April 4, 2022 - In 2021, there were 466.2 thousand tourists in houses, apartments, and holiday homes or non-commercial accommodation in Croatia, 2.3 percent more than in 2020, while the number of overnight stays was 9.3 percent or 10.1 million less, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).

Owners of non-commercial accommodation in Croatia pay a tourist tax as a lump sum and are obliged to register themselves and all persons who spend the night in the house or apartment (family members, relatives, friends) in the eVisitor tourist check-in and check-out system of the Croatian National Tourist Board (CNTB), from which the CBS takes data on non-commercial tourist traffic and continues to process them statistically.

Locals came less and spent the night in houses and holiday apartments

According to these data, out of the total turnover in non-commercial accommodation in 2021, almost 76 percent of arrivals and 56.4 percent of overnight stays refer to foreigners, who came to this type of accommodation 5 percent more than in 2020 (353.1 thousand) but realized 3 percent fewer overnight stays (5.7 million), reports Index.hr.

Croatian citizens also realized fewer overnight stays in non-commercial accommodation than in 2020, by 16 percent (4.4 million), and according to reports in eVisitor, 5 percent fewer came to that accommodation (113.1 thousand).

Last year, 37,000 Slovenians came to this type of accommodation, totaling 2.6 million overnight stays. According to that, they were by far the most numerous and the most overnight stays in houses and holiday apartments in Croatia among all tourists from other nations who were in that type of accommodation.

They were followed by Germans and tourists from Bosnia and Herzegovina with 640 thousand and 634 thousand overnight stays, and among the first ten countries, whose tourists realized one hundred thousand and more overnight stays in that accommodation: the markets of Serbia, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Italy, and Slovakia.

Zadar County and Kvarner with the most non-commercial overnight stays

In the research on this traffic, CBS did not provide comparisons of traffic from these and other markets in non-commercial accommodation in Croatia from 2020, which is not stated for individual counties, but only data on arrivals and overnight stays for 2021. Zadar County, with 36 percent of all overnight stays in that type of accommodation, ranks in the first place.

The second is Primorje-Gorski Kotar with 26 percent of total overnight stays, while the third is Istria with 15 percent of total overnight stays in non-commercial accommodation.

They are followed by Šibenik-Knin County, where 8.2 percent of overnight stays in non-commercial accommodation were realized in holiday homes and apartments in 2021. Split-Dalmatia County follows with almost 7 percent of overnight stays, and Dubrovnik-Neretva County with 4.4 percent, while Lika-Senjska County with the lowest share of 4 percent in total overnight stays.

However, not all other counties in Croatia have that much, because the share of overnight stays in non-commercial accommodation was only 0.2 percent.

What the CBS does not yet state in this research is the number of houses, apartments, and holiday apartments (accommodation units, etc.) in which this non-commercial tourist traffic was recorded in 2021, and they note that the quality of research results is significantly affected by the discipline of check-in and check-out the stay of persons in non-commercial accommodation facilities and the work of inspection bodies that monitor this phenomenon.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

January 12, 2022 - The official 2021 Croatian tourism figures are surprisingly fruitful, given the pandemic. 

Namely, 13.8 million arrivals and 84.1 million overnight stays were realized in Croatia last year, reports Slobodna Dalmacija.

Compared to 2020, there are 77 percent more arrivals and 55 percent more overnight stays.

At the same time, foreign tourists realized 71.9 million overnight stays and domestic tourists had 12.3 million overnight stays. This is a continuation of the trend from 2020, in which domestic tourists crossed 15 percent of all arrivals for the second year in a row and had 13.3 percent of all overnight stays in 2020 and 14.5 percent a year later.

The pandemic deterred many from traveling abroad, so many tourists spent their vacation on the Adriatic.

According to the number of overnight stays, the results from recent years were achieved. The only better period was from 2017-2019. Last year reached 2017 with a 2.4 percent difference as 86.2 million overnight stays were realized in that year.

