August the 3rd, 2026 – Tax Authority data for spending in July in Croatia shows continued growth in fiscalised spending, but the nominal figures need to be interpreted with caution.
Higher receipt totals don’t actually necessarily mean that residents and tourists bought more goods and services, because part of the increase comes from higher prices. Index writes that in order to assess the real trend in consumption it is necessary to remove the effect of inflation. When nominal data are adjusted for price rises, the real growth is noticeably weaker, and in some periods and sectors spending stagnates or even falls.
price increases are largely responsible for nominal growth
According to Tax Authority data on fiscalised spending, food-and-beverage preparation and serving activities as well as the accommodation sector in Croatia recorded strong growth during the summer months, with a clear seasonal jump towards July. The cumulative change compared with the previous period is positive, and growth is also visible in the monthly figures.
In food-and-beverage preparation and serving, fiscalised turnover during the month of July reached 891 million euros nominally, or 860 million euros when adjusted for inflation. In the same month last year the turnover stood at 802 million euros. This means the nominal value of receipts increased by around 11 percent, while real growth after removing the effect of higher prices was about 7 percent.
Cumulatively, from the beginning of the year to the end of July, turnover in hospitality was 11 percent higher nominally than in the same period last year. After correction for inflation the real growth stood at 6.5 percent. In other words, guests and residents did spend more than last year, but the difference is not as large as the nominal figures suggest because part of the rise stems from higher prices of food and drink.
a look at accommodation
Results by county are highly uneven. While some counties recorded real growth in fiscalised accommodation turnover of more than 30 percent, others saw double-digit declines. Most Adriatic counties achieved moderate growth, yet even on the coast the results are not uniform. In some counties turnover rose by only a few percent, while Dubrovnik-Neretva County recorded a slight real decline of 0.6 percent.
Extreme results in individual counties should be interpreted cautiously; they may be the consequence of a low comparative base, changes in coverage or local specifics rather than a dramatic shift in overall tourist activity. During July, fiscalised turnover in the accommodation sector reached 691 million euros nominally, compared with 630 million euros in the same month last year – a nominal increase of 9.7 percent. After removing the impact of inflation this year’s turnover amounts to 667 million euros, meaning it was 5.9 percent higher in real terms than in July last year. Guests therefore left almost ten percent more money for accommodation, but the actual growth in consumption was closer to six percent.
was july 2026 really more successful than july 2025?
The data show that fiscalised turnover in July was higher than last year in both hospitality and accommodation, even after adjustment for inflation. Nevertheless, real growth was significantly weaker than the nominal figures, and results vary considerably between sectors and counties.
It can therefore be concluded that July was better than last year’s according to the indicators examined, but not that the season was dramatically or unequivocally more successful. Tax Authority data are currently the most reliable publicly available indicator of fiscalised spending, yet they do not cover every element of the tourist result. An important methodological change should also be noted: from this year the Tax Authority’s reporting includes payments via transaction accounts. In order to keep the data comparable with the previous year, those payments have been excluded from this analysis.
The conclusion is therefore cautious: nominal spending is rising, but once inflation is taken into account the picture is considerably more moderate. The figures show seasonal growth and large regional differences, but they do not unambiguously confirm that this year’s July was significantly more successful.
