ZAGREB, October 3, 2019 - Croatia's five Slavonian counties want to develop tourism, they invest in tourism and other infrastructure and in specific types of services, and they have been recording increases in visits, it was said at an event marking the start of Croatian Tourism Days in the eastern town of Vukovar on Wednesday.

The heads and deputy heads of the five Slavonian counties attending the event expressed confidence that tourism could be a lever of development of the entire region, notably its economy.

Croatian Tourism Days will be taking place in the five counties on October 2-4, with Vukovar, Vinkovci and Osijek as the host towns. Attending the opening ceremony at Vukovar's Eltz Manor were several hundred guests, mostly tourism workers from around Croatia, local officials and politicians.

The heads of the five Slavonian counties underlined the need for tourism to help revitalise the region, notably its villages and agricultural production.

Speakers at the event agreed that with the restoration of cultural and historical heritage, notably castles and monuments, and with the promotion of cycling infrastructure, wine and food production, and conditions for hunting and other forms of tourism, the five counties could only prosper.

Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said that the government would soon present a strategic marketing plan for tourism in Slavonia, which was made in cooperation with the five counties and which would define guidelines for tourism development in that region. The people of Slavonia want to and know how to develop tourism, and some have already done a great deal of work and I thank them for that, he said.

Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) head Luka Burilović said that Slavonia faced several major challenges in the development of tourism, including primarily the development of agricultural and food production, for which it had always been known.

"It is necessary to increase the number of hotels as there are not enough hotels, as well as deal with the issue of labour force and wages and work as many months a year as possible to reduce seasonality. But tourism in not a magic wand that can solve all the problems of Slavonia, a lot of work is needed and it can encourage changes in other sectors as well," he said.

Before the opening event, Minister Cappelli visited Ilok where he signed contracts with 60 recipients of the Tourism Ministry's funds for development of tourism infrastructure.

During Croatian Tourism Days, tourist workers and local officials will visit Kutjevo, Slavonski Brod, Požega, Osijek, Vukovar and Vinkovci.

This is the first time the annual conference of tourism professionals is being held in the country's interior.

More news about Croatian tourism can be found in the Travel section.

ZAGREB, September 24, 2019 - Croatia is developing all-year-round tourism, as evidenced by this year's results when financial and physical output data for the shoulder season, that is for the pre-season, showed the biggest rise, and increases like that are expected for the post-season too, Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said at a conference on this topic on Tuesday.

The third edition of the annual conference "Can the Croatian Tourism 365?" was organised by the Julius Rose company and brought together a number of domestic and foreign experts who are "ready to share their knowledge and positive experiences and participate in well-conducted panel discussions", the organiser says on the website of the conference.

Commenting on efforts to develop year-round tourism, Minister Cappelli said that headway had been made in many segments of this sector by high-quality approaches and models to extend the tourist season.

He said that the ongoing extension of the season was not happening by chance and that it was the result of endeavours by all stakeholders in the tourist trade.

The minister says that these efforts have been supported, among other things, by the government's decision to allocate over 70 million kuna in the last two years for an increase in air traffic, "as a result of which the flight season has been extended by more than 30 days in both years, bringing more and more tourists to hotels, travel agencies, airports and elsewhere."

Cappelli reassured the conference that the authorities would continue implementing these measures in 2020, too.

He mentioned the organisation of the Croatian Tourism Days in Slavonia soon.

The Tourism Ministry has recently made public the programme of this year's Croatian Tourism Days, to be held in a number of towns in the region of Slavonia on October 2-4, which is the first time the traditional meeting of tourism workers will be organised in inland Croatia.

Dragan Kovačević of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) told the conference that digital technologies also played an important role in plans to develop year-round tourism. He informed the conference of forecasts that this year's tourism revenues might markedly exceed last year's result of 12 billion euro.

More news about Croatian tourism can be found in the Travel section.

ZAGREB, September 23, 2019 - There were 236,700 tourist accommodation facilities in Croatia at the end of August, which is an increase of 15,700 or 7.1% on the same period last year, and most of them were categorised as non-commercial or household facilities, while the number of hotels rose by 28 to 1,199.

Data from the eVisitor tourist registration application indicates that there were 1.7 million beds in Croatia as of 31 August, which is 5% or 93,000 more on the year. Most of these, or 634,000, were in household facilities, representing a share of 37.3% of all beds, compared to 37% at the same time in 2018.

The largest increase in the number of beds was recorded in non-commercial or household facilities. There were 113,000 facilities in this category with 502,000 beds, which is an increase of 8.6% or about 10,000 facilities and an increase of 8.1% or 38,000 beds year on year.

At the end of August there were 1,199 hotels in Croatia with 177,400 beds in all, which is an increase of 3.2% or 38 more hotels than in August last year, while the number of beds rose by 6,900 or 4% year on year. However, the share of hotel beds fell to 10.4% from 10.5% at the end of August last year.

This year there were three more campsites, bringing their number to 502 with a total of almost 247,400 beds or 2,200 beds more than last year, up 1% year on year. The share of camp beds was 14.5% compared to 15.1% last year.

More news about Croatian tourism can be found in the Travel section.

