Wednesday, 7 September 2022

Croatian Calculator for Electricity Price Comparison Now a Reality

September the 7th, 2022 - Inflation is spiralling, and electricity prices are continuing on their upward trajectory. As such, the first Croatian calculator for working out and comparing the prices of electricity is now a reality, thanks to the Croatian Energy Market Operator (HROTE).

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, customers from the category of households and businesses with an expected annual consumption of less than 100,000 kilowatt-hours can use this new and informative tool for comparing the offers of electricity suppliers' models and tariffs, prepared by the Croatian Energy Market Operator (HROTE).

This new Croatian calculator is an independent information tool which readily provides its users with an insight into updated information received from suppliers. It enables the comparison of offers on the entire retail electricity market up to the update date indicated in the tool, with clear and objective criteria shown, HROTE announced on Tuesday.

In order to make the offers comparable, the display does not include discounts and other benefits that suppliers may offer to users. This new Croatian calculator for electricity price comparison is fully adapted for use by people with disabilities, and it also has an easy to use procedure for reporting incorrect information about published offers, in accordance with the provisions of the Electricity Market Act.

It can be found by clicking here.

After entering the required data on the electricity consumption of the household or company, the approximate amounts that the household or company would pay to an individual supplier on both an annual and monthly level are displayed.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Made in Croatia section.

Wednesday, 7 September 2022

Tourist Spending Great, But Croatian Energy Bills Soaring

September the 7th, 2022 - Tourist spending has been excellent so far, but with Croatian energy bills soaring just like across the rest of Europe, it's difficult to say just how much cash businesses have actually managed to pocket.

As Morski writes, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that year's summer tourist season will definitely surpass all previous ones in terms of revenue earned, primarily due to higher prices caused by inflation, but what about energy and food prices?

Due to there never having been so many concerts held at the Pula Arena before, the number of daily visitors to this historic structure was only slightly less than back during the record year of 2019. However, this wasn't felt in terms of consumption, not even in the souvenir shop, where people still spent a decent amount.

''Things weren't expensive, just 22 kuna, it's fine,'' says Renie from the Netherlands, who bought a small ceramic souvenir from the famous Istrian city.

''This year, we generated income in the souvenir shop of 1,660,000 kuna, last year it was around a million, and even that is a 4 percent increase when compared to 2019, which means that people have had deeper pockets, people are spending money as if there's no tomorrow,'' said Darko Komso, director of the Archaeological Museum of Istria.

The terraces of Pula's restaurants and cafes are still full, and it seems that main season is still going on.

''The prices are fine, they're not too expensive, about the same as in Poland,'' says Camil, a guest from Poland. Even some Americans, who have been travelling in Croatia for several weeks now, have no objections to anything except payment methods. ''The only thing is that in Split we had to pay for everything in cash, and here we can pay by card everywhere, which is much more convenient for us,'' says Dean.

There is no doubt that there has been truly excellent consumption, but restaurateurs are still worried about energy and food prices as Croatian energy bills continue to soar.

Consumption was growing even back during the pre-season, and according to the Chamber's data, 30 percent more bills were issued in Istria, and their value was 80 percent higher, and back then there was no inflation and higher prices. In Fazana, they say that the demand for fish dishes has never been better.

''It's definitely been the best so far, even better than the record year of 2019. The terraces are full, both here and across the whole of Fazana. The guests are relaxed, more and more of them are coming and asking for tables, and waiting in line to get one,'' said Almir Mahmutovic, a restaurateur in Fazana.

However, Croatian energy bills are rising, and the sources of energy used for everything involved in their business are three times more expensive for restaurateurs. This means that the purchase price of food is at least 20 percent higher, too.

While restaurateurs are figuring out how to stay competitive and still make money at the same time, the umbrella association of hoteliers expects compensatory measures from the state to moderate price increases. They point out that otherwise, not only will profitability and the investment cycle be put at risk, but the viability of doing business completely will also.'' writes HRT.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

Saturday, 30 July 2022

Osijek Mayor Ivan Radic Avoids Inflationary Woes in Eastern Croatian City

July the 30th, 2022 - Osijek mayor Ivan Radic has discussed the woes of inflation which have the entire country, continent and indeed the world in a very firm grip, and just how the Eastern Croatian city he is in charge of has managed to avoid many price hikes.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Osijek mayor Ivan Radic recently made a statement to N1 television about inflation, price increases and how Osijek has managed to avoid many unpleasant situations in the face of a very uncomfortable inflation wave following the Russian invasion of Ukraine back in February.