"On the other hand, 2021 set a record in the size that is the goal of every tourism policy - the average number of stays exceeded six nights per tourist for the first time in tourism history. Moreover, by the end of the third quarter, the average number of overnight stays was 6.7, close to a 7-day average stay. This speaks of the growing interest of tourists to stay in Croatia, which, thanks to the efforts of tourism workers, local communities, and the hospitality and tourism sector has more to offer than the sun and sea," says private consultant Ivica Žuro.

Most tourist overnight stays were recorded in Istria (23.5 million), Split-Dalmatia (15.5 million), and Primorje-Gorski Kotar County (15.3 million).

They are followed by Zadar County (12.7 million overnight stays), Šibenik-Knin County (5.9 million), and Dubrovnik-Neretva County (5.4 million). The destinations that attracted the most visitors were Zagreb (638,000 arrivals), Rovinj (549,000), Dubrovnik (543,000), Split (529,000) and Poreč (431,000 arrivals).

Looking at the markets in 2021, most arrivals were made by Germans (2.9 million, 84 percent growth compared to 2020), domestic tourists (2.3 million or 41 percent more than in 2020), Slovenes (1.2 million, 18% growth compared to 2020), Austrians (1.1 million, 180 percent growth compared to 2020), Poles (1 million, 50 percent growth compared to 2020) and Czechs (775.00 or 50 percent more than in 2020).

Compared to 2020, there were 78% more Italians, 100% more Hungarians, 168% more French, and 324% more Dutch.

Central and Eastern Europe is still our primary market, especially compared to the record  2019. Poles achieved 8% more overnight stays; Germans are on the same number, Czechs achieved 97% of pre-pandemic overnight stays, while Slovenians and Austrians achieved about 82% of overnight stays from 2019.

Most overnight stays by type of accommodation were recorded in households (32.1 million), camps (17.4 million), and hotels (15.7 million). In addition, 3.1 million overnight stays were realized in the nautical charter segment. Compared to 2020, the highest traffic growth was achieved in hotels (+124 percent), camps (+92 percent), nautical (+87 percent), and household facilities (+45 percent).

According to the Croatian National Tourist Board, in the first nine months of 2021, revenues from foreign tourists amounted to 8 billion and 268 million euros, representing a growth of 90% of revenues from the same period in 2020 (the first corona-pandemic year). Compared to the first nine months of 2019, 88% of revenues were generated.

During the summer months and the third quarter of 2021, revenues from foreign tourists amounted to 6 billion and 775 million euros, an increase of 100% of revenues generated during the same period in 2020.

For more, check out our dedicated travel section.

November the 30th, 2021 - The pace of economic recovery seems more difficult to assess than the decline that followed the unprecedented situation that dominated 2020. Croatian 2021 tourist results, however, have well and truly outdone themselves.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Jadranka Dozan writes, what can be taken from what has been released by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) on the first estimate of GDP for the third quarter of 2021 and the real growth rate of 15.8 percent compared to the same quarter last year (according to seasonally adjusted data), is that most analysts can admit that it exceeded their expectations. The Croatian 2021 tourist results were excellent, and with this being the country's strongest economic branch, it certainly poured some much needed cash back into the country's wallet.

Apart from personal consumption, which was mostly in the double-digits, and although the published data of 16 percent also largely exceeded forecasts, some economists will point out that they were pleasantly surprised by the positive contribution of net foreign demand, primarily due to significantly lower growth in the import of goods and services in relation to exports. In the summer months, this is primarily ''stamped'' by tourism.

The growth rate of total Croatian exports reached almost 49 percent, while imports of goods and services increased by just 14 percent when compared to the third quarter of last year. Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic didn't miss the opportunity to boast about the fact that this is the second highest annual rate of quarterly GDP growth so far (behind the one recorded in the second quarter, of almost 17 percent).

At a press conference, he pointed out that in the first nine months of 2021, Croatia had annual growth of 10.7 percent, which is the highest rate, in his words, since independence. With the message that “the Government will do everything to make the growth at the end of the year reach at least nine percent, he noted that among the EU member states for which data for the third quarter has been made available, Croatia's 15.8 percent is by far the highest GDP growth.

