After an average July, the beginning of August brings new problems for the Croatian tourism industry.
While the data on tourism results in July were described as more or less acceptable, the first week of the top tourism month in Croatia – August – caused alarm among Croatian tourism industry representatives, reports Jutarnji List on August 9, 2018.
As confirmed by the former president of the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies Boris Žgomba, in the first five days of August, hotels recorded a decrease of 4% in the number of guests compared to August 2017, which has prompted many of them to try to bring in additional guests with discounts and last minute deals, which has not been seen in the last few years. It is also likely that many hotels will have to significantly adjust their prices for 2019, after raising them this year by between seven and ten percent on average.
“The latest data show the lower occupancy rates in hotels in the first few days of August. Although I personally do not think there is any reason to panic, it is true that we need to look a little deeper into the reasons for such results and discuss some of the strategies for the coming years. I do not think there is any need to dramatize if we remain at the level of the last year, but we need to prepare for the next season, which will be considerably more difficult. We will have to again fight for each and every guest,” said Žgomba.
According to official data from the eVisitor system, in the first seven months of 2018, Croatia saw a growth in the number of arrivals and overnight stays by six percent. However, in July the number of arrivals was the same as in 2017, while in early August it has declined.
Given that as much as 60% of all arrivals and overnight stays are realized in this part of the year, even a very small drop in tourist activity in these months could have a significant impact on the overall tourism results. “If we record a growth in revenue, then we can continue to be satisfied with the season regardless of the number of arrivals and overnight stays. But if the best months are below expectations, it will be hard to compensate for a possible financial loss in July and August,” warned Žgomba.
Some of the other Mediterranean countries are facing similar difficulties. For example, hotels in Spain have significantly lowered the prices of their all-inclusive packages, mainly under pressure of a somewhat lower demand this year.
The reason for the problems is the re-emergence of tourism destinations such as Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt, which were in crisis the last few years due to geopolitical issues. According to the latest data, in the first six months of this year, Turkey saw 30 percent more tourists than last year, while estimates for Egypt speak about a growth between 40 and 50 percent.
The Croatian results are under pressure particularly due to Turkey since it competes against Croatia with significantly lower prices, also helped by the local currency exchange rate. German tourist agencies offer their guests five-day trips to Antalya at an average price of between 300 and 500 euro, which includes an all-inclusive hotel, flights and taxes. On the other hand, a similar trip to Zadar costs between 700 and 1,000 euro, and the local prices are significantly higher.
Director of the Horwath HTL consulting firm Siniša Topalović warns about differences between countries’ business models. “Unlike Turkey, Croatia cannot afford to compete with the model of large numbers of tourists and low prices because that would prevent us from responsibly managing resources and destinations. Croatia needs to build its position through further strong improvements in quality and not assess seasons by numbers.”
If Croatia achieves good results in the pre-season and post-season, it will be able to say that it had a successful tourist season. The only issue is how will the politicians present these numbers since, in addition to quoting an ever-increasing number of tourists visiting Croatia, they have little else to brag about.
Translated from Jutarnji List (reported by Dora Koretić, Lea Balenović).
