Last year it was worthwhile for Croatian nautical tourism to open its borders in May. Total revenue fell by only 11% - much less than in some other industries. And judging by the current interest in boat charter, the upcoming season could be good.

The fewest vessels were in transit, and charter activities halved revenue last year. The announcements of this year s booking, on the contrary, are quite optimistic.

- Now we have again, by default a smaller drop until May 1, we hope that after that the peak season will begin. The boats are ready, everything is ready, the booking is very good for the season, so we hope to start working seriously, said Marko Pereša, head of the charter base at Marina Veruda in Pula.



Despite the encouraging news, the nautical sector is wary of expectations from the season marked by the introduction of so-called covid passports.

- I think that we can put pressure as a country on our clients, and on their home countries, to simplify arrival and departure procedures for those people who have ships, who use vessels, whether for charter or their own needs, said Sean Lisjak, president of the Croatian Marine Association at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce.



For the same reasons, special points for rapid antigen tests will be organized in 12 Adriatic marinas. They fear that the problem for some clients could be that they can now pay the tourist tax only online.

- We will suggest to return for some time the possibility of payment on the spot. When a person has to physically come to the Harbor Master s Office to buy a vignette for a ship, we see no reason why not to collect the sojourn tax or tourist tax there, Lisjak added.

The Association of Croatian Marinas is still waiting for the state to release them from paying the concession fee, which would enable them to cancel last year s losses and regularly invest in the quality of service in marinas. However, they cannot count on money from European funds until this activity is classified as - tourist, which they have been insisting on for years.