August the 13th, 2022 - Croatian maritime traffic is 50% stronger than it was last year, and the charter sector is blowing the record, pre-pandemic year of 2019 out of the water, no pun intended.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, almost 8.5 million passengers were boarded and disembarked in various Croatian seaports throughout the second quarter of this year, which is 55.7 percent of the number last year, according to official statistics. At the same time, 8.2 million passengers were transported on ferries and passenger ships, which is a 50.8 percent increase compared to the same period back in 2021.

The number of vessels in Croatian maritime traffic also grew...

The increase in passengers was achieved in all major Croatian ports, as well as in international traffic. 32.5 percent more passenger vehicles and 127.7 percent more buses were loaded and unloaded on ships compared to the same quarter last year.

Out of the total number of passengers in Croatian sea ports, 255 thousand of them disembarked from cruise ships and visited, among others, the Dalmatian ports of Dubrovnik, Split and Zadar. Considering the fact that back during the second quarter of 2021, there were only 12 thousand passengers aboard cruise ships, after that period there was a noticeable return of cruise ships to Croatian seaports, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) notes.

The total turnover of goods increased by 14.5 percent when compared to the same period back in 2021, and the port of Ploce had the highest growth of 55.5 percent, followed by Split with a growth of 42 percent. Furthermore, in the first half of 2022, the total number of ships arriving at Croatian seaports increased by 13.4 percent, the total traffic of passengers by 46 percent, and the total traffic of goods by 9.7 percent.

Although Croatian maritime traffic in tourist ports was significant even during the global coronavirus pandemic, and therefore the nautical sector represented the strongest segment of tourism, this summer season is bringing with it a new increase. In July 2022, there were 120,000 arrivals and 770,000 overnight stays in the nautical charter, which is a 23 percent increase in arrivals and 5 percent in overnight stays compared to July 2019.

Over the first six months of 2022 with revenues of 98 million kuna, the national chain of marinas (ACI) exceeded the revenue earned back in 2019 by 4.6 million kuna, meaning that results achieved are 16.4 million kuna or 20 percent higher than they were back during 2021.

In addition to all of the above, after last year's 44 million kuna worth of investments in infrastructure and services, in the first six months of 2022 alone, ACI exceeded that amount by an impressive 3.9 million kuna, realising new investments totalling 47.9 million kuna.

ACI claims that the income is the result of investments, thorough and adequate preparation for the season in all of Croatia's ACI marinas, and the easing of measures introduced during the coronavirus pandemic. ACI achieved a positive financial result in the first half of the year in the amount of 3.2 million kuna, while the realised EBITDA for the first half of the year amounted to 36.2 million kuna in total.

For more on Croatian maritime traffic and nautical tourism, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.