ZAGREB, 19 Dec (Hina) – 2024 was an exceptionally successful year for the Croatian tourism industry, with growth in all indicators, and 2025 could be similar, provided there is caution and wisdom in setting prices, Minister of Tourism and Sports Tonči Glavina and National Tourist Board (HTZ) Director Kristjan Staničić told a press conference on Thursday.
Glavina said that the year 2024 will finish with over 21 million tourists and about 108 million overnight stays, which represents respective increases of 3% and 1% compared to 2023.
“An increase in tourism revenue is also expected,” he said.
Glavina described 2024 as a record year in terms of results, especially in the pre- and post-season periods. According to him, this is the goal of all documents and plans – for Croatia to become a sustainable year-round destination.
He emphasised the importance of continuing the reform to transform tourism in the country, ensuring it is managed effectively.
In his opinion, this can be achieved by the package of legal amendments introduced this year to address one of the biggest challenges – the unsustainability of the current structure of accommodation capacities.
“Properties that operate only 60 days a year, which means only seasonally, are not sustainable. We are working to ensure that more people seriously engage in year-round tourism, so they do not emigrate, leave cities, or protest against tourism,” Glavina stressed.
Price competitiveness
Both Glavina and Staničić repeated the call for caution and wisdom regarding prices, so that Croatia can maintain price competitiveness and a good price-to-quality ratio.
Although they cannot interfere with the prices of individual stakeholders, or force them to lower prices, as they are determined by supply and demand, they believe that even when investments increase quality and add value, care must be taken to ensure, for example, that services in a four-star hotel are similar to those in competitor countries.
Speaking on the matter, Glavina mentioned that the biggest, but unjustified price increase this year occurred with seasonal hospitality facilities, accommodations, and on beaches, which operate for about three months in the summer. The goal is to reduce the number of such properties, as they do not contribute to development or sustainability.
Aggressive competition
“Competition for 2025 will be very ‘aggressive’, with a lot of investment in promotion, and prices will be a priority for Europeans when choosing their holiday and travel destinations,” Staničić emphasised.
He announced that HTZ will continue strong promotional efforts over the next few months at various markets, trade fairs and presentations.
Glavina noted that the Ministry of Tourism and Sports received one of the largest budget increases, around 40% compared to 2024, with an increase of about 30% for sports.
