January the 12th, 2023 - Croatian winter tourism 2022 traffic has managed to reach an impressive 96% of what was realised back during the same period in the pre-pandemic (and record) year of 2019. While 2022 might be in the past, the Croatian winter tourism period is yet to end.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, eVisitor, Croatia's much-praised system for registering guests has returned the aforementioned encouraging data, and from December the 23rd, 2022 to January the 8th, 2023, there were 19 percent more tourist overnight stays realised in the country than there were last winter. On top of that, there were 28 percent more arrivals, and the strongest traffic was again recorded in Zagreb, whose Advent almost returned to the state it was in before the global coronavirus pandemic and the 2020 earthquake.

Almost 600,000 overnight stays were realised across Croatia, and in Zagreb alone, 92 percent of the overnight stays realised before the pandemic and the earthquake, or 31 percent compared to last winter, were realised. The number of overnight stays realised by foreigners had also grown by 35 percent.

Although this year hoteliers were doubtful that they would work over the New Year due to high energy costs, at the end of 2022, 394 hotels remained open across Croatia, which is still 49 less than were open back at the end of 2019. The sunny weather so far in January has also contributed to the biggest jump in visits in the first days of the new year.

"We've entered 2023 with better results than we did back at the beginning of 2019. At the moment, we're recording 32 percent more overnight stays, which includes a 10 percent increase in the continental part of the country, and this is an excellent indicator of continued growth in demand for Croatia and our further positioning as a year-round destination with a diversified, high-value offer.

According to the latest research by the European Travel Commission, Croatia is one of the most sought-after travel destinations in this part of the year, and we want to maintain that status. In our development and promotional activities, we emphasise the offers we have available throughout the year and the fact that by entering the Schengen area and the Eurozone, Croatia is an even easier to reach and safer destination," said Nikolina Brnjac, Minister of Tourism and Sport.

During the Christmas and New Year period, the most overnight stays were realised in Istria (133 thousand), in Kvarner (123 thousand) and in Zagreb (97 thousand).

Looking at the destinations individually when it comes to the Croatian winter tourism 2022 results, during the period of Christmas and New Year break, Zagreb has been recording the most overnight stays with the aforementioned figure of 97 thousand overnight stays, Opatija comes in second with more than 42 thousand, followed by Split with almost 36 thousand overnight stays. Then follows Dubrovnik with almost 35 thousand overnight stays, Rovinj with more than 31 thousand and Porec with almost 28 thousand overnight stays.

In addition to domestic guests who are responsible for the most overnight stays realised in the aforementioned winter period, more than 190,000 were foreign guests. The most overnight stays among foreign tourists were realised by Austrians, Slovenians, Germans and Italians. In Zagreb, the most overnight stays were from people visiting from elsewhere in Croatia, followed by those from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Germany, Slovenia, Serbia and Austria.

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November the 16th, 2022 - Foreign media including The Mirror (UK) and CNN (USA) have been giving Zagreb Advent 2022 some love of late, and with things coming back in full swing following the coronavirus pandemic, it's something we're all looking forward to.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, after CNN included Zagreb Advent 2022 on the list of the best Christmas markets for this year, the British Mirror has also been writing about Zagreb Advent 2022 and the most magical time of the year here in the Croatian capital city. According to the conducted research, Zagreb took an incredibly impressive second place as the city with the best value for money to visit this December, and that news was also reported by the some of the other most popular British media: The Daily Mail, The Telegraph, The Independent, and several others.

The list also included the stunning Latvian capital city of Riga, which took first place, followed by Krakow, Stockholm and Vienna, not to mention the likes of Budapest, Prague, Berlin, Lille, Tallinn and Copenhagen.

"As the article itself says - Zagreb's Advent has recently established itself among the best in Europe, so we're particularly happy with promotions and publications like this, as they further position our city on the European map of Christmas markets. I'd also like to point out that the news about Zagreb Advent 2022 was also conveyed by the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) in its monthly newsletter.

Just by checking the booking.com platform, we can see that the capacity occupancy in Zagreb for the first weekend of Zagreb Advent 2022 already stands at more than 82 percent, so I expect that this year, after two pandemic-dominated years, will once again show that this is one of the most important events for Zagreb and Croatian tourism. I'd like to note that the Tourist Board of the City of Zagreb started with international offline and online promotion via Google, social media, native articles as well as mobile advertising in Europe, the USA and Canada, spanning a total of 21 markets. We're especially promoting Zagreb Advent 2022 on Expedia on the US market, as well as on the Smithsonian portal as part of a multi-month destination campaign. Likewise, we achieved our traditional promotional cooperation with Croatia Airlines, Turkish Airlines and HZPP, with whom we secured special ticket prices for people visiting Zagreb Advent,'' stated Martina Bienenfeld, the director of the Tourist Board of the City of Zagreb.

The opening of Advent Zagreb 2022 is scheduled for Saturday, November the 26th, when the first Advent candle will be lit on Ban Jelacic Square at 17:00.

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December the 1st, 2021 - Croatian winter tourism will be tempting for many a foreign visitor who fancies a quick trip abroad over the next few months as fourteen markets get a look into what this country has to offer outside of the summer season.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Croatian National Tourist Board (CNTB/HTZ) has launched a new winter campaign "Croatia-Winter Wonderland". By January the 10th, 2022, fourteen foreign markets will see Croatian winter tourism opportunities offered to them via social media in the form of promotion of Croatian destinations and products of enogastronomy, culture and wellness.

The CNTB will conduct this campaign across a number of European markets, more precisely the markets of: Germany, Slovenia, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Sweden and Norway, via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and Pinterest, using the hashtags #CroatiaWinterWonderland and #MagicalCroatia.

"The promotional campaigns we conducted this year have positioned Croatia as a quality, safe and well-prepared destination. The fact that we were very successful in this was confirmed by the European Travel Commission (ETC), which pointed out that the CNTB, during the autumn campaigns, was the most active European tourist organisation on the Visit Europe portal and social media pages'' said CNTB Director Kristjan Stanicic.

He also explained that the Croatian tourism winter campaign will highlight the Advent offer prepared by Croatian destinations, as well as promote traditional recipes and customs and the best locations for taking stunning winter photos. From all that, as well as from other Croatian tourism campaigns, the realisation of a certain level of tourist traffic is expected by the end of this year and beyond.

If the epidemiological conditions allow for it, as part of that campaign, the plan is for foreign influencers to visit Rab, Plitvice Lakes, Zagreb, Dubrovnik and see the winter magic live, the CNTB announced.

For more on Croatian winter tourism, check out our dedicated travel section.