Adriatic Croatia International Club (ACI), the largest marina operator on the Adriatic sea, opened ACI Marina Rovinj, its ever largest investment, on April 26, at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, the government website said. 

ACI invested HRK150m (€20.2mn) to reconstruct the marina which was built back in 1984. The reconstruction works began in April 2017 “and the only thing that has not been changed are the dimensions set by the concession contract, whereas everything else was built anew,” according to the company.

The marina consists of two parts: one for visiting boats and the other for boats moored on an annual berth. There are 196 berths intended for boats of an average length of 17m, with the possibility of accommodating boats of up to 35m in length on annual berths and boats of significantly greater lengths on short-term visitor berths, ACI said.

The marina has 1,400 sqm of commercial space which offer catering facilities, restaurants, a supermarket, a wellness centre and shops.

Last week, Croatia also opened a new passenger terminal at Zadar’s Gazenica Port, according to Total Croatia News. The terminal is one of the most modern cruise port terminals in the Mediterranean. The construction of the terminal, a two-storey building covering an area of 20,000 square metres, began in 2016 and cost €27mn.

Tourism is one of Croatia's key economic sectors and an important contributor to the country's GDP. As well as the investments into port infrastructure, work to renovate and expand Croatian airports is also underway. 

Last year, Croatia was visited by 18.67mn tourists, 7.1% up on the year, according to data from the statistics office. Foreign tourist arrivals increased by 6.7% y/y to 16.6mn. 

This assuaged fears that Croatia was losing out to rival destinations in the eastern Mediterranean, such as Turkey and Egypt, as earlier data had indicated a lacklustre performance compared to previous years. 

However, Croatia, like neighbouring Montenegro, is increasingly positioning itself as a destination for well heeled travellers, among them international celebrities and the super rich. 

Croatia is a popular tourist destination among celebrities, including pop stars and Hollywood actors. Among the A-listers that have holidayed in Croatia or sailed around its coast are Beyonce, Tom Cruise and Prince Harry. Earlier this month footballer Cristiano Ronaldo was reported to have spent some €20,000 on a three-day break with his girlfriend near the historic city of Dubrovnik. 

Nautical revenues 

The total income realised in nautical ports in Croatia increased 2.7% to HRK857mn last year, according to earlier data from the statistics office. Slightly more than 72% if the income came from renting moorings. At the end of 2018, there were 13,617 vessels permanently moored in nautical ports, 1.4% up on the year. The majority of permanently moored vessels, 50.1%, were sailboats, followed by motor yachts (46.1%) and other vessels (3.8%).

The largest number of permanently moored vessels came from Croatia (44%), followed by Austria (15.8%), Germany (15.2%) and Slovenia (5.1%).

On the other hand, the number of vessels in transit in Croatia’s nautical ports declined 3.8% in 2018.

According to data from the statistics office, there were 142 nautical ports on the Croatian coast last year, including 72 marinas and 70 other nautical ports. 

From Rovinj to Pula

But the opening of the ACI marina Rovinj was not universally welcomed. On April 26 the Istrian Democratic Party issued a statement slamming Plenkovic for taking part in the opening of the “super luxurious ACI marina” when only 30km away in the “spooky empty shipyard, Uljanik employees are waiting for someone to tell them what will befall them”. 

As Croatia’s nautical tourism business develops, the country’s shipbuilding industry is in trouble. Major shipbuilder Uljanik which operates shipyards at both Rijeka and Pula, is in urgent need of a restructuring, but the government has said it won’t endorse a proposed restructuring plan that will cost more than €1bn. A court decision on launching bankruptcy procedures at the 3. Maj shipyard, part of Uljanik group, has now been postponed until June 5. 

Valter Flego, the mayor of Istria — the large peninsular in western Croatia where both Rovnij and Pula are located — has accused the government of delaying a decision on Uljanik until after the European Parliament elections in May.