Croatia's draft tourism law draws criticism from agency owners and tourist board

The Croatian government has introduced a draft law on tourism and hospitality that claims to cut business barriers and excessive administration. Agency owner Ave Turs' Dabić argues the text instead centralises authority in the ministry, adds unnecessary bureaucracy and creates incentives for a grey economy, noting that penalties for unregistered operators are three times lower than for registered ones.

Kristjan Staničić, director of the Croatian Tourist Board, says private renters are not the cause of seasonality and that reducing their numbers would not spread demand across the year. He warns that such measures could lower accommodation supply during peak months, drive up prices and make Croatian tourism less competitive compared with Greece, Spain, Turkey and Italy.