In recent weeks, there has been talk of seasonal gaps, weaker bookings for July and August, mostly in private accommodation. On social media, readers are posting comments that they no longer read articles about tourism in the pre-season. No one can blame them for that. Besides the fact that the average reader is already dizzy from counting tourists and vehicles on the roads (and the counting has just begun), in the fall, everything ends with a story about a record tourist season, and the landlord who complained signs a contract to purchase an apartment in the metropolis. The story of a poor start to the season is as old as the season itself, but this time, in the usual complaints of landlords, there may be reasons for concern. Not so much due to more or fewer guests but because of the possibility that this will be a decisive season in which the rental (il)logic will finally backfire. About tourism and the announced collapse of the beloved concept of ‘zimmer frei’, writes Željka Laslavić.
Thanks to extensive experience and over three decades spent in the financial world of investment products and services, Milan Horvat, CEO of FIMA Plus, definitely has a great insight not only into events in the capital market but also into economic developments in Croatia and the world. He regularly selflessly shares his knowledge on LinkedIn, where more than 40 thousand people follow his texts and analyses. In addition to the capital market and investing, we also talked to him about a whole range of other topics, from the tax system, pension funds to economic growth and potential recession. Antonija Knežević interviewed Horvat.
European China or something of higher quality? Regardless of whether we buy Polish furniture, clothing, food, or something else, we are used to buying large quantities of modest quality for a not-so-modest price. Just like China (just, because it is a large European country with higher overall input costs). The similarities between Poland and China do not end here. Today, when we say ‘Poland’, we do not think so much about economic success; rather, we are reminded of radical religious concepts, abortion bans, electoral victories of populist options, and fierce criticism of any attempt to separate the EU from the USA, which, for example, is advocated by French President Emmanuel Macron. Although the largest Eastern European member has gone from darling to enfant terrible of the European Union, its economy has been continuously growing since the Iron Curtain fell. It was not stopped by the severe recession of 2008; on the contrary, neither the prolonged conflict with Brussels nor the war in Ukraine has hindered it, qualifying it for detailed analysis and drawing lessons applicable in Croatia. What we can learn from Poland was discovered by Gordana Gelenčer in the topic of the week.