Admittedly, at this time last year, Croatia also took the lead in the CBS estimates of quarterly GDP, but at a rate of decline. At that time, Croatia was the only country with a double-digit decline in the EU, but it turned out a little later that it was slightly larger down in Greece.

At the level of the whole of 2021, it is almost certain that the Croatian economy will record the highest growth rate to date. Bearing in mind that epidemiological measures were tightened due to the coronavirus crisis at the end of November last year, which ultimately contributed to an annual decline of 7.4 percent in the last quarter, solid growth is also expected for the last quarter of this year. In any case, all indications are that year-round growth could be very close to the double-digit rate. However, even 9 percent growth would mean catching back up with the GDP levels of the pre-crisis 2019 this year, although it was calculated at the beginning of this year that after last year's sharp decline, we'd have to wait until at least the end of next year.

Although it is now quite certain that Croatia will be in the group of several countries with the highest GDP growth in the EU this year, less impressive is the fact that in 2019 Croatia only managed to exceed the level of GDP from 2008. According to the latest estimate from Government statisticians, growth in the third quarter of 2021 was recorded by all major components of domestic GDP, with the exception of Government spending, which fell by 4.5 percent compared to the third quarter of last year.

The largest contribution to growth came from a 16 percent increase in personal consumption as the largest component, and from the exports of goods and services (with significantly slower growth for imports). With as much as 71.6 percent higher exports of services compared to the three summer months of last year, the exports of goods increased by 13 percent, while the imports of goods increased by 12.4 percent and services increased by 22.3 percent.

Positive rates also continued with gross fixed capital formation, although growth (7.4 percent) was slower than in the previous quarter (18 percent). Observed according to the production method, quarterly gross value added (GVA) recorded an annual increase of 13.5 percent. As expected, the largest contribution was made in the group of activities related to tourism, and Croatian 2021 tourist results have been truly remarkable, primarily due to a lasting favourable epidemiological situation. This allowed Croatia to excel in comparison to its Mediterranean competition.

In the category that unites wholesale and retail trade, transport and storage, as well as accommodation and food preparation and serving activities, GVA increased by almost 40 percent. Positive rates were also achieved in the remaining ten categories, with double-digits also recorded in the following activities: Information and communication (11 percent) and Professional, scientific, technical, administrative and support service activities (16 percent).

For more, check out our business section.

November the 3rd, 2021 - The Croatian Maistra company has done excellently this year, despite the dire circumstances that have dominated since the beginning of 2020. They even exceeded when compared to what was considered to be the record year of 2019.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Jadranka Dozan writes, at the end of October 2021, the quarterly or nine-month reports of the leading Croatian hotel and tourism companies were mostly completed. They provided more concrete insights into how the tourist season in general has been, how it has affected business results across this economic sector and where they are in relation to their pre-crisis achievements.

If we look at the data from the consolidated reports, the six leading companies generated 3.77 billion kuna in operating revenues during the three summer months, which is 2.2 times more than last year, and compared to the record year of 2019, it's only 1.8 percent less. Since the pre-season didn't suggest pre-crisis levels would ever be realised, a comparison of these nine-month results shows that operating revenues are at 82.2 percent of what was recorded back in 2019.

At the same time, the "big six" consisting of Valamar, the Croatian Maistra company, Plava laguna, Pula's Arena Hospitality Group, Sunce hotels and Imperial Riviera reported 1.82 billion kuna in quarterly net profit, which is only 3.6 percent less than in the summer quarter of 2019, while in the first nine months, net profit stood at 19 percent or about 300 million kuna less than in the pre-pandemic year before last (1.27 billion to 1.57 billion kuna in total).

