The Ministry of Tourism stated that this season it expects around forty new or renovated hotels to open throughout Croatia. Together with other public and private investment a total of new facilities in tourism should reach a billion Euro investment for this season. Most of the money, around EUR 630 million, will be spent by hotel companies, and the rest by the public sector (cities and municipalities).

Among individual projects, the largest seems to be the Adris Grupa investment in the Park Hotel in Rovinj, worth more than Kn 600 million. The new Park is expected to open by the end of this year, featuring 209 rooms, six restaurants, a wellness and spa center, congressional facilities and so on. This will mark the end of the Monte Mulini renovation in Rovinj. Monte Mulini is an area filled with other Adris luxury hotels. Since its establishment, the Adris Grupa invested around Kn 4 billion in tourism. The group’s hotel arm, Maistra, stated that they expect to see this investment increase by another Kn 2 billion over the next three years, and Kn 450 million of that should be invested in Vrsar.

Not to be bested, the largest Croatian tourism company Valamar Rivijera is investing Kn 705 million this year, to include finalization of the Valamar Girandella Resort in Rabac, Valamar Argossy in Dubrovnik, and the Imperial Hotel in Raba.  Valamar recently bought 55.48% of the hotel Makarska stock and is currently integrating the hotel into its portfolio. Its partner in this acquisition was the AZ Mandatory Retirement Fund. The two partnered before, when they acquired the majority stake in hotel Imperial on Rab. The duo is also bidding for the Helios Faros hotels on Hvar, including a restructuring plan and a six-year investment of around Kn 650 million. Their bid is included in the receivership plan and it should enable Helios Faros to finish the bankruptcy and move on with new investment.

Plava Laguna, which since the beginning of this year comprises both Plava Laguna from Poreč and Istraturist from Umag, is planning to invest around half a billion Kuna this year. Its largest investment in 2018 will be EUR 35 million into the new Park hotel, bungalows and villas in Poreč. The new resort, including 154 rooms and suites, 91 garden suites, 43 apartments and 21 villas, should open by the beginning of the 2018 high season, and include a brand new complex of swimming pools.

In Umag, the company is planning an EUR 4.7 milllion investment into the Garden Suites and Rooms Sol Umag, linked to Sol Umag hotel with 54 new units rated at four stars. Its biggest investment in Umag will be an EUR 11.2 million refurbishment and extension of the Stella Maris Umag camp, including a new reception and a restaurant, a swimming pool, sport and recreation facilities and other new content.

Bluesun Group’s Sunce hotels are investing EUR 2 million into hotel Alga in Tučepi, which just recently opened its 156 refurbished rooms and a new restaurant. The second phase of renovation is planned for next year. Alana Beach Club in Starigrad Paklenica, operated in partnership with the UK company Neilson specialized in active vacations, is going to receive an investment of EUR 6.5 million, on top of 2 million invested last year. The entire hotel will be refurbished, together with a new beach bar, swimming pools, sport facilities, playgrounds and more.

Lošinj Hotels and Villas from Mali Lošinj, a part of the Jadranka Group, is investing EUR 9 million to construct an annex to the Hotel Punta in Veli Lošinj, which will include 75 new rooms and suites. The company is also constructing a four-star facility to house seasonal workers, at a cost of around EUR 5 million, and is finalizing the second stage of the lungo mare investment in the Čikat bay. This is a part of the EUR 170 million investment cycle that Jadranka started back in 2007, aiming to transform Lošinj into Mediterranean’s top luxury destination, according to the company.

Finally, the Dogus Group Croatia is investing around Kn 3 million into maintenance and some minor improvements of the Villa Dubrovnik, preparing for a complete renovation of the hotel. At the same time, the company did not give up on its project to convert the old Maraska factory in Zadar into a hotel, but it announced that the project is put on hold until further notice.  So far, Dogus is refusing to disclose any other information on the project. And its final investment for 2018 is an EUR 2 million refurbishment of the Zadar marina, which will get a new reception, sanitation, restaurant and a swimming pool.