As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Croatian Schengen entry will bring with it some major changes when it comes to crossing the country’s border, as those Croatia has towards neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro will become the European Union’s new external borders, while there will be no control at the borders between Croatia and neighbouring Slovenia and Hungary, both of which are EU member states.
The new regime which is being prepared for as Croatian Schengen entry is on the horizon will also mean changes for the Croatian National Bank, more precisely for the ”examination” of passengers and estimates of consumption needed to calculate the balance of payments. As a rule, consumption estimates are conducted by surveying tourists and passengers when crossing borders, but after entering the Schengen area, interviewers will have to “catch” passengers at alternative locations before border crossings with Slovenia and Hungary such as at fuel stations, restaurants and resorts.
The Croatian National Bank also stated the new rules in the current public tender for external agencies that will perform the work of surveying and making estimates of the consumption of foreign tourists in Croatia, as well as Croats abroad:
As a rule, such tests are performed at the end of a person’s trip abroad, and according to the tender, data will be taken from drivers and passengers in cars and buses, and truck drivers, as well as passengers at airports and seaports. The survey sites will be selected by the agencies, and the surveys will be conducted on a monthly basis for two years.
The target annual sample size that meets the reliability requirement of the survey results was set at 15,050 surveys for resident passengers and 49,700 for non-residents at road and air border crossings. At one exit, 35 surveys are required at the border crossing. The value of this work is estimated at a massive 3.9 million kuna, and the Croatian National Bank’s tender for the job is open until April the 29th, 2022.
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