46 PERSPECTIVES ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS | VOL 44 | 2026 However, one of the largest drawbacks of this source is uneven distribution among municipalities, with a large amount of funding remaining unused. By the end of 2017, a mere 16.1% of EU funding for Croatian projects during 2014–2020 was committed (Boromisa et al., 2022). For environmental and waste management specifically, only 17.8% of allotted cohesion funds was actually distributed in the same period. This percentage is much lower than other categories like low carbon economy and technical assistance, indicating difficulty in absorbing EU funds (Gjergji, 2022). Research based on interviews with Croatian local government officials confirms that the challenge of absorbing EU funding is attributed to varying abilities to write requests or grants, limited human capacity, and the management of bureaucracy regarding tracking the progress of reporting requirements (Bežovan et al., 2026). Waste management failures exposed by Croatia’s tourism surge The tourism industry in Croatia has grown substantially in recent years, as shown in Figure 1, placing increased strain on waste management systems. For example, the number of tourist overnights grew to 1.2 million tourist arrivals to commercial accommodations in April 2025, representing a 14.8% increase versus April 2024 (Croatian Tourism…, 2025). In 2019, tourism was responsible for 11.8% of the GDP, representing a significant portion of the economy (OECD, 2022). In some cities along the Adriatic Coast, where tourism is largely concentrated, tourism accounts for even higher percentages of GDP and makes up the majority of income generated (Mance et al., 2020). The influx of tourism particularly strains waste management systems not equipped to deal with the large increase in waste. A 2020 study of coastal Croatia found tourists on average produce 1.11 kg of waste per day, accounting for 22% more than local inhabitants. In most of Croatia, rural and less economically developed areas generate less waste per day than wealthier coastal locales, with notable exceptions. Because cities with higher rates of tourism also reap its economic benefits, they have more means to treat waste generated by tourists. Even though more waste is generated with the influx of tourists, some of the wealthiest municipalities prioritize the development of waste management infrastructure. For instance, Medulin, a municipality located in Istria, touted as Croatia’s wealthiest in 2019, does not surpass Croatia’s average municipal waste generation per person per day, at 1.0 kg per person per day, including tourists (Mance et al., 2020). Similarly, Orebić, a coastal city in Dubrovnik-Neretva County with high tourism, achieved a 31.75% waste separation rate. Medulin Figure 1 Number of overnight tourists to Croatia, 1995–2022 Source: UN Tourism, 2022.
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