The past 2020, much drier when it comes to the number of tourists, has resulted in an increased number of checked-out apartments.

Many private accommodation owners have recorded fewer guests or no guests at all due to the coronavirus pandemic, so they are trying to find a new account in renting apartments to tenants. Some are checking out tourist accommodation, while others, as can be seen in the advertisements, are trying to get them with a limited period of stay in the facility, no later than June 1.

- In 2020, in the area of ​​Split-Dalmatia County, 3266 citizens requested to cancel the provision of catering services in the household - says Stjepanka Marčić, head of the Department of Tourism in Split-Dalmatia County, where 26,523 landlords are currently active. Their total number decreased by 11 percent compared to the period before the pandemic.

They did not have a single guest

- The largest number of deregistrations is recorded in the area of ​​Split, where 1,200 landlords requested deregistration, ie 15 percent of the total number of registered. The least unsubscribed are on the islands of Hvar and Vis, five percent of them - says Stjepanka Marčić.

Citizens submitted unsubscribe requests throughout the year, most intensively during December 2020.

The most common reason for unsubscribing that renters gave when giving up catering services in the household is the fact that in 2020 they did not have a single guest, while at the same time they had to pay taxes, tourist tax and tourist membership fee, so it is not worth having the cost no income.

This is confirmed by one of the landlords, who decided to check out the apartment in the wider center of Split last fall.

- I paid half the sojourn tax, half were forgiven. And a membership fee to the Tourist Board, and two lump sum installments, and not a single guest. Not a guest, not even an inquiry. If I hadn't checked out the apartment in October, I would have paid the last installment of the lump sum. It doesn't make sense - says the Split landlord. At the moment, he is not even thinking about whether to reactivate his apartment for tourist purposes ...

- Who knows what will happen in a month? Who can be smart here? He will say that a new strain of corona has come again, so he will close everything again. Vain and vaccine, and masks, and who has been vaccinated twice or thrice. Of course, in June everything will reopen due to the tourist season and nothing will matter anymore nor will it be controlled who enters the country. And then the locals will shut us down again in October - they will be exalted.

The Department of Tourism of the Split-Dalmatia County is not inclined to predict whether and to what extent there will be returnees to the ranks of renters.

Complex procedure

- Citizens who have deregistered their solutions will follow the development of the market situation and will, accordingly, decide how to proceed. Some real estate owners in the area of ​​the city of Split have already decided on long-term rent or rent to students, while others, depending on the situation in the emitting markets, the interest of foreign and domestic guests, epidemiological rules, flight schedule and calming the pandemic, will consider reactivating its capacities - says Stjepanka Marčić.

All deleted owners of private accommodation from the Register of Landlords, who have been issued decisions on deregistration, will have to, if they change their minds and want to re-host tourists, submit a new request, accompanied by statutory evidence, and, in the process, will be inspected and bring a new solution for the provision of catering services in the household, writes Slobodna Dalmacija.

The temporary solution is valid until the end of the year

By amending the Law on Catering Activity, the deadline for obtaining a permanent solution instead of a temporary one has been extended by one year. Renters who have a temporary solution with a deadline of 31 December 2020 may continue to provide services until 31 December 2021 on the basis of that solution and have no obligation to obtain a new one.

The same deadline applies to caterers who have obtained an interim decision on determining the minimum conditions or an interim decision on the categorization of catering facilities with a deadline of 31 December 2020. They can continue to perform catering activities until 31 December 2021 without obtaining a new decision.

The people of Dubrovnik are still hoping

Last year's weak tourist season forced many Dubrovnik renters to turn to long-term real estate leasing.

Due to new tax solutions passed in the record tourist 2019, according to which the maximum city taxes per tourist bed and also the maximum high tourist tax for 2021 in Dubrovnik were calculated, many renters canceled the categorization of their apartments.

According to the data of the State Administration Office of the Department of Tourism, as of December 15, 8,397 landlords were registered in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County, while last year there were 8,725.

It follows that by mid-December there were 328 fewer private renters, or 2,071 fewer beds than n

and last year. Of that, there is a reduction of 141 landlords, or 843 beds in the city of Dubrovnik. (M. R. K.)

In Zadar last year filled 7 percent

At the level of the whole of last year, accommodation in households in Zadar was 7.34 percent full. This data best illustrates how much the epidemic had an impact on the occupancy of private apartments.

Although the Zadar Tourist Board registered 31 percent occupancy in July and 38 percent in August, it could not "save the season." This also had an impact on the interest of renters, whose number is declining.

According to the current data in the eVisitor system, compared to the same period last year, in Zadar there is four percent less capacity in basic beds and seven percent less renters.

However, the city's Tourist Board points out that the cancellation of the decision on temporary approval for the provision of catering services in the household is carried out by the Administrative Department for entrusted affairs of the Zadar County State Administration, so the exact number of deregistered capacities will be in January. (AS PER.)

Šibenik: the most check-outs in the city

In 2020, the number of deregistered solutions for the provision of household services in the Šibenik-Knin County is 9 percent, and in the city of Šibenik it has risen to as much as 14 percent, which puts it alongside Split.

- Before the pandemic, there were 8670 landlords in the county, and today there are 7889 of them - say the authorities in the Department of Tourism of Šibenik-Knin County.
Most check-outs were recorded in the city of Šibenik, suburbs and towns, especially in September.

- The most common explanations were uncertainty due to the situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The problem is the payment of obligations, and the landlords do not have announcements of reservations and guests - they say in the Šibenik-Knin County.

A large number of renters who have checked out the apartments have announced to them that they will re-register them when the situation with COVID 19 calms down (M. G.)

Source: Jutarnjilist