On paper, the Ministry of Tourism is committed to developing tourism in continental Croatia, a region of huge potential which attracts a fraction of the funding of its more fashionable coastal cousin. But in reality? Some interesting conclusions from the recent Ministry of Tourism grants to business who applied for funding. (There is also a Croatian version at the bottom of the article)
(Croatian version below)
Ministry of Tourism or Ministry of Coastal Tourism?
On July 3, 2017, the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Croatia published the results of the Competitiveness in Tourism Sector Program tender, posted on March 6, and closed on April 10. Given that the total number of applications is not known, it is impossible to say whether three months were really needed to make decisions on project financing or simply because of the Ministry lacks qualified experts to allocate the HRK 21,900,000.00 in funds.
This analysis could probably have been published earlier, but it wasn’t, and the reason is simple – the Ministry’s decisions are published in .pdf format in a very non-transparent way, making any deeper analysis difficult. It is also worth mentioning that Croatia has been a member of the World Open Government Partnership since 2014 and it committed itself to be transparent and willing to present the work of the public authorities. It also means publishing data in formats that are easily manageable, such as Excel. But as we can see, it has yet to become reality.
In the results of the competition, the Ministry only publishes the name of the project holder and the amount allocated, without title and project objectives, i.e. without stating how the funds are going to be spent. Also, neither evaluation criteria nor the evaluation methods have been published. Are the Ministry employees or an external service in charge of the decision? How is the project evaluated and what is the maximum number of points needed to approve funding? Why are some projects selected, and some are not? All of these open issues cast a negative light on the work of the Ministry, which should transparently present to tourist workers and citizens how almost HRK 22 million of their budget will be spent on further development of Croatian tourism. No, we apologise, almost HRK 25 million was awarded this year, and only as part of this tender.
About the Programme
Competitiveness of the Tourism Sector Programme of the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Croatia has been carried out for many years, and the data on the Ministry’s website gives information about funding starting only with 2005.
The objectives of this year’s programme included: developing the offer of complex / innovative/creative tourism products; increasing accommodation occupancy rates and extending the seasons in individual destinations; increasing average daily spending; increasing the level of employment and self-employment; networking with other providers of tourist services in destinations and increasing international visibility. The program is implemented in 4 measures.
Measure A refers to an increase in standards, quality and additional services, diversification of business and sustainable development, the use of new technologies, and improving social inclusion. The measure is divided into 4 sub-measures, depending on the service provider’s registration. Sub-measure A1 refers to Hotels, Heritage Hotels, Scattered Hotels, Aparthotels, Tourist Resort, Tourist Apartments, Boarding Houses, and Integrated Hotels. Sub-measure A2 refers to camps (camps and camp-resorts), sub-measure A3 to other accommodation facilities (Hostels, Mountaineering Lodges, Hunting lodges, Student Dorms or Student home or Academies, Room, Apartment, Studio, Sub-measure A4 refers to OPGs, i.e. family farms (Wine Cellar / Wine Tasting, Excursion Centre, Room, Apartment, Rural Cottage, Camping, Camp resort) and A5 to Household Facilities – Private Renters (Room, Apartment, Studio Apartment, Holiday House, Camp or Camp-Resort within a household), which was used only for financing pool constructions this year.
Measure B refers to developing special forms of tourism, and it refers to entities registered for providing tourism and hospitality services.
Measure C refers to increasing availability and security (introducing defibrillators and compensation for water carriers on islands), while measure D relates to the visibility of Croatian tourism (activities related to Croatian island products, linking agriculture and tourism, and co-financing international gatherings / forums in Croatia related to investments in tourism)
Eligible project activities for each measure can be found on the Ministry’s web site at http://www.mint.hr/UserDocsImages/2_170301_program.pdf . The Ministry finances up to 60% of eligible costs with the exception of Measure C, where costs are funded at 100%. Unlike some other tenders to which the Ministry approves grants, investors must invest at least 40% of their own funds. Approved financial support can range from HRK 20,000 to HRK 350,000.
Selection of projects in 2017
A total of 606 projects were approved, the total amount of which was HRK 24,843,785, in 8 categories: Hotels, Camps and Camp-Resorts, Other Accommodation Facilities, Rural Houses – OPGs, Household Facilities – Pools, Development of Special Forms of Tourism, Defibrillators and Water Carriers, And Visibility and Croatian Island Product.
