What the tourism sector expects from Minister Gari Cappelli?

Tourism professional associations and companies welcome the appointment of Gari Cappelli as the new Minister of Tourism due to his expertise, knowledge, and experience, and expect that he will contribute to the further sustainable growth and development of tourism in the coming years through strong and concrete actions. The President of the Association of Employers in Hospitality of Croatia (UPUHH), Ivan Sabljić, employed at Valamar Riviera, emphasizes that from the new Government and the Minister of Tourism, they primarily expect a change in the uncompetitive tax policy, namely a reduction of VAT on accommodation services and other hospitality services to 5 percent from the current 13 percent, the adoption of amendments to the law on tourist land, a new law on maritime property, as well as an expansion of the application of the investment promotion law and ensuring a significant level of funds for financing investments in tourism through the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR).

– At this moment, it is extremely important to strategically approach the issue of labor shortages, especially of quality personnel for tourism, through short-term and long-term measures and policies, and to continue working on changing the education system for tourism personnel and other economic sectors, Sabljić stated.

The Camping Association of Croatia (KUH) expects the Minister to address some of the more significant issues for the camping sector, which have not been resolved for a long time. The President of KUH, Tihomir Nikolaš, expects that he will “contribute to solving the problems of contracting concessions on tourist land and the issues of concessions on demand on maritime property, as well as understanding the specifics of camping and its promotion.”

The President of the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies (UHPA), Boris Žgomba, who is also a co-owner of the Pula agency Uniline, believes that it is good that the new minister is familiar with the successes but also the difficulties of the sector. He states that for agencies, the most important issue is resolving the special taxation procedure and the adoption of the law on providing services in tourism, as well as the law on tourist boards and tourist land.

The President of the Travel Agency Association at the Zagreb Chamber, which includes about 30 percent of all agencies in Croatia, Ivan Pukšar, who is also the director of the Zagreb agency Kompas, hopes that Cappelli will prove that he has the strength and authority to make important decisions independently, as the Croatian economy is largely dependent on tourism.

– Regarding agencies, in addition to the urgent resolution of the ‘burden’ of unreasonably high taxes, we expect that in the promotion, he will encourage activities to attract new guests in foreign markets, especially for the pre-season and post-season, where there is the most room for growth, but also for the recovery of travel agency businesses, Pukšar notes.

The President of the largest community at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce for family tourism, Nedo Pinezić, considers it important that the new Minister of Tourism, the first to come from Kvarner and the islands, has ’emerged’ from family micro-entrepreneurship in tourism.

– I believe that Cappelli, with a good insight into global tourism trends and the tourism potentials of Croatia, as well as an understanding of the importance of tourism’s contribution to the economic and social stability of the country, will continue with branding projects for families at the Ministry with the support of favorable loans from HBOR and commercial banks and in cooperation with regional and local self-government units, Pinezić believes.

The President of the Guild of Hospitality and Tourism Workers of the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts (HOK) and the Association of Restaurateurs of Zagreb, Nenad Šepak, hopes for the continuation of the previous quality cooperation with the Ministry, with an emphasis on completing the drafting of regulations and laws important for hoteliers. He assesses that “the most important thing is that the minister stands in front of the profession and coordinates with other ministries so that laws do not overlap and to eliminate legal barriers to business.”

– There are few ministers like Cappelli who do not need a single day to get acquainted with the department, and we have no doubt that he will immediately tackle the biggest challenges of Croatian tourism, from tourist land to VAT, and will remain extremely sensitive to the tourism of the future, which includes sustainable development and the promotion of Croatia as a health destination, emphasized the director of the Tourism Sector of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, Leila Krešić Jurić.