Croatians have spent 1.2 billion kuna (€158 million) over the Easter holidays, down 14 percent from last year's Easter when they spent 1.4 billion (€184 million), Croatia's national chamber of commerce HGK said on Tuesday.

“Although this is a significant drop, these figures show that the economy has not stopped, despite the coronavirus lockdown,” HGK said.

“Given that these figures do not include sales generated by family-run farms whose business has significantly increased over the past several weeks, we can conclude that Croatia is dealing with the crisis well, an that there is no significant drop in spending,” HGK added helpfully.

Croatia had imposed a nationwide ban on public gatherings and closed all non-essential stores, bars and restaurants on March 19, and the coronavirus crisis is expected to push the nation’s economy – heavily dependent on hospitality and tourism – into a deep recession.

Companies representing more than 400,000 furloughed employees – nearly a third of the nation’s labour force – have applied for the government’s subsidised payroll emergency scheme, and World Bank’s analysts forecast Croatia’s 2020 GDP might shrink by more than 6 percent.

(€1 = 7.61 kuna)