ZAGREB, September 18, 2019 - Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said in parliament on Wednesday that the results of this year's tourism season and the year overall were excellent.

Financially, we will reach last year's 12 billion euro and will have a 3-5% increase, he said during question time, adding that arrivals would be almost 5% higher than last year and nights by about 2%.

In the first six months of the year, there was an increase of 6%, between 3 and 4% in the peak season and, judging by announcements, we expect a 3-4% increase for the remainder of the year, Cappelli said.

He dismissed Social Democratic Party leader Davor Bernardić's earlier statements that the tourism season had "crashed", saying the government had taken a serious approach to the industry.

Justice Minister Dražen Bošnjaković spoke of Kristian Vukasović, an 18-year-old who died while serving a prison sentence. We are waiting for the autopsy report, which will reveal the cause of death, he said.

Speaking of judges' declarations of assets, Bošnjaković said his ministry had created an app for their publication and that talks were under way with the Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency to align protection rules.

Željko Reiner of the ruling HDZ asked Economy Minister Darko Horvat to explain the impression in the public sphere that everything was bad, that the economy was unsuccessful and that people were increasingly poor, despite "data showing salary and pension growth and the creation of more than 100,000 jobs."

"This year, and especially next year, will be a struggle for better living standards for the little man, and I as minister of the economy have no right to be despondent," Horvat said.

More news about Croatian tourism can be found in the Travel section.

August 9, 2019 - On Friday afternoon, the popular Kockica, a ten-story building on Prisavlje, caught fire in Zagreb, the Zagreb fire officials confirmed to Jutarnji List. 

Photos published on social networks show a thick black cloud of smoke over the building. Firefighters arrived at the site very quickly and went to work extinguishing the fire.

The building, which is protected as a cultural property of the Republic of Croatia, was built in 1968, where it was the seat of the central committees of the Union of Communists of Croatia and the Union of Youth of Croatia and the Main Board of the Socialist Union of the Working People of Croatia.

Today, the building houses the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure and the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Croatia.

However, the State Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism confirmed their part of the building saw no damage. 

“Do not worry. There is no fear or damage to the Ministry of Tourism! It is on the facade of the building where the safety netting was ignited. Although it looked ugly, the damage was minimal and the fire did not even enter the building thanks to our firefighters, who naturally extinguished the fire in just a few minutes,” said Tonči Glavina on Facebook. 

More soon. 

To read more about news in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

ZAGREB, July 24, 2019 - Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli on Wednesday said that it was time for tax changes in tourism and recommended a VAT rate of 13% on food and beverage services to be part of the fourth round of the tax reform.

"I've been asking for that from day one," Cappelli told reporters ahead of a government meeting.

He informed that he is calling for a VAT rate of 13% on all food and beverage services and added that it was time for that to occur in the fourth round of the tax reform.

Asked whether that would lead to lower prices, Cappelli said that VAT is not the only problem and that the entire tax reform needs to be observed. He said it was time for "tourism to feel an additional step in the fourth round" of the reform and that it was necessary to improve quality and increase wages to make tourism more competitive.

He recalled the recent reduction of VAT on food and accommodation for personnel who work outside their usual place of residence.

"I think that it is time for an extra step, either through personal income or VAT, which would create the opportunity to increase wages and for tourism to start breathing in that segment," he said.

Asked to comment on some cases of "rudely high prices," Cappelli said that the state would not intervene in that but that these cases were not good.

"I'm reading about what is going on. Gone are the times when you could make easy money in a month or two. Tourism has become real business," he said.

Asked whether it was time to discourage apartment-style accommodation, he said 70% of apartments had 3 stars and that he would insist on a reclassification and for quality to be improved.

"They won't be ruined but they will get the message: improve your quality or you will have to shut down," he said.

The Croatian Tourism Association said it welcomed the possible reduction of VAT on tourism products, adding that it would enable the necessary investment in better quality as well as higher salaries.

More news on the Croatian tourism can be found in the Travel section.

ZAGREB, July 23, 2019 - Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli commented on the press conference by the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) on Monday, saying that they confirmed what he himself had been saying, that a VAT cut would help the Croatian tourism industry.

The SDP said earlier in the day that increased wages and investment in quality tourism facilities and services, along with a reduced VAT on hospitality and accommodation, were strategic objectives for the tourism sector.

"The SDP said at the press conference what I have been saying about the need to increase the quality and about too many facilities that are not good. They did me a great favour by confirming everything what I have been saying and that I am right," Cappelli told reporters before a meeting at government headquarters.

Asked to comment on the SDP's demand for a lower VAT on hospitality and accommodation, he said that a fourth round of tax cuts was being prepared and that this matter would be given consideration.

Cappelli said that a VAT reduction would help Croatia in relation to its competitors, recalling that he had said last year that this year Croatia would be "on the edge" of last year's tourism results, which he considered "a huge success".

Reporters also asked Finance Minister Zdravko Marić about the SDP's demand, and he said that a fourth round of tax changes was in the pipeline and that specific measures would be announced in the coming days.

More news about Croatian tourism can be found in the Travel section.

