Construction of the Park Hotel in Rovinj is the largest investment in tourism this year, and there are quite a few

Hoteliers in Croatia continue to invest, with many planning to open new facilities and services, and one of the largest investments, exceeding 600 million kuna, is that of the Adris Group and its Maistra in the construction and renovation of the Rovinj Park Hotel, which is scheduled to open by the end of the year.

According to announcements from the Ministry of Tourism, Croatian tourism is expected to see the opening of around 40 new and newly renovated hotels this year, similar to last year, with total investments from the public and private sectors in tourism expected to reach around one billion euros.

>>> Investments in the tourism sector in 2018 worth 940 million euros

As usual, hotel companies invest the most, over 630 million euros, while the remainder will be invested by the public sector, namely counties, cities, and municipalities.

Among the investments by hotel companies this year, the investment of Rovinj’s Maistra, or Adris Group, in the Park Hotel stands out, one of the oldest hotels in Rovinj and Istria, which is undergoing intensive work and will actually be a completely new hotel after the old one is demolished.

“The construction of the new Grand Park Hotel Rovinj is Adris’s largest single investment in the tourism part of the business and also the largest investment in Croatian tourism this year. The works are progressing as planned, and the hotel opening is scheduled for the end of the year,” they emphasize for Hina from Maistra.

They add that the hotel will have 209 accommodation units with views of the old town core, six restaurants, a large wellness & spa center, a shopping promenade, a conference hall, and numerous other amenities.

>>> A strategic investment project agreement ‘Hotel Park 5 stars’ signed in Rovinj

The hotel will operate year-round, employ around a hundred new workers, and its opening will complete the arrangement of the exclusive Monte Mulini zone in Rovinj, which also includes other top Maistra hotels and the completely renovated Mulini Beach promenade accessible to both guests and citizens.

“Adris has so far invested more than 4 billion kuna in the tourism segment. By 2021, it will invest an additional 2 billion kuna in tourism, of which 450 million kuna will go to Vrsar,” they reveal from Maistra.

Investments are also being made by Valamar, Plava Laguna, Istraturist, Sunce…

Large investments this year, totaling 705 million kuna, are also being undertaken by the largest hotel company in Croatia, Valamar Riviera, which emphasizes that as part of its growth strategy, it has so far invested more than 4 billion kuna in Croatian tourism.

“Key investments in 2018 include the completion of the Valamar Girandella Resort in Rabac, where we will open the first hotel under the Kinderhotel brand, and the Dubrovnik hotel Valamar Argosy has been renovated, as well as the Imperial hotel in Rab. We continue to invest in camps in Istria and on the island of Krk,” they state from Valamar.

This company is following the process of acquiring and integrating Hotel Makarska into its portfolio, after they became owners of 55.48 percent of the share capital of Hotel Makarska at the end of March.

>>> Valamar Riviera signed a contract to purchase shares of Hotel Makarska

“Valamar is entering Hotel Makarska in partnership with AZ mandatory pension funds with which it jointly realized the acquisition of a majority stake in the Rab Imperial in 2016. Together with the PBZ Croatia Insurance pension funds, we submitted a joint offer for investment and recapitalization of the bankrupt company Helios Faros from Stari Grad on Hvar, which includes a restructuring plan and a six-year investment plan in tourism property of around 650 million kuna. Based on our offer, a bankruptcy plan is being prepared, which is confirmed by the bankruptcy creditors and will allow Helios Faros to exit bankruptcy. After the restructuring is implemented, the conditions will be created for the start of investment realization and further development of Helios Faros’s tourism business,” they say at Valamar.

The company Plava Laguna, under which the business of the Poreč company Plava Laguna and the Umag Istraturist has been consolidated since the beginning of this year, is investing around half a billion kuna this year, with the largest investment of around 35 million euros going into a new hotel, apartments, and villas Park in the Poreč settlement of Špadići.

“The plan is for the new Park resort to open its doors at the beginning of the main part of this tourist year, and as part of the investment, we are increasing the quality of existing facilities with a complete reconstruction of the hotel, villas, and apartments and new amenities, including a huge pool complex. It will still be primarily aimed at families with children, offering a total of 309 accommodation units, of which 154 rooms and suites in the hotel, 91 in so-called garden suites, and 43 in apartments, as well as 21 villas,” emphasize from Plava Laguna.

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The completely reconstructed Park Hotel will be surrounded by pools and water attractions, the sea, children’s playgrounds, and sports offerings, as well as restaurants, bars, shops, and a promenade to the center of Poreč.

In Umag, or Istraturist, this year 4.7 million euros are being invested in Garden Suites & Rooms Sol Umag, which will be linked to the services of Hotel Sol Umag for Plava Laguna and will have 54 new accommodation units in the four-star category.

“This year we continue to invest in camps in Umag, with the most or 11.2 million euros going into new accommodation capacities and amenities in Camp Stella Maris Umag. The camp will also receive a new reception with an accompanying catering facility and a pool, a sports and recreational zone, and more, and we expect better camp occupancy as guests are offered more experiences,” they say from Plava Laguna.

The hotel group Sunce of the Bluesun group is also continuing its investments this year, highlighting investments in the Alga hotel in Tučepi, which opened at the end of March with renovated 156 rooms, a restaurant, and a terrace, while the second phase of renovation is announced for next year.

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“The total value of investments in the Alga hotel in Tučepi is 2 million euros, while in the Alan hotel in Starigrad Paklenica, which has been operating under the name Alana Beachclub since 2017 due to our partnership with the British active tourism agency Neilson, we are investing a total of 6.5 million euros. Of that, 2 million euros were invested last year, and work is currently underway on the complete redesign of 187 hotel rooms, 34 new mobile homes are being installed, the beach bar is being renovated, and semi-Olympic pools, new sports and children’s playgrounds, as well as apartments for some employees are being built,” they report from Bluesun.

From the Mali Lošinj Jadranka group and its portfolio Lošinj Hotels & Villas, the largest investment this year of 9 million euros is the extension of the annex of the Vitality Hotel Punta in Veli Lošinj, which will add 75 new accommodation units to the hotel.

In parallel, in Veli Lošinj, they are currently building a four-star hotel for seasonal workers, investing 5 million euros in it, and the continuation or second phase of the promenade renovation in Čikat Bay is also underway.

“The investment cycle that the Jadranka group started in 2007 with the intention of transforming Lošinj into a leading luxury destination in the Mediterranean, in which we have so far invested more than 170 million euros, continues this year with numerous investments,” they report from that hotel company.

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Dogus Group Croatia is allocating around 400 thousand euros this year for the maintenance and technological improvement of the reservation and sales systems, certain hotel repairs, and the preparation of a project for the renovation of Villa Dubrovnik.

Regarding the construction and repurposing of the old Maraska factory into a hotel and other facilities in Zadar, they emphasize that preparatory work has been done on the old Maraska building to ensure that the building is completely safe and ready for the start of construction work, but that the project is currently on hold, without providing details.

“In mid-January this year, we started an investment of 2 million euros in the renovation of Marina Borik in Zadar, where a new reception building, sanitary facilities, a catering facility, and a pool are being built to provide guests with a higher quality of service and amenities,” they state from the Dogus group.