August the 1st, 2026 – The Croatian service sector has seen encouragingly strong growth, but one industry has seen a very sharp 12% drop.
The Croatian service sector continued its upward trend during May 2026, with overall activity rising significantly compared to a year earlier. However, the latest official figures also reveal stark contrasts between industries, as some sectors posted double-digit growth while others experienced notable declines.
Calendar-adjusted turnover across Croatia’s service industries increased by 5.8% year-on-year in May. Poslovni reports that when looking at the first five months of 2026, turnover was up 6.2% compared with the same period last year. Despite the strong annual performance, service activity edged down 0.3% compared to April.
The biggest annual winner was the film, video and television production sector, along with sound recording and music publishing, where turnover jumped 28.4%. Real estate activities followed with a 17.7% increase, while postal and courier services rose 16.2%.
Tourism-related businesses also recorded solid growth. Accommodation and food service activities climbed 11.2% year-on-year, with accommodation alone increasing 14%, while restaurants, cafés and other food and beverage businesses saw turnover rise 8.4%.
Compared with April, water transport recorded the strongest monthly increase, surging 14.4%. Postal and courier services were up 7.6%, while other professional, scientific and technical activities rose 7.1%. Accommodation services also posted a healthy monthly gain of 5.2%.
Not every sector shared in the growth. The steepest monthly decline was recorded in office administrative and support services, where turnover fell 11.7%. Air transport dropped 4.9%, while publishing activities slipped 3.3% compared with April.
On an annual basis, the weakest-performing sector was management consultancy, where turnover declined 9.8%. Office administrative and business support services were down 7.3%, while architectural and engineering services, together with technical testing and analysis, fell 6.2%.
Although May brought a slight month-on-month slowdown, the figures suggest Croatia’s service sector remains on a growth path overall, with performance increasingly varying between industries benefiting from strong demand and those facing more challenging market conditions.
