Almost 40 percent of all tourist overnight stays were achieved in family accommodation

In family accommodation, last year saw the highest number of tourist overnight stays among all commercial accommodation facilities, accounting for 37.3 percent of a total of 71.6 million, confirming the importance of this segment for overall tourist revenues, which, according to conservative estimates, contributes more than 10.4 billion kuna or about 1.4 billion euros.

The share of total overnight stays of 37.3 percent in family accommodation last year, according to data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, resulted in 26.7 million overnight stays, which is an increase of 12 percent compared to 2014. An even greater increase of 15.6 percent was achieved in this accommodation with 4.1 million tourist arrivals.

In terms of total tourist arrivals last year, family accommodation achieved the second largest share in commercial accommodation facilities, at 28.6 percent. The largest share was achieved by hotels, with 5.4 million arrivals or 7 percent more, which is a share of 37.7 percent of a total of 14.3 million arrivals.

The large numbers and increases in the family accommodation segment are the result of an increasing number of service providers in their own households (rooms, apartments, and holiday homes), which numbered about five thousand more than the previous year. According to DZS data, nearly 70 thousand households offered these services to tourists last year, with a total of 446.6 thousand permanent beds, which is 47.3 percent of the total 943 thousand of these beds that were available to tourists last year.

A slightly smaller share of 45 percent was held by this type of accommodation last year in the total number of 348.2 thousand accommodation units, with significant shares also from 43 thousand rooms in family accommodation in the total number of rooms, at 34 percent, and as much as 81 percent with just over 113 thousand apartments in the total number of apartments.

Revenues above 10.4 billion kuna, investments of 750 million kuna

According to the president of the Family Accommodation Association at HGK, Nedeljko Pinezić, based on conservative estimates and the ‘simplest calculation’, this type of accommodation, in addition to the increasing number of tourist arrivals and overnight stays in overall Croatian tourism, contributed around 10.5 billion kuna and more than 750 million in investments just for maintenance in 2014, and for 2015, these figures are likely even higher given the shown growth.

“When we add to this the fact that these service providers spend more than 23 million kuna annually on promotion, as well as that more than 250 thousand people in Croatia live from this accommodation, mostly family members and their employees, the importance of this increasingly numerous micro-entrepreneurship becomes even clearer,” emphasizes Pinezić.

Several interesting financial figures related to this accommodation can be noted, for example, the system of 297 tourist boards without this accommodation would have about 150 million kuna less revenue from the residence tax and tourist membership fees, and the state budget would be ‘thinner’ by a similar amount from the flat income tax.

“Tourist intermediaries would not earn more than 620 million kuna from commission fees, Hrvatske autoceste would have lower revenue from tolls by about 150 million kuna, similar to ferry carriers from passengers and vehicles, retail would be deprived of 2.3 billion kuna in turnover, the parking system in tourist areas would have about 100 million kuna less revenue from parked vehicles of tourists from family accommodation, all forms of hospitality services would generate about 2.6 billion kuna less turnover, and renters of bicycles, scooters, boats, speedboats, pedal boats, and sandolins would earn 262.5 million kuna less,” lists Pinezić.

Additionally, tourist spending in family accommodation for museums, galleries, concerts and events, music festivals, as well as for bank fees, telecom operator services, and numerous other items, which, unfortunately, he says, there are no comprehensive studies on, but which are certainly also large amounts, can be added to this.

“All this shows the significant contribution of family accommodation to the national economy and overall tourism, and it is often overlooked that these citizen-service providers achieve this by using private property based on a lifetime investment in their own real estate, personal labor, without privileges in the form of privatization benefits and without favorable loans, debt write-offs, state subsidies, and the like,” emphasizes Pinezić, urging authorities at all levels that this is an acquired tradition of family micro-entrepreneurship that should be further encouraged along with deregulating the legislative and fiscal system to the simplest level.