October the 8th, 2021 - The marketing plan manager for the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ/CNTB) has finally been revealed, as have the amounts of money involved.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, as confirmed by the Croatian National Tourist Board itself, for the development of the "Strategic Marketing and Operational Plan of Croatian Tourism for the period 2022 to 2026", the Croatian National Tourist Board Assembly selected a community of bidders consisting of: the Spanish company T.H.R. Tourism, hotel and recreation accessories, S.A. and Horwath and Horwath Consulting Zagreb d.o.o. and Millennium Promotion d.o.o.

The offered price amounts to a massive 3,480,000.00 kuna without VAT, and the Croatian National Tourist Board should start concluding a contract on the implementation of the project with the selected bidder, in accordance with the offered price from the tender.

The Croatian Ministry of Tourism reported on Monday that the aforementioned CNTB Assembly had adopted a decision on the selection of bidders for the development of a strategic marketing and operational plan for Croatian tourism for the period 2022-2026, and that the decision had been made as long as nine months after the tender was initially announced.

As explained from the Croatian National Tourist Board, the deadline for the implementation of the project is now 200 calendar days, and that ticking clock is set to begin counting down on the day of signing the contract.

''The Development of the Strategic Marketing and Operational Plan of Croatian Tourism, among other things, will require in-depth analysis of key foreign tourism markets and consumer segments, meaning an extensive analytical basis, the development of strategic framework, operational marketing activities and implementation plans, and the redefining the brand of Croatian tourism through the development of guidelines for a new umbrella communication concept.

In addition to the above, the "Strategy for the Development of Sustainable Tourism until 2030", which is currently being drafted, will be one of the key bases for the development of the "Strategic Marketing and Operational Plan of Croatian Tourism for the period 2022 to 2026", within the currently defined settings, as well as the settings that will be articulated in the final stages of drafting this national development document until its final adoption, as was explained from the Croatian National Tourist Board.

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October 5, 2021 - The October Croatian tourism campaign thanks visitors for their trust in choosing Croatia in 2021.

The Croatian National Tourist Board has launched a new promotional campaign, "Thank you for your trust," on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter reports HTZ.

The campaigns will be conducted in the ten most important markets from which the most significant tourist turnover was achieved in Croatia this year, i.e., in the markets of Germany, Slovenia, Poland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Italy, the Netherlands, and France.

This campaign aims to draw additional attention to Croatia after the summer months through the positive experiences of foreign tourists, influencers, bloggers, photographers, and journalists who stayed in Croatia this year and shared their stay on social networks with their numerous followers. This campaign thanks them for choosing Croatia as their safe destination vacation, says the Croatian National Tourist Board.

"We will run the campaign in October, and it is a kind of continuation of the main campaign "Trust me, I've been there," which we successfully conducted during the summer and which achieved excellent promotional results. This is confirmed by the large number of foreign guests who decided to spend their vacation in our country this year and contribute to Croatia achieving the best tourist results in the Mediterranean. Now, through this campaign, we want to thank them for their trust, we want to keep the visibility of Croatia in selected markets and tell everyone that they are always welcome in our country," said the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board, Kristjan Stanicic, adding that so far this year About 11 million foreign tourists visited Croatia.

Famous Croatian athletes are also participating in the new campaign.

The real impressions and sincere recommendations of tourists and travel enthusiasts and the photos they created during their stay in Croatia will be used to make the campaign as authentic as possible.

Italian influencers Ema Kovač and Gennaro Lillio, Polish blogger Wojtek Tyluś, Austrian photographer Christian Freiwald, Hungarian blogger Élő Bence, French musician, and DJ Jean-Marie K, and others shared their impressions of Croatia.

Famous Croatian athletes who chose Croatia for their ideal summer vacation also joined the campaign - Marin Čilić, Domagoj Duvnjak, Darijo Šarić, Sandra Perković, Sinković brothers, Fantela brothers, Ivica Kostelić, Ivan Buljubašić, Dina Levačić, Barbara Matić, Ana Đerek, and more. 

