As Marija Crnjak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, bookings for Croatian luxury villas (in reference to short-term rentals for tourism) have been in full swing since December 2022, despite prices being about 20 percent higher than they were last year owing to continued inflationary pressures. Rather unsurprisingly, the Austrians are the most numerous guests of all in this luxury segment, the British are also making a strong comeback, while Croatia’s most faithful visitors, the Germans, are opting for Greece in larger than usual numbers this year.
Bookings from outside of Europe and from distant destinations are also growing, as evidenced by the agency My Luxoria, one of the three largest agencies specialising in the rental of Croatian luxury villas and other sorts of holiday homes. My Luxoria boasts more than 700 Croatian luxury villas in its portfolio, and annually they bring about 20,000 guests to the Republic of Croatia, most of which have considerably higher purchasing power (read: deeper pockets).
Ankica Caleta, the owner and director of the My Luxoria agency, revealed that half of the booked accommodation they’ve secured so far this year is for stays of seven nights, the Germans stay on holiday the longest on average, around ten days, and guests stay in Istria the longest of all Croatian regions.
Istria and Kvarner are mostly being booked by Germans and Austrians. Europeans who fly by plane, such as from the UK, more often choose to land at Split Airport and then head to their accommodation in various Dalmatian villas. In this segment too, seasonality is still a problem, because most catering and hospitality establishments, attractions and other entertainment facilities are still closed.
“Guests who book the most luxurious homes in which to stay while they’re here have nowhere to spend their money outside of their accommodation facilities at this time of year, and it is up to us to respond to that demand in order to retain guests within the elite tourism segment,” says Caleta.
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