"I'm happy with what we managed to do as a team. We launched a lot of projects, even thirty years ago, nowhere near this much was ever invested in Osijek,'' stated Radic when discussing the first year of his mandate as the city's mayor, also going on to announce that he plans to keep the same pace in the coming years.

The renovation of the pedestrian bridge, the swimming pool, the Drava river's banks... There are numerous projects that are being worked on in Osijek, and there appears to be no plans to stop.

"The pedestrian bridge had to be rebuilt because the statics were damaged and the bridge has become dangerous, and the works on the bridge's reconstruction were completed before the agreed deadline,'' Osijek mayor Ivan Radic said.

When asked about saving energy, which is also being strongly recommended by the European Commission (EC), Radic explained that they have already started saving in many ways in the City of Osijek.

"Much like any other city you can think of, Osijek is far from immune to these things. We immediately issued recommendations to the entire city system, we gave them very specific recommendations that must be followed. We found that cooling by one degree less leads to 15 percent energy savings, which is a massive 100,000 kuna per month. That's a nice amount of savings, and we started with it all on time. The City of Osijek hasn't increased the price of any of its services, neither water nor electricity, nor kindergarten charges, nor transport costs,'' concluded Osijek mayor Ivan Radic.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated politics section.

Friday, 15 July 2022

Inflation in Croatia Reaches Record High of 12.1%

ZAGREB, 15 July 2022 - Consumer prices in Croatia rose by 12.1% in June 2022 compared with the same month in 2021, the highest inflation rate since the national statistical office (DZS) monitors these data, mostly as a result of increased energy and food prices.

The prices of consumer goods and services, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, increased by 1.1% from May 2022 and by 12.1% from June 2021, the DZS reported on Friday. In May, consumer prices rose by 10.8% year on year.

The annual inflation rate continued to accelerate in June, reaching a historic high of 12.1%, after entering double-digit territory in May. The average increase in consumer prices in the first half of the year was 8.6%, analysts at Raiffeisenbank Austria (RBA) said in their comment on the DZS report.

The highest increases were observed in prices of transport (20.3%) and food and soft drinks (16.9%), followed by restaurants and hotels (14.6%), household furnishings and maintenance (13.0%), clothing and footwear (11.1%), housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (9.6%) and recreation and culture (8.0%).

The core inflation rate, which excludes food and energy, reached 7.1% in June.

RBA expects that elevated rates of inflation will continue in the third quarter before calming down towards the end of the year. It predicts that this year Croatia will record the highest inflation rate in its recent history.

For more, check out our politics section.

Wednesday, 13 July 2022

Central Bank Expects GDP to Increase 2.5%, Inflation to Drop to 4.6% in 2023

ZAGREB, 13 July 2022 - Real GDP growth could be 5.5% this year and 2.5% in 2023, while inflation could slow down from this year's 9.4% to 4.6% in 2023, the Croatian National Bank (HNB) said on Wednesday.

According to the HNB's summary of macroeconomic trends and estimates, the economic repercussions of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the continued rise in energy and raw material prices, and the disruption of global supply chains have not seriously affected Croatia's economic growth outlook.

However, unfavourable global circumstances and pronounced inflationary pressures could have a bigger impact on domestic economic trends in 2023, when real domestic activity growth is expected to slow down to 2.5%.

The risks remain pronounced in the projected period 2022-23, with the prevalence of risks that could have a negative impact on economic growth, such as a gas embargo, food and energy price hikes, tighter financing conditions than expected, and a deterioration of the COVID situation.

HNB governor Boris Vujčić told the press that growth in Q2 this year was expected to be stronger than in Q1, when it was 7%, the tourism season was expected to make a very strong contribution in Q3, and "solid growth" was expected in Q4.

He said Q4 was much more uncertain and that for the most part, it depended on developments on the energy market, and whether there would be a gas embargo for Europe, which would significantly change the economic outlook for Q4 and 2023.

Vujčić said a recession was possible next year, mainly due to a stoppage in gas deliveries to Europe. The recession could first occur in Croatia's main trade partners, Germany and Italy, and then spill over to Croatia, he added.

