-star 120-room hotel and building an adjacent luxury residential complex with 80 apartments and a commercial zone including shops, restaurants and bars. Construction will start on the new hotel after the summer and it should be completed by 2018.

Baykan also announced that Dogus will upgrade facilities at D-Marin Borik boutique marina in Zadar and this summer open a beach club in D-Marin Dalmatia in Bibinje-Sukosan, which last year was named the best marina in Croatia.

“Although it opened during the peak season last year, D-Resort Sibenik has exceeded all our expectations and has become a recognisable destination for Croatian and foreign tourists, receiving positive ratings from them,” said Baykan, adding that he is expecting another good tourist season this year for the group in Croatia.

D-Resort Sibenik

“We can obviously expect lower demand in (Greece and Turkey) this year, but we continue to work on improving the quality of our service and developing new content. On the other hand, we have great expectations from our hotels and marinas elsewhere in Europe,” Baykan said.

The group’s Dogus Croatia company holds 10.87 percent of shares in ACI and the government holds 74.47 percent.