Individually speaking, one of the most impressive quarterly achievements is the Croatian Maistra company's net profit. During the three summer months of this year, this well known travel company controlled by the Adris Group reported a massive 850 million kuna in total revenues and as much as 449 million kuna in net profit. Compared to 138 million kuna profit in the same period last year, this is 3.2 times more, and it's also an increase of 70 million kuna or almost a fifth compared to the third quarter of pre-pandemic 2019.

While in the third quarter, the Croatian Maistra company's total revenues exceeded the pre-pandemic result of 2019 by about 60 million kuna (7.7 percent), cumulatively speaking, Maistra's consolidated revenues (1.15 billion kuna) compared to 2019 were only about four percent behind, and profit stood at just over three percent (373 million versus 362 million kuna).

The most significant growth was recorded in the lux (luxury) segment of the company's portfolio, in which the volume exceeded that of 2019. The results also state that in the first nine months of 2021, the profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) amounted to 568 million kuna, which is three times more when compared to last year and three percent more than back in 2019.

For more, check out our business section.

October the 12th, 2021 - September set an absolute record, with four times more income from Croatian private landlords who rent their accommodation out to tourists reported to the Tax Administration.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Jadranka Dozan writes, experimental stories from the field and exact summary data shows that the post-season in Croatia this year well and truly exceeded the expectations of the past few weeks. The latest published figures of the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ), on arrivals and overnight stays in the first nine months, only confirmed this. There were 70 percent more arrivals and 52 percent more overnight stays than there were last year!

The last detailed picture of fiscalised receipts by activity/sector offers some clear indications of the financial effects of the strong growth of physical indicators at the end of the tourist season.

Four times more income reported than last year!

The Tax Administration claims that 1.6 billion kuna worth of fiscalised receipts were issued for accommodation services last month alone. Compared to last September, with a reported turnover of 420 million kuna, this is almost four times more. Moreover, September 2021's 1.6 billion kuna is also the largest ever fiscalised turnover for that month in that industry. In pre-pandemic 2019, 1.22 billion kuna was recorded in September, 1.19 billion was recorded back in 2018, and approximately one billion kuna was recorded two years before that. Apart from the Croatian private landlords who most directly reflect this truly excellent post-season, the data on fiscalisation in the catering and hospitality industry, primarily cafes and restaurants, also speaks volumes about it.

In September 2021, the catering and hospitality industry issued receipts worth a massive 1.9 billion kuna, which is an increase of more than 70 percent when compared to the same month last year, when they reported 1.1 billion kuna. If September alone is observed, this is a record number for the activity of preparation and serving food and beverages, because, for example, in that month back in 2019, 1.7 billion kuna passed through the fiscalisation system, 1.6 was recorded one year earlier, and a year before that, the figure stood at 1.4 billion.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

September the 27th, 2021 - The excellent Croatian 2021 tourist season which few could have possibly expected to have gone so well back at the beginning of this year has left some producers wondering how they're going to prepare for next year already. Many Istrian cheese, oil and wine producers have been left with empty shelves and much fuller pockets at last.

As Barbara Ban/Novac writes, this summer in Istria went like a dream, with the sort of numbers you'd expect to be recorded in global capitals. Reservations for the best restaurants were waited on for periods of ten days, and every night a line of tourists could be seen standing in front of Istria's many bars. There was no such crowding to be seen in this part of Croatia even during the best pre-pandemic seasons, and all this shows that the consumption was very good and that visitors, tired of their lives being controlled by various tests and measures, simply wanted to enjoy themselves a bit and relax.

Fiscalised receipts/invoices

Croatian wine on the Adriatic flowed into the glasses of visitors in streams, cheesemakers were left without their cheeses, olive growers without oil. Stocks were depleted, even those from the first year of the coronavirus back in 2020, which initially threw everything to its knees on a global scale and in a way we've never experienced before. However, it is not yet known precisely how high consumption in Istria has actually been in the Croatian 2021 tourist season, which was visited by the largest number of guests this summer.

