Croatia's major tourism industry group HUT said on Friday that they 'welcome' the government's decision to allow hotels and campsites to continue working even as the latest set of tighter coronavirus restrictions have been unveiled on Thursday.

HUT is an industry group whose members include all the major tourist agencies and large hotels throughout the country. Tourism itself is a major economic sector in Croatia, thought to account for some 20 percent of its GDP.

“Fully aware of the seriousness of the health situation, we welcome the decision by the government and the national coronavirus response team for the continuation of work of hotels and campsites. We believe that this is the result of adherence to measures and the highly professional behaviour of tourist workers during the past tourist season when we hosted more than a million guests a day, without any of the guests contracting the virus in commercial accommodation establishments,” head of HUT, Veljko Ostojic, told state agency Hina on Friday.

During the 2020 summer season, Croatia, unlike most places in Europe, stayed open for tourists. In July and August alone – the peak of the season for visitors attracted to Croatia’s Adriatic resorts – some 5.5 million foreign tourists visited the country, down by more than 50 percent from previous years, but in relative terms more than anywhere else on the pandemic-hit continent.

However, the autumn months ushered in an unrelenting surge in coronavirus cases and increasing daily death counts.

Amid growing public pressure for tighter epidemic restrictions – currently deemed to be one of the most liberal in Europe – Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic unveiled on Thursday a set of new sweeping rules, including the closure of all bars and restaurants in the country, except those operating inside hotels.The new restrictions are set to come into force on Saturday.

Ostojic also told Hina that HUT supported the government’s declared intention to help the industry by subsidising shut down bars and restaurants – although no specifics of the plan have been revealed yet.

“In order to be ready for the next tourist season, and in anticipation of the vaccination of a considerable portion of the population of Croatia and the EU, we expect more government support to preserve jobs, until at least 1 April 2021,” Ostojic told state agency Hina.