During the long weekend period from April the 27th to May the 1st, 2018, there were 369,000 arrivals and 1.1 million overnight stays acheived in Croatia.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 2nd of May, 2018, according to eVisitor's data, which contains tourist traffic realised in commercial and non-commercial facilities and the nautical charter (eCrew system), from January to the end of April, 1.9 million arrivals (+10%) and 5.1 million overnight stays (+9%) were recorded in Croatia. Of this, foreign tourists realised 1.4 million arrivals (+11%) and 4 million nights (+9%), while domestic tourists recorded 9% arrivals and 6% overnight stays respectively.
"After a very successful first four months, during which we recorded the growth of tourist traffic, we're heading towards the the main part of the tourist year in a positive atmosphere. The result is of the intensive activities of the entire tourist sector and the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ), aimed at strengthening the promotion of tourism in the pre-season. Similarly, Croatia has hosted numerous outstanding events, such as the Tour of Croatia international bicycle tour, attracting a large number of visitors, positively influencing the promotion of Croatian destinations in the world, and successfully accumulating numbers during this year's earlier Easter holidays. During this period, we also came to the affirmation of our city break destinations such as Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik,'' stated HTZ's director Kristjan Staničić.
"The achieved results of tourist traffic during the extended weekend mark the beginning of a good tourist year in Croatia. This year, we expect a billion euros of investment in tourism, through which, realisation, in addition to the increasing of traffic, will enable us to continue with the revenue growth that we generate from tourism, which is extremely important for the further development of destinations,'' said tourism minister Gari Cappelli.
In further reference to promotion what Croatia has to offer to tourists from around the world outside of the classic summertime window, he noted that addition to the country's traditional markets in Europe, there is systematic work going on to position Croatia firmly on much ore distant markets such as China, Korea and Japan, from which around 300 million visitors arrive every year. Firm positioning on more distant markets represents a great opportunity for Croatia, not only because Asian tourists tend to visit various destinations across the country throughout the year, unlike other Europeans who tend to focus solely on summer, but also because the average spending of Asian tourists is significantly higher.
As mentioned, during the period from April the 27th to May the 1st, 2018, there were 369,000 arrivals and 1.1 million nights realised in Croatia owing to the long weekend. Compared with the same period last year or in comparison with the results of the very same long weekend back in 2017, a 33% rise in arrivals and 27% in overnight stays has been achieved this year.
