ZAGREB, May 8, 2020 - Croatia recorded a 76.8% fall in the number of tourist arrivals and a 69.3% fall in the number of overnight stays in March 2020 compared with the same month in 2019, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (DZS).
In March this year only 104,000 tourists stayed in commercial accommodation facilities, generating 290,000 overnight stays.
The drastic decline is the result of the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic and travel restrictions undertaken by countries across the globe to contain the spread of the novel virus.
Domestic tourists generated 43,000 arrivals and 106,000 overnight stays, which are decreases of 67% and 60.9% respectively, while foreign tourists generated 61,000 arrivals and 184,000 overnight stays, which are respective declines of 80.8% and 72.7% year on year.
German tourists generated the largest number of arrivals and overnight stays - 11,000 arrivals and 29,000 overnight stays, or 17.2% of the total arrivals and 15.8% of the total overnight stays made by foreign tourists. Compared with March 19, they generated 73.9% fewer arrivals and 72.3% fewer overnight stays.
In terms of overnight stays, German tourists were followed by those from Slovenia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the United States.
By type of accommodation, hotels recorded 71,000 tourist arrivals and 149,000 overnight stays, which is 68.2% of the total arrivals and 51.3% of the total overnight stays. Compared with March 2019, they registered 79.3% fewer arrivals and 77.5% fewer overnight stays.
A total of 23,000 arrivals and 110,000 overnight stays were recorded in rented accommodation establishments, which is 21.7% of the total arrivals and 37.9% of the total overnight stays. Compared with March 2019, this type of accommodation generated 66.5% fewer arrivals and 44.2% fewer overnight stays.
In the first quarter of 2020, commercial accommodation facilities registered 603,000 tourist arrivals and 1.4 million overnights, which is a 34.6% decline in the number of arrivals and a 27.7% decline in the number of overnight stays compared with the first quarter of 2019.
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