fDi Magazine commends Croatia's efforts to attract investors in tourism

FDi's inaugural Tourism Editor's Choice Awards for tourism single out the countries that have devised specific and successful strategies to attract investment.  According to the fDi Tourism Locations of the Future 2017/18 – Editor’s Choice Awards, Belize, Croatia and Jamaica are just three of the countries punching above their weight.

Croatia is becoming increasingly important as a filming location for both TV shows and films, including HBO’s "Game of Thrones" series and more recently "Robin Hood". Some 250,000 tourists are believed to have visited as a direct result of the "Game of Thrones" franchise, helping the country win the Film Industry specialism award.

The country was also commended for its efforts to attract investors in the tourism sector, winning an Incentives award. Croatia’s Act on Investment Promotion offers investors a range of incentives for establishing hospitality and tourism accommodation facilities rated at four- and five-star level. In addition, investors can enjoy incentives for education and training, grants for capital costs of projects and 0% corporate income tax for up to 10 years.

"As a tourism destination, each year Croatia is generating better and better results, but what particularly makes us happy is that it is also constantly working on innovations and promotion of further investments. In 2018, investments in Croatia's tourism are expected to go up 15% compared to 2017 and 40% compared to 2016," Croatian Tourism Minister Gari Capelli said Monday, adding that this was the best indicator that Croatia is an attractive investment destination.

The Tourism Ministry said in a press release that approximately EUR 940 million would be invested in Croatia's tourism next year.

The ministry added that investments in 2017 amounted to EUR 817 million and in 2016 slightly over EUR 670 million.

According to Croatia’s National Agency for Investments and Competitiveness, it was forecast that the country would welcome 90 million overnight stays by the end of 2017, and the need for hotel beds is increasing. Croatia also won the award for Accommodation Upgrades. It saw the opening of 40 new or refurbished hotels in 2016, a figure set to rise to 50 in 2017.

(Hina)

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