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

October 1, 2021 - The Croatian Tourism Month campaign begins today. It is a project by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Croatian Tourist Board, where numerous tourist services and experiences will be available at a minimum of 35 percent off! 

Thus, all Croatian citizens and foreign guests who will be staying in Croatia during October will be able to experience tourist services in all parts of Croatia at promotional prices, which will be available on the "Croatian Tourism Month" portal, reports HRTurizam.

"Together with the project, a marketing campaign is launched, which aims to inform further encourage tourism entities to participate in the project, but also the citizens themselves, who we invite to take this opportunity to travel at much more affordable prices. About 200 thousand tourists are still in our country, and the post-season and autumn periods are ideal for a short vacation and discovering new destinations. Therefore, we believe in the excellent results of this project, i.e., in its contribution to the overall tourist results this year," said the director of the Croatian Tourist Board, Kristjan Staničić, emphasizing the importance of further compliance with all prescribed epidemiological measures and responsible behavior.

Through this action, travelers can visit different parts of Croatia and enjoy numerous tourist products and services, from accommodation, transport, cultural, historical, natural sights, and tourist attractions to catering services and various experiences.

"With the Croatian Tourism Month action, we want to encourage domestic and foreign tourists to explore Croatia, and at the same time extend the season. Due to the great interest in last year's Vacation-Worthy Week campaign, we have decided that this year throughout the month, across the country, tourists will have a range of services at special benefits and discounts of at least 35 percent. We believe this will motivate them to travel and discover destinations they have not yet visited. In the current part of the postseason, we are recording excellent results that confirm that Croatia has all the requirements to become a year-round tourist destination, which is our strategic goal. Therefore, I invite all stakeholders in tourism to join Croatian Tourism Months, and tourists, both domestic and foreign, to take advantage of the benefits offered to them and discover all the beauties of Croatia, which is beautiful at all times," said Minister of Tourism and Sports Nikolina Brnjac.

Croatian Tourism Month is a continuation of last year's Vacation-Worthy Week campaign, implemented from 16 to 25 October. This year, due to the great interest of tourism entities and citizens, it covers all of October. The project's main goal is to extend the tourist season by encouraging domestic and foreign tourist traffic in the post-season period.

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

September 29, 2021 - The 2021 Croatia postseason is going better than expected, with around 200,000 tourists in Croatia at the moment.

While the pre-season in Croatia hardly yielded results, the peak season exceeded all expectations, and the post-season finally came to life to surprise us all. 

Last year, tourists fled Croatia in mid-August after Croatia was marked in red due to the increase in the number of new cases, and although the same scenario was repeated this year, it did not have the same effect on tourism as 2020.

As Index.hr has learned, more rooms are in demand in hotels, and although we are about to enter October, there are currently around 200,000 tourists in Croatia.

According to eVisitor, 1.7 million arrivals and 11.3 million overnight stays were made in Croatia so far in September, which is an increase of 239 percent in arrivals and 146 percent in overnight stays compared to the same period last September. Compared to the same period in September 2019, this represents 85 percent of the results in arrivals and 95 percent of the results in overnight stays.

Veljko Ostojić, director of the Croatian Tourism Association (HUT), told Index that hoteliers and camps are very satisfied with the post-season.

"The post-season in hotels and camps was great. What happened with Croatia in the red did not affect our tourism, so there were no booking cancellations. Practically all hotels that worked in August continued to operate in September, and we are lucky with time. So we can all be delighted. And another conclusion of all is that in the postseason, it was confirmed that the higher the quality of the hotel and the more stars, the more sought after and filled it is, which is a message to everyone for the future," Ostojić said to Index.

He states that during the post-season in September, it could be noticed that groups began to return to Croatia, which had been absent for the last year and a half due to the pandemic.

"Organized tourism, be it smaller events, congresses, wine tours, retirement groups, all have adapted to the current situation. If guests or groups have covid-certificates, there are no restrictions on organizing specialized groups," Ostojić added.

