Most of Croatia’s biggest entrepreneurs are located on the northern Adriatic islands, and Croatia’s biggest employers are still in the tourism and trade industries.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes on the 6th of February, 2019, according to the analysis of the Financial Agency (FINA), which included details on entrepreneurs operating in the Republic of Croatia, there are 4,322 of them across 51 cities and municipalities in total who work as classified entrepreneurs, and in 2017, the largest number of entrepreneurs were in the field of providing accommodation and food preparation and serving – 903 of them. This tourism sector has now achieved its highest total revenue (almost 2.7 billion kuna), which is 25.6 percent of total income of island entrepreneurs.
Following those in tourism are entrepreneurs in the field of wholesale and retail trade – 656 of them. 2.2 billion kuna or 21.3 percent of total revenues and entrepreneurs are in this field. Construction is ranked third with 472 entrepreneurs and 1.4 billion kuna in revenues, which is 13.7 percent of total income of entrepreneurs from island areas.
In the case of tourism entrepreneurs, these were the highest in terms of the number of employees, with 6,585 employees or 30.6 percent of the total number of employees in all activities. This group of entrepreneurs also earned the highest revenues, and among them, according to the criterion of total revenues, the best are the hotel and tourism companies from Mali Lošinj, Hvar and Rab, or Jadranka hotels, Sunčani Hvar, and Imperial.
When looking at the ”size” of these entrepreneurs, the largest number of micro entrepreneurs with 92 percent of the share in the total number of entrepreneurs are registered in the observed island areas. In addition, the same group have the largest share in profits, 42.7 percent, and employ the largest number of workers, making up a significant 33.8 percent of the total number of employed people in island towns and municipalities.
There are nine big companies based on islands in the Republic of Croatia, one in the area of trade, Trgovina Krk from Malinska on Krk, one in the field of construction, GP Krk from Krk, one in the processing industry, Sardina from Brač and one in the area of passenger transport, Autotrans from the island of Cres, while the remaining six are in the area of the provision of accommodation and food preparation and service.
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Click here for the original article by Darko Bicak for Poslovni Dnevnik
