As of today, distributors of petroleum products will determine prices independently on the market.

The Govermnent of the Croatia has yesterday announced a decision to annul the restrictions of fuel prices. The 14 October decree, based on the Petroleum Products Acts, was adopted in a bid to help households to alleviate price hikes.

Economy Minister Mr. Ćorić said the decree on capping the prices had fulfilled its purpose, adding that in the last two months the domestic market had been stabilised. Underscoring that the fuel prices are uncapped as of Tuesday, Ćorić expressed hope that there would be no price turbulence on the global markets any longer. However, the government will respond to such changes, if necessary, he added.

Minister Ćorić added distributors of petroleum products will determine prices independently on the market, while given the global trends or the prices as of today should be lower than those prescribed by the decree.

In the period from 24 Feb till 6 Dec 2021 the value of taxable invoices increased by 25.5% YoY amounting to HRK 169.5 bn. The spending amount is 4.7% higher than spending in a comparable period in 2019, yet again indicating positive sentiment. The value of last week’s taxable invoices is up 19.2% YoY and also compared to the week before it was up 4.8%.

By looking at the latest announcements from the Tax Administration of the Republic of Croatia, in the period from 24 Feb till 6 Dec 2021, the value of taxable invoices increased by 25.5% YoY amounting to 169.6 bn. This growth in taxable invoices represents positive sentiment in consumption, especially taking into consideration that consumption is 4.7% higher in the comparable period in 2019 (25 Feb – 8 Dec). Taxable invoices in wholesale and retail trade in the period from 24 Feb till 6 Dec grew by HRK 15.8 bn YoY (an increase of 16.5%) and it is also 6.6% above the value of spending level in this segment in the same period in 2019.

The value of taxable invoices in all segments in the week from 29 Nov to 5 Dec witnessed double-digit growth of 19.2% YoY. Compared to the same week in 2019 consumption amounted fairly the same number – meaning the consumption in the past week was the same as pre-pandemic consumption. In the last week (29 Nov to 5 Dec) the spending in wholesale and retail trade picked up 16.5% YoY. Meanwhile, it is important to note that the value of taxable invoices in accommodation and food in a given week increased by HRK 10 bn (representing a 75.3% increase) when compared to the same week in 2020. Compared to the same week in 2019, taxable invoices in accommodation and food reported a decrease of 5%.

The value of taxable invoices in all segments in the week from 29 Nov to 5 Dec 2021, compared to the week before (22 Nov to 28 Nov) was up 4.8% , while the value in wholesale and retail in the same period was up 7.2%. When looking at the value of taxable invoices in accommodation and food service, it increased by 5% compared to the week before.

In November 2021, Croatia observed an increase in tourist arrivals of 135% and an increase in tourist nights of 43%.

With 2021 is coming to an end, it is worth looking at the latest report of the Croatian National Tourist Board for November 2021, which shows an increase of 135% in arrivals and an increase of 43% in tourist nights.

To be more specific, Croatia noted 226.2k arrivals in November, compared to 95.2k in November of 2020. Of total arrivals witnessed in November, foreign tourists account for 110.6k or 49%. Compared to the same period last year (when foreign tourists accounted for 37% of total arrivals), this year experienced an improvement. The main reason for this is the relaxation of the COVID-19 related measures and higher vaccination rates.

Looking over to tourist nights, in November Croatia observed 679.4k tourist nights compared to 472.4k in the same period of 2020. Such figures indicate that the average stay per person decreased from 5 nights to 3 nights. When looking solely at foreign tourists, the average stay per person amounted to 3.7 nights per person, compared to 6.8 nights. Considering the more relaxed pandemic measures and less restrictive traveling conditions, this number comes as no surprise. Of total tourist nights realized, foreign tourists account for 411.8k or 60.6%. Of that, tourists from Germany lead the list, accounting for 8% of total nights.

If we observe the figures since the beginning of the year, so far 13.5m arrivals were recorded, representing a 75% increase. At the same time, tourist nights reached 83.5m by the end of November, representing a 54% increase YoY.

When observing the arrivals realized in November by counties, Zagreb leads the list with 53.8k arrivals (24% of total) and 130k tourist nights (19% of total). Looking over to the type of accommodation, it can be observed that the hotels experienced a 185% increase in arrivals to 151.8k, while nights realized stood at 321.8k (+184%).