HGK hoteliers in the new term: Categorization, competitiveness and workforce in focus

Josipa Jutt Ferlan was elected to a third term as head of Hoteliers' Association of the Croatian Chamber of Economy, while he was elected as deputy president Darko Bastic.

The hotelier's new four-year term will be focused on completing regulations on categorization, business conditions, competitiveness and workforce, but also stronger international positioning Croatian hotel offers.

Jutt Ferlan is the CEO of Zagreb City Hotels, a company that invests in and manages five Hilton hotels in Croatia, and has 20 years of experience in management positions in the international hotel market and hotel development. Her professional work focuses on the competitiveness of the Croatian hotel industry, investments, human resources and the international positioning of the tourism offer. 

However, from the perspective of the sector, the priorities set by the Association for the new mandate period should be highlighted.

From categorization and workforce to higher value tourism

Jutt Ferlan announced that in the period ahead, the Association will focus on completing the hotel categorization regulations, creating better business conditions, strengthening the competitiveness of the Croatian hotel industry, and addressing workforce challenges.

At the same time, she emphasized that the sector's ambition should not be directed only towards the growth of tourist traffic, but primarily towards increasing the value of the tourist offer. "We want to continue to build tourism of greater value, not just greater volume", said Jutt Ferlan.

This shift is one of the most important challenges for the Croatian hotel industry. Value growth implies a higher quality product, greater competitiveness, further investments and stronger market positioning, but also a business environment that enables hotels to develop and make new investments.

One of the Association's directions of action will therefore be a stronger international positioning of the Croatian hotel offer. Through the Stories platform, joint appearances at international B2B fairs, and cooperation with the Croatian National Tourist Board and tourist boards, the goal is to open up new business opportunities for members and further strengthen the presence of the Croatian offer on the international market.

Among the planned activities are joint appearances at the ILTM fairs in São Paulo and Singapore next year.

He was elected as the Vice President of the Association. Darko Bastic, a long-time hotel manager and director of the Olympia hotel complex in Vodice, who has more than two decades of experience in managing and developing the hotel business. 

Regulatory framework, market and workforce

The session also reviewed the work of the Association over the past four years. Vice President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce Andreja Vukojevic She pointed out that the Association participated in the drafting of the Tourism Act, the new Hospitality Act and the categorization regulations, advocating for the interests and needs of the hotel sector through these processes. 

In addition to regulatory issues, one of the focuses was the development of market opportunities. More than 200 premium tourism providers were connected through the Stories platform, while joint appearances at international fairs were used to more strongly present Croatian hotels in important source markets and open up new markets. 

Another big area remains the workforce. Through education, study trips and the Welcome to Croatia program, activities were focused on knowledge development, service quality and integration of foreign employees. "We will continue to advocate for the interests of hoteliers in the coming period", said Vukojevic. 

The election of the new leadership of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Hoteliers Association is, above all, an opportunity to define the sector's priorities for the next four years.

And they are set out quite clearly: more competitive business conditions, a better regulatory framework, workforce, investments and a stronger international positioning of the Croatian hotel industry.

It will be particularly important to see how the oft-mentioned goal of moving towards higher-value tourism will translate into concrete business conditions. Because higher value is not only created through a higher price for a hotel room or a higher-quality product, but also through the investment environment, the availability of quality employees, regulatory stability and the ability of Croatian hotels to compete on the international market.

Photo: HGK