eConsultation: Law on Tourism in public discussion

The Ministry of Sports and Tourism ( MINTS ) has released the eConsultation for public discussion through the portal Law on Tourism. The public hearing is open from today (26/07) and lasts for one month, i.e. until August 26, 2023. 

The Tourism Act regulates the tourism system, management of tourism development in the direction of sustainability, ensuring sustainability, system of data collection, monitoring and analysis, destination management system, system of encouragement, monitoring and analysis of investments in tourism.

Destinations, activities, services in tourism and sectors are defined in the part that regulates the tourism system. In relation to activities and the provision of services in tourism, they are defined, and in relation to the performance of the aforementioned activities and services, reference is made to the provisions of the special regulations of the Act on Catering Activities ("Official Gazette" No. 85/15, 121/16, 99/18, 25/ 19, 98/19, 32/20, 42/20 and 126/21) and the Act on the provision of services in tourism ("Official Gazette" number 130/17, 25/19, 98/19, 42/20 and 70/21 ).

The law defines the institutional framework for management of tourism development – The Ministry as the bearer of tourism policy, the Council for the Management of Tourism Development, the system of tourist boards and the Scientific and Expert Council.

It is established by the Law on Tourism Tourism Development Management Council headed by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, and consisting of him ministers of all departments important for tourism. The Council is established for the purpose of achieving strategic goals and more effective planning and implementation of tourism policies. The presidents of national associations of municipalities, cities and counties and the director of the Croatian Tourist Board are also members, and if necessary, representatives of other state authorities, units of local and regional (regional) self-government, public companies and institutions, chambers and other stakeholders can attend the sessions of the Council. tourism system. The Council is appointed by a decision of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, and meets at least once a year.

The tasks of the Council are related to cooperation in the field of implementation of tourism policies, coordination with other policies and interdepartmental cooperation.  

It is also defined Scientific and professional advice established by the minister by decision as an advisory body. The scientific and professional council consists of representatives of the academic community, representatives of professional associations and guilds, representatives of social partners, employers' associations, chambers and scientific institutes, and if necessary, at the invitation of the minister, other persons can participate in the work of the scientific and professional council.

Tourist communities they get a new role in destination management through the continuation of their transformation into destination management organizations (eng. Destination management organization - DMO), which, in addition to marketing support, also have the role of gathering and coordinating stakeholders with the aim of integrated management of the destination in the direction of sustainability.

At the same time, a clearer vertical and horizontal connection is established within the system of tourist boards. National and regional coordination of tourist boards are being established, which enable a clearer connection and coordination of work. Tools which will be given to tourist communities in destination management, are related to the creation of destination management plans and the management of tourist flows. The organization, tasks and way of working and the basic principles of their financing and management, in the part in which it is not regulated by the Law on Tourism, remains regulated by the provisions of the Law on Tourist Boards and the Promotion of Croatian Tourism ("Official Gazette" no. 52/19 and 42/20) .

In order to encourage the development of tourism in the direction of sustainability, tools are established to monitor the development of tourism in the direction of sustainability, tourism development index i sustainability indicators.

The tourism development index is defined as an indicator that is calculated as an adjusted average of the standardized values ​​of socio-economic indicators in order to measure the level of tourism development of a unit of local and regional (regional) self-government in a certain period. Sustainability indicators are defined as social, ecological, spatial and economic, and the list of sustainability monitoring indicators, calculation and data sources will be prescribed by the ordinance.

The satellite account of tourism, the system of satellite accounts of sustainable tourism, the calculation of reception capacity and the integrated information system of tourism are defined as tools for ensuring sustainability. Data on tourist traffic, tourist infrastructure, available superstructure, socio-demographic indicators, economic indicators, environmental indicators and other necessary data are collected.

The creation of a satellite account of tourism, as well as a system of satellite accounts of sustainable tourism, is regulated as a methodological framework for systematic monitoring of the social, ecological and economic effects of tourism on sectors in the tourism ecosystem, and due to the large differences in the tourism development of Croatian regions, a national account will be created every four years. (NUTS 1), regional (NUTS 2) and county accounts (NUTS 3 - only for Adriatic Croatia).