Index also spoke with Tomislav Fain, president of the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies (UHPA). At the beginning of the conversation, he pointed out that the post-season is above all expectations.

"As for the post-season, it is above all expectations, as well as the whole season. Groups, pensioners, school groups, foreigners are returning to us. This has brought great optimism because there are more and more inquiries for next year. When the groups return, retirees, it is easier to breathe because we see that we will do well next pre-season as well. So that is an indicator for us to continue," says Fain.

He emphasized that these groups significantly influence the entire tourism sector, so everyone makes a profit, including bus carriers, travel agencies, guides, restaurants, and hotels.

"When an individual comes with a car, they can only stay in the apartment, but when you have a group, it connects all stakeholders in tourism. And that guest gives traffic to everyone. Everything is moving, especially in the part where they hire guides, buses, and go on excursions. So the whole sector gets an extra boost," Fain told Index.

The director of the Croatian Tourist Board, Kristijan Staničić, also commented on the results. 

"That the season in Croatia is still ongoing is shown by the data on the current number of tourists, so about 200 thousand tourists stay in our country, while last year at this time about 90 thousand of them stayed in the country. Moreover, excellent trends in September show the data by type of accommodation facilities," said Staničić.

He states that about 2.8 million overnight stays have been realized in camps so far in September, an increase of 25 percent compared to the same period in September 2019. In addition, 3.6 million overnight stays were realized in household facilities, which is an increase of 3 percent compared to 2019, while hotels with 2.5 million overnight stays are at a high 80 percent of the results from September 2019.

"We expect good trends to continue in the coming weeks, for the last quarter of this year we already have a fully prepared communication and advertising strategy, so we will soon start implementing a campaign with the working title 'Thank you' on all Croatia Full of Life social networks, which will aim to further promote and highlight Croatia through the positive experiences of tourists who have stayed in our country," commented the director of the Croatian Tourist Board Kristjan Staničić.

He added that they have an autumn campaign on the topic of culture, history, intangible heritage, and eno-gastronomy, i.e., it is an additional promotion of the platform "Croatia Hearts and Crafts", launched by the CNTB in cooperation with Google, while for the domestic market and foreign guests who will stay in Croatia during October, they are preparing the "Croatian Tourism Month" campaign with tourist products and services at reduced and attractive prices.

After an extremely successful peak season, which passed beyond all forecasts for the entire Adriatic and demand was comparable to pre-pandemic 2019, Bluesun Hotels and Resorts recorded excellent results in the postseason, and the largest hotels in the chain remain open almost entirely due to high demand in October.

"Due to the beginning of the school year, the structure of guests changes in September, both in Croatia and in all emitting markets. Also, there is a change in the motive for the arrival of guests. The sea and the sun are no longer their exclusive precondition. These are guests who require much more content, are more active, mobile, and more inclined to explore the destination, the hinterland, and the interior of Croatia. They are much more involved in sports, interested in sights, and more dedicated to themselves, so they also explore local gastronomy and use wellness facilities," said Stjepko Šošić, director of revenue management at Bluesun Hotels & Resorts.

He states that, accordingly, they adjusted the autumn offer with sports, gastronomy, and wellness facilities and packages offered by their hotels and destinations, and through several different marketing and sales activities primarily addressed couples and individuals. He adds that they are the most represented in this period of the season because they want to avoid the biggest crowds and heat and complete the experience in our destinations with numerous additional activities.

He states that, even though the whole of Croatia has been on the red list since the beginning of September, new reservations are still arriving every day, so in some terms, they had to stop selling for the end of September due to lack of capacity.

"Considering that the weather was very nice through September, a large part of the guests extended their stays by a few days compared to the period they initially booked," said Stjepko Šošić.

Currently, Bluesun's nine open hotels (six of them on the Makarska Riviera) and one camp, in addition to the growing number of individual guests, which is a trend that has continued from the peak season to this autumn, are seeing a trend in traditional sports and fitness groups.

