The Valamar Group will invest a total of HRK 705 million in 2018. Valamar Riviere Supervisory Board d.d. approved the investments in the amount of HRK 633 million, while the Supervisory Board of Imperial d.d. approved investments amounting to HRK 72 million, totaling HRK 705 million. After more than 4 billion kuna of realized investments over the past period, Valamar Rivera, as the leading investor in Croatian tourism, continues to invest heavily in the investment cycle worth 2 billion kunas to 2020. In 2017, Valamar invested HRK 906 million in its largest annual investment cycle in Croatian tourism and opened up to 1,000 new jobs.
In 2018, Valamar Girandella Resorta is completed, which will open the first Kinderhotel of 5 * in Croatia, to re-position Rapca as the leading holiday destination on the Adriatic. Investments in camps in Istria and on the island of Krk will continue the strategy of intensive investment in the premium camping segment. In Dubrovnik, the repositioning of the hotel Valamar Argosy is focused on paying more salaried power while on the island of Rab, investments totaling HRK 72 million and the renovation of the Imperial hotel launch a new development cycle.
The investment cycle of HRK 705 million in 2018 continued with the strategy of significant investments of Valamar Riviera and the repositioning of portfolios towards high quality tourism. Raising the quality of the bid also requires a change in the employment structure, and about 600 new jobs are planned. Valamar this year employed 420 employees for an indefinite period of time. New job positions have been opened for all profiles: managers in hotel operations, IT specialists, sales and marketing staff, chefs, waiters, receivers, and staff at home. The average salary in Valamar for about 20 percent is higher than the industry average and is progressively increasing. With employment growth and average salaries, Valamar has confirmed the position of one of the most desirable employers in tourism and Croatia.
“The success and growth of Valamar Riviera is based on investments in products, employees and tourist destinations, taking care of sustainable and socially responsible development. In 2018, we continue to invest in Croatian tourism with the ambition of further double-digit growth of business. I am convinced that with the support of our investors, partners and the local community, we can achieve the set goals by taking care of the interests of our shareholders and other stakeholders, “said Željko Kukurin, CEO of Valamar Riviere.
Valamar Riviera is the leading tourist company in Croatia employing 6,000 employees, earning more than 1.7 billion kuna of revenue and more than 600 million operating earnings a year. The value of the company is 7 billion kunas with an average annual growth of the share in the past period of over 30 percent. In the portfolio of Valamar, there are 30 hotels and summer resorts and 15 summer resort camps that can host 56,000 guests a day. The destinations of Poreč, Rabac, Rab, Krk and Dubrovnik, where Valamar operates, are among the leaders in Croatia.