The tourism and catering sector in Croatia grew in the period from 2004-2020 in terms of revenues and jobs, but 2020 saw a decline due to the coronavirus pandemic, with businesses reporting a total net loss of 3.4 billion kuna (€454 million), state agency Hina reported on Thursday, citing data released by the state financial agency Fina.

The number of businesses categorized as “providing accommodation and preparing and serving food” was 13,000 in 2020 – the highest ever – more than four-fold increase from 2004 when there were around 3,000 such businesses. The number of jobs in the sector grew from around 36,000 in 2004 to more than 65,000 in 2020.

The total revenue of the tourism and catering sector was the highest in 2014, amounting to 19.1 billion kuna (€2.5 billion), or 9.1 billion kuna (€1.2 billion) up from 2004.

In 2020, marked by the coronavirus pandemic, the sector’s total revenues were 17.6 billion kuna (€2.3 billion).

The expenditures, however, were higher than revenues in each of the 17 years covered by the survey. In 2004, expenditures totaled 10.2 billion kuna (€1.3 billion), in 2009 around 13.8 billion kuna (€1.8 billion), in 2014 about 19.3 billion kuna (€2.6 billion), and in 2020 they were 21.3 billion kuna (€2.8 billion).

This means that the sector as a whole operated at a loss every year from 2004 to 2020, which ranged from 298 million kuna (€40 million) in 2004 to 3.4 billion kuna (€454 million) in 2020. The losses in 2020 are mainly attributed to the coronavirus pandemic and the restrictions imposed across the continent.

In terms of jobs, revenues, investments, “and other indicators,” Hina said, the survey showed that in the 2004-20 period the top three Croatian companies in this sector were Valamar Riviera from Porec, Maistra from Rovinj, and Plava Laguna/Istraturist from Porec/Umag.

(€1 = 7.49 kuna)