PM tells hoteliers government takes into account interests of tourist industry

The government takes into account the interests of the Croatian tourism industry and will take measures to mitigate any risks from a possible escalation of the coronavirus situation and the migrant crisis, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said in the northern Adriatic resort town of Umag on Monday evening.

Speaking after meeting executives of several large hotel companies, Plenkovic said that he and Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic were travelling to Greece on Wednesday to learn first-hand about the situation on the land border between Greece and Turkey.
 
He said that the representatives of hotel companies had expressed their satisfaction with the way the government was handling the coronavirus situation, without creating panic that might adversely affect the economy and tourism in particular.
 
Plenkovic said that Croatia was dealing with the coronavirus situation and the migrant crisis both at the national and the European level. He said that Bozinovic would be chairing an extraordinary meeting of the EU Home Affairs Council in Brussels on Wednesday.
 
Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said that hoteliers were rightfully concerned, but that things were still going according to plan and the tourism industry was still in the black.
 
"So far we have recorded a 5% rise in arrivals and a 2% rise in overnight stays. March will see some minuses, but there have been no major cancellations for now," Cappelli said, adding that the situation was under control for now.  "70% of our tourists come by car and that's our advantage," he noted.
 
Croatian Tourism Association director Veljko Ostojic said that there was some concern but there was no reason for panic. "Certain smaller groups who were due to come in the early season are cancelling their visits, certain events and conferences are also being cancelled, but what is positive is that there have been no cancellations for the peak season, although booking is rather slow," he said. (Hina/FaH)

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