HNB: Tourism revenues will increase by at least 1.3 billion euros this year

Tourism revenues will increase by at least 1.3 billion euros this year, writes Jutarnji list on Sunday, noting that all indicators suggest that last year’s record tourist season will be ‘significantly surpassed’, but the HNB currently only presents conservative estimates of financial results.

Unlike previous seasons, when guest arrivals were enthusiastically counted and their impressions of the beauties of Croatia were recounted, this year there is a prevailing astonishment due to high prices, and even a wish for underperformance as a warning to the greedy, the daily states.

However, congestion on the roads this weekend, as well as all previous statistical indicators, suggest that new tourist records will not be absent. Data from the eVisitor system show that in the first seven months there was a slight increase in physical indicators in tourism compared to the same period last year.

The number of overnight stays by foreign guests from January to July was 4.3 percent higher than in the first seven months of last year, and the number of arrivals was up by 11.3 percent. Given the strong price increase, it is expected that revenue growth will greatly exceed ‘physical indicators’.

This is also clearly indicated by data from the Tax Administration on fiscalized invoices in hospitality, which increased in value by about 20 percent in July. ‘The introduction of the euro and Croatia’s entry into the Schengen zone also positively affect physical and financial indicators in tourism,’ say the Croatian National Bank. When asked about their estimates of this year’s tourism revenues, the central bank responds that they could ‘significantly exceed last year’s record results’.

Their estimates suggest that this year’s increase could amount to ‘slightly more than a tenth’ of last year’s figure of 13.1 billion euros. This would mean ‘slightly more’ than 1.3 billion euros, or that this year’s tourism revenues could amount to around 14.5 billion euros, writes Jutarnji.