We took a gamble and it paid off. Despite the fact that Croatia has been classified as one of the safest countries in the Mediterranean since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, no one expected that tourism on the coast would explode in the last three weeks. Excluding southern Dalmatia, which is suffering due to a lack of air guests, tourism in other parts of the Adriatic seems as if it has never encountered the corona. In May, official estimates suggested that we would be happy if we achieved 30 percent of last year’s results, and we are currently at about 70 percent.
Two and a half months ago, hoteliers were shyly opening one property after another, and the HoReCa channel supplying hotels, restaurants, and cafes was on its knees. In July, things changed overnight, and hoteliers and suppliers were caught off guard, leading to chaos in the supply chain by mid-July. Only now has HoReCa returned to ‘the old normal.’ According to hoteliers, the unpreparedness of traders was felt. They did not have enough goods, sufficient numbers of people and vehicles, so delivery standards in July were lower than usual.
– Everything happened at the last minute, no one could expect such a sudden increase, and it was necessary to mobilize people and vehicles overnight. We literally cried because we could not get fresh fruits and vegetables, and we also ran out of drinks – says Goran Fabris, CEO of Jadran Crikvenica.
Given all the uncertainties that characterized this year, suppliers were unwilling to keep goods in stock, which the tourism sector realistically could not expect. Everyone was focused on daily needs and planning. On the other hand, hoteliers could not provide suppliers with detailed plans because they themselves did not know them; guest traffic forecasts were made at most two weeks in advance. When demand outstripped supply, certain suppliers took advantage of this and raised prices. Some did not do this, but in any case, no one lowered them. Currently, no one is asking about prices because the rule is ‘just give,’ everyone needs everything.
In May, the number of classic (non-hotel) restaurants open at the national level was 50 percent, and now only about 10 percent are not operating. Week by week, the situation in restaurants is getting better.
– Since the beginning of July, the weekly traffic growth in restaurants is between 20 and 25 percent, and the best performances, at last year’s levels, are achieved by Istria and Kvarner. Dubrovnik is doing the worst, still at only 25 percent of last year’s traffic, followed by Split – says Marin Medak, president of the National Association of Caterers. The supply of restaurants in Croatia was not problematic in July because, as Medak says, most products in restaurants are imported anyway.