Projects per Category
Nearly 40% of the projects were approved in the Swimming Pools in Households category (237). Next are projects in the category of Family Farms (105 projects – 17%) and in the Development of special tourism forms category (102 projects – 17%). In the Other Accommodation Facilities 65 projects (11%) were approved and in the Hotels category 61 project (10%). In the Camps and Cam-Resorts category, 17 projects were approved (3%), 10 projects (2%) were approved in the Defibrillators and Water Carriers category, and 9 projects (1%) were approved for Visibility and Croatian Island Product.
Given that pools are a method for making the offer richer and one of the prerequisites for extending the stay of guests in households, it is not surprising that rate of their financing in households has been steadily increasing. For example, in 2016, construction of 176 pools in households was financed, and in 2015, the number was lower, 167 pools. The number of financed pools is certainly higher because, in addition to the Pools in Households category, their construction is also financed in other categories from Measures A and B.
What is surprising in the results of the tender is the fact that only nine projects were approved in the Visibility category, which is aimed at advertising and applying new technologies, and therefore the question is: how will the accommodation capacities increase if they are not advertised? Of course, this particularly applies to facilities in lesser known Croatian destinations, especially in Continental Croatia.
Financial Value of Projects per Category
A total of HRK 9,304,000 or 38% of the total approved budget of almost HRK 25 million was approved for the construction of private pools in households (private renters). HRK 3,567,000 was approved for tourism at OPGs (family farms), HRK 3,510,00 for other accommodation facilities, HRK 4,010,000 for hotels, and HRK 1,020,000 for Camps and Camp-Resorts. A total of HRK 21,411,000 (86.18%) was approved for Measure A. For Measure B – Development of Special Forms of Tourism, HRK 2,780,000 (11.18%) was approved, for Measure C – Defibrillators and Water Carriers, HRK 332,785 (1.33%) was approved, while for Measure D – Visibility and Croatian Island Product HRK 320,000 (1.28%) was approved. The average value of specific grants awarded per project is approximately HRK 41,000.
And what are special forms of tourism? There are many definitions that fall into one – the forms of tourism that attract tourists with the motive of their visit, which, in our case, is not the sun and the sea. So, special forms of tourism are connected to culture, sports, health, diving, enogastronomy, mountains, countryside and so on, meaning places where the season lasts throughout the year. Seeing that moving away from the concept of sun and the sea and extending the tourist season has become the mantra of future tourist development in Croatia, the question is whether the Ministry, as the main institution of Croatian tourism, will follow the logic which, among other things, is included in the Croatian Tourism Development Strategy until 2020? Judging by the type of approved projects this year – not likely.
Projects by Region
The first level of analysis included projects according to the geographic determinants of the project holder or owner, so all projects that are not located along the coast were put into the continental projects category. Here we include the central part of Istria, Inland Dalmatia and central parts of the islands.
Of the 606 projects approved, 329 (54.30%) were related to the seaside, and 277 (45.70%) to the continent. Out of a total of HRK 24,843,785, funds for the projects at the seaside amounted to HRK 13,466,066 (54.20%) and funds for continental projects amounted to HRK 11,377,719 (45.80%).
What is the priority in Croatian tourism development – the continent or the sea?
The vision for the development of Croatian tourism industry until 2020 states: By 2020 Croatia will be a globally recognised tourist destination, competitive and attractive to investments. It creates jobs and manages in a sustainable way the development on its entire territory, nurtures the culture of quality, and offers its guests hospitality, safety and authentic attractions and experiences all year round.
So, tourism needs to be developed throughout the entire territory of the Republic of Croatia – so, there should be more investments in places where it is underdeveloped than in established tourist destinations.
However, when approved projects are classified based on the fact that all counties that are landlocked are considered continental counties, the image of financing development projects becomes significantly different. The second level of analysis shows that out of 606 projects, only 178 (29.37%) refer to continental counties, while 428 (70.63%) projects have been approved in coastal counties. In financial terms, HRK 17,376,785 (69.94%) has been allocated for projects in coastal and HRK 7,467,000 (30.06%) for projects in continental counties. While this can partly be justified by tourism revenue and number of tourists in coastal counties, the question is how serious the Ministry is about a balanced development of tourism in Croatia. The above-mentioned vision will be difficult to accomplish by 2020 if 70% of the budget funds from this and possibly other tenders continues to be spent on coastal tourism projects. In order to reach the Strategy’s vision, the ratio should actually be – the opposite.
