January the 22nd, 2025 – The Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) is set to enter the tourism market and even open a Rijeka hotel by the end of 2026.
As Marija Brnic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, there’s a charming but devastated motel near Rijeka, which is also an award-winning architectural work designed by the famous architect Ivan Vitić. It was designed around sixty years ago for the once powerful Sljeme meat industry and has been the subject of discussions for years at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce. The ownership of the facility was completed almost 30 years ago.
There were various ideas thrown around. There were renovation projects that had been started, and when a tender was announced two years ago for a strategic partner with whom a joint investment venture could be entered into, it became clear that the direction was to be commercialised. There was interest, one candidate came forward, but no agreement was reached and the Croatian Chamber of Commerce ultimately decided to go it alone in re-establishing this Rijeka hotel as a tourist destination.
Projects were prepared in silence, reconstruction and the addition of new facilities to the original project were conceived. Now, Croatian Chamber of Commerce should officially present to the public what the new Rijeka hotel complex will look like and what it will offer, and mark the start of the works.
The first major step for the Croatian Chamber of Commerce into commercial business has been entrusted to a company in its 100% ownership – HGK Hotels. That body will operationally manage the investment activities and operations of the new Rijeka hotel complex which sits at the crossroads between Rijeka and Opatija, with a view of the sweeping Kvarner Bay. The new hotel will have a smaller capacity, and will operate within the heritage hotel segment, according to HGK Hotels Director Tomislav Radoš.
Why does the Croatian Chamber of Commerce even need to enter a fully market-based business in the form of this rijeka hotel?
Back in 2022, the mandatory HGK membership fee was abolished for the majority of companies in Croatia, (approximately 95 percent of them). Then, it decided to compensate for this large drop in revenue with a long-term strategy by diversifying, including selling services on the market. However, it also owns real estate, the activation of which is also planned to provide the necessary money.
“One of the sources of income for the Croatian Chamber of Commerce is putting some of the property it owns into commercial use. The project to reconstruct and renovate this Rijeka hotel is the first one we’re implementing,” revealed Radoš, recalling that the package included two other projects; the renovation and conversion of the attractive HGK building on Split’s Riva (promenade), and the project for a congress-business-hotel centre in Zagreb. However, this Rijeka hotel is the first to actually be implemented.
The HGK project was conceived as a model example of sustainable tourism, which will be based on domestic products and services. It will also represent the continuation of modernism in Croatian architecture. When the decision was made to go ahead with this particular project, a development concept proposal was made as the basis for a conceptual architectural solution. That was then followed by the design and preparation of a final investment feasibility study, followed by discussions with commercial banks and the final closing of the financial structure.
the croatian chamber of commerce and its entrance into new economic waters
“We believe that in the end, an economically optimal outcome has been achieved. That optimal outcome will be in the care of a good businessman, and we’ll put our inactive assets into function. Through that, we’ll implement a project that, along with additional tourist value, will ensure long-term income for the Croatian Chamber of Commerce,” explained Radoš, adding that the Croatian Chamber of Commerce will finance the investment in the Rijeka hotel with loans from commercial banks and its own funds secured by the sale of inactive assets.
“These funds were not used for current operations, but were accumulated and will be used exclusively for investments in tangible assets, i.e. this and similar projects,” explains Radoš, noting that the income from current, ongoing membership fees is not used to finance this project.