The tourism strategy envisions the construction of 14 golf courses, but of those, six are projects with investors still seeking permits and eight projects with permits that are only looking for investors. The negative perception of part of the public towards golf as a sport is the biggest obstacle to this.
Golf courses are not profitable investments in themselves. With 18 holes on a standard golf course, the nineteenth is the financial one. Golf requires a lot of land, significant investments during construction, and the maintenance costs of the courses are high. Golf courses are self-sustainable only in exceptional situations. However, the reason for the existence of 1700 courses in the Mediterranean lies in the fact that golf functions as an additional feature of the tourist offer and attracts high-paying guests.
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The neighbor’s grass is greener this time as well, and this is evidenced by the number of golf courses in neighboring countries: Slovenia has 13 courses compared to Croatia’s five, Austria has 160, and Italy has as many as 290. In an effort for Croatia to utilize its potential and reposition itself towards a higher quality of tourist service, a Tourism Development Strategy until 2020 has been developed, which envisions the construction of 30 new high-quality golf courses, primarily along the coast. However, a year and a half before the deadline, Croatia stands at a ‘clean’ five.
