Ostojić: The majority of the workforce should be made up of domestic workers

Croatia is a popular tourist destination this year, but it is questionable whether restaurants and hotels will be full. Not because of the guests, but because of the question workforce sufficiency.

The tourism sector is also facing a major identity crisis: who will carry out the season in a country that is increasingly reliant on imported labor?

According to estimates for 2026, Croatian tourism is missing an additional 5.000 seasonal workers compared to last year. With salaries in the hospitality industry still almost 30 percent lower than the national average, the domestic labor pool is drying up, leaving employers up against the wall.

One of the key issues is how to maintain service quality as the number of foreign workers reaches historic highs.

65.000 seasonal workers needed

Tourism workers are intensively preparing for the season this year, which at this moment primarily means filling the need for workers, both permanent and seasonal.

Before the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East, Bernard Zenzerović, director of the Croatian Hotel Entrepreneurs' Association (UPHH), told HRT that 65.000 seasonal workers would be needed this year. Of that, roughly like last year, around 15 would be domestic workers and around 50 would be foreign workers.

According to the N1, that figure is according to Veljko Ostojić, director of the Croatian Tourism Association (HUT), is still relevant.

"Yes, the figure of 65 thousand seasonal workers is current and represents a key need of the Croatian tourism sector for the upcoming season. It consists of around 50 thousand seasonal workers from third countries and around 15 thousand from Croatia.", replied Ostojić, adding that large hotel companies have mostly already filled the number of necessary workers because they started this process at the end of the last tourist year.

He emphasized that among the seasonal workforce, 30 to 40 percent are so-called returnees, that is, people who worked in local hotel companies last year.

Continuous decline in the number of domestic seasonal workers

When it comes to domestic seasonal workers, last year 13.528 were employed through the Croatian Employment Service (CES). However, demand exceeded that figure and employers were looking for five thousand more, at least through the CES.

CES data clearly show continuous decline The number of domestic seasonal workers has increased year by year. The highest number was from 2013 to 2016, when unemployment was at its peak. Every year during that period, more than 40 domestic seasonal workers went to the Adriatic, with the highest number in 2015 (41.467).

Then the figure began to fall, partly due to growth in employment and partly due to a large influx of foreign workers from third countries. Already in 2020, the figure from 2015 was halved. That year there were 21.031 domestic seasonal workers, but last year their number dropped to around 13.500.

Foreign labor is a necessary supplement to fill the deficit

According to the director of HUT, expectations for the upcoming tourist season are based on stabilized indicators. This means, he says, that the structure of the workforce should be very similar to last year, while maintaining the existing ratio.

According to him, about 60 place The total workforce should continue to be made up of local workers, as the tourism sector strongly emphasizes that local people must remain the foundation and bearers of the quality of tourism services.

Regarding the structure of foreign workers in Croatian tourism, considering the countries they come from, he explains that around 20 percent of the total workforce comes from countries in the region. This is natural pool workforce due to the proximity and similarity of the market. About 20 percent of the total number comes from distant countries, most often from the Philippines, India and Nepal.

Ostojić emphasizes that this ratio confirms the sector's strategy in which it seeks to rely maximally on domestic labor, while foreign labor is hired as a substitute. necessary addition to fill the deficit that cannot be covered in the domestic labor market.

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