ZAGREB, 19 April 2022 - About 135,000 tourists stayed in Croatia over the Easter holidays, on 15-18 April, generating 493,000 nights, 346,000 more than over Easter 2021, the National Tourist Board (HTZ)  said on Tuesday.

Foreign tourists accounted for 103,000 arrivals and 412,000 nights, while registered domestic tourists accounted for 31,000 arrivals and 80,000 nights.

Istria County saw the largest number of nights at 188,000.

The most popular destinations in terms of nights were Poreč, Rovinj, Dubrovnik, Zagreb, Split, Umag and Zadar.

Tourists from Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Italy and Slovakia accounted for the largest number of nights. Most of them stayed in hotels, which registered 210,000 nights, followed by private accommodation (112,000) and campsites (99,000).

HTZ director Kristjan Staničić said the numbers indicated that Croatia could enter the summer season with exceptional results and trends.

ZAGREB, 6 April 2022 - Croatia's tourist industry expects an increase in turnover during the forthcoming Easter holidays, according to findings of a survey conducted by the National Tourist Board (HTZ). However, uncertainties stemming from the war in Ukraine can affect these expectations.

During the Easter holidays last year, when Easter was on 4 April, Croatia registered 36,000 tourist arrivals and 140,000 overnight stays.

This year, Easter falls on 17 April, and the norm is the later the date that Easter falls in, the more tourists can be expected.

Easter and the school spring holidays are usually seen as the heralds of the summer season.

According to the survey, the Rijeka coast and islands off Rijeka as well as Dubrovnik-Neretva County are the most optimistic about this Easter season, expecting a 20% rise in comparison to last year's results.

The Istria and Zadar counties expect a growth ranging between 16% and 20%, while the forecasts of  the Šibenik and Split counties are about 10% rise.

Concerning the mainland of Croatia, the capital city of Zagreb expects a growth higher than 20%.

During the Easter holidays, hotels usually start opening their doors, and the highest number of hotels that have announced the reopening for the new season in mid-April are in the Dubrovnik and Šibenik counties.

For more, check out our lifestyle section. 

April 6, 2021 - Despite the epidemiological situation that has put the tourism sector on a hold, the Istrian County Tourist Board is satisfied with the number of guests that arrived in Istria for Easter over the last week.

‘‘On a daily basis, Istria has had approximately 16,000 guests every day these days, which means that we will realize slightly less than 50,000 overnight stays, led by Germans and locals’’, says the director of the Istrian County Tourist Board Denis Ivošević, commenting on tourist results in Istria over the past Easter holidays in a report made by Glas Istre.

‘‘If we compare it with an average year, say 2018, we can say that this year we are at some 50 percent of that. If we compare this year's results with the record year 2019 when Easter fell on a much later date, then we are at some 30 percent’’, Ivošević explains and confirms that, regardless of that result, ‘‘we can still be extremely satisfied’’.

‘‘Namely, we were afraid - he continues - that many Germans would return to their homes because their authorities put us on the red list. However, fortunately, this did not happen so we can be satisfied with the numbers’’.

Ivošević adds that even though they’re aware that several German tourists decided to stay home or choose nearer options, the numbers were still good considering the current situation.

Credit: PIXSELL

Around 50 hotels opened for the Easter holidays in Istria, and among them were both large hotel houses and small family hotels. Also, about 25 camps received guests, and so did a large number of private family apartments in the interior of Istria and on the coast.

Regarding the structure of guest arrivals, there were six and a half thousand German tourists that arrived in Istria. This was followed by about five thousand local tourists. Unfortunately, the number of Slovenes, Austrians, and Italian tourists was considerably low in comparison to previous years.

‘‘Approximately 35 percent of all tourists stayed in hotels this weekend, 35 percent in private accommodation or apartments, while 25 percent of guests decided to camp’’, says Ivošević, and adds that the most visited Istrian destinations for the Easter holidays have always been Poreč and Rovinj, and so they were this year again.

‘‘About 4,000 overnight stays were realized in Pula this Easter, which is satisfactory considering the epidemiological situation in the world’’, says the director of the Pula Tourist Board Sanja Cinkopan Korotaj, adding that 40 percent of guests chose private accommodation, 24 percent of them chose hotels and 18 percent decided for camping.

''The structure of guests in Pula seems to be a copy of the situation in the whole of Istria, so we had 40 percent of Germans, 34 percent of domestic guests, and 12 percent of all Austrians, Italians, and Slovenes''.

Credit: Aminea Maravea Camping Resort (Novigrad)

‘‘This year's figures are above our expectations, so we can be satisfied. The number of arrivals this year is an indication that people want to travel and no longer want to be locked in their homes, cities, or states. People want freedom. Seven hotels were opened in Poreč and about 10,000 overnight stays were realized in four days, which is satisfactory considering the conditions in which we operate’’, says the director of the local tourist board, Nenad Velenik. ‘‘However, we see that the structure of guests here is a bit different, so in Poreč the locals are in the lead’’.

