The 14th Congress of Croatian Camping opened today, for the first time fully accessible online and organized by the Croatian Camping Union (KUH). Below what emerged during the first working day. Tomorrow there will be the final session.
The tourism sector needs help to prepare for the next season, in which nothing should be left to chance. This crisis should be an opportunity to resolve structural problems, through EU funds and by defining a new tourism strategy. Thus, in the medium term, investments of 35 billion kuna (just over 4.6 billion euros) that companies in the tourism sector have at their disposal could be realized.
To prepare well for next season, the key will be the extension of government measures to support employment and the survival of economic entities until April next year. At that point, hopefully, the first signs of a recovery in tourist travel, accompanied by the promotion of Croatian quality on the main markets, should lead to the arrival and stay in safety of as many foreign tourists as possible. The Congress, which brings together all the main players in tourism, saw the participation of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Davor Božinović, and the Minister of Tourism and Sports, Nikolina Brnjac.
In terms of tourist traffic, especially speaking of foreign guests, this year Croatia was the best in the Mediterranean, but the financial result of the season was still weak compared to the usual indicators of overnight stays or arrivals. This was a severe blow to the national tourism sector, especially in a situation where the return of traffic volumes to the 2019 level cannot realistically be foreseen before 2022.
“We are now focused on preparing for next season, which brings with it many unknowns, and the only thing we are sure of is that it will be a busy year to win over every single guest,” said Tomislav Popovic, of Maistra Hospitality Group. “Significant investments are needed to prepare for the season, which is why we are counting on the government’s help in the sector by extending employment support measures at least until April. Together with financial support, quality communication of Croatia as a tourist destination on the most important markets, an efficient exchange of information and coordination of the tourism sector with public bodies, as well as diplomatic networks and Croatian body networks will be essential”.
Tourism and sports minister Nikolina Brnjac told those present via video message that the government has supported the sector with three different sets of measures. The first was aimed at safeguarding jobs, the second one at supporting liquidity in the short and medium term and the third one at covering fixed costs for all those who could not work.
“From the beginning I have stressed the importance of the potential of EU funds that we must use to make tourism resilient and achieve solid growth,” the minister said. “We will therefore finance those projects that will contribute to the restart after the crisis, because we consider the recovery of tourism as one of the preconditions for the recovery of the economy as a whole. The projects we will invest in should help to increase the level of tourism added value through the abandonment of seasonality and overtourism, as well as to develop tourism products capable of providing greater resilience to future crises. Another important source of funding is foreseen in the multiannual financial framework for the period from 2021 to 2027 and the operational plans are under development. It is important that the Ministry of Tourism and Sport willbe included in all groups that will work on operational programs”.
Tourism professionals have begun to devise new development strategies until 2030, to identify key obstacles. Siniša Topalović, Horwath HTL’s Global Director of Tourism Consulting, presented data showing the serious structural problems of the sector. This year, hotel accommodations in Croatia fell below 10 percent of the total number of accommodations, with over 85 percent distributed in private units and other types. At the same time, Croatia is the champion of tourist density, with 19.7 beds per square kilometer. Such a situation is not sustainable and should be reviewed, Topalović pointed out.
“Today it is difficult to plan new investments in tourism, because none of us can know how long today’s pandemic and uncertainty will last,” said Željko Kukurin, chairman of the board of Valamar. “In such a situation, it is crucial to understand how we can support these investments with EU funds and other incentives to motivate investors. What we do know is that we have ready investments for projects related to green tourism, digitization, raising the quality of housing and tourism infrastructure. For their realization, it is necessary to provide a stimulating environment and an open space for EU funding through a clear definition of criteria”.
At the roundtable on safety as a prerequisite for tourist traffic, it was once again stressed that the key to a successful season is good cooperation between the tourism sector, the government, the national tourism office and the civil protection system. The participants confirmed that the safety factor will be one of the fundamental prerequisites for making the final decision on the holidays in the next season.
“In the implementation of promotional activities in the next year, we will focus even more on digital promotion channels and social networks, with a focus on the closest European markets, where Croatian destinations are easily accessible by road, such as Germany, Slovenia, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Italy and Hungary”, said Kristjan Staničić, director of the Croatian National Tourist Board (CNTB). “The goal is to position our country as a diversified and well-prepared destination capable of guaranteeing to its guests a safe and quality stay, as confirmed in this year in which Croatia achieved one of the best tourist results in the Mediterranean, with over 54 million overnight stays, even if at 50 percent of last year’s result”.
While much hope for next season lies in a vaccine that, experts say, could stop the spread of the virus, we will still have to be careful. “The vaccine will not solve all travel and tourism problems,” said Veljko Ostojic, director of the Croatian Tourism Association (HUT). “It is certain that by the beginning of next season only a part of the population will be vaccinated, and it is realistic to expect that a significant part of next year will still be characterized by the same problems of this year. In such a context, we must prepare and elaborate scenarios on how to define measures at state and sector level”.
Participants agreed that the next tourist season, according to current information, should be better than this year. And Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic also agrees on this. This assessment is based on the imminent arrival of the vaccine, but despite this we will have to do everything to make guests feel even safer. This year we saw how important it was for tourists to go on vacation, and after a year of pandemic everyone will need even more relaxation. And Croatia, according to Bozinovic, is an ideal destination. “The recipe for a successful tourism season in a pandemic is cooperation between the private sector and the state, especially in preparation for the upcoming season. We have shown this year that this cooperation has to be results-oriented, so it should take place not only in tourism but also in other sectors”, said the minister.
The SETT has been postponed: the date changes from November to February 2021