April the 11th, 2026 – Trump’s antics have sent shock waves around the world as war with Iran results in spiralling prices and fuel crises, but how will this dire situation affect Croatia in particular?
As Slobodna Dalmacija/Marta Duic writes, despite the long-term and frequently changing geopolitical uncertainty, after Trump’s recent decision on a ceasefire, Croatia is entering the approaching main tourist season with a new dose of optimism. Those at the helm of the country’s tourism sector spoke on what implications Trump’s latest decision could have on Croatia and what kind of season awaits us.
“even if things remain as they are, there’s no reason to worry”
“It’s certain that the recent decision on a ceasefire will greatly change the situation, we just hope and believe that it will last longer than fifteen days. We can already see that fuel prices are changing, they will also stabilise here in Croatia, and if all this lasts, the upcoming tourist season will be at last year’s level. It’s clear that the Asian market will need a little bit longer to recover. Croatia is already known as an exceptionally safe destination, and compared to other Mediterranean countries, its advantage is that it is a destination easily reached by car for many, and there are also very good road connections. Even if the situation remains at the current level, there’s no reason to worry,” assured Tomislav Fain, president of the Croatian Association of Travel Agencies (UHPA).
croatia has an advantage compared to other countries across the med
Ivana Kolar, director of the company “Julius Rose”, which specialises in consulting and project management in tourism, who is also the organiser of the conference “Tourism 365”, is also very optimistic.
“In this sort of situation, it’s difficult to give firm forecasts for the upcoming tourist season, because geopolitical circumstances continue to change, and we’re seeing that some countries, such as Germany, have already announced austerity measures that will affect how people spend. However, one thing is certain – Croatia is a safe and stable destination for travel this summer. Its geographical position and the overall safety situation give the country an advantage, which is why I believe that a good tourist season can be achieved, provided that there is no uncontrolled increase in prices. Raising prices excessively could be the biggest risk because in the long run. we’re harming our own competitiveness.
Compared to some traditionally strong destinations, from the USA and the Middle East to parts of the Mediterranean like Greece and Cyprus, Croatia is currently in a more favourable position. However, the key to success is how we prepare and what kind of experience we offer our guests. I’ve been warning for some time that Croatian tourism must move more strongly towards year-round operations, and extending the tourist season is crucial for the stability of destinations, sustainable growth and the proper security of tourism employees,” stated Ivana Kolar.
“all this should be taken with a grain of salt…”
“The ceasefire agreement is finally a positive thing for the Middle East and the entire world. The very indication and implementation of the ceasefire in the context of tourism opens up opportunities for a greater number of flights, opens up better supply and thus removes the fear of price increases due to the inability to supply, and this is certainly a positive thing for tourism. However, all of this should be taken with a grain of salt and we’ll just have to see what happens and how it will turn out,” said Boris Žgomba, President of the Board of Directors of “Uniline” and President of the Association of Travel Agencies of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce.
bookings are stable
At the end of March, the results of a survey conducted by Deloitte were published, which included tourism companies that together have a total of 259 hotels and campsites with over 51,000 accommodation units.
The main conclusions of the survey are that Croatian tourism companies are entering the rapidly approaching tourist season with a currently stable level of reservations and cautious optimism regarding its further development. Despite that, there are also plenty of expectations of continued growth in costs, which could grow at a higher rate than revenue growth for the third year in a row, thus crowding out the space for necessary investments.
The majority of facilities, 55%, are currently recording a stable status of tourist reservations compared to the same period last year, and 33% of them have recorded an increase in reservations of 3 to 6%. 67% of them haven’t noted any significant changes in the volume of reservations and bookings in different markets, and as many as 100% of facilities haven’t seen any signs when it comes to changes in the length of stay of tourists compared to 2025.