As for this year's tourism season, he said arrivals were almost the same as in 2019, while accommodation and hospitality prices increased by 20 to 30%, which would point to a record tourism season financially.

Inflation in June surpasses 11%

This year's inflation of consumer prices could accelerate to 9.4%, first and foremost as a result of considerably higher global energy and raw material prices, the HNB says. On the domestic market, energy and food prices continue to increase the most, but the increase in prices of other goods and services is gradually accelerating, too.

Vujčić said inflation was expected to increase to over 11% in June, that during the summer it should be at 11% or 12%, while it was expected to start slowing down at the end of this year and especially at the start of 2023.

The growth of the main inflation sub-components is expected to slow down in 2023 and total inflation as well, to 4.6%. However, this forecast hinges on the stabilisation and, later this year, the gradual decrease in energy and raw material prices on the global market, according to the HNB.

Inflation projections for this year and the next are dominated by risks that could increase it further, including higher energy and raw material prices and a more pronounced salary growth.

Vujčić said the fight against inflation envisaged higher interest rates and that the European Central Bank announced that this could begin this month already. "I expect this to continue in the autumn."

The goal is for HNB and ECB interest rates to be the same as of 1 January 2023 and Croatia's accession to the euro area, he said.

Mandatory reserves to be reduced to 1%, no more foreign currency claim obligation

The HNB Council decided today to reduce banks' rate for calculating mandatory reserves from 9% to 5% this August and from 5% to 1% in December, which is the mandatory reserve rate in the euro area, Vujčić said.

He also decided that the minimum amount of foreign currency claims be reduced from 17% to 8.5% in August and abolished in December.

The effect of the first measure will be the release of HRK 34.2 billion in mandatory reserves, while the second will allow banks to release or differently dispose of €5 billion, Vujčić said.

Historically low interest rates

He said today's decisions would also affect interest rates by making financing cheaper for banks, so they would have fewer reasons to raise them, notably on new loans. They can reduce them further, depending on their business policy, he added. "But we'll see where we are at the start of next year."

Vujčić said interest rates in Croatia were historically low, while those in EU countries outside the euro area were considerably higher, twice as high for housing loans.

Decrease in real and increase in nominal pay

This year, employment is expected to continue to grow and unemployment to fall, with an increase in nominal and a decrease in real pay.

Vujčić said the current situation on the labour market was unusual, given that the private sector was recording a strong rise in nominal pay, about 10%, mainly due to the difficulty to find qualified labour, while wage increases in the public sector were slower.

Looking at the two sectors together, the growth in wages is somewhat lower than that of inflation, and this year real pay is expected to drop 1.5-2%, Vujčić said, adding that wage increases were expected to be at the level of inflation growth only in the private sector.

Euro area and Schengen additional incentive to foreigners to buy real estate

Speaking of the real estate market, Vujčić said property prices in Q1 were 13.5% higher year on the year and that the increase was also due to very low interest rates on savings, which are even negative in neighbouring countries, prompting foreigners to buy due to the higher yield.

The increase in property prices is also due to the government's subsidised housing scheme as well as the acceleration of inflation.

Vujčić said Croatia's accession to the euro and Schengen areas would be an additional incentive to buy real estate. On the other hand, if the rise in ECB interest rates also affects those on deposits, this rise should also reduce the incentive to buy real estate, but this can't happen overnight, he added.

Market activity could slow down due to the expected tightening of financing conditions and unfavouable income trends.

For more, check out our politics section.

Friday, 8 July 2022

Ongoing Inflation Forcing Prices Up, How Do Croatian Hotel Prices Stand?

July the 8th, 2022 - Inflation is forcing hotel costs up across the entire Mediterranean, but just how does the situation look with Croatian hotel prices?

As Marija Crnjak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the combination of ongoing inflation and increased demand for tourist trips have led to the significantly rising prices of hotel services at rates that often exceed inflationary rates, and Croatian hotel prices are only a small part of the global market which is recording growth in hotel accommodation by more than 50 percent, depending on the destination.

As such, the largest increase in hotel accommodation prices, compared to the last normal tourist year of pre-pandemic 2019, occurred in Rome, Berlin and Palma de Mallorca, according to an analysis by the British magazine Hotel News Resource, one of the 10 most influential global travel portals operating as part of the Nevistas group.