ZAGREB, July 22, 2019 - The Social Democratic Party (SDP) said on Monday that increased wages and investments into quality tourism facilities and services, along with a reduced Value Added Tax (VAT) on hospitality and accommodation, were strategic objectives for the tourism sector because value for money was important to tourists.

"Our efforts in the tourism sector have to be directed at improving quality because people working in tourism are warning that all those who have invested in quality over the years are not experiencing any problems with occupancy," SDP MP Branko Grčić, the author of the party's proposals relating to the tourism sector, told a press conference.

Improving the quality of tourism facilities and services has to be the number one priority, he added.

He is concerned about attempts to compensate the shortage in demand by raising the price of services, saying that this is wrong because it could later cause additional problems in the tourism sector.

It is essential to see if data on the number of tourists indicate negative trends and what estimates of the real financial effect of the tourism season will be like, Grčić underlined. He added that emphasis however should be on the number and quality of services provided and consequently on the revenue generated.

"The most important thing for our guests is 'value for money', and whether they are getting the services they deserve for the money they are spending in Croatia," he said.

Grčić reiterated that the SDP wanted the government to reduce the 25% VAT on hospitality, which is the highest in the EU, to 13% and see if there was any room in fiscal policy to cut VAT on accommodation next year or the year after that from the current 13% to 5%. He added that this does not mean that prices should be reduced but for wages and investments in tourism to be increased.

He noted that a similar thing had occurred in 2013 when VAT was reduced to 13% and that in two years' time the number of those employed in tourism had increased and that revenue and investments doubled.

Grčić called on Prime Minister Andrej Plenković to refrain from reducing the general VAT rate from 25% to 24% because that would be throwing money away if the effect is not felt in one's pocket while that money could be more effectively used.

"Once again we reiterate, let's help the tourism sector to be more competitive, so that it can increase wages for its workers and be in a position to further invest in quality," he said.

The head of the SDP's Pula branch, Sanja Radolović, recalled that when France and Germany reduced their VAT rate that had a positive effect, directly contributing to new jobs being opened and increased investments in hotels. She said that it was necessary to discuss reducing VAT with large hotel groups so that they increase net wages by at least HRK 2,000.

She also recommended reinstating the dual education system in tourism and hospitality schools where students attend classes for half the year and then do practical work in the second half of the year and during the tourism season through student contracts with future employers.

"At that time, we did not have a problem with a shortage of workers and that is a demand that we will address to the Ministry of Science and Education," she added.

More news about Croatian tourism can be found in the Travel section.

ZAGREB, July 9, 2019 - In the first six months of 2019, almost 6.9 million tourists visited Croatia and generated 26.2 million bed nights, which were increases of 6% and 3% respectively, compared to the same period in 2018 and all indications in tourism are good, Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said on Tuesday.

"The first six months were positive in tourism and it is important that in the first three months foreign tourists alone generated 25 million euro more in revenue than for the same period in 2018 and that is in the pre-season when prices are lower," said Cappelli, who along with the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) Kristjan Staničić, held a press conference to present the January - June results in tourism.

Noting that official indicators still foresee that the year will conclude with an increase of 2 or 3 percent on the year, Cappelli underscored that he is not worried about the summer season either and particularly not with the post-season considering that that autumn already has good bookings. He said in those places where there were more investments in improving quality, the results and fullness are improving.

He considers that physical numbers (arrivals and bed nights) are important even though revenue is more important.

"Based on the Tourism Strategy to 2020, we have come close to physical numbers but we still haven't achieved the foreseen 14 billion in revenue for 2020, however we are somewhere in the vicinity of 12 billion euro. We will see how the entire year will end and in 2020, I believe that along with quality we can come close to that," he said.

Staničić said that the top 10 markets in the past six months were led by Germany, Austria, Slovenia, UK and Poland, which along with the Czech Republic and Slovenia, were the only three countries to record a decrease in Croatian tourism in H1 this year.

More tourism news can be found in the Travel section.

ZAGREB, May 28, 2019 - A meeting of the UNWTO Commission for Europe (CEU), which is taking place in Zagreb on 27-30 May, was formally opened on Tuesday morning by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković who described the event as a compliment to Croatia and its tourist trade.

The meeting, which is taking place in Zagreb for the second time, has brought together representatives of more than 40 countries and Zurab Pololikashvili, the Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), who praised Croatia as a good example of the development of the tourist sector and of the whole country.

Plenković said that Croatia's National Tourist Board would open its office in Madrid where the UNWTO main offices are located.

As for the Croatian tourism sector, the premier spoke about a shift to sustainable tourism, and added that more and more efforts were being made to develop the tourist trade in the interior of the country, notably in the eastern region of Slavonia.

He said that during Croatia's chairmanship of the European Union in the first half of 2020, Croatia would organise a meeting of EU tourism ministers in the country.

Addressing the event, Mayor Milan Bandić spoke about Zagreb's tourist results in recent years.

Bandić and Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli, who are the hosts of the 64th meeting of the CEU, underscored the importance of Croatia's cooperation with the UNWTO. Cappelli said the UNWTO was an important partner to Croatia in many international projects.

More news about Croatian tourism can be found in the Travel section.