An extremely successful year for the Pearl of the Adriatic!
As DuList writes on the 29th of December, 2017, this year's tourist season was a record one, and this result means a lot for both the county and job creation and employment, according to a statement by Dubrovnik-Neretva County Prefect Nikola Dobroslavić at the Dubrovnik-Neretva County Tourist Board's congress on Friday morning at the popular Valamar Hotel Lacroma.
It's not simple to be of such high quality. It takes a lot of effort, and everyone has done so. After several record seasons we've had another record [one], and we expect 2018 to be a good one with optimism. We need to prepare well, but the market announcements are good, so I expect another record season,'' Dobroslavić said.
According to eVisitor data, 1.9 million arrivals were recorded in the county during 2017, which is 15 percent more than there were last year, as well as 8.3 million overnight stays, which is 12 percent more than there were in 2016.
As far as 2017's key events are concerned, Dobroslavić put emphasis on the European Commission's very welcome decision to co-finance the construction of the long-awaited Pelješac Bridge project and the completion of Dubrovnik Airport's terminal.
"It's good to have stopped the terminal project in Gruz port, which wasn't good for the state, the county or the city. We need to find a way that would be acceptable to everyone,'' said Dobroslavić.
"This year was extremely successful, and we can expect that 2018 will be a success close to this year," said Vladimir Bakić of Dubrovnik-Neretva County's tourist board.
Otherwise, according to eVisitor data, hotel accommodation with a capacity of 22,500 beds achieved almost 3.5 million overnight stays, which is 31 percent more than last year, with 154 days of occupancy, and households with a capacity of 44 thousand beds acheived 3.3 million nights, which is 18 percent more than in 2016, with 75 days of occupancy. The ratio of overnight stays in July and August in comparison to the rest of the year is 51 percent to 49 percent, and according to Bakić, it is a confirmation that the work on the extension of the tourist season gives results.
Visitors from other European countries like the United Kingdom with 1.5 million overnight stays this year are the most numerous, with a share of 18 percent, ahead of the Germans with 716 thousand overnight stays, Scandinavian tourists made up 567 thousand overnights, the Poles realised 528 thousand and the French made up 459 thousand overnight stays.
