Croatian nautical tourism

Croatian nautical tourism is at its crossroads! The country of 1000 islands and ideal positioning for the so called soft spot tourism ought to decide whether to pursue the investors’ route or sustainable growth of this delicate niche in the market. For its part nautical tourism is often referred to as soft spot tourism as it demands totally individually crafted approach to its uber rich clients. There is a strong demand for the middle Adriatic waters around the islands of Hvar Vis and Brač to increase the capacity of berths and build new marinas. However in the terms of sustainability this could endanger the development of the nautical tourism in Croatia as the common law applies: the more the waters are frequented by boats, the less profit per square mile is gained as the super rich prefer clear spaces while yachting or sailing for that matter, not forgetting the pollution factor which also contributes to the presence of the rich clients in the sailing and yachting waters.

The development of the nautical tourism lies in the equal spreading of the newly envisaged marina construction projects alongside Croatian coast. It is up to the government to co-finance the sustainable energy sources for these marinas as well as the production of organic food as an ideal offer to nautical tourist who have a high degree of environment self awareness.

Every stroke of luck and for this part the elements of it are present in the development of general state of affairs in Croatian tourism, has its expiry date. The novelty factor often wears off quickly, especially in business waters. So every segment of Croatian tourism needs careful examination so that potential downfalls are predicted and hence avoided.

Author: Srđ Portolan – managing director of Dubrovnik Luxury Travel and Spes Real Estate Agency, member of board of Intercon Group of Companies.