The analysis was made on the basis of their historical data on hotel accommodation prices across leading European cities, noting that demand in the short to medium term, despite the upward trend in inflation, will continue to grow until the end of the year. With high demand, prices will continue to creep upwards, but it's uncertain what the price policy will bring next year.

Comparing average room rates from 2019 to 2022, the analysis shows that prices are currently significantly higher. Room prices in June rose by 51.4% in Rome, 50.2% in Berlin, 44.5% in Dublin, London had an average increase of 44.3%, Barcelona 29%, Amsterdam 12.1%, and Paris by 19.8 percent.

There's been a similar trend in the leading European summer tourism destinations for June, where Palma de Mallorca (+40%) leads in terms of price increases when compared to June 2019, in Ibiza prices increased by 30 percent, in Aix en Provence by 21 percent, Montpellier is recording price growth of 14 percent, and Rhodes is up 13 percent. The last official figure for Croatian hotel prices with 12 percent growth refers to the month of May, while for June and the peak summer season in this sector, an average increase of between 30 and 50 percent is mentioned, also depending on the exact destination and the individual hotel.

The circumstances surrounding Croatian hotel prices increasing are far from simple, although they might look it at first glance. External factors, economies quickly opening up after coronavirus crisis and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, have all put a lot of pressure on supply chains. As a result, there has been a dramatic increase in energy and food costs for hotel companies as well. Croatian hoteliers within in the umbrella organisation of the Croatian Tourism Association calculated that the increase in the price of electricity alone would eat up the entire last year's profit of the sector of 1 billion kuna.

Therefore, without raising prices and revenue per available room (RevPar), hotel profit margins would inevitably fall significantly, and for most, they'd fall to unsustainable levels, analysts of Hotel News Resource magazine conclude, which is fully in line with the rhetoric of Croatian hotel operators and owners.

It's also very important to note that labour costs for hoteliers have risen significantly all over the world, especially in the USA and here in Europe. There are significantly more vacancies than there are qualified people who can fill them, which means that hoteliers have had to offer higher wages and other benefits. This further increases business costs - HUT recently revealed that compared to 2019, labour costs increased by another 10.1 percent, and thus exceeded the share of 30 percent in total company revenues, which has never happened in Croatian history so far.

For more on Croatian hotel prices, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

Tuesday, 5 July 2022

Unions Want Croatian Public Sector Wages to Match Inflation Rate

July the 5th, 2022 - Unions want Croatian public sector wages to match the rate of ongoing inflation as the government's budget framework for the period from 2023 to 2025 brings the biggest increase in expenditures due to the increase in costs for the payment of pensions.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, over the next year, the government will spend a massive 50.2 billion kuna on pension payments, which is 4.2 billion kuna more than was paid out this year.

The reason is, unsurprisingly, ongoing inflation, that is, the expected record adjustment of pensions in the second half of this year, which will spill over into next year as well. The increase in the average pension of 150 kuna, with a double-digit inflation rate, will not help any pensioner much. In a country with more than 1,200,000 resident pensioners, this significantly increases the largest budget expenditure, but the situation is also being eased by the large increase in income brought to the budget by inflation.

Negotiations this September

However, the state doesn't yet know how much the second largest expense from the budget will cost, and that relates to the payment of salaries for 250,000 employees in the Croatian public sector. The four percent increase in the base rate as of May the 1st didn't even cover the previous rate of inflation, and in September, the government is expected to negotiate with the trade unions regarding an additional increase in the base rate. The negotiations that will begin immediately after the end of 2022's tourist season will destroy the government's budget framework for the next three years, but will bring very welcome changes in this year's budget.

Back in April, the unions agreed to an increase of only four percent, although they'd asked for eight percent, and they based their request on the growth of budget revenues and the fall in the price of labour in the Croatian public sector because the inflation rate was much higher than the growth of the base rate was. They agreed to give the government a break until the results of this year's tourist season could be properly seen, but the results so far that the government keeps on bragging about mean that the trade unions will also have high demands themselves.

According to Novi list, Zeljko Stipic, president of the Preporod trade union, will demand that the base be increased as early as October the 1st this year, because the four percent increase from May has long since been overtaken by increasing inflation. Trade union veteran Vilim Ribic adds that the four percent increase from May the 1st is an annual increase of 2.3 percent, which is several times lower than the expected inflation rate this year.

