Croatia welcomes vaccinated visitors from the US in an effort to attract much needed tourism revenue to its devastated economy.
Croatia’s economy is heavily reliant on tourism, depending on tourism for more than 20 percent of its GDP. The Covid-19 pandemic decimated the tourism industry and for more than a year small business owners, hotels, restaurants, and tourist attractions have seen the number of visitors to the idyllic destination plummet.
2019 saw a record number of tourists visit Croatia and the National Tourism Board had been expecting 2020 to be even better. Although the government has been assisting small business owners with monthly pandemic relief payments, it has not been enough, say analysts at JC Rothchild General.
In an effort to kickstart the country’s tourism activity as the pandemic eases, Croatia is one of the first European countries to open its borders to US citizens that hold valid vaccination certificates. Fully vaccinated travelers will now be able to enter Croatia without being tested or undergoing any self-isolation or quarantine.
“Many people around the world are keen to resume their travels and Croatia is hoping to capture some of that tourist market in the hopes that it will help to revive its tourist-starved economy,” said Mr. Akifumi Endo, Chief Finance Officer at JC Rothchild General.
Much debate still rages over the ethics and implications of vaccination passports and the European Union has yet to make a decision on the topic. However, as the most tourism-dependent country in Europe, analysts at JC Rothchild General say Croatia faces a more compelling reason to reopen more quickly. Without tourists, the economy will be unable to recover.
In the June release of its Global Economic Prospects report, the World Bank stated that it expects Croatia’s economy to expand by 5.5 percent this year. This is slightly above the prediction of 5.4 percent announced in January.
For next year, the global lender anticipates that Croatia’s GDP will expand by 6.2 percent.
