The conditional costs of tourism success: Making the Croatian disease visible

Abstract

This commentary reflects on the cumulative societal impact of four studies published in Annals of Tourism Research between 2021 and 2026. Using Croatia as an exceptionally tourism-dependent economy, the studies examined housing affordability, international emigration, economic leakages through firm supply chains, and seasonal grocery inflation. Together, they informed Croatia's emerging housing policy, forthcoming World Bank work on tourism linkages, and national public debate. Read together, they suggest what we call the Croatian disease : tourism's distributive consequences become structural faster than institutions recognize and address them. Leakage, unequal gains, rising housing and living costs, and emigration are symptoms rather than the disease itself. We conclude with lessons on data granularity, cumulative research, institutional collaboration, public communication, and modesty in attributing research impact. Video. For a video summary of this paper, please visit: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22923240 .