BY THE END of the week, it should be clear who exactly will pay the hospital bills for tourists who get infected with the coronavirus in Croatia. When it comes to the tourists from the EU, their countries will provide help, said the Minister of Tourism Gari Cappelli after signing the contract for a HRK 75 million grant for the development of the Competence Center.

"By the end of this week, we will have exact information on who will pay for treatments, but of course, in the event of tourists from the EU being treated in our hospitals, their country will provide them with help, including insurance and payments. Also, if a tourist from Slovenia is staying in Opatija for example, they can easily return home in an hour," said the Minister while answering questions from journalists about "the concerns of small renters, since the family of a tourist infected with coronavirus should stay in their apartment for 14 days while the infected tourist is being treated in a hospital and the issue of who will pay for that."

The main reason why Minister Cappelli visited Split was to sign the contract with the director of the Split School of Tourism and Hospitality Ivo Bilic, namely for a HRK 75 million grant for the development of the Competence Center in the Split-Dalmatia County.

"This is an extremely important project for tourism, and 85 percent of the HRK 75 million will come from EU funds, while 15 percent will be co-financed by the Ministry of Tourism. Additional funds were provided by the Split-Dalmatia County, and about HRK 30 million will come from the regional fund. With all the additional funding, this is actually a HRK 170 million project for dual education and quality staff training," said the Minister.

The Competence Center in Split is one of the six such centers in Croatia that are currently being developed and co-financed, and Cappelli points out that more than HRK 500 million have been provided by the European Social Fund and the European Regional Development Fund for regional competence centers.

There could be a 65% decrease in profits this tourist season

The Minister stated that 35 percent of the tourism-related profits from 2019 is expected to be reached this year, as well as that there are some good signs from various markets.

"According to the forms filled out in the border crossing application, about 300 thousand tourists have announced their arrival to Croatia, and we are also expecting to see the effects of the CNTB campaign that has been implemented in ten markets in the last 20 days. In the next 15 to 20 days, Great Britain and France will open their borders, so it is possible that we will have tourists from those two countries as well. We will also promote Croatia in Israel and some other countries outside the EU," announced Cappelli.

Air traffic in Split and Zadar is also expected to start increasing in early July, and the Minister says that the CNTB will also start joint advertising with "some companies," believing that many routes might be resumed in July and August.

As for the "slightly larger decrease" in tourist traffic in the Split-Dalmatia County relative to, for example, Istria and Kvarner, he said that tourists who visit the Split-Dalmatia County come by plane "mostly from Great Britain and America, and their flights have not been resumed yet," whereas, in Istria and Kvarner, 70 percent of guests come by car from Slovenia, Italy, Austria, and Germany.