What are we financing on the continent?
Given the shortage and inadequate quality of accommodation facilities on the continent, it is no wonder that 21 projects in the Hotels category, 30 projects in the Other Housing Facilities category, 57 projects in the Family Farms category, and 27 projects in the Special Forms Tourism category were financed, with an average worth of around HRK 42 000. Is this enough for a strong tourism development?
But perhaps the better question is how can we direct tourists to the continent and what are we doing to promote it? Despite the fact that the Republic of Croatia, through the Ministry of Tourism, other ministries, local governments and self-government units and private entrepreneurs, probably invested hundreds of millions of kunas over the last twenty years, the promotion of continental tourism, particularly on the international market, is negligible. With the exception of continued promotion of Plitvice Lakes and, to some extent, Slavonia and Baranja, the question arises as to whether and when the promotion of the continental part of Croatia will finally begin. Let’s list just a few of the interesting locations unknown to foreign tourists: continental Croatia nature parks – Kopački rit, Papuk, Žumberak-Samoborsko gorje, Medvednica, Lonjsko polje, Krapina Neanderthal Museum, Vučedol Culture Museum in Vukovar, the oldest city in Europe – Vinkovci, Đurđevački Peski (the remains of the only Croatian desert), Ivana’s House of Fairy Tales, Karlovac Freshwater Aquarium, 11 spas and numerous rural tourism facilities, especially in Baranja.
And while we watch numerous tourists exhausted from waiting in lines coming and leaving in the summer, should we not ask ourselves what we need and can do for them to discover the magic of Continental Croatia and deviate from their usual routes? Place an advertising campaign on foreign markets? Set up info desks for tourists at Croatian borders? Put more indicators along the motorway and other roads? Redefine how tourism projects are funded in order to have more tourism in continental, and not just in coastal Croatia, as the Minister promised? Another year has definitely been lost.
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Ministarstvo turizma ili Ministarstvo primorskog turizma?
3.7.2017. godine, Ministarstvo turizma Republike Hrvatske objavilo je rezultate natječaja iz Programa Konkurentnost turističkog gospodarstva, koji je objavljen 6.3., a zatvoren 10.4.2017.godine. S obzirom da nije poznat ukupni broj prijavljenih projekata, nemoguće je reći da li su zaista bila potrebna tri mjeseca za donošenje odluka o financiranju projekata ili se jednostavno radi o potkapacitiranosti Ministarstva da dodijeli predviđenih 21.900.000,00 kn.
Ova analiza vjerojatno je također mogla biti objavljena ranije, ali nije iz jednostavnog razloga što se odluke Ministarstva objavljuju u .pdf formatu i to na vrlo netransparentan način čime su vrlo otežane bilo kakve dublje analize. Pritom je zgodno spomenuti da je Hrvatska članica svjetskog Partnerstva za otvorenu vlast od 2014. godine i da se obavezala na transparentnost i otvorenost rada tijela javne vlasti. To ujedno znači i objavljivanje podataka u formatima koji omogućuju lako upravljanje kao što je primjerice excell. No kao što vidimo, to još nije zaživjelo.
U rezultatima natječaja, Ministarstvo objavljuje samo naziv nositelja projekta i dodijeljeni iznos, bez naziva i ciljeva projekta, odnosno namjene utroška sredstava. Također, nisu javno objavljeni kriteriji za ocjenjivanje, kao ni način ocjenjivanja. Radi li se o djelatnicima Ministarstva ili su angažirane vanjske komisije? Na koji način se procjenjuju projekti i koliki je maksimalan broj bodova potreban za odobravanje financiranja? Zbog čega su neki projekti odabrani, a neki nisu? Sva ova otvorena pitanja bacaju negativno svjetlo na rad samog Ministarstva koje bi na maksimalno transparentan način trebalo objasniti turističkim djelatnicima i građanima kako će utrošiti gotovo 22 milijuna njihovih proračunskih kuna za daljnji razvoj Hrvatskog turizma. Pardon, ove godine dodijeljeno je gotovo 25 milijuna kuna, i to samo u ovom natječaju.
