Crisis Optimism: Tourism Workers Did Not Expect Such Good Results

Croatia has once again been flooded with images of queues at the borders, which is excellent news for the wounded economy dependent on tourism, writes Večernji list on Sunday, noting that tourist traffic in August will be as much as 60 percent of last year’s.

Due to the economy’s reliance on foreign guests, which is a very undesirable circumstance during the pandemic, the International Monetary Fund estimated that the GDP decline in 2020 would be among the highest in the European Union, at as much as 9 percent. Therefore, the current tourist results, significantly above expectations compared to the period at the beginning of the pandemic, are important for the overall economy. An even better August is expected, and Croatia is also benefiting from some moves by other countries, such as the British government’s decision that those returning from Spain must undergo a two-week quarantine.

In May, the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) stated that up to 30 percent of last year’s traffic was expected. However, Croatia has already reached 45 percent of traffic compared to 2019, and July itself was significantly above expectations, with 60 percent of traffic achieved compared to July 2019.

Currently, there are about 780,000 tourists in Croatia. The smaller decline than expected is a reason for optimism in HTZ, reports Večernji list.

Through the border crossings in Istria County – Kaštela, Plovanije, and Požana – from Friday to Sunday at 12 PM, 116,177 passengers entered Croatia, of which 106,019 were foreign guests, reported the Istrian police on Sunday, as reported by Hina.

The most tourists entered on Saturday, with 53,110 passengers, of which 49,297 were foreign, while more than 20,000 entered through the three border crossings by Sunday at 12 PM, of which 19,256 were foreign nationals. The largest groups were Slovenians, Germans, and Austrians. At the border crossings, waiting times were up to two hours. According to data from the Istrian Tourist Board, 60 percent of last year’s tourist traffic was achieved in July, and currently, more than 190,000 guests are vacationing in the Istrian peninsula.

– Holiday homes and villas with pools are this year’s trump card of Istrian tourism. Guests are staying in these properties because they provide peace and the necessary physical distance – said Denis Ivošević, director of the Istrian Tourist Board, emphasizing that, realistically, Istrian tourism workers did not expect such good results.

– It seems that favorable epidemiological conditions and the proximity of emitting tourist markets from where guests come by car have helped these results. We are entering August with good announcements, and I believe that this month will be crucial for overall tourist traffic. We expect the most from Bavarian guests and tourists from other German regions where school holidays have just begun – Ivošević stated.

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