Source: Government / Hina / small boats
Mini cruisers sailing the Adriatic represent an important segment of Croatia’s tourist offer. Our goal is, in cooperation with the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, to make this valuable 100 percent Croatian product ‘green’, said Robert Pende, Director of the Directorate for Entrepreneurship Development, Investments and Competitiveness of the Tourism Economy of the Ministry of the Sea and Sports, when handing over contracts to beneficiaries of the “Green and Digital Transition of Entrepreneurs in Tourism” program.
Minister of Tourism and Sports Tonči Glavina presented contracts worth a total of 3.4 million euros to beneficiaries of the “Green and Digital Transition of Entrepreneurs in Tourism” program, telling everyone that their efforts in the development of tourism are very important, and that he believes that the season, like the entire year, will be at the level of last year.
He awarded contracts for these grants for a total of 138 projects, selected in the Ministry’s competition for the Tourism Economy Competitiveness Program for 2025, which includes both green and digital transitions.
“Since we have determined ourselves as a country that does not want mass tourism, we are systematically and systematically improving the quality of our tourist offer and have turned towards the premium segment. To achieve this, we must have premium service at the level of the entire destination,” emphasized Minister Glavina.
Contribution to increasing the competitiveness of the tourism economy through green and digital transition
These projects should contribute to increasing the competitiveness of the tourism economy through the green and digital transition of their facilities and operations, along with the development of innovative and sustainable tourism products and services. They expect that this will also contribute to improving environmentally friendly processes in the hospitality business, increasing energy efficiency, accessibility, and the like.
Beneficiaries received funds through four measures – for small hotels, campsites, family farms and vessels or nautical activities, with the largest amount of 1.8 million euros earmarked for 62 hotel projects and similar facilities. Among them are 50 hotels, one heritage hotel, two aparthotels, four tourist resorts and five guesthouses.
For campsites and camping sites, 11 beneficiaries received support in the total amount of 236 thousand euros, and since fewer entrepreneurs applied than expected, part of the funds, according to the director of the Directorate for Entrepreneurship Development, Investment and Competitiveness of the Tourism Economy, Robert Pende, were transferred to the third measure, i.e. for family farms and farmers, of whom 50 were selected, and they received a total of 940.6 thousand euros, or twice as much as planned. There are the most OPGs, 35, while the rest are tasting rooms for cheese, wine, cured meats and other domestic products.
Measure D – nautical tourism vessels
Among nautical tourism vessels for cruises or excursions, 15 projects received funding for the purchase and installation of equipment or devices for biochemical wastewater treatment on board, totaling 427.1 thousand euros.
The fleet of excursion boats in Croatia is large, with around 250 vessels, and the goal is to make it “greener”, it was emphasized.
In total, the Competitiveness of the Tourism Economy program has been implemented in 11 years, since 2014. In 2018, the Ministry allocated more than 30 million euros for almost 4,000 projects.
On behalf of all the winners, a small hotelier from Karlovac, Ivan Srakovčić, expressed his gratitude, emphasizing the good cooperation with the Ministry and saying that these funds, which are allocated from the state budget, are useful for the development and improvement of the business.
Glavina: It would be good if the season and the whole year were like last year
When asked by journalists about prices in tourism and expectations for the season, Minister Glavina said that he believes that the sector has understood the messages about the importance of price competitiveness and that Croatia is promoting itself as a country with a good price-quality ratio.
“Until May 1st, there was a slight increase in tourism turnover compared to the first four months of last year, there has been a slight decline in the last 20 days or so, but we believe that this will level out. It would be good if the season and the entire year were like last year, I believe we can repeat that, despite all the challenges,” said Glavina.
He also reminded that the mood for travel, vacations and tourist spending will be affected by geopolitical uncertainties and the not-so-great economic situation in European markets, including Germany, the strongest in Croatian tourism. However, given that much more work has been done on promotion in that market this year, as he pointed out, he does not expect bad results and does not think that Germans will give up on vacationing in Croatia.
The Minister said that the recently promoted new “Local Host/Your Host” labels for family tourism with hosts have not yet been awarded, but there is a lot of interest and applications.