It should, of course, be significant, because the prices in restaurants and bars were quite a bit higher than they were back in 2019. According to the director of the Istrian Tourist Board, Denis Ivosevic, he will soon request information on the fiscalised receipts issued on the Istrian peninsula, which, he believes, will confirm the fact that a lot was spent locally during the Croatian 2021 tourist season.

Record prices

''Hotels achieved record prices, in restaurants where you had to book a table, guests waited for a reservation for seven or even ten days. In ordinary restaurants you could see a line of ten to twenty people and they certainly consumed some of the absolute best products from Istria, such as wine, oil, expensive local truffles and everything else you might imagine. We’ll know that on a much deeper level when we get fiscalised data on spending. It’s never been this way, and it all happened because two things happened at the same time. First of all, Istria raised its quality, and the competition helped us because it was weaker than us due to bad epidemiological conditions. That's why we're the winners of the Mediterranean in tourism this season,'' Ivosevic thinks.

The producers of oil, cheese, wine and prosciutto confirmed that they had a more than good season in Istria. For example, the company Oio Vivo from Vodnjan was left without a complete supply of its extra virgin olive oil which has won international awards for its sheer quality.

''We worked very hard and we're out of stock. Everything worked brilliantly - from the sale to the olive grove, where we arranged a new space, to the wholesale, restaurant and webshop. There was a great demand everywhere. Last year we produced about 22,000 litres, and from the year before we may have had about 1,000 litres left. Now we have almost nothing left and we can't wait for the new harvest to come,'' said Velimir Juric from Oio Vivo, which will have a good harvest and expects at least 45,000 litres of oil and an even better year. Although the harvest of the others will be much worse due to the winter and snowy conditions, they will have a full better harvest and say they will not raise their prices.

Production never stopped...

The famous cheesemaker Sandi Orbanic from Zminj and the prosciutto factory Bursic from Vodnjan weren't left without cheese and prosciutto, but only because they work constantly. Orbanic is more troubled by how preparations for next year might go.

''We worked really well and that was unexpected for us. We just didn’t know how to prepare for the Croatian 2021 tourist season. In the end it ended up being great. We haven't been left without cheese, but only because we're constantly producing it. Sales to hotels, shops, restaurants and on the doorstep were also excellent,'' pointed out Orbanic, who annually produces about 120 tonnes of products in his cheese factory.

''We do manage to place everything. But given the decline in 2020 and consumption this year, we don't know what quantities to plan for 2022,'' he added.

Robert Lisjak from Vodnjan prosciutto also said that this year has been truly fantastic compared to last year.

''We always have everything because we're constantly producing sausages, bacon, and even prosciutto. We worked a lot throughout the pandemic with the domestic market and we sell a lot on the doorstep, and this year we noticed a greater demand for the restaurants themselves,'' stated Lisjak.

For more on the Croatian 2021 tourist season, check out our dedicated travel section.

September the 16th, 2021 - The Croatian Tourism Ministry, headed by Nikolina Brnjac, has praised the truly remarkable height of the summer tourist season which is now behind us. Despite the global pandemic, the sector has done incredibly well compared to last year.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, according to data from the Croatian eVisitor system, 55.3 million overnight stays have been realised in Croatia since the beginning of the year, which exceeds the number of overnight stays from the entire pandemic-dominated year of 2020, when 54.4 million overnight stays were realised in twelve whole months.

The Croatian Tourism Ministry has, in that case, every right to beat its chest, especially given the fact that most of Croatia's traditional Mediterranean competition hasn't fared anywhere near as well due to their generally less epidemiological pictures.

Of the total number of overnight stays realised throughout 2021 so far, 46.6 million were realised by foreign tourists, while 8.7 million were realised by domestic tourists. Since the beginning of this year, nine million tourist arrivals have been realised, meaning a massive 1.2 million more tourists have visited Croatia this year than last year, the Ministry of Tourism and Sport announced.

"Given the trends in the travel industry, our goal was to maintain the stability of the tourist system, preserve jobs and the recognition of Croatia as a safe tourist destination. We want to continue with these results and that's why it is important that we all continue to adhere to the epidemiological measures which remain in place. This creates the foundations for next year and the continued development of Croatian tourism.

