Jelsa: PonteSud – Anita Bosman
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the number of tourists visiting Croatia has fallen significantly despite efforts to continue attracting the masses, while attempting to tackle overtourism. It’s a difficult line to walk, and the results of these efforts have been a mixed bag. All in all, these factors have dealt a major blow to the tourism industry. Croatia has long been a haven for visitors from Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Italy, but in the past three years, high Croatian prices for tourist services have risen by as much as 50% in some cases. It’s no wonder that previously loyal tourists are looking elsewhere.
High Croatian prices have seen the country become even more expensive than its biggest competitors – Spain and Greece. Prices in these two Mediterranean countries which also rely very heavily on foreign income from tourism have increased by only 15-20% in the same period, according to the Express. The British media often spotlights Croatia, but negative headlines about high Croatian prices are relatively (but not entirely) new. It goes without saying that punchy headlines such as this and from certain media outlets are often prone to dramatics, but denying there’s an issue would be an error.
While there are more complexities than described by the aforementioned British media outlet, nobody can deny that high Croatian prices are now seriously damaging the country’s image as an affordable holiday destination. This is hardly news to anyone even loosely following the situation. The increase in costs is not caused by external factors – such as energy prices or VAT rates, and the primary reason for the price increase lies in the increasing operating costs within the hospitality sector.
The British media outlet discusses how increasingly high Croatian prices have led to tourists heading elsewhere, stagnation in the number of overnight stays and, more worryingly – a decline in tourism spending overall. During the peak of last summer’s season, foreign tourist arrivals in Croatia fell by 0.7% compared to the previous year. Tourists have expressed their displeasure with the drastic price increases on respected travel review platforms such as Tripadvisor, according to the British media.
A Norwegian tourist claimed to have been left deeply disappointed after a holiday in Croatia last year: “Everything is so much more expensive than before. The prices are insanely high and have probably increased two to three times in two years. A sunbed costs 25 to 30 euros! Croatia was our first choice for a holiday, but now, unfortunately, everything has become too expensive. I don’t know if we will return. I’m sorry that Croatia is developing in this direction.”
With that being said, there are those who remain happy or at least neutral about the prices Croatia sets. One British tourist did not notice a significant difference in prices compared to the previous year. He wrote: “When we compare how much we spent on food and drink in Rovinj in 2023 and how much we spent on Hvar this year, it was very similar. There wasn’t a big difference in prices. The only difference is that Rovinj was slightly more affordable when it came to wine because there were more offers for litres and half litres,” the Brit wrote.
Croatia’s longtime struggle with tourism is becoming somewhat difficult to witness for many. Overtourism is completely unsustainable and is causing serious infrastructure issues in tourist centres like Dubrovnik, leading to Respect the City initiatives and the like. That said, Croatia’s obsession with counting eVisitor numbers doesn’t lend itself to turning towards more sustainable practices and targeting tourists with deeper pockets.
