Croatia to reintroduce visas for Russian tourists

Starting next year, Croatia will allow Russian tourists to enter the country only with multi-entry visas, obtained in any of the Schengen Agreement countries. Russian tour operators believe that this innovation will not seriously harm the demand. But if the authorities decide on the full-scale visa regime between Russia and Croatia, the tourist flow might fall by 25%.

Mind, that over the last three years April through October, Croatia has had a relaxed visa regime for the Russians – holding a valid passport was enough. During winter season Russian tourists can visit the country if they have a valid passport and a tourist voucher, confirming hotel booking for the whole period of stay.

According to Croatian authorities, if the tourist has a Schengen visa, then starting next year he won’t need a voucher in order to visit the county. If he does not have the Schengen visa, the tourist can still enter the country with a valid passport and a voucher. A system like that is already being used in Macedonia and Albania, even though these countries are not part of the Schengen Agreement.

Representatives of the travel industry received the news without much enthusiasm. Ascent Travel noted that winter is the low season in Croatia, and it’s not yet clear how the new rules will affect the summer tourist flow.

The summer of 2011 should have been the “last easy season” for vacationers due to Croatia joining the EU in the nearest future. Supposedly the country will join the European Union in July 2013. Most experts interviewed by RATA-news agreed that this step will probably result in temporary reduction of the inbound tourist flow to Croatia. “There will be a decrease, of course, but not a crucial one – says Maria Klimenko, manager of Karlson Tourism. – If you recall the summer of 2010, when all of central Russia was covered in smoke, Croatia was very popular among our tourists because there was no need for a visa. The country accepted a lot of tourists, fleeing from the wildfires and the smoke. If visas are introduced, the possibility of a quick getaway will be lost”.

According to statistics, in the first half of 2011 about 65 thousand Russian tourists visited Croatia, which is 16% more, compared to last year’s figures. By the end of the year Croatia is expecting a 20% growth of the tourist flow from Russia – up to 200 thousand people. Also Ms. Klimenko noted that Croatia has a good rate of returning tourists from Russia, who enjoy local climate and nature.

According to Alexander Davtyan, deputy manager of Croatian department in Nouvelle Trans, if the visa regime is accepted, the consulate management will be a crucial issue. “Now if you want to obtain a Croatian visa, you’ll spend 2-3 days. After the country joins the EU, this process will probably take 4-7 days, according to Schengen standards. It’s possible that at first this will cause the tourist flow to drop by 20-30%”, - calculated Mr. Davtyan.

On the other hand, the travel industry will only benefit from the introduction of visas. “Today almost 30% of tourists, who spend their vacation in Croatia, book hotels and buy tickets all by themselves. The necessity to obtain a visa will return some of the clients back to the operators”, - explained Alexander Davtyan.

Meanwhile, Croatian National Tourist Board stated that by the start of the summer season in 2012 the country will probably go back to the old system that allows Russians to cross the border only with their passport. Also the decision about Croatia joining the EU is not yet final and may be postponed due to the financial crisis and internal debt problems among EU-members.