The Catering and Tourism Guild of the Croatian Chamber of Crafts and Trades (HOK) on Wednesday said that only long term support could guarantee the survival of the hospitality industry. Pročitaj više

The guild asks that job-keeping measures and fixed cost coverage should be applied as long as  revenues of businesses in the tourism and catering sector continue to fall.

“Hospitality providers are saying that the two lockdowns over the past year and reduced business capacities, despite the government’s economic measures, have brought their survival into question. They who had some reserves have spent them and the majority of businesses are burdened with loans yet they have no revenue or it has been significantly decreased,” HOK said in a press release.

They seek reassurance from the government so they can make business plans. Hospitality providers underscore the importance of support from local government with regard to not paying rent for public spaces and that the consumption tax be abolished, HOK said in its press release.

Hospitality providers are calling for the continuation of tax breaks (the same VAT for hot beverages, beer and wine as for food), which is an “important measure, particularly when job-keeping measures and compensation for fixed costs end.”

The HOK Catering and Tourism Guild and tourism workers plan to appeal to the national Covid response team to allow them to work in indoor spaces with full compliance with the epidemiological measures, in the same way that hotels are allowed to operate, the press release notes.