Croatia seeks 5,000 more seasonal workers: Most sought-after workers from BiH

(Patria) - Croatian employers have already started looking for seasonal workers. Demand is high, attractive offers are being made, and a large number of workers are expected from Bosnia and Herzegovina, who, according to data from the Croatian Ministry of Interior, were the most numerous foreign workers in that country last year.

Employers promise higher wages, accommodation, meals, and other benefits to workers in tourism, which is traditionally the sector with the largest volume of seasonal employment, and cooks, waiters, pastry chefs, and room attendants are most sought after.

"According to our internal survey on the tourism workforce, 60 percent of surveyed companies expect to need more employees for the 2026 season, and 40 percent expect to need the same as in 2025, meaning the estimate of employers in tourism and hospitality is that they will need up to 5,000 more seasonal workers," confirmed the Croatian Employers' Association (HUP) to Fena.

They say they expect a continuation of the trend of labor shortages in the domestic labor market, which will be compensated by increased employment of workers from the region (+1% compared to 2025) and workers from the Philippines (+4%).

According to data from the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Croatia, last year a total of 52,858 work permits were issued in tourism and hospitality, or 6 percent less than in 2024, while the total number of issued work permits fell by 17 percent. Thus, in 2025, for the first time, there was a change in the trend and a decrease in the number of issued permits, which had significantly increased year after year in the previous five years.

Among the five activities with the largest number of issued permits, tourism recorded the smallest decline, and thus the tourism sector, for the first time, came in first place in terms of the number of issued work permits. In total, in 2025, in all activities, the most workers were employed from Bosnia and Herzegovina (32 thousand), Serbia (24 thousand), North Macedonia (12 thousand), Nepal (31 thousand), India (15 thousand), and the Philippines (18 thousand), whose numbers significantly increased compared to 2024 (+20%).

"The most sought-after workers are for the positions of: cook, waiter, pastry chef, bartender, and room attendant, assistant cooks and waiters, and employers and our members who have established recruitment processes and attractive offers for tourism workers are succeeding in meeting most of their needs," state HUP.

They also point out that the demand for seasonal workers is high in all coastal counties of the Republic of Croatia.

When asked about working conditions and salaries, the Croatian Employers' Association responds that the tourism sector is recording a trend of continuous wage increases, and that in the last two years alone, wages in the largest tourism companies have increased by 25 percent.

In addition to salary, they add, employers provide accommodation, meals, tips, and other benefits to seasonal workers, making the tourism sector an increasingly attractive employer in terms of working conditions.

The trend of wage growth will continue this year, according to a survey conducted among its members.

"We negotiate with trade unions in tourism every year regarding wage increases in hospitality, and HUP Hospitality and Tourism Association is in the final stages of agreements regarding the increase of minimum wages for the 2026 season and typical hospitality jobs (room attendant, waiter, cook, pastry chef, receptionist, as well as auxiliary workers and specialists) through the conclusion of a new collective agreement for hospitality," HUP notes.