''We should start the negotiations during the second half of September, but I believe that we can finish them quickly enough to increase the base rate from October the 1st onwards. The government insisted that the negotiations regarding the additional increase of the base rate this year continue when they have the results from the tourist season, but by all accounts, it will be better in terms of revenue than that of 2019 and the increase of the base rates as such cannot be avoided,'' believes Stipic.

The trade unions are ready...

The trade unionists don't want to say how much they will request from the government for this year's base rate increase for Croatian public sector wages, but Stipic notes that, at a time of constant price changes and accelerating inflation, the solution could be to agree that wage growth follows the growth of inflation rates and thus avoid the need for negotiations several times a year.

''Inflation is continuing to accelerate and we still can't see an end to it. By the time we agreed to a four percent wage increase and the government's offer to talk in autumn, the inflation rates at the time had already cancelled out that growth, and the solution is to include in this new agreement that the increase in Croatian public sector wages follows the increase in living costs,'' notes Stipic, adding that this is how the issue of compensation for transportation costs is typically regulated. The ''April agreement'' increased the transport fee to 1.35 kuna per kilometre, instead of the previous one kuna, with this amount being adjusted every time fuel prices rise by ten percent.

Ribic doesn't want to reveal how much, in his opinion, Croatian public sector wages should rise in autumn either, but he says that it's no longer possible to accept things as they currently stand, and that also includes attitudes towards the public sector.

''Back in May, the salary base increased by four percent, and in the same month, inflation, compared to May 2021, stood at 10.8 percent. It's clear to everyone that this isn't even close to what the employees in the Croatian public sector should have received as a salary. This increase of four percent means an annual wage growth of 2.3 percent. Inflation will be several times higher and the work of employees in the Croatian public sector will once again be devalued, that is, the price of their work will fall. The government must compensate for this in the negotiations in September,'' warns Ribic.

The growth of the base of four percent this year comes at an enormous cost of 850 million kuna, but the state will obviously not be able to avoid increasing that amount, writes Novi list.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

Monday, 4 July 2022

Croatian Fuel Prices to Shoot Up Again Unless Government Intervenes

July the 4th, 2022 - Unless the government once again steps in quickly with some measures to mitigate the harsh blow to the pockets of this country's drivers as inflation drags on, Croatian fuel prices are set to shoot up yet again this week.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, according to unofficial information from HRT, eurosuper could cost around 16 kuna, and eurodiesel more than 16 and a half kuna unless the government intervenes this week. The Economy Minister recently said that the decision will be made after the weekend, and the Prime Minister announced a session of talks within the government on the subject for Monday.

Eurodiesel on Croatian motorways currently costs 14.57 kuna per litre, and Eurosuper 95 costs 14.06 kuna. A litre of basic Eurodiesel costs 13.08 kuna at fuel stations that are not on the motorways.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has also announced the possible introduction of fuel vouchers if the situation fails to calm down.

"The introduction of fuel vouchers is possible this autumn, we're leaving that possibility open, but the government still has other tools at its disposal," Plenkovic said. "As for the vouchers, they'll go to those with lower incomes, and this is something that we have to do qualitatively and according to certain criteria," he added.

The head of the distributors' association: We're going to close the pumps on Tuesday if the government doesn't do something.

Armando Miljavac, the head of the Association of Small Oil Derivatives Dealers, says that on Tuesday, he will close the country's fuel stations if the government doesn't step in and do something. The association brings together more than sixty small dealers who manage about a hundred fuel stations throughout Croatia. "I don't know what to tell you. We're not very happy with this, these decisions should have been made already but here we are, we're still faced with uncertainty,'' said Miljavac for Index.

"If there is no decision on Tuesday that is acceptable for normal operations and the continuation of operations, we've decided to close the fuel stations. We've been trying to cope with this for eight months, we've exhausted all our reserves, the price differences have broken down...", continued Miljavac, adding that he wonders what will happen in autumn and states that things aren't looking good.

Economy Minister Davor Filipovic, We're considering all measures, there'll be a decision made today.

Minister Filipovic also commented on whether or not the government is preparing new measures ahead of Tuesday to try to tackle rising Croatian fuel prices, given the fact that further price hikes are expected. In an interview with Media Servis, Filipovic stated that there are still options when it comes to excise duties.

"We're considering all possible measures, so all options are on the table at the moment. We still have a few options when we talk about excise duties. We'll make a decision that will be beneficial, which will be satisfactory at this moment, but only when we see what the prices are going to actually be in the end,'' he explained, adding that decisions will be made today.