O Programu
Program Konkurentnost turističkog gospodarstva Ministarstva turizma Republike Hrvatske provodi se dugi niz godina, a podaci na web stranici Ministarstva donose informacije o financiranju od 2005. godine.
Ciljevi ovogodišnjeg Programa bili su: razvoj ponude složenih/inovativnih/kreativnih turističkih proizvoda; povećanje razine zauzetosti smještajnih kapaciteta i produljenje sezone u destinacijama; povećanje prosječne potrošnje po danu boravka; povećanje razine zaposlenosti i samozapošljavanja; umrežavanje s drugim pružateljima turističkih usluga na destinacijskoj razini i unapređenje međunarodne prepoznatljivosti. Program se provodi u 4 mjere.
Mjera A odnosi se na povećanje standarda, kvalitete i dodatne ponude, diversifikaciju poslovanja i održivi razvoj, korištenje novih tehnologija,i poboljšanje socijalne uključenosti. Mjera je podijeljena u 4 podmjere, ovisno o registraciji pružatelja usluga. Tako se podmjera A1 odnosi na Hotel, Hotel baština (heritage), Difuzni hotel, Aparthotel, Turističko naselje, Turistički apartmani, Pansion,i Integralni hotel – udruženi). Podmjera A2 odnosi se na kampove (kampovi i kamp odmorišta), podmjera A3 na ostale ugostiteljske objekate za smještaj (Hostel, Planinarski dom, Lovački dom, Učenički dom ili Studentski dom ili Akademis, Soba, Apartman, Studio apartman, Kuća za odmor, Prenoćište, Odmaralište za djecu, Objekt za robinzonski smještaj), podmjera A4 na OPG-ove (Vinotočje/Kušaonica, Izletište, Soba, Apartman, Ruralna kuća za odmor, Kamp, Kamp odmorište) i A5 na objekate u domaćinstvu – private iznajmljivače (Soba, Apartman, Studio apartman, Kuća za odmor, Kamp ili Kamp odmorište u domaćinstvu) kojima se ove godina financirala samo izgradnja bazena.
Mjera B odnosi se na razvoj posebnih oblika turizma, a odnosi se na subjekte koji su registrirani za pružanje usluga u turizmu i ugostiteljstvu.
Mjera C odnosi se na povećanje dostupnosti i sigurnosti (uvođenje defibrilatora i kompenzacija za vodonosce na otocima), dok se mjera D odnosi na prepoznatljivost hrvatskog turizma (aktivnosti vezane za Hrvatski otočni proizvod, povezivanje poljoprivrede i turizma, te sufinanciranje međunarodnih skupova/foruma u RH vezanih za investicije u turizmu)
Prihvaljive projektne aktivnosti za svaku mjeru mogu se pronaći na mrežnim stranicama Ministarstva http://www.mint.hr/UserDocsImages/2_170301_program.pdf. Ministarstvo financira do 60% prihvatljivih troškova uz iznimku mjere C gdje se troškovi financiraju u 100% iznosu. Za razliku od nekih drugih natječaja kojima Ministarstvo dodjeljuje bespovratna sredstva, investitor treba uložiti minimalno 40% vlastitih sredstava. Odobrena potpora može se kretati od 20.000 – 350.000 kn.
Odabir projekata u 2017. godini
Ukupno je dodijeljeno 606 projekata ukupne vrijednosti 24.843.785 kn i to u 8 kategorija: Hoteli, Kampovi i kamp odmorišta, Ostali ugostiteljski objekti za smještaj , Seljačko domaćinstvo – OPG, Objekti u domaćinstvu – Bazeni, Razvoj posebnih oblika turizma, Defibrilatori i vodonosci, i Prepoznatljivost i Hrvatski otočni proizvod.
