Brexit won't affect tourist travel between Croatia and Britain

Brexit will not affect tourist travel from Croatia to Great Britain this year, or  vice versa, and anyone who has made a booking or plans to travel can do so with their ID cards for the time being, while future arrangements will depend on agreements with the EU, the Croatian Tourism Board (HTZ)  said on Thursday.

The HTZ said that the positive trend in physical tourism turnover from the British market continued this year. Data from the eVisitor system shows that 1,750 tourists have come to Croatia from Britain so far in January and generated 5,500 nights, which is an increase of 2% and 7% respectively compared with January 2019.

In 2019 there were 897,500 tourists from the UK who generated 4.6 million nights, which was an increase of 4.2% and 3.4% respectively compared with 2018.

Cappelli: Nothing will change for tourism

Informing local tourists who wish to visit Great Britain that there is no need for concern due to Brexit, which enters into force on January 31, Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli underscored that the current system of visa and passport free travel will continue.

"Great Britain is formally leaving the EU but in principle there will be no changes for the tourism or travel sector. What is more, we already have good announcements from Great Britain regarding tourists to Croatia for this year and some tour operators and airlines like Jet2.com and others, expect an even greater increase of trips to Croatia compared to last year and they are very optimistic," Cappelli said.

Ostojic: Exchange rate for the pound is key

"The uncertainty regarding Brexit in 2019 had a greater impact on tourist plans than it will have this year and now that Brexit is here. Last year was uncertain ... because we did not know whether Great Britain would leave the EU or not. However, despite that, in Croatia and in many other countries around the world there were more tourists than in 2018," the director of the Croatian Tourism Association (HUT) Veljko Ostojic said.

As there is no indication that anything dramatic will occur with Brexit and everyone believes that the separation between Great Britain and the EU will be civilised and without any problems for the transit of people and commodities, Ostojic does not expect any problems in the tourism business and cooperation on long-term contracts with local hoteliers and other British partners.

"The only thing is that there was a little bit of fear regarding the exchange rate for the pound because at one stage it dropped and that was immediately reflected on bookings. However, more recently there has not been any significant change and we think that if there are no further negative occurrences with the exchange rate, this year we can expect good results from Great Britain. I think that the exchange rate for the pound is key because if it drops 10% then that is already a grave scenario, but also if it increases, which has been announced and could be possible, then that will be good for Croatia's tourism," concluded Ostojic. 

Brexit not expected to have considerable effect on Croatian economy

The United Kingdom's exit from the European Union is not expected to have considerable consequences for the Croatian economy, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) told Hina on Thursday.

"Looking at overall bilateral economic relations between the two countries, which are relatively modest, and the fact that Croatia has been in the European Union since 2013, according to our estimates the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union should not have considerable consequences and a direct effect on the Croatian economy and the operation of Croatian businesses," the HGK said.

Trade with the UK accounts for between one and two percent of Croatia's total exports and imports, and British tourists generate about 4.5% of foreign currency revenues from tourism. That's why the HGK believes that Brexit and slower demand from the British market should not have a serious impact on the Croatian economy but could affect the operation of individual Croatian businesses, such as exporters of pharmaceutical products which account for 15% of Croatian exports to the UK.

The HGK mentioned possible secondary effects as a result of delays in investment projects, the possible introduction of visas or other restrictions on EU citizens for doing business on the British market and possible barriers to cross-border services provision.

An indirect impact is also possible as a result of an expected slowdown in growth in EU member states that are important trading partners to Croatia, such as Germany, Italy, Austria and Slovenia, but it is expected to be limited.

Bilateral UK-Croatia relations

The average share of the UK in Croatia's total trade has ranged between 1.2 and 1.7% in recent years. In 2018, the UK was Croatia's 18th strongest trading partner with a share of 1.3%.

In 2018, Croatia-UK trade totalled €514.2 million, increasing by 8.2% from 2017; Croatian exports stood at €218.4 million. The UK is Croatia's 15th largest export market.

On the other hand, imports from the UK reached €295.8 million in 2018, making the UK Croatia's 20th largest import market. 

In the first three quarters of 2019, Croatia generated €852 million in revenues from services exports to the UK, while services imports reached €167.8 million.

The UK was the eighth largest investor in Croatia between 1993 and the end of 2018, investing a total of €1.03 billion. The most significant investment was made in 2015 when British American Tobacco invested €505 million in the purchase of the Rovinj tobacco factory.

The position of British investors in Croatia will not change with the UK's departure from the EU given that foreign investors in Croatia have the same rights as domestic ones, regardless of whether they come from the EU or third countries, the HGK said.

According to data supplied by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, 821,114 British tourists visited Croatia in 2018, an increase of 9.4% over 2017. They accounted for 5.0% of all tourists that year and generated 4,177,988 overnight stays, up 9.7%.

(Hina/FaH/EPA)

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