According to announcements received by the Tourism Ministry, the 2017 tourism season will be one of the best in several years in terms of investments
So far, the Tourism Ministry has confirmed, around 50 large projects will be completed by the beginning of next season, among which some large scale investments such as entire complexes which will significantly affect the improvement of tourism, Jutarnji List reported no July 11, 2016.
“We are talking about 50 new hotels on the Adriatic and the continent, we’re currently in the phase of gathering precise information on the value of projects. But the fact is we have seven investments on the state strategic projects list and another 12 as potential candidates. Also, there is the activation of former military assets that need to be placed in the service of tourism, but also a line of entirely private investments began in this year and ending in the next,” Tourism Minister Anton Kliman confirmed. The list of projects is not final as the Ministry is still gathering data from tourism boards and investors, but also The Croatian Bank for Rebuilding and Development that is mostly taking part in co financing these projects.
According to the investments list gathered by Jutarnji List, the value of the projects to be finished by the 2017 season is over 300 million Euro, possibly exceeding half a billion Euro considering the large interest of investors, but also domestic and foreign construction companies
Jutarnji List spoke to directors of construction companies and received confirmation that a good part of them has decided to focus on investments in tourism, realising it is a highly propulsive sector, currently best for making income.
“You see, there are practically now public investments at the moment, and as apartment construction has been falling for a while, the logical thing is to move to tourism projects. Since our information shows in the next year and a half large tourism investment interest was shown in the amount of half a billion Euro, domestic construction companies have a good source of income as subcontractors,” a director of a domestic company stated.
He also warned that foreign construction companies are also turning to Croatia.
“It’s a consequence of the geopolitical situation. Investing in other destinations is being reduced due to safety reasons and as Croatia is seen as a secure country, foreign companies are also finding ways to get their piece of the action,” he said.
What is certain is that we will enter 2017 with a high number of renovated, exanded, reconstructed or completely new hotel complexes.
One of the most valuable and interesting is certainly the West Gate Split project, construction of two high rises, one business and one hotel. The second, most probably Marriott, should be finished by the end of this year according to plans, opening of guests on Easter 2017. The total investment is half a billion Kuna, while the project is backed by the entrepreneur Josip Komar.
Istrian Maistra should be opening hotel Park next season in Rovinj, built on the location of the old hotel building, a 58 million Euro investment. The road to completing this project was bureaucratically quite harsh, but after its completion in Rovinj, jobs will be created for 85 new workers so the wait was worth it.
A significant investment is being made in the Romana tourist complex, worth 50 million Euro, to be completed in two phases. The apartment phase of the project in Makarska has opened for the current season, with the complex employing 100 new workers.
Good news come from Valamar too. The company has announced they plan to invest by 2020 around two billion Kuna in raising the quality of the offer in Rabac, Krk, Poreč and Dubrovnik. Specifically, the Family Life Resort company in Rabac will invest 25.8 million Euro by next year, to be rounded off to 60 million in 2018. The resort will be aiming for guests with higher financial status and represents one of the more important hotel concepts of the TUI group.
New capacities will be available in the continent as well. By next year the Bizovac spa will see a 13.3 million Euro investment, hotel Se-Mi in Veliko Trgovišće will have 30 new rooms, while the hotel Villa Magdalena in Krapinske Toplice will increase capacity from 9 to 24 rooms.
While investments are primarily a reason for joy, the increase of accommodation capacity will once again trigger the problem of a lack of work force in tourism, with 30,000 workers needed this year alone. Minister Kliman therefore announced that in coordination with other bodies they will start a campaign for requalification of those interested in working in tourism.
