March the 11th, 2023 - The days of relatively cheap Croatian summer holidays are now gone. The introduction of the euro as the country's official currency this year and spiralling inflation have driven prices upwards, and it seems as if this trend isn't likely to alter much as we go forward.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Croatian summer holidays down on the Adriatic coast could be more expensive than ever before this year, and it's already being announced that private accommodation prices will be 30 percent higher on average than before.
That means that an apartment that came at a cost of 60 euros per night last year in the peak of the summer season will be around 80 euros this year, reports Dnevnik.hr. For a ten-day stay on the Adriatic, you will now need to allocate around two hundred euros more for accommodation expenses alone. Private renters have even higher expectations for cash flowing in from the booking of Croatian summer holidays this year than they did last year.
Some property owners who rent to tourists are still waiting to set their prices until they see what will happen after March with the government's aid package related above all to the price of electricity and energy.
"For the past few years, we've been spending our Croatian summer holidays in the Istrian town of Rovinj for a minimum of three weeks. Each night during the peak season in 2022 cost us 60 euros. I asked for offers from renters for this year and the prices are abnormal, even with a longer stay. From 90 euros in a more remote location to 140 euros. We'll probably change our destination, but Dalmatia is not much better either. I looked at nearby Greece, where an entire house during the peak summer season is 150 euros," one interviewee told Dnevnik.hr.
"Given the overall situation, economic and socioeconomic, it would be realistic to increase accommodation prices by 15 to 20 percent, but if we take all the levies that have been increased for private renters into account; from sojourn tax to tourist membership fees and communal services in numerous destinations, the real price increase in the family/private accommodation sector stands at about 30 percent,'' explained Mirko Bulic from the Croatian Community of Family Accommodation Association for Dnevnik.hr.
This particular trend, he says, is for prices to rise in this type of accommodation at the global level by 15 to 25 percent.
"It won't really cause any turbulence for us, I hope that we'll even end up being overbooked and that we'll need to send some guests down to Albania and into some other neighbouring countries,'' added Bulic.
These higher prices don't really seem to have affected the bookings for Croatian summer holidays for this year so far. Moreover, bookings for this season are 10 to 15 percent better than they were last year at this time, and the two coronavirus-dominated years have also contributed to all this, because people want to travel and are willing to pay more to do so.
How might one get by cheaper when it comes to Croatian summer holidays this year? Experts advise local tourists to avoid using the main platforms and negotiate prices directly with the renters.
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