December the 7th, 2024 – The director of the Croatian Tourism Association, Veljko Ostojić, has stated that the Croatian 2025 tourist season is likely to be a complex one owing to a variety of factors.
As Veljko Ostojić/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Croatian 2025 tourist season appears set to be another complex year. This will primarily be due to the continuation of poor economic indicators in important emitting countries for Croatia, especially Germany and neighbouring Italy. By now, we have all witnessed the effect of large EU economies dancing on the edge of recession this year, which was also demanding in terms of management at the level of domestic tourism companies.
After the pandemic-dominated years in which Croatia managed to successfully position itself as the closest and safest Mediterranean nation for emitting countries, it has now entered a period in which the country’s competition elsewhere is trying to compensate for pandemic-induced losses with aggressive offers. Throw in the current situation of increased geopolitical challenges and the slowdown of large European economies, and we have an interesting mix of circumstances.
Croatia’s tourism sector has already shown that it knows how to produce fantastic results in demanding, even crisis conditions. It’s important to accept the clear messages that were sent to the tourism sector throughout 2024. With a complex Croatian 2025 tourist season ahead, the country must be careful with the prices it charges and ensure the delivery of adequate value for money for the services provided.
While tourism companies have developed price management strategies and even adjust their prices to demand on a daily basis, the restaurant and accommodation sectors will need to think carefully about their price positioning. It’s also very important to take concrete measures as soon as possible to change the business model in tourism that encourages the construction of properties for short-term tourist rentals.
Looking towards next year, Croatia must start to react concretely to the increasingly frequent occurrence of overtourism during the peak season. Overtourism is primarily a consequence of the fact that with only 9.5% of hotel accommodation in its total tourism capacities, Croatia has by far the worst structure of tourist accommodation capacities in the entire Mediterranean.
Excessive tourism is affecting an increasing number of this country’s previous coastal destinations. New legal solutions are the first step in solving the key challenges faced by Croatian tourism, but it’s also important that they are accompanied by quick and effective measures that will also encourage new investments in the overall quality of tourism.