This year has first of all shown that safety and quality are crucial for people when choosing a holiday destination, and that guests are willing to pay even more if that can be ensured. Ultimately, our desire is to create sustainable tourism in which the focus is not on the number of tourists, but on the level of quality, on tourists who will spend money on as many offers in their destinations and generate more consumption, which will further encourage new investments in tourism,'' said the Minister of Tourism and Sport, Nikolina Brnjac.

So far in 2021, there have been 46 percent more arrivals and 37 percent more overnight stays realised than in the same period last year. Compared to the same period in pre-pandemic, record 2019, 61 percent of arrivals and 72 percent of overnight stays were realised compared to the same period in that year.

More than a million tourists are currently staying in Croatia, most of the foreign tourists are Germans (297,000), Poles (81,000), Slovenes (74,000) and Italians (61,000). Most tourists are currently in Istria County (283,000), Primorje-Gorski kotar County (187,000) and Split-Dalmatia County (184,000).

For more, check out our dedicated travel section.

September the 13th, 2021 - The Republic of Croatia might have finally ''turned red'' on the ECDC's so-called corona map and might still be at risk of turning back to amber on the United Kingdom's traffic light system, but people just keep on arriving. There are currently more tourists in Croatia than there was back in pre-pandemic, record 2019.

As Morski writes, it appears less and less people are remotely bothered about the ECDC's corona map as the tourist results for all of Croatia are still excellent. According to data from the eVisitor system, 530 thousand tourists are currently staying somewhere in Croatia, of which 475 thousand are foreign guests, mostly from Germany, Austria, Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic, reports Dnevnik.hr.

One year ago, about 200,000 people spent their summer holidays in the country, and at the same time in the record year of 2019, the trusty eVisitor system recorded a massive 470,000 tourists in Croatia. The competent minister, Nikolina Brnjac, is convinced that a very good post-season awaits us if we're looking at the numbers of tourists in Croatia we still have, even though the very height of the summer season is now behind us.

Could the remarkably good tourist announcements for September end up coming to nothing if we end up remaining in the ''red'' on the coronavirus map? "We're the safest destination in the Mediterranean" is a slogan we've been hearing throughout summer, and it seems as if, at least by comparison to the competition, it's still true.

''Those who come to Croatia now are mostly vaccinated people. They know how standardised travel is, they know what the rules of entry are. Most of the existing reservations are not being cancelled or given up on, so we're continuing with the good trend, and we hope to continue on this way,'' concluded the Minister of Tourism and Sport, Nikolina Brnjac.

For more on tourists in Croatia, check out our dedicated travel section.

September the 9th, 2021 - Numbers for Kvarner in August 2021 are impressive, as the rest of 2021's tourist season across the country has been. They're close to reaching the figures we saw in record, pre-pandemic 2019.

As Novac/Barbara Ban writes, the beginning of September brought with it some great news for Kvarner. According to the official data of the eVisitor system, more than 5.5 million overnight stays were realised in Kvarner in August 2021, which is 90 percent of the overnight stays registered from the record 2019! As such, in August 2021 in Kvarner, there were 35 percent more overnight stays realised when compared to the same month last year.

Since the beginning of the year, tourist overnight stays have reached 77 percent of the overnight stays registered from back in 2019, meaning that when compared to overnight stays realised from the same period in 2020, 29 percent more have been achieved.

"Since the beginning of this year, Kvarner has been at the very top of Croatia in terms of tourist results. Information from the field and the state of booking for both during July and August gave a hint that the numbers were set to be above all expectations. Thanks to joint efforts, we managed to preserve a good epidemiological picture in the region and this year the main season is lasting for longer, and the whole tourism sector was more than ready for this situation.

If we look at the tourist results of July and August together, we can see how successful the main part of this year's tourist year was - in those two months, slightly more than 10 million overnight stays were realised, which is 87 percent of the amount of overnight stays when compared to July and August 2019, meaning 28 percent more overnight stays compared to July and August 2020.

