Nautical tourism in 2023 - a record of all records, or?

• 23.10.2023.
• News

The nautical season is coming to an end, and the moment has come when the profession and representatives of tourism meet to make a summary of how it went. So, on October 19, the conference "Challenges in nautical tourism" was held in Vodice, where representatives of the tourist board, yacht charter company, ACI and the founder of the digital platform čarter.hr gave their opinions and comments.

Can we say there is no fear for Croatian tourism, specifically nautical, because year after year, statistics show that records are broken and re-created?  
   
This general question marked the panel discussion within the conference "Challenges in Nautical Tourism", which was held on October 19 at the Olympia Sky Hotel in Vodice, organized by Slobodna Dalmacija and Hanza Media.  
   
The participants were welcomed, and the panel discussion was opened by Sandra Lapenda Lemo, editor-in-chief of Slobodna Dalmacija, Ante Cukrov, mayor of Vodice, and Iris Ukić Kotarac, deputy prefect of Šibenik-Knin County. On behalf of the Minister of Tourism, Monika Udovičić, director of the Administration for the System of Tourist Boards, greeted everyone.  
   
Everyone emphasized that there are specific challenges in Dalmatia but that the preservation and development of nautical tourism is vital for the entire economy.  
   
The most relevant representatives of the domestic tourism sector took part in the panel led by journalist Sandra Barčot:  

• Kristjan Staničić, director of the Croatian Tourist Board  
• Kristijan Pavić, President of the Management Board of ACI d.d.  
• Krešimir Šakić, director of the Šibenik-Knin County Tourist Board  
• Katarina Vujević Babara, director of the charter company "Euronautic" d.o.o  
• Selma Čmelik, founder of the digital platform čarter.hr  

Kristjan Staničić, director of the Croatian Tourist Board, emphasized that he is extremely satisfied with the results of this tourist season. He said that the season in nautical was extraordinary, especially the pre-season and post-season and that the year 2023 has not yet ended, and is convinced of the satisfaction of all participants in tourism.  
   
Kristijan Pavić, President of the Management Board of ACI d.d., commented on whether it is a realistic opinion that the Republic of Croatia is synonymous with luxury nautical tourism.  
   
- We are a destination that sets standards and how competing countries follow us, not us them. 
   
He also said that as a country with 22 ACI marinas, we are definitely successfully connecting our marinas and marinas in the region.  
   
Krešimir Šakić, director of the Tourist Board of Šibenik-Knin County, expressed his satisfaction with the results of his county and also singled out the increase in guests in the pre-season and post-season. At the same time, this is a good direction to relieve the main season and contribute to more sustainable development.  

  

First-hand information on nautical tourism  

Katarina Vujević Babara, director of "Euronautic" d.o.o. - one of the most successful and multiple award-winning charter companies in Croatia, gave first-hand information on how this season looked and which way nautical tourism is moving in our country.  
 
- There is no doubt we have room for improvement. But we also need to define the direction we want to go. If it is sustainability, then we all have a lot of work to do.  
   
Vujević Babara also emphasized that the problem is that each individual marina looks primarily at its own commercial success, as does each particular charter company, and that there is a lack of synergy in this sense.    

Selma Čmelik, the founder of the digital B2B platform čarter.hr thinks the same and also used the opportunity to point out that one of the biggest and even most pressing problems is the lack of an adequate eork force.  
   
- There is not enough work force, and that is in all activities, not only in nautical. An aggravating circumstance is the lack of education for both the workforce and the guests. The fact is that we have few "real" sailors. At the same time, the majority are "tourists" with insufficient experience and knowledge of what a boat and the sea are. - said Čmelik.  
   
Čmelik emphasised that one of the significant challenges in nautical is digitalisation, i.e., the lack or inadequate implementation of it. 
   

The challenge of environmental protection  

The panel participants agreed that environmental protection has become one of the most important topics and segments of nautical. Without the preservation of the sea and work on marine sustainability, but also sustainability in general, it will be difficult for us as a nautical power to progress to the same extent.  
   
Šakić, as director of the tourist board of Šibenik County, one of the counties with the most beautiful national parks, also said that preserving the islands is extremely important, as they are justifiably the most attractive destinations for all boaters.  
   
- We need to set clear rules, which we as a society often break. A significant number of sailors respect the environment. However, there is still a large number of those who do not respect the regulations. - said Sakic.  
   
The panel participants also discussed safety at sea. Čmelik said that yacht charter guests should be provided with all available resources so that accidents do not occur.  
   
- We need more control and more systematization. Accidents most often occur due to the ignorance of sailors but also due to poor technical predispositions of the vessel.  
   

Should Croatia focus exclusively on elite guests?  

The last topic of the panel was whether our country should exclusively focus on guests with higher paying power, that is, on the so-called elite nautical.  
   
- We cannot make the change overnight and give up one consumer segment. We have a sufficiently diverse tourist offer, and the most important thing is that the guests get what they paid for - value for money. - commented the director of the Croatian Tourist Board, Staničić.  
   

And while the participants of the conference panel discussed various topics related to nautical tourism, such as the much-needed increased safety in navigation and placing a particular emphasis on ecology and sustainability - there remains one topic in the air.  
   
This season's results are currently a record, but only in the pre-season and post-season? The actual "peak" of the season has obviously failed. How is it possible to make up for the obvious lack of bookings and what was lost?  
   
It remains to be seen whether the 2024 season will show the same trend - Croatia, which seems not to be such an interesting destination for guests looking for a vacation at the height of the season. 

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