Cappelli announced nearly one billion euros in investments in tourism

Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli stated on Thursday that nearly one billion euros in investments in Croatian tourism are expected this year, which is 15 percent more than last year and 40 percent more than in 2016, and that most investments will be realized in 4 or 5-star hotels.

Cappelli made this statement at the beginning of the 24th International Congress “Tourism and the Hotel Industry 2018 – Trends and Challenges” organized by the Opatija Faculty of Management in Tourism and Hospitality.

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He said that Croatia is ranked better than ever on the world tourism map and that tourism is significant for the entire economy.

The key to the success of our tourism is definitely the people, emphasized Cappelli, congratulating the collaboration between the Opatija faculty and the University of Rijeka with hotel and tourism companies.

Cappelli noted that we have had a record tourist year behind us, but also a good start to the new one, with double-digit growth in the number of overnight stays and arrivals.

A significant part of the Government’s tourism goals has been achieved, Croatia is a hit destination, but its position in global tourism needs to be strengthened, he assessed.

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He emphasized that investments and innovations in the hotel sector are extremely important and stated that according to the tourism development strategy, by 2020, the construction of new hotel capacities and investments of around two billion kuna are planned, the construction of new hotels, and investment in hotel facilities.

In hotel accommodation, 24 percent of total overnight stays are realized, and according to the latest research, guests in hotel accommodation stay 6 to 7 days and spend on average 55 percent more per day than the average spending in other types of accommodation.

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Regarding the problem of labor shortages in tourism, he mentioned that one of the development goals is to adapt the domestic education system to tourism and hospitality and market needs, and that the ministry is working on the development of regional competence centers, for which 500 million kuna has been secured.

In response to journalists’ questions, Cappelli said that in the first three months, differences were recorded in tourist traffic compared to last year, but increases were still achieved. He stated that Croatia is expected to see a 7 or 8 percent increase in the number of tourists this year.

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Vice President of the Croatian Chamber of Economy for Tourism Josip Zaher noted that in the first three months of this year, more than 894,000 tourist arrivals were recorded, which is 19.2 percent more, and 2.35 million overnight stays, which is 20 percent more than in the same period last year.

He expressed concern about the labor shortage, but believes that this problem will be resolved effectively. He believes that work should continue on tax relief and addressing legal regulations.