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The Government has submitted a proposal to the Parliament The Hospitality Act which introduces a number of novelties into the tourism industry, including the obligation to obtain a registration number for renters who advertise on global platforms.
"A unique registration system for renters is being established and a mandatory registration number is being introduced for rooms, apartments and vacation homes that are advertised through platforms. This enables the exchange of data with digital platforms and prevents the advertising of unregistered facilities", said the Minister of Tourism and Sports Tonči Glavina at today's 178th Government session.
This is an obligation arising from the European regulation on short-term rental services, which has been in effect since May 20th.
The goal is to create public policies for responsible management of tourism development based on data collected from online platforms, Glavina pointed out, which is why it is necessary to have clear, accurate and comparable data.
The law prescribes fines of 13 to 130 thousand euros or one to six percent of financial income for providers of online platforms for short-term rentals that fail to provide the required data or fail to control the landlords.
This will also facilitate the supervision that will in the future be carried out by the State Inspectorate, the Customs Administration, municipal guards, and nature guards.
The proposed law also specifies the provision on the possibility of accommodating persons who are not immediate family members in apartments, apartments and holiday homes, and abolishes the possibility of issuing new solutions for apartments and rooms in residential premises for caterers - legal entities and craftsmen.
"This measure is aimed at preserving the basic function of housing, reducing pressure on rental prices and protecting the quality of life in local communities", said the minister.
A novelty in the legal proposal is the obligation for competent authorities to conduct all administrative procedures electronically through the system. eTourism, which aims to shorten procedural deadlines, reduce the administrative burden and the possibility of errors, and increase the transparency of the entire system.
In addition, the aforementioned bill introduces a ban on serving energy drinks to minors, and the provision of services in the household is more precisely regulated.
"The law also introduces mandatory recategorisation of all accommodation facilities. This will be carried out within reasonable deadlines every five or ten years, depending on the type of facility. The aim is to ensure that the categorisation reflects the actual condition of the facilities and that we continuously raise the quality of the tourist offer."", said Glavina.
Recategorisation for rental companies will be mandatory every 10 years, and for hotels and campsites every five years.
Minister Glavina assessed that the proposed law regulates the tourism sector and makes it sustainable.
Source / Photo: Government of the Republic of Croatia
