August 17, 2019 – German daily newspaper Der Tagesspiegel poorly advertised Croatian tourism with the help of numerous reports from Croatian media this summer.
And if you’ve kept up with all things Croatia this summer, the negativity should come as no surprise – and many who have experienced the benefits of Croatian tourism this year will even say that it is quite realistic, reports Vijesti.hr.
Namely, Der Tagesspiegel writes that Croatian beaches and ferries are half-empty this summer and that apartment owners are panicking because they did not have as many guests as they anticipated.
More specifically, in the first 12 days of July alone, the number of guests dropped 6.2 percent, while renters lost 9.4 percent.
“The growth of Croatian tourism so far has been fueled by problems with their competition in North Africa and Turkey,” Tagesspiegel emphasizes, adding that tourism revenues account for about a fifth of Croatia’s GDP.
Indeed, since the challenges of their competitors, including Greece, have virtually disappeared, issues have arisen for Croats and Croatian tourism. But, what the Germans say is a ‘public secret’, is that investment and a richer offer could efficiently resolve these problems. Unfortunately, this was absent in the vast majority of cases this year, and prices went up without delay.
“The beauty of Croatia’s island world and rugged coastline is undisputed. Hotels and better-equipped apartments continue to show good occupancy rates and in some cases even growth. But especially in one- to three-star apartments, the sharp rise in price levels often no longer correspond to the quality offered. Guests pay more than 100 euros per night for studios that were set up in Yugoslav times. Especially older apartments, in which nothing has been invested for years, are less and less popular. Sun, sea, furniture from Yugoslavia and high prices – that is no longer possible,” Tagesspiegel writes, noting that Croats also charge too much for parking and lounge chairs and that feces pollute the sea – a consequence of not investing in sewage.
“In anticipation of further growth, the number of guest beds in the apartments has increased this year by another 40,000, after it had already increased by 60,000 in 2018. But the supply now exceeds the demand. The times of steadily rising numbers of guests and prices seem to be over in Croatia for now,” Tagesspiegel adds.
The lack of Croatian workforce also had to be mentioned.
“Restaurants are struggling to find staff because Croats have left the country. That’s why they have been looking for seasonal workers outside of Croatia at the last minute,” Der Tagesspiegel concluded.
You can read the full piece on Der Tagesspiegel here.
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