"At the end of September and through October, we have numerous MICE (meetings, incentives, congresses, and events) events in our hotels with congress facilities. As a result, MICE is much stronger this fall than expected, and there is a strong demand from the corporate milieu. We are especially pleased with the recovery of this sales segment, which is extremely important to extend the season. These are working meetings and mostly respectable domestic companies from the field of medicine, IT sector, and pharmaceutical industry," said Marija Benjak, head of Bluesun Hotels & Resorts group and MICE sales.

As for the structure of guests by markets, Germany is traditionally the most represented in September, where a third of the total number of guests comes from. Also, already in mid-August, according to Bluesun, reducing the number of guests from the hitherto dominant car destinations is noticeable, and with establishing regular air traffic, the number of guests from the British and Scandinavian markets is growing.

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

September 13, 2021 - October is Croatian Tourism Month, where autumn offers in Croatia can be enjoyed up to 50% off. 

Slobodna Dalmacija reports that October this year will be "Croatian Tourism Month," as part of which Croatian citizens and foreign tourists in Croatia will be able to enjoy offers up to 50 percent off and use the tourist offer and services throughout the country, the director of the Croatian Tourist Board (CNTB) Kristjan Staničić said. 

This joint project of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the CNTB is currently being prepared, and all important information will go through the CNTB campaign, announced Staničić, recalling the excellent results of last year's project "Vacation-Worthy Week."

"Motivated by the desire to extend the season as much as possible, but also respecting the suggestions of users on the one hand and service providers on the other, we decided, together with the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to provide up to 50 percent off for domestic and foreign tourists throughout October. Naturally, it will be important for the service provider to adhere to the prescribed epidemiological measures, which will then be in force and act responsibly," Staničić emphasizes.

The second wave of the campaign for domestic tourists, "Experience domestic. Explore rural Croatia!" launched this year to encourage domestic tourist traffic by getting to know rural destinations, is also announced for the autumn.

"In the second wave of this campaign, we will promote an additional four thematic destination videos, which are under development, and which will seek to bring closer the rural tourist offer, and an ongoing campaign for domestic tourists dedicated to cycling "Cycling, explore, and enjoy!" focused on the EuroVelo 8 route, which as part of the EU project covers the entire Croatian coast, from Istria to Dubrovnik," says Staničić.

He believes that all this will encourage tourists to use autumn for a short vacation at popular prices and locals to further discover Croatia in an interesting, healthy, and sustainable way. This will increase the current 10.6 million overnight stays this year.

Noting that for the last quarter of this year the CNTB has a fully prepared communication and advertising strategy, Staničić reveals that at the end of September there will be a campaign of thanks, with the working title "Thank you" on all "Croatia, full of life" social networks/profiles in ten markets with the most overnight stays this year.

"The goal is to draw attention to Croatia further, and through the positive experiences of the tourists themselves and their impressions shared on social networks, to thank them for choosing Croatia and spending a great vacation here," says Staničić.

In October, they are planning a campaign on culture, history, intangible heritage, eno-gastronomy through the platform "Croatia Hearts and Crafts" in cooperation with Google, through which an interactive presentation of everything Croatia can be proud of is presented.

Asked whether the revenues from the tourist tax, which is an important income of the CNTB and the system of tourist boards, improved due to better than expected and good physical results in the season (arrivals, overnight stays), Staničić pointed out that in the circumstances without a pandemic meant higher revenues, both for the entire tourism sector and economy and the CNTB.

However, for additional relief and assistance to the tourism sector in business, regulations were adopted that defined the tourist tax reduction and membership fees for renters, tourist taxes for boaters, and tourist membership fees for businesses. This was reflected in the CNTB budget and the entire system of tourist boards, Staničić notes.

"Although about 77 percent of the results from the record 2019 have been achieved so far, which is better and more than the planned 60-65 percent of results, that does not mean higher revenues of the CNTB, which by reducing fees and membership fees has made a strong contribution to the sector in achieving the results we are witnessing today.

