Although the Easter holidays this year come two weeks early compared to last year, Croatian Minister of Tourism expects more or less the same number of tourists. This means that Mr Capelli expects some 122,000 tourists to stay for a total of around 408,000 nights over the coming long weekend.
Capelli does not expect this year to be a reflection of 2016, when the sector recorded a drop of 50% compared to the year before. But in 2017 turnover was 20% better than the previous year. An additional problem with early Easter is that many tourists will be tempted by good offers by various ski resorts. Charter airlines will start operating three to four weeks earlier than last year, and will stop flying two to three weeks later. The new Law on Tourist Tax will introduce a notion of the “high season” from 01 April to 01 October.
Total investment in preparation of this tourist season is around one billion Euro, mainly intended for rehabilitation of existing facilities or construction of new ones, including attractions and general infrastructure.
The Ministry is also working on transport infrastructure, preparing to enhance the capacity of several airports, installing new charging stations for electric vehicles, buying new vessels for Jadrolinija, and six new vessels for emergency services at sea. Also, the Ministry of Interior does not expect any major difficulties regarding road crossings between Croatia and Slovenia. The major issue for the police will again be general safety of tourists. Last year, 29 died in road accidents, and another 35 drowned. This year, Croatian police is again planning to partner with services from 18 countries around the world. This includes China, for the first time ever. Chinese officers will be stationed in Split, Dubrovnik and Plitvice, as these are the places visited by most Chinese tourists. The Ministry of Health will introduce twenty new emergency services for the duration of the season.