Earlier quoted context omitted.
Remove inefficient governments, privatise all public services, let the market clean up the mess and attract foreign capital through zero taxation and lack of regulations. You need rich foreign expats, tired of paying 50% of their salaries in exchange for run down cities and homelessness, creating value in the country. If tourism is your only strategy you won't go far.
> privatise all public services, let the market clean up the mess Half-Croat here. What you propose would destroy what is left of the country. Public services are already shoddy as it is because Croatia doesn't have much economy outside of tourism, agriculture and a bit of heavy industry. The best and young minds have been leaving the country for well over half a century.
If conditions were more fiscally favourable, if there were better private schools, an english speaking expat community, I'd definitely move there.
I think Montenegro is doing pretty good in that regard. Taxation is straightforward and reasonable. That attracted private capital. Good private schools started popping out, the Tivat marina was built. It's also the first country to be in line to join the EU - which is not something I consider positive, but it's certainly a sign of the quality of the country.
Sadly Croatia is still not there and, frankly, I doubt it's going to get there anytime soon. Croatia is like a poorer version of countries in the EU: high and complex taxes, which get converted into mediocre services after passing through an inefficient government. The only difference is that European countries are richer and therefore the services are marginally better, even if they're getting worse and worse over time.
I understand my anarchist solution can be seen as radical and it's not going to happen, but even moving in that direction would be helpful.