Family Accommodation Congress opens: branding and a clear recognizable sign of family accommodation

Today it is in Split started IV. Congress of Family Accommodation, which brought together a large number of family landlords, representatives of public institutions and stakeholders in the tourism sector. The congress was officially opened with an introductory and welcoming speech by the State Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Monika Udovicic, who emphasized the importance of family accommodation, especially when it comes to the further development of Croatian tourism. 

"With the reform we are implementing, we want to preserve what we recognize as homestay accommodation, or rather all those who traditionally deal with it, in relation to other short-term rental providers. We have not banned anything from anyone, but have only set different frameworks in order to protect real hosts and this form of providing accommodation and services and ensure its success in the future. Croatia is recognizable for this, and these indigenous hosts are our country's competitive advantage compared to other tourist destinations. The Ministry of Tourism and Sports will not give up on protecting the interests of family accommodation, and that is why we have also started the initiative to brand it and we will use all the levers we have to raise this segment of our offer to an even higher level", said the Secretary of State A widower.

The two-day Congress program began with a round table entitled "New legal framework and challenges of family placement in Croatia", during which all clarifications regarding the rights and obligations of private renters were provided by representatives of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Property. 

A detailed analysis of family, or private accommodation, for the purpose of implementing a system for awarding a mark of its recognition was presented by Kristjan Staničić, director of the Croatian Tourist Board, who announced a more systematic and even more efficient approach to promoting this important accommodation segment for Croatian tourism.

"Looking at the total available accommodation capacity in the commercial segment of Croatian tourism, family accommodation accounts for 60 percent with a capacity of 673 thousand basic beds. This is precisely why we consider the introduction of the recognition mark program important, and this is also agreed by numerous landlords who have expressed interest in participating in the aforementioned process. Our goal is to have a recognizable mark that will guarantee the quality of accommodation, attract guests to the destination, reflect the authenticity of the offer, but also be synonymous with the hospitality of the hosts and the quality of the service provided," the director said Stanicic, adding that the label will also include certain environmental indicators given the market trend of increased demand for sustainable practices. 

As announced by the director Stanicic, in this regard, the Croatian National Tourist Board will carry out a process of collecting proposals for creative solutions, i.e. the visual identity of the family accommodation recognition mark, while particularly emphasizing the role of "host".  

"The first day of the Congress is going extremely well – the atmosphere is positive, the participants are active, and the hall is full. We touched on all the key and current topics, from new legal frameworks and fiscal obligations, to the challenges of sustainability and the need for quality standardization. Representatives of the ministries explained the new legal regulations very clearly, and representatives of the Tax Administration additionally provided useful advice to owners of private accommodation. I would especially like to highlight the presentation of the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board project that deals with the importance of thematization and differentiation of private accommodation, which is extremely important for increasing the competitiveness and quality of the offer. We also have a very interesting workshop dedicated to artificial intelligence because we believe that the future of tourism is already here.", she stated Barbara Markovic, president of the Croatian Association of Family Accommodation, adding that participants will be able to immediately apply useful information from the Congress in their business.

She agreed with her and Lorena John, president of the Istrian Family Accommodation Association, who additionally emphasized that family accommodation accounts for 40 percent of the total capacities of the Istrian County. "We are pleased to be co-organizers of the Family Accommodation Congress here in Split. We consider it very important that such gatherings are organized at the Croatian level in order to be beneficial to all stakeholders in tourism, and especially to renters of family accommodation. The Congress provides a range of useful information that can be implemented in business and significantly improve the rental activity, and we also heard important clarifications of the new legal regulations that came into effect at the beginning of this calendar year., she concluded John. 

The project of thematicization of private accommodation in the Split-Dalmatia County they presented Ivana Vladović, director of the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board and deputy director Joško Stella, while the rest of the Congress program, which will also take place on Saturday, brings important topics such as the rights and obligations of family accommodation owners in the context of tax obligations, the role of new technologies, the issue of categorization of facilities, and will also present domestic and foreign platforms specializing in family accommodation reservations, as well as many examples of good practices when it comes to the promotion and sustainability of family accommodation. 

Family Accommodation Congress is held April 4 and 5 u Split in organization Croatian Family Accommodation Association i Family accommodation associations of Istria.