February the 27th, 2022 - The global coronavirus pandemic which struck the leisure and tourism industry hard back in 2020 and 2021 is far from a distant memory for those working in the sector despite the much more favourable epidemiological situation now. Valamar Riviera, a very well known and wildly successful Croatian hotel company, still hasn't managed to make up for the damage the pandemic caused to its business operations despite an excellent result for tourism in 2021.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, back in 2021, Croatia's Valamar Riviera generated operating revenues of an impressive 1.6 billion kuna, or 74 percent of what it made back in the pre-pandemic, record year of 2019, while its operating profit (EBITDA) reached the level of 84 percent of pre-crisis 2019.
In addition, in the third quarter of 2021, Valamar Riviera recorded the normalisation of its business operations in almost all of the destinations in which it operates up and down the country, achieving excellent results in Northern Adriatic destinations, on its campsites and in the premium segment. However, down south in Dubrovnik and in the 2 * and 3 * facilities, no significant business recovery was achieved, the company has since reported.
On top of all that, although the business results in 2021 were very positive, the realised losses from the coronavirus crisis period during the pandemic has largely not been covered by the company's recovery so far. Uncertainty in the wider environment will continue to affect tourism business and the economy in the near future, and the normalisation of tourism and its related business is expected during 2022 and 2023.
As it is known, back in 2021, Valamar Riviera started a new phase of growth by expanding its cooperation with investment partners across Croatia and the further internationalisation of its impressive portfolio in Austria, by buying its second hotel in Obertauern.
During the coronavirus pandemic, Valamar continued to develop its products, services and tourism portfolio with a two-year investment cycle spanning 2019/2021 in the amount of almost 870 million kuna. At the end of 2021, a new investment cycle in the amount of 525 million kuna was launched in facilities managed by Valamar with the aim of further developing the quality of its portfolio, resorts and camps, developing green tourism and digitalising its business processes.
Work is also currently underway on the investments of the Dalmatia Hotel [PLACES] by Valamar in Makarska, which is planned to open in May this year, as well as on the first fully sustainable eco-resort for family holidays, Valamar Amicor Green Resort on the central Dalmatian island of Hvar.
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