IN RECENT weeks, we have been able to witness the fact that many towns on the Adriatic coast are essentially empty. Some hotels have not even opened yet due to the lack of reservations, and some hotels and restaurants on the Adriatic coast have just recently opened their doors. In general, tourism is suffering great losses. In this severe economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, only the best can succeed, and we have found two such examples – one from Istria, and one from Pag. These are small family boutique hotels, Boskinc in Novalja and the San Rocco Hotel in Brtonigla in western Istria. They were fully booked last weekend, and it seems that they will remain so for the rest of the tourist season.
We spoke to Boris Suljic, a well-known owner of the hotel, winery and restaurant Boskinac in Novalja on Pag, and also the owner of Kalypso - the first club to open in Zrce. He told us that the situation is far better than he expected. The past few weekends, his hotel and restaurant were full, and he expects that trend to continue.
A few months ago, Boskinac received a Michelin star
In February, Suljic's restaurant Boskinac received a Michelin star. According to the Michelin guide for Croatia for 2020," the use of local Croatian produce is the strong point of this restaurant, and Chef Matijas Breges brings out the full intensity of the flavors with his creativity. "
Famous American chef and travel writer Anthony Bourdain, who passed away two years ago, also enjoyed his visit to this restaurant. Bourdain visited Croatia in October 2011 and filmed some footage at the Boskinac restaurant on Pag for his show No Reservations, which was watched by 450 million people.
Boris Suljic
"The situation is currently far better than I expected, and we are fully booked in July and August"
Suljic has been working in the tourism industry for 35 years, and he knows how to put together a quality offer for tourists, so the corona crisis did not cause a drastic decrease in the number of his guests as it did in many hotels and restaurants on the Adriatic coast.
"The situation was rocky at first, but now it is far better than I expected, we have managed to attract Croatian guests. We also have some guests from Slovenia, and we are almost fully booked in July and August. We have also received inquiries from foreign tourists. Even though there will be no guests from America or the Far East, Germans, Austrians, and Italians will visit… "Suljic tells us.
He adds that he is fully booked mostly on weekends and that there's less of an interest for the beginning of the week, which is expected.
They haven't changed the prices: "That would be counterproductive"
Last weekend, both the hotel and the restaurant were completely booked. It was their busiest weekend since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
"We are a small secluded boutique hotel offering high quality and exclusive facilities. We have also put together some offers for Croatian guests. However, our restaurant does not usually have low prices, so lowering our prices now would be counterproductive. We have also received a Michelin star, so people are interested in us. We have been working on our quality for years to achieve these results," Suljic told us.
He is also the owner of the Kalypso club, and while the restaurant and hotel are doing well, the club revenue will decrease significantly since there are no big festivals this year, and no famous performers will be coming.
"All clubs will open, but it will all be modest. There will be no well-known performers, but we will open the club for the sake of our image, our brand, our relationship with the audience, and our foreign partners," Suljic concluded.
Istrian hotel owner Fernetich noticed a difference compared to previous years
Tullio Fernetich, the owner of the four-star luxury San Rocco Hotel in the Istrian town of Brtonigla, told Index that the situation in the tourism industry has been rocky this year, as well as that he has noticed a change when it comes to his hotel. In previous years, his guests were mostly foreigners, while this year, they mostly come from Croatia or Slovenia. He also states that the situation is far better than he expected.
He believes that this year, due to the situation with the coronavirus, small family hotels like his will do best.
"Quality facilities could end up having up to 60-70 percent of last year's traffic. I think small facilities have an advantage, we don't have a large number of rooms, and at the same time, we can offer a large surface area per guest, which means distancing is easy. I think people prefer to keep their distance. I hope that the situation will keep improving. This weekend we are fully booked, so things are looking good. We are busy mostly during the weekends, and the last two weekends business was great, we can definitely see a positive change happening. We have a lot more Croatian guests than we had in previous years," Fernetich told us.
Tullio Fernetich
Booked during the summer, mostly in September
Fernetich also considers the location of his hotel to be an additional advantage, as it can be reached by car from Zagreb or Slovenia. Many of the guests who booked their stay before the coronavirus pandemic have not canceled it, and new reservations are still coming.
"People have always booked their stay in our hotel last-minute. Guests decide to go on vacation and call us a few days before they arrive. We are booked for most of July and August, and especially in September. I hope nothing serious will happen, and we will manage to do well this season, but I assume that the overall tourism industry in Croatia will do worse than in previous years," Fernetich said.
We asked for his opinion on the reason why his hotel is successful during the pandemic.
"We have been doing well because of our quality and ratings. Also, guests appreciate hotels that are present in the media, that invest in their facilities and that are regularly renovated, so I believe that we will manage to pull through this season," Fernetich told us.