With a lot of effort and conscientiousness from all of Kvarner's tourism and healthcare professionals, we've preserved a stable and favourable picture of health for our population and guests, which is a great success since a very large number of people holidayed in Kvarner's destinations and moved around Kvarner. Although our county is one of the best vaccinated counties in Croatia, the Teaching Institute for Public Health of Primorje-Gorski kotar County is still conducting their vaccination campaign because even greater vaccination in the future will mean milder measures,'' said Dr. Irena Persic Zivadinov, the director of the Kvarner Tourist Board.

The most numerous guests in August 2021 in Kvarner were guests from Germany (almost two million), Croatia (800 thousand), then Slovenia (slightly more than 700 thousand) and Austria (420 thousand). At the same time, it is certainly important to emphasise that certain markets during August achieved a higher number of overnight stays than those from the record 2019:

• Guests from Germany realised 33 percent more overnight stays compared to 2019 and 62 percent more compared to 2020;

• Guests from the Czech Republic realized 11 percent more overnight stays compared to 2019 and 25 percent more compared to 2020;

• Guests from Switzerland realised 14 percent more overnight stays compared to 2019 and 45 percent more than in 2020;

• Guests from Serbia realised 8 percent more overnight stays compared to 2019 and 50 percent more compared to 2020;

• Guests from Poland realised almost the same number of overnight stays compared to 2019 and 2020.

When we talk about foreign guests, the good news is that in Kvarner in August 2021, guests from neighbouring Italy returned in greater numbers than were present there last year.

As such, during August, they realised 48 percent more overnight stays than they did back in 2020. Italy was one of the countries that was hit hard and extremely seriously by the coronavirus pandemic when we talk about the number of seriously unwell patients and the state of the economy. Unlike our other important and close markets, Italy as a Mediterranean country has access to the sea and a really large number of coastal cities and destinations.

Like many other countries, the Italian Government has worked hard to encourage its residents to spend their holidays in their own country to boost the economy. Namely, Italian tourism is also continuing to suffer losses because Italy as a destination hasn't managed to record a large number of foreign guests in 2021.

For more on Kvarner tourism, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

September the 8th, 2021 - The height of the tourist season is now just behind us and it has been a truly remarkable summer, especially given earlier predictions made when the coronavirus pandemic was forcing lockdowns and before the vaccine rollout became more accessible. That said, four Asian markets have been weaker in terms of Croatian overnight stays realised.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, during the first eight months of this year, more tourists came and stayed in Croatia than they did last year, which is far from a surprise given the delicate situation then.

As we previously reported, those tourists arrived here from more than seventy countries, with fewer arrivals and Croatian overnight stays from only five of them: Indonesia, Korea, China, Japan and nearby Kosovo, as data from the eVisitor and eCrew systems of the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) shows.

There were no surprises in the order of the countries this year either, and as expected, the Germans are (quite traditionally at this point) far ahead of everyone else, both in terms of arrivals and in terms of realised Croatian overnight stays.

There were 2.1 million German tourists in the country and they realised almost 16 million overnight stays or 23.3 percent of the total number of Croatian overnight stays in the eight months of this year, which is 53 percent and then 42 percent more than in the first eight months of 2020, while in relation to for the same period in 2019, their overnight stays have been equal to about a million less.

Behind the Germans are the locals, Croatian tourists, of whom 1.7 million were registered, and their overnight stays amounted to 10.1 million, which is an increase of 31.6 and almost 10 percent when compared to 2020, while compared to the same period back in pre-pandemic 2019, it's equal to about one million Croatian overnight stays less.

Of the ten markets with the highest number of overnight stays realised in the country, only Austria and Slovakia achieved over 100 percent more than last year.

The largest increase, of as much as 212.4 percent, was achieved by tourists from the Netherlands, with 1.8 million overnight stays realised in the first eight months of this year alone.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.