‘‘The occupancy by markets is interesting. Namely, in the first place are guests from Croatia, followed by Germans, and in third place are tourists from the Czech Republic, followed by Austrians and Swiss. Therefore, traditional markets such as Italian or Slovenian have been completely absent this Easter, explains Velenik and hopes for a more favorable epidemiological situation and greater vaccination of the population, especially tourist workers, as the May Day holidays are getting closer. Thus, we can once again come to the green list of countries in our major markets’’, concludes Velenik.

Ivošević ends by saying that they were unable to get information on the specific numbers of many other tourist boards since they did not answer the official phone numbers. Thus, these Easter holidays will remain short of the tourist figures of Umag, Labin, Medulin, Rovinj, and Fažana.

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

April 3, 2021- President Zoran Milanović on Saturday extended his best wishes to all Christian believers who celebrate Easter according to the Gregorian calendar.

He said that this year, the faithful worldwide are celebrating this greatest Christian holiday while facing challenges put before them by the coronavirus pandemic and related threats to their health and their social security, and peace.

"In these difficult and challenging times, the Easter holiday should remind us of the most important religious and universal secular principles such as goodness, unity, and love for our neighbors, and should strengthen in all Christian believers the faith and hope of a victory of light and a new beginning," the President said in his message posted on Facebook.

"Let us recognize and accept the principles of goodness, unity, and love as a universal way of life and a path to a better tomorrow. May this greatest Christian holiday encourages us to foster the values of mutual solidarity, in particular with our compatriots who need assistance in this challenging time," Milanović said.  

Jandroković calls for solidarity and unity.

In his message, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković also called for solidarity and unity in the present challenging circumstances caused by the coronavirus pandemic and last year's earthquakes.

"Our thoughts are in particular with our compatriots in need and with all the people suffering illness, loneliness, suffering, injustice and sometimes a feeling of hopelessness," he wrote and added: "Easter is a time of hope because life conquers death and light conquers darkness, giving us the strength to overcome all of life's difficulties. May the atmosphere of Easter bring joy and peace to everyone in need and call us to stop and question ourselves and our attitude towards others."  

"By celebrating Easter, we celebrate universal, timeless, and fundamental human values that rest on love and encourage our faith and hope of a better tomorrow. We also pray for our Croatian homeland, recovery and stability, and a better and happier life for our citizens. In the spirit of Easter, let us again express our gratitude to both known and unknown heroes who are taking care of others' health and lives and to our fellow citizens who are generously exposing themselves to help their neighbors. Let us follow this example of accepting the message of Easter and fostering solidarity and unity among people. Each of us can set an example and make our society better," Jandroković said in his message.

To read more about news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

As Morski writes on the 25th of April, 2019, over the Easter holidays, 28,500 guests stayed in Kvarner, accounting for 99,000 overnight stays, which is a massive 100 percent increase when compared to the same period back in 2018, according to the Kvarner Tourist Board.

According to the official data from the eVisitor system, 28,500 guests spent 99,000 nights in Kvarner over four Easter holiday days (from Friday to Easter Monday).

The numbers from not only last year, but also from 2016 and 2017 prove the fact that during the Easter season this year, Kvarner was visited by a record number of guests. Thus, this year, 37 percent more overnight stays were realised when compared to 2017, when the Easter holidays fell during the same period of April, and even more incredible 147 percent more than 2016 were recorded, when the Easter holidays fell earlier, at the end of March.

In more than 100 of Kvarner's hotels and in as many as 25 camps, as well as a large number of holiday homes and private apartments, guests from Germany, other parts of Croatia, Austria, Italy and neighbouring Slovenia made up large numbers. German guests realised 25 percent of the total number of overnight stays, while domestic guests and guests from Austria realised 14 percent of the total number of overnight stays, with guests from Italy making up 11 percent.

Most of the overnight stays were realised on the island of Krk (32,300), followed by the Opatija riviera (23,400), the island of Lošinj (15,500), the Crikvenica-Vinodolski riviera (10,000), Rijeka and its surroundings (6,300), on the island of Rab (5,500), the island of Cres (5,300) and Gorski Kotar (850).

Nearly half of the overnight stays (49,000) were realised in hotels across Kvarner, most of which open on the Opatija riviera. 23,000 overnight stays were spent in private accommodation and in camps, most of them on Kvarner's numerous islands, account for 22,000 overnights.

In the spirit of the Easter holidays, Kvarner's hosts across the region prepared a large number of events for guests, from traditional cultural and entertainment events to gastronomic, religious and nature-related activities.

''In the last eight years, if we only look at the [main tourist] season, we're talking about a jump of as much as 90 percent, while in terms of the total number of overnight stays for the same period we've seen an increase of 50 percent. This marked increase in the number of guests, both foreign and domestic, shows us that we have a well-established development strategy based on our activities and programs, with the emphasis on filling out the period outside of the main summer tourist season.

The performances at this year's fairs and presentations on our strongest markets - Germany, Austria, Italy and Slovenia - gave us a good insight into the beginning of this tourist year and what those employed in tourism in Kvarner can expect,'' stated dr.sc. Irene Peršić Živadinov.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more.

Easter is upon us once again, time to look at more of Croatia's intangible heritage which ties in with this festive period.