June the 13th, 2025 – Prices have been a hot topic for a long time now, but are they ever justified? Croatian Tourism Association boss, Veljko Ostojic, has claimed that Croatian prices align with the quality.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the topic of whether Croatia is too expensive as a tourist destination and what awaits us this summer in the tourism sector was the focus of a recent Otvoreno/Open show.
Tourism Minister Tonči Glavina stressed that the current tourism statistics are very satisfactory. Speaking more specifically about monitoring the results, he explained how three key time periods are being observed: “the first six months of the year, the first part of the tourist pre-season, which is extremely important to us. Then the main part of the year, or the two key summer months of July and August, and then the post-season”. He also added that Croatia is not only targeting summer guests, but is positioning itself as a year-round destination, HRT reports.
some say croatian prices are in line with the quality offered, but are they?
The minister stated that the current data is mostly in line with previously set expectations. “We did see some oscillations, March saw a big drop of almost 30%, and then April saw some increases. The beginning of June has been exceptionally good, so I believe that we’ll at least repeat the results for the pre-season that we had last year”, said Glavina. Glavina has repeatedly warned those in the tourism and hospitality sector about being more competitive with pricing, but others claim that Croatian prices are in line with the quality being offered. Others would vehemently disagree with that statement.
In terms of international promotion, Croatia is trying to present itself as a destination that offers a good balance between price and quality. Prime Minister Andrej Plenković recently said that it’s important for the tourism sector to remain reasonable in setting prices, since other countries also have a coastline, islands, the sea and a competitive offer.
“The game has never been more serious. Never has the situation been like this and it all depends on us what kind of tourism result we’ll end up having,” Glavina added, underlining how much responsibility now lies solely in domestic hands.
The director of the Croatian National Tourist Board, Kristjan Staničić, explained that the structure of guests varies depending on the part of the year: “It’s quite typical for the structure of guests in the first part of the year to be somewhat different than at the end of the year, when foreign markets that gravitate towards Croatia in the summer months take over and when we achieve the highest turnover”.
the return of the brits
Among foreign guests, tourists from Germany continue to lead, followed by Austrians, Slovenes, Czechs and Poles. He also particularly highlighted the return of British visitors: “Last year we recorded a complete return of the British market and this year we’ve seen continuous growth in terms of tourist turnover from the UK market”.
Staničić believes that the diversity of markets from which Croatia attracts guests speaks volumes about its attractiveness and quality: “This means that the country is interesting, that it’s one of the most desirable destinations, that it is present on the market through numerous marketing activities, campaigns, collaborations and everything we do in the context of promoting Croatia as a year-round and quality tourist destination”.
Veljko Ostojić, director of the Croatian Tourism Association, noted that competing destinations are making serious efforts and that Croatia must be vigilant. “The competition isn’t sleeping. According to the current figures in the organised part of Croatian tourism, and I’m referring to hotels and campsites here, things are relatively good. There are no worries about any major difficulties and everything is moving towards last year’s figures”, he said.
He expects that revenues in the hotel and camping industry will be 3 to 5% higher this year compared to last year. “We’ve heard the messages that have been sent to us, but last year, but Croatian hotels only increased in price by 1.9% compared to the year before,” he added, highlighting impressive occupancy figures:
“Last year, on August the 15th, Croatia’s five-star hotels were 96.5% full. The five-star campsites were 100% full. This means that the market accepts Croatian prices and that they’re in line with the quality that we offer.”
is croatia a price-competitive country?
Joso Smolić, vice president of the Croatian Chamber of Crafts and Trades in charge of hospitality and tourism, stressed the importance of maintaining high standards of service and safety. Guests in Croatia are welcomed by a familiar destination, safety and quality, he stressed.
According to him, prices in the hospitality sector have so far remained at last year’s level. He called on his colleagues in the industry to try to maintain these existing Croatian prices, with a special emphasis placed on the quality of the services offered.
Kristjan Staničić also commented on the comparison of Croatia with its old competitors such as Spain, Greece, Italy and France: “The price-quality ratio in Croatia compared to Spain, Greece, France, Italy, as our biggest competitors, speaks in favour of the fact that Croatia is still, generally speaking, a price-competitive country”.
He concluded by saying that Croatia’s tourism sector has a very intense period ahead of it: “We have a lot of work ahead of us, we need to be wise and smart in setting prices. We have to do our best to provide the highest level of quality and to be good hosts”, concluded Staničić.
