Published 05. December 2017.
Željko Kukurin, CEO at Valamar Riviera, the largest tourism company in Croatia, has been voted Businessperson of the Year by the readers of “Večernji list“ and “Poslovni dnevnik“. This was a record-breaking year for tourism: Croatia exceeded 100 million overnights for the first time.
“I accept this award with great pleasure; it confirms Valamar's philosophy of excellence in tourism achieved through sustainable and socially responsible investments in employees, products and destinations. This is also an award for tourism – a driver of Croatian economic growth, investments, employment and import. More importantly, it is also a driver of growth in other industries such as construction, agriculture, trade and commerce, IT, small and midsize business. It is a time of great development in tourism and all of us in this sector must be aware of it and take responsibility for the development of Croatian tourism and economy. I believe that this award will prove to be another good incentive. I would like to thank all of you who voted for Valamar as well as our employees, management, shareholders, investors, partners and all of those who contributed to this success,” said Željko Kukurin, CEO at Valamar Riviera.
Since June 2015 when Željko Kukurin was appointed Management Board President of Valamar Rivera's consolidated portfolio, the company has experienced strong growth. In the last three year Valamar has more than doubled the share value, started large investments in the portfolio and services at all destinations, acquired Hoteli Baška and Imperial Rab, formed important strategic partnerships and achieved double-digit growth in revenues and profit.
Valamar has invested over HRK 4 billion in Croatian tourism and by 2020 it will invest two more billion. In 2017 Valamar invested a total of HRK 906 million in Croatia’s largest annual investment cycle and opened 1000 new jobs. Valamar continues with large investments in 2018 worth more than HRK 705 million and plans to open 600 new jobs.
Valamar Riviera is the leading tourism company in Croatia that employs 6,000 people and achieves over HRK 1.7 billion in revenues and more than HRK 600 million in operating profit. Enterprise value reached HRK 7 billion and the average annual share growth in the previous period was over 30%. Valamar's portfolio includes 30 hotels and resorts and 15 camping resorts that can welcome 56,000 guests daily. Valamar operates in leading Croatian destinations: Poreč, Rabac, Rab, Krk and Dubrovnik.
