March 13 (SeeNews) - Croatian blue-chip tourism companies Adris Grupa [ZSE:ADRS] and Valamar Riviera [ZSE:RIVP] said on Friday their bookings for March-May have been vastly cancelled due to the coronavirus infection, while bookings for June were less affected.
Several other Croatian tourism companies and hotel operators listed on the Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) said that most of their pre-season bookings, from March to end-May, have either been cancelled or fewer have been made compared to a year earlier.
On the other hand, some hotel operators have been forced to postpone or cancel the opening of new hotels that were planned to be ready for the upcoming summer season.
Hoteli Maestral [ZSE:HMST] has already opened one hotel, while the decision for the opening of a second one will depend on the outcome of the fight against the coronavirus disease.
Maestral also said that new bookings for summer 2020 are half of what they were at this time last year, with some bookings transferred to September and October. It added that if the coronavirus outbreak is halted during April, revenues will fall by 15% compared to last year's, while gross operating profit will drop by some 20%. If the disease is stopped during May, revenues will fall 30% and gross operating profit will decrease by some 35%.
FTB Turizam [ZSE:LRHC] still plans to open two hotels in April - Remisens Hotel Albatros and Remisens Hotel Epidaurus. However, their opening is uncertain due to the lower number of bookins as compared to last year.
FTB also said that if the coronavirus disease reaches its peak in Europe by the end of May, the operating revenue of the company would fall by some 30% on the year, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) would plunge 40% compared to 2019.
Hoteli Vodice [ZSE:HVDC] has postponed the opening of its new hotel until the middle of April.
Hoteli Jadran [ZSE:HJDR] reported cancellation of 40% of bookings for April and May, while Liburnia Hoteli [ZSE:LRH] said that 64% of its March bookings were cancelled, as well as 62% of those for April. Moreover, 21% of June bookings have been cancelled.
The civil protection unit at Croatia's ministry of the interior said that the registered number of people infected by the coronavirus in the country has risen to 27 by Thursday evening.
In 2019, foreign tourist arrivals to Croatia increased 4.3% to 17.4 million, while the number of their overnight stays grew 1.2% to 84.1 million.
Tourism is a key driver for the economy of the Adriatic state of some 4.1 million people, contributing some 20% of Croatia's GDP.