Projekti po kategorijama
Gotovo 40 % projekata odobreno je u kategoriji Bazeni u domaćinstvu (237). Slijede projekti u kategoriji obiteljskih poljoprivrednih gospodarstava (105 projekata – 17%) i u kategoriji Razvoj posebnih oblika turizma (102 projekta – 17%). Kategoriji Ostali ugostiteljski objekti za smještaj odobreno je 65 projekata (11%), a kategoriji Hoteli 61 projekt (10%). U kategoriji Kampovi i kamp odmorišta odobreno je 17 projekata (3%), za Defibrilatore i vodonosce odobreno je 10 projekata (2%), a za Prepoznatljivost i Hrvatski otočni proizvod odobreno je 9 projekata (1%).
S obzirom da bazeni predstavljaju obogaćivanje ponude i preduvjet za produljenje boravka gostiju u domaćinstvima, ne čudi podatak da je njihovo financiranje u domaćinstvima u stalnom porastu. Primjerice, 2016. godine financirano je 176 bazena u domaćinstvima, a 2015. godine 167. Broj financiranih bazena je zasigurno veći s obzirom da se oni, osim u kategoriji bazeni u domaćinstvu, financiraju i u ostalim kategorijama iz mjera A i B.
Ono što začuđuje u rezultatima natječaja je samo 9 odobrenih projekata u kategoriji Prepoznatljivost koja je usmjerena na oglašavanje i primjenu novih tehnologija, pa se postavlja pitanje – na koji način će se puniti smještajni kapaciteti ukoliko se ne budu oglašavali? Naravno, ovo se osobito odnosi na one u manje poznatim hrvatskim destinacijama, osobito u kontinentalnoj Hrvatskoj.
Financijska vrijednost projekata po kategorijama
Za izgradnju bazena u domaćinstvu (privatni iznajmljivači) ukupno je odobreno 9.304.000 kn ili 38% od ukupno odobrenih gotovo 25 milijuna proračunskih kuna. Za turizam na OPG-ovima odobreno je 3.567.000 kn, za ostale ugostiteljske objekte za smještaj 3.510.000 kn, za hotele 4.010.000 kn, a za kampove i kamp odmorišta 1.020.000 kn. Ukupno je za mjeru A odobreno 21.411.000 kn (86,18%). Za Mjeru B – razvoj posebnih oblika turizma odobreno je 2.780.000 kn (11,18%), za Mjeru C – defibrilatori i vodonosci odobreno je 332.785 kn (1,33%) , dok je za Mjeru D – Prepoznatljivost i Hrvatski otočni proizvod odobreno 320.000 kn (1,28%). Prosječna vrijednost dodijeljene potpore po pojedinom projektu iznosi približnpo 41.000 kn.
A što su to posebni oblici turizma? Postoji niz definicija koje se svode na jedno – oblici turizma koji privlače turiste svojim motivom dolaska, a koji se u našem slučaju ne odnosi na sunce i more. Pa su tako posebni oblici turizma kulturni, sportski, lječilišni, ronilački, enogastro, planinski, seoski i dr., a čija sezona po svojoj naravi traje gotovo cijelu godinu. S obzirom da se kao mantra budućeg razvoja hrvatskog turizma ponavlja odmak od koncepta sunca i mora i produljenje turističke sezone, postavlja se pitanje slijedi li i Ministarstvo, kao krovna institucija hrvatskog turizma, tu logiku koja je, između ostaloga, predviđena i u Strategiji razvoja turizma RH do 2020. godine? Sudeći po vrstama ovogodišnjih odobrenih projekata – teško.
Projekti po geografskoj odrednici
Prva razina analize obuhvatila je projekte prema geografskoj odrednici nositelja projekta odnosno vlasnika i to na način da su svi projekti koji nisu geografski smješteni uz samu obalu svrstani u kategoriju kontinentalnih projekata. Tu ubrajamo primjerice unutrašnjost Istre, dalmatinsko zaleđe i unutrašnjost otoka.
Od ukupno odobrenih 606 projekata, 329 (54,30%) se odnosi na more, a 277 (45,70%) na kontinent. Od ukupno dodijeljenih 24.843.785,00 kn, projekti na moru zauzimaju 13.466.066,00 kn (54,20%), a projekti na kontinentu 11.377.719,00 kn (45,80%).
Što je prioritet razvoja hrvatskog turizma – kontinent ili more?
