Croatian Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli has warned the number of vacant jobs in the tourism sector has significantly increased this year and is set to grow as the country expects another successful tourism season, hrt.hr reported on May 1.

Tourism is one of Croatia's key economic sectors and an important contributor to the country's GDP. The news that more labour shortages are ahead comes amid growing labour shortages in key sectors of other Southeast and (especially) Central European countries, caused by a combination of booming economies and mass emigration of working age populations. 

Cappelli has recently announced that almost €1bn will be invested into Croatian tourism this year, with the vast majority of that investment going towards 4 and 5 star hotels.

According to the minister, there are 15,000 more jobs vacancies in the sector compared to last year and the number is expected to grow.

“The public and private sectors must work together to find a solution. Liberalisation from the side of the government, together with dual education and increased salaries are one way to bring a long-term solution to the labour shortages,” Capelli said.

According to data from eVisitor which includes traffic in commercial and non-commercial facilities, in the first four months of this year, there was a 9%  increase in arrivals and a 7% hike in overnight stays compared to the same period last year.

However, despite the high number of vacancies, Croatia does not seem to be very attractive to foreign workers. According to data from the Croatian Chamber of Commerce quoted by thedubrovniktimes.com, out of the 4,660 work permits allocated to foreign workers, only 1,188 have been taken up so far.

The highest number of work visas for foreigners are in the tourism industry, from restaurant and hotel staff to chefs and cleaners. 

“The quotas have not been fulfilled because workers in countries geographically close to Croatia, as well as Croatian workers, have moved to more developed countries in the European Union,” the Chamber of Commerce said.

Around 150,000 people work in the tourism industry in Croatia including 20,000 are seasonal workers. A fifth of these seasonal workers were expected to come from abroad.