April 30, 2020 – Hvar Tourist Board director Petar Razovic talks about what can be expected in the season ahead.
“In the best forecasts for this tourist season, we are dreaming of 30 percent of last year’s traffic,” said Petar Razovic, director of the Hvar Tourist Board, when asked about the expectations for this tourist season.
HRTurizam reports that Razovic said forecasts reveal that they will have between 50 and 60 thousand arrivals and a maximum of 150,000 overnights.
“I can safely say that in the 150 years of Hvar tourism, the town of Hvar has not been disadvantaged in terms of the tourist season,” Razovic said.
Although it is difficult to predict anything as nobody knows what the situation will bring in a month, the reality is that we can hardly expect significant tourist figures this year, assuming that the situation changes significantly for the better and borders are opened.
However, although we need to be realistic, that does not mean that we don’t have to be optimistic, do everything we can to try to activate the tourist market, and be ready to welcome whatever type of tourist season awaits.
Thus, Hvar is preparing for the season as if everything is in order, so that everyone, from restaurants to private renters and hotels, will be able to satisfy the measures prescribed by the National Civil Protection Headquarters.
The leaders of Hvar tourism have so far been tourists from the US and the UK (65% of all overnight stays), or regions most affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Now, however, the focus is changing to the markets of Germany, Slovenia, Austria, but also Croatia.
“Last year, we had 30,000 arrivals and about 100,000 overnights from Germany, Slovenia, and Austria, while from Croatia, we had 10,000 arrivals and 50,000 overnights. These figures are small for Hvar, but if we had that this year, we would be satisfied. Of course, it will be impossible to close the gap with the lack of tourists from those major markets, the US and the UK,” says Razvoic.
“Prices will go down 10 to 15 percent on average. There are also plenty of canceled reservations in private accommodation, and guests who have already booked reservations before August and who have not canceled so far are sending apartment owners inquiries about changing their booking as soon as possible. There will be no reduction for hotel accommodation, but there will be an increase in services,” Razovic says.
When asked what that means, Razovic points out that guests will get a deluxe room for the price of an ordinary room.
In the end, Razovic emphasizes that they are preparing as if everything is going according to plan.
“We all live in the hope that the coronavirus will go away, that it will simply disappear and that we will have a normal tourist season,” Razovic concludes.
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