October 14, 2020 – The biggest surprise of the Croatian tourist season 2020, the municipality of Vir on the island of the same name, is planning new large investments. The opening of the first hotel and marina on Vir is planned for 2023.
As Večernji.hr reports, Vir is this year's Croatian record holder in the number of tourist overnight stays, and only about 10 percent less revenue was recorded than last year. Vir's tourism was less affected by the coronavirus pandemic than in the rest of the Adriatic. However, there is still no hotel on Vir.
This tourist destination, which many remember by excavators and the demolition of illegally built houses, has two thousand private renters and about 9,000-holiday homes. Approximately half of them are owned by foreigners (from Budapest, Vienna, Bratislava, Ljubljana), who often come to Vir now, during October, on weekends.
On Vir, there is still more tourist traffic in October than in much more famous Adriatic places. However, this change did not happen in one season, but Vir has been patiently building its new tourist destiny for more than a decade.
The island of Vir has so far invested around 300 million kuna in water supply, sewerage, public lighting, roads, decoration of beaches, and green areas. So, all the long-term stake returns to Vir through the season.
"Not everyone here is still aware of the change that has taken place in Vir. But that's why Germans, Hungarians, Austrians, Poles, and Swiss know very well that Vir has become a great tourist destination," said Mayor Kristijan Kapović.
Seventy percent of Vir is covered with Mediterranean greenery, and only one-third of land can be used for building on Vir.
"We plan to build a hotel with about a hundred rooms, a marina, and a camp. All at the level of five stars, and it should be done in 2023. It is an investment of a total of 30 million euros, and we have the financial potential to do that," reveals Kapović, who believes that many 'weekend tourists' are a great advantage, not a lack of Vir tourism.
Vir has been the first in Zadar County in terms of the number of tourist nights, and during the last three seasons in the summer it is among the top three destinations in Croatia. By the end of September, there were just over 101,000 guests, and 2.1 million overnight stays were realized this year, which is a respectable 86 percent of last year's number.
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