From the already announced nearly 4.5 billion kuna investment in new hotels or renovations, more than half of the amount will be invested in Dalmatia, which will, in the next tourist season, have about a thousand fully furnished and newly built hotel rooms boasting four or five stars and about two thousand hotel beds in the highest category.
In the largest tourism investment “boom” in the last 20 years, Dalmatia in the next business year should be complete with 20 more hotels, a convention center and accompanying tourist infrastructures. More than half of all major investments in tourism will be in the area from Zadar to Dubrovnik, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on 16 December 2016.
In the lead for investment projects is firstly Split with hotel investments of about 1.3 billion kuna, followed by Zadar County with investments of about 900 million kuna. Sibenik-Knin County hoteliers are investing more than 300 million kuna, while in Dubrovnik-Neretva County the amount of hotel investments in 2017 has increased to several hundred million kuna.
When Minister of Tourism Gari Cappelli recently announced an 800 million euro investment in tourism in the next year, he said that 300 million of it relates to investments in the public sector, whereas more than half a billion euros are to be invested in the private sector by opening 40 new or newly renovated hotels.
Split is one of the largest travel destinations in Croatia, and in Split builders are working hard to meet 2017 deadlines that requires putting 10 new hotels on the market.
When adding the number of investments in the reconstruction of some existing hotels in an effort to raise quality, it is clear that central Dalmatia in 2017 should at least partly compensate for largely lacking on hotel beds.
Thus, the construction of hotels and apartments in the tourist complex “Romana” has been announced, which is an investment worth 230 million kuna.
Boutique hotel “Bačvice” in Bačvice is valued at about 112 million kuna.
The hotel “Porta Salon” is receiving an investment of about 45 million kuna from Solin company “Dolis engineering”, while the site of the former Croatian Railways resort in Kastel Luksic will have a small luxury hotel from a 30 million kuna investment.
“Milna Hotels and Marinas” is one of the major investments in the county in which the “Waterman Group” has invested around 105 million on Brač. After reconstruction, a four-star boutique hotel will stand.
“Hotels Podgora” owners have invested 150 million kuna for the future “Madora resort” in Podgora.
One of the largest investments in the Makarska Riviera is the reconstruction of the hotel “Jadran” in Tučepi, in which a little less than a hundred million kuna has been invested by Bluesun Hotels. From next May, hotel “Jadran” will have five stars and 160 new rooms.
In addition, the hotel group owned by Jako Andabak has invested in the reconstruction of the hotel “Maestral” in Brela for roughly 10 million kuna, which will continue to have four stars and 45 new rooms.
A small five-star hotel in Duce is also planned, as well as several small hotels in Split.
Danko Koncar from hotel “Medena” in Seget Donji is planning to invest about 60 million kuna to bring the hotel to four stars and a new market position.
Zadar County this winter is a scene for large construction projects in tourism – with the biggest investment by “Dogus Group” for the hotel “Hyatt Regency Zadar Maraska” with 130 rooms. In addition to the hotel, there are plans to build 115 luxury residences and a commercial area with exclusive shops and catering facilities for a total value of 100 million euros.
The amusement park Mirnovec near Biograd has a 15 million euro investment in the “Croatian Gardaland” which will cover 45,645 square meters. Completion is expected in February, and entertainment to the park is scheduled to open in May 2017, says the Tourist Board of Zadar County.
In February, the opening of “Kneževa palace” will enrich the cultural and tourist offer of Zadar, making it one of the most modern equipped city cultural complexes. In addition, the first phase of the Heritage museum project should be complete.
By the beginning of the pre-season, the Tourist Information Centre in the area of the palace Cedulin in Zadar should be completed. The investment was around 15 million kuna and it will be located next to the Tourist Board of Zadar and Zadar County Tourist Board offices.
Vodice will also be richer next year from a new facility within the hotel “Olympia” which took in a 150 million kuna investment. The hotel will be completed by the start of the pre-season and will receive its first guests in May 2017. It is also worth mentioning that many rooms have already sold out.
On the “Island of Youth” that is Obonjan, foreign investors plan to invest another 50 million kuna, while the ongoing renovation of Palace Divnić in Sibenik is slowy turning into a luxury boutique five-star hotel with eight rooms, after a 26 million kuna investment.
The “Amadria Group” which is a new brand that owns the eight hotels “Milenij” in Opatija and the Sibenik “Solaris Resort” are looking to invest in a new convention center which would be the largest in Croatia. The worth is 58 million kuna and the Convention Center will have 6,000 square meters and 11 rooms, with the ability to accommodate 1,500 participants.
A year after the completion of the reconstruction of “Kompas”, the owners of the hotel company Adriatic Luxury Hotels, Luksic Group, are continuing their investment cycle for the rehabilitation and upgrade of the hotel “Excelsior” in Dubrovnik, in which, according to known information, will be a 10 million euro investment.
With the renovation of the hotel “More” and “Park” in Dubrovnik and “Importanne Resort”, the hotel offer will be wider for the Dubrovnik area, further increasing the quality in 2017.
When adding together these investments, in addition to the investments in hotels from Rovinj, the Crikvenica Riviera, and the construction of several small hotels in Zagreb, that 4.5 billion kuna figure starts to make sense for how much money will be invested in the total hotel capacity for 2017.
