Tourism and Sport Minister Nikolina Brnjac said that sport is extremely important for the Croatian economy, which the state has also recognised with funds from the state budget.
She said that in 2016 €23 million from the state budget had been allocated for sport, while today the funds amounted to around €80 million.
"We have provided funds for sport and sport infrastructure for the first time through the National Recovery and Resilience Programme and through the multiannual financial framework. The government also supports large sporting events, and this year we hosted the WRC rally, which the government supported with about €3.2 million. We also recognised the Cro Race and the European Wrestling Championship, as well as numerous other events," said Brnjac.
She said that investing in sport infrastructure was also important, as it had to be available to children, young people, as well as top athletes.
The president of the Croatian Olympic Committee, Zlatko Mateša, believes that Croatia earns well from the sport industry since, he said, according to Eurostat data, around 1.6% of its GDP comes directly from the sport industry.
He underscored that the government had recognised the synergy of tourism and sport by forming the Ministry of Tourism and Sport.
A number of regulations have been passed that guarantee the development of sport in the future, said Mateša.
The President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK), Luka Burilović, also pointed out that sport is an indispensable part of the economy, which accounts for 4.3% of total employment.