Can sailors and all those involved in nautical tourism breathe a sigh of relief after all?
As Morski writes on the 12th of June, 2018, going by last year's highly unwelcome new regulation, mooring costs were to shoot up and potentially threaten Croatia's nautical tourism sector, a sector the country has been trying to dip its feet further and further into.
One of the most dramatic examples of the increase was the one placed on boats over twenty metres in length. Back in 2017, a client with such a vessel would have paid an annual lump sum of 1,700 kuna for everything, including the crew members, a stark contrast when compared to this year, when he was going to face a massive payment of 14,500 kuna, a mind-boggling increase.
As mentioned, those involved in the nautical tourism sector wasted no time in immediately pointing out that such a dramatic increase and unwanted situation would cause immense damage to nautical tourism across Croatia. However, it seems that sailors can breathe a sigh of relief, as it appears that nothing is set to alter this season.
The consequences of this move were being felt in various located marinas along the Croatian coast as early in the year as this past Easter, and the final damage is yet to be determined, Novi list writes. However, in an attempt tp ease the effects of this truly huge increase in sojourn tax, which for some poor vessels is now 8.5 times more expensive than it was back in 2017, the Ministry of Tourism has recently presented yet another new proposal for 2019. With this new proposal, sojourn tax for a ship exceeding twenty metres in length would amount to 10,000 kuna per year, and in cases in which that vessel is returning annually, that amount would be reduced to 6,000 kuna.
With the desire to make sailing more ''financially peaceful'' for those who rely on it to make a living, and no doubt to avoid any unwanted and potentially irreparable damage to Croatia's budding nautical tourism dreams, the Ministry of Tourism has listened to and accepted the requirements of those in the nautical industry and presented drafts of the new model for the payment of sojourn tax for next year.
Click here for the original article by Marina Kirigin for Novi list
