Valamar Hotels & Resorts - known for their locations throughout Croatia in Poreč, Rabac, the islands of Krk and Rab, and Dubrovnik - achieved a record-breaking 2016.
In 2016, Valamar Riviera recorded a net profit of 342.3 million kuna, which is a significant increase compared to the 105.5 million kuna recorded from 2015, reports Poslovni.hr on February 28, 2017.
Valamar recorded a total revenue that was 1.58 billion kuna higher than in 2015, which is an increase of 18.4 percent. Of the total revenue, 1.45 billion kuna relates to the income from sales that grew by 14.7 percent. In addition, there was an 8 percent growth rate in overnights.
Valamar’s excellent results in 2016 were influenced by the increase in demand for Croatia as a destination, investments that improved the quality of products and services, excellent results in the pre-season, the growth of direct sales, and the acquisition of Hotel Baška from 2015.
Valamar Riviera recalls that during 2016, they presented a development strategy until 2020 which includes a two billion kuna investment portfolio and double-digit growth in operating earnings. At the end of the year, they initiated investment projects in the total amount of 873 million kuna.
At the end of last year, Valamar Riviera achieved a strategic partnership with the AZ pension fund through the successful takeover of Imperial Rab, which has spread the tourism portfolio under its management to a total of 30 hotels and summer resorts and 15 campsites that can accommodate 55,000 guests in one day.
CEO of Valamar Riviera Zeljko Kukurin added that because of global trends such as low interest rates and the tourist view that Croatia is still a safe destination, Croatia has a chance to encourage tourism investments and reposition themselves according to the high quality that promotes employment and economic growth. However, he said, the increase in the VAT rate for the catering industry, labor shortages, and the potential increase in property or tourist taxes can reduce competitiveness and restrict the potential of the tourism sector for further investment.
"I believe that we will continue the dialogue with the government to create stable and stimulating conditions for investors and enable further growth and development of tourism," Kukurin concluded.