The calculation of reception capacity is defined, which shows how many tourists a destination can receive without negative effects on the local population, space and resources, and the satisfaction of tourists. The tourist board is required to calculate the reception capacity which is partially or fully established on the territory of the local self-government unit which according to the Tourist Development Index is classified in category I and II. The unit of local and regional (regional) self-government is obliged to use the calculation of receiving capacities in spatial planning.

In the integrated tourism information system managed by the state administration body responsible for tourism, all electronic services from the field of tourism and hospitality and the database collected in the process of monitoring sustainability, electronic procedures for registering activities and starting business in the field of tourism and hospitality, the Central Tourist Register, the system for granting subsidies in tourism, the system for registration and de-registration of tourists, the tourist information portal and systems for analyzing data related to the monitoring and evaluation of sustainability.

It is being established destination management system made up of destination management organizations. In order to make the system more efficient, national and regional coordination of the presidents of tourist boards are established, which ensure horizontal and vertical cooperation of tourist boards.

The National Coordination of Tourist Board Presidents consists of the President of the Croatian Tourist Board, the presidents of all regional tourist boards and the President of the City of Zagreb Tourist Board, and its task is to coordinate the work and activities of tourist boards in the Republic of Croatia.

The regional coordination of the president of tourist boards consists of the president of the regional tourist board and the presidents of all local tourist boards in the area for which the regional tourist board was established, as well as a representative of the ministry and the Croatian Tourist Board, and its task is to coordinate the work and activities of local tourist boards in the area of ​​the regional tourist board.

The role of local and regional self-government units in destination management is defined, and their cooperation with tourist communities is regulated.

Tourist boards make destination management plan which aims to direct the development of the destination towards sustainability. The destination management plan, as a planning document, contains an analysis of the situation and a list of the resource base, sustainability indicators at the destination level, measures and activities necessary to achieve the development direction, proposed guidelines and recommendations for the development of the destination that are proposed to the local or regional self-government unit, and a list of projects that contribute to the implementation of measures necessary to contribute to the achievement of sustainability indicators at the destination level.

The destination management plan is drawn up for the area of ​​one or more local or regional tourist boards, according to the procedure for adopting the annual work program of the tourist board prescribed by a special law regulating the system of tourist boards, for a period of four years. For local tourist communities classified in categories I and II of the Tourist Development Index, the destination management plan must be drawn up based on the calculation of reception capacities.

When adopting a destination management plan, the tourist board is obliged to include the unit of local and regional (regional) self-government, public institutions and commercial companies owned by the unit of local and regional (regional) self-government and the Republic of Croatia, associations that directly participate in the creation of the destination value chain in tourism , competent bodies for spatial planning, as well as all stakeholders important for planning the development of tourism in the destination, conduct a public consultation on the proposed management plan and in other appropriate ways ensure the participation of the local population in the process of its adoption.

Adopted destination management plan with proposed recommendations for making decisions related to destination development i a list of projects of special importance for the development of the destination, the tourist board submits to the representative body of the local or regional (regional) self-government unit for publication in the official gazette of the local or regional (regional) self-government unit and preparation of decisions important for directing the development of the destination in the direction of sustainability.

The decision on the list of projects of special importance for the development of the destination is made by the representative body of the local or regional self-government unit based on the destination management plan. The state administration body responsible for tourism establishes, manages and publicly publishes a database of projects of special importance for the development of the destination, and the list of projects is working enrollment the project database is submitted to the state administration body responsible for tourism by the unit of local or regional self-government for its area and the tourist association in whose destination management plan the projects are located.

They are also regulated by the provisions of the law supports and incentives in tourism, in a way that The Law on Tourism represents the legal basis for the adoption of a sectoral program of incentives intended for activities in tourism and the tourism ecosystem. The purpose of the incentive measures is to ensure the key strategic goals of the development of sustainable tourism in the Republic of Croatia. 

The proposal of the Law also includes provisions on supervision over its implementation by the state administration body responsible for tourism, in the part that refers to the supervision of the use of subsidies in cooperation with the state administration body responsible for finances and the state administration body responsible for managing state property.

Get involved in the public debate

VYou can find out more details about the proposal on the Tourism Act on the eConsultation: LAW ON TOURISM