Vizija razvoja htrvatskopg turizma do 2020 g. glasi: Hrvatska je u 2020. godini globalno prepoznatljiva turistička destinacija, konkurentna i atraktivna za investicije, koja stvara radna mjesta i na održiv način upravlja razvojem na svom cjelokupnom prostoru, njeguje kulturu kvalitete, a svojim gostima tijekom cijele godine pruža gostoljubljivost, sigurnost i jedinstvenu raznovrsnost autentičnih sadržaja i doživljaja.
Znači, turizam je potrebno razvijati na cijelom prostoru Republike Hrvatske – tamo gdje je nerazvijen više nego u etabliranim turističkim odredištima.
Međutim, kada se dodijeljeni projekti razvrstaju po kriteriju da se sve županije koje nemaju dodir s morem svrstaju u kontinentalne županije, slika financiranja razvojnih projekata je znatno drugačija. Druga razina analize pokazuje da se od 606 projekata samo 178 (29,37%) odnosi na kontinentalne županije dok je 428 (70,63%) projekata odobreno u primorskim županijama. U financijskom smislu, 17.376.785,00 kn (69,94%) dodijeljeno je za projekte u primorskim, a 7.467.000,00 kn (30,06%) za projekte u kontinentalnim županijama. I dok se ovo donekle može opravdati turističkim prihodima i brojem gostiju u primorskim županijama, postavlja se pitanje u kojoj je mjeri Ministarstvo zaista ozbiljno kad govorimo o ravnomjernom razvoju turizma u Republici Hrvatskoj. Gorenavedenu viziju bit će teško deseći do 2020. godine ukoliko se 70% proračunskih sredstava iz ovog, a vjerojatno i drugih natječaja, i dalje bude trošilo na projekte vezane uz obalni turizam. Kako bi se dosegla zadana vizija Strategije, omjer bi trebao biti upravo – obrnut.
Što financiramo na kontinentu?
S obzirom na manjak i nedovoljnu kvalitetu smještajnih kapaciteta na kontinentu, ne čudi podatak da se financira 21 projekt u kategoriji Hoteli, 30 projekata u kategoriji Ostali ugostiteljski objekti za smještaj, 57 projekata u kategoriji Obiteljskih poljoprivrednih gospodarstava, te 27 projekata u kategoriji Razvoj posebnih oblika turizma, prosječne vrijednosi oko 42 000 kn. Je li to dovoljno za snažan razvoj turizma?
No možda je bolje pitanje kako ćemo usmjeriti turiste na kontinent i što radimo na njegovoj promociji? Unatoč činjenici da su i Republika Hrvatska kroz Ministarstvo turizma i ostala ministarstva, i jedinice lokalne uprave i samouprave, i privatni poduzetnici vjerojatno uložili stotine milijuna kuna u zadnjih dvadesetak godina, promocija kontinentalnog turizma, osobito na međunarodnom tržištu je zanemariva. Uz iznimku kontinuirane promocije Plitvičkih jezera i donekle Slavonije odnosno Baranje, postavlja se pitanje hoće li i kada konačno krenuti i promocija predivnog kontinentalnog dijela Hrvatske. Da nabrojimo samo neke i domaćim i stranim turistima nepoznate destinacije i zanimljivosti: parkovi prirode kontinentalne Hrvatske – Kopački rit, Papuk, Žumberak-Samoborsko gorje, Medvednica, Lonjsko polje, Muzej krapinskog pračovjeka, Vučedolska kultura u Vukovaru, najstariji grad u Europi – Vinkovci, Đurđevački pijesci, Ivanina kuća bajki, Karlovački akvarijum, 11 toplica te brojni objekti seoskog turizma, osobito u Baranji.
I dok gledamo kolone turista kako ljeti dolaze i odlaze iscrpljeni dugotrajnim čekanjima u kolonama iz ovog ili onog razloga, ne bismo li se trebali zapitati što trebamo i možemo učiniti kako bi oni otkrili čari kontinentalne Hrvatske i skrenuli sa svojih uobičajenih ruta? Reklamna kampanja na inozemnom tržištu? Postavljanje info pultova na ulasku u Hrvatsku? Postavljanje smjerokaza uz autoceste i druge ceste? Redefiniranje financiranja turističkih projekata kako bismo stvorili snažan turizam u kontinentalnoj, a ne samo u primorskoj Hrvatskoj kao što je Ministar i obećao? Još jedna godina za to je definitivno izgubljena.