Fuel vouchers were announced as a longer-term measure to help the socially disadvantaged.

"This situation is so volatile that we can't predict what will happen in the next two weeks. Maybe in the next two weeks we'll have to react differently, not to talk about what the situation is going to be like come autumn. Vouchers are in the plan and they're scheduled to start sometime in autumn, but I'll talk more about the details when the time comes," said Filipovic.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

Friday, 1 July 2022

Lukewarm Expectations for Croatian Economy as Inflation Continues to Bite

July the 1st, 2022 - There are fairly lukewarm expectations for the Croatian economy, with inflation continuing and as such expectations are stagnating.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, this month, expectations for the Croatian economy have been rather rapidly stagnating. On the one hand, there is pessimism in the retail sector due to the overall reduced purchasing power of consumers, and on the other hand, there are also improved expectations in both the industry and the service sector(s).

The European Commission's survey and the Economic Climate Index (ESI) in the Republic of Croatia rose by 0.2 points in June compared to the previous month of May, to 109.4 points.

The analysis shows that the mood in the retail sector has deteriorated sharply, the index for that sector sank by as much as 4.9 points, reflecting fears that high living costs and inflation could force citizens to save more and more. Consumer expectations, the index of which fell by 2.3 points, don't really give a great deal of hope either.

On the other hand, the leaders of the industry and the service sector(s) showed increased optimism when it comes to the Croatian economy and expectations surrounding it at the beginning of the summer, and in their case the index grew by 1.5 and 1.3 points, respectively. The mood in the construction sector also improved slightly, with the index growing by 0.9 points.

Company leaders expect to hire more during the height of this summer season, and the EEI index rose to 7.2 points. They also estimate that business uncertainty is significantly more pronounced than it was back in May, which was reflected in the growth of the EUI index by 1.3 points.

Managers across the EU and the Eurozone expect weaker business than back during in May, which was reflected in a decline in the economic climate index by 1.7 and one point, respectively. Among the leading European Union economies, the economic climate index in the Netherlands fell the most, by 3.6 points.

They are followed by Germany and Spain with a drop in ESI by 1.9 points and Poland where it decreased by 1.5 compared to May, the report shows. Managers in both areas estimate that they will employ less in the coming months, and warn of increased business uncertainty.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

Tuesday, 28 June 2022

German Portal BR24 Warns German Tourists of High Croatian Prices

June the 28th, 2022 - The German portal BR24 has warned would-be German tourists of the currently ''high Croatian prices'' as ongoing inflation continues to pinch pockets and tighten belts.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the German portal Bayerische Rundfunk 24 has stated: ''Whether it's a city trip to Dubrovnik or a beach holiday on Krk - tourists must be prepared for higher Croatian prices.''

Back in 2019 - before the global coronavirus crisis - 2.88 million inhabitants of Germany spent their summers here in the Republic of Croatia, and travel agencies in Germany are announcing that this year, the number of visiting Germans could exceed 2019's figures, reports BR24.

However, the aforementioned German portal also warned its fellow citizens about high Croatian prices as a result of inflation, which amounts to almost ten percent, and they say that the price of everyday basic items in stores is now even higher, RTL reports.

“It seems that in some cases, the prices have remained the same, but the packaging has become smaller. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages in May 2022 increased by 15.2 percent compared to the same month last year,'' stateed BR24 when explaining high Croatian prices.

They also say that the huge increase in prices is noticeable in the hospitality industry. Thus, they state that before the coronavirus pandemic, a beer in a pub in the City of Zagreb cost twelve kuna, or about 1.60 euros, and that German visitors will now have to pay 19 kuna for it.

"In places and islands popular with tourists, such as Split, Dubrovnik or Rovinj, the prices are much higher. Lunch for a family of four can cost 700 kuna and more, which is the equivalent of about 93 euros. According to the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, hotel prices have also risen. They were more expensive by more than twelve percent this May compared to May 2021,'' writes BR24.

In the end, BR24 warned the Germans to be careful when exchanging money, more precisely switching euros to the Croatian kuna.

“You can try to save at least some money. Because, depending on where you exchange euros for kuna, the exchange rate varies. As a rule, exchange rates in exchange offices are much cheaper than when you withdraw money from ATMs,'' they say.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

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