Many wonder whether there will be any tourism growth this year at all.
In addition to Croatian hotels which started this year’s August with a slight decrease in the number of tourists, the first week of August has brought bad news to the campsites as well. However, unlike hotels, which blame strong competition from Tunisia and Turkey, campsites say the main issue is the hot weather, reports Jutarnji List on August 11, 2018.
“The previous months were positive, but in August we have recorded a minus of five percent. Nevertheless, in view of the overall results since the beginning of the year, we have achieved a growth of 2.3% in overnight stays and arrivals so there is no need for concern. I would not say that the reason where the prices, although the camps did raise them somewhat this year. I think the main cause is hot weather which is not very suitable for camping,” said Tihomir Nikolaš, president of the Croatian Camping Association.
Disappointing results in early August are causing concern for many Croatian tourist industry representatives, many of whom are concerned about whether the final annual results, both in terms of arrivals and overnight stays and in terms of overall tourism revenues, will be better than the last year’s. It is certain there will be no double-digit growth like the ones seen in the previous years.
“The double-digit growth is definitely a thing of the past, and any growth in today’s circumstances can be considered a good result. What started in early July, indicating a somewhat disappointing tourism season, has apparently continued in August as well, which means that we need to start seriously thinking about structural changes, both in terms of the accommodation portfolio and the strategic direction of our tourism,” said Veljko Ostojić, the director of the Croatian Tourism Association, pointing out that 50% of accommodation facilities are private rentals.
In addition, Ostojić considers that one of the main problems of the Croatian tourism is the overall competitiveness of the industry, whose improvement is a prerequisite for a stable sector growth. “You cannot grow solely on the inertia of something which happened in the past,” said Ostojić.
However, it should be said that the slowdown in the growth of Croatian tourism was not totally unexpected. Many experts have forecasted that the high demand for Croatia will weaken eventually, especially considering the fact that there are limited accommodation capacities in the season, while in the pre- and post-season there are too few events which would prompt tourists to come to Croatia.
Another reason is a decision by most tourism companies, due to excellent results in the last few years, to raise prices this year. It seems they have realised their mistake and are now offering discounts to bring in tourists and fill the rooms.
Translated from Jutarnji List (reported by Dora Koretić).