We continue to work according to the adopted Annual Work Program for this year, with the most funds allocated for promotional, marketing, and PR activities to maintain Croatia's position as the safest and most successful tourist destination in the Mediterranean. I believe that we will more than successfully end this tourist year in that respect as well," states Staničić.

He adds data from eVisitor, according to which from September 1 to last weekend, i.e., September 11, there were 904 thousand tourists in Croatia or only 7 percent less than in the same days in 2019, with 2 percent more overnight stays or 6, 3 million. Most of them, 5.7 million overnight stays, were realized by foreign tourists, which is an increase of 3 percent, although compared to the same day in September 2019, there were about 9 percent less or 820 thousand, which means that they stay longer in Croatia. 

With domestic tourists, the situation is the opposite - in the first 11 days of September, there were as many as 31 percent more than at the same time in 2019 or 83 thousand, but they realized 6 percent fewer overnight stays or 619 thousand.

On September 11, there were more tourists in Croatia than on the same day in 2019, i.e., about 510 thousand of them compared to about 460 thousand, while on the same day in 2020, there were about 200 thousand.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel and border rules, as well as the locations of vaccination points and coronavirus testing centres located up and down the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

ZAGREB, 7 Sept, 2021 - Three more Croatian restaurants have been added to the prestigious Michelin restaurant guide, bringing the total number of Croatian restaurants with one star to ten, the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) announced on Tuesday following notification from Michelin.

The three new restaurants that have been awarded a single Michelin star are Nebo in Rijeka (housed in the Costabella Hilton Hotel), Alfred Keller in Mali Lošinj and Agli Amici in Rovinj. They joined the seven restaurants that have retained their stars - Boškinac in Novalja, LD Terrace in Korčula, Pelegrini in Šibenik, 360º in Dubrovnik, Monte in Rovinj, Noel in Zagrebu and Draga di Lovrana in Lovran.

In addition, seven more restaurants have been awarded the special Bib Gourmand designation for their remarkable menus at affordable prices. There are now 13 restaurants in Croatia with this designation.

The new Bib Gourmand restaurants are Konoba Mate (Korčula), Dunav (Ilok), Konoba Fetivi (Split), Izakaya by Time (Zagreb), Vuglec Breg (Krapina), Konoba Malo Selo (Buje) and Alla Beccaccia (Valbandon).

All the restaurants are listed in the new edition of the Michelin guide for Croatia for 2021. Another novelty in the new edition is the Michelin Green Star designation, which has been awarded to the Zinfandel's restaurant, housed in the Esplanade Zagreb Hotel, to acknowledge its commitment to sustainable and environmentally-friendly gastronomy.

Commenting on the news from Michelin, Tourism and Sport Minister Nikolina Brnjac said that enjoying food and drink is an important part of the tourist experience, adding that Croatia, as a country with a rich gastronomic tradition, should invest more in its promotion and development in the future. 

HTZ Director Kristjan Staničić said that the award of new Michelin designations is a huge success for the Croatian gastronomic scene and very important for the country's tourist industry, considering various restrictions surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.

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

September 7, 2021 - The good tourism news keeps on coming, as tourists from 70 countries in Croatia this year made 2021 one we won't soon forget. 

In the first eight months of this year, more tourists came and stayed in Croatia than last year from more than 70 countries, with fewer arrivals and overnight stays from only five countries - Indonesia, Korea, China, Japan, and Kosovo, reports Index.hr.

This is shown by eVisitor and eCrew data from the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ), according to which, as expected, Germans are traditionally far ahead of everyone, both in terms of arrivals and overnight stays.

2.1 million German tourists realized almost 16 million overnight stays or 23.3 percent of the total overnight stays in the first eight months of this year, which is 53 and 42 percent more than in the first eight months of 2020. However, compared to the same period in 2019, 2021 saw 200 thousand fewer German arrivals and about a million fewer overnight stays.

Behind German tourists are domestic tourists, with 1.7 million arrivals and 10.1 million overnight stays, which is an increase of 31.6 and almost 10 percent compared to the first eight months of 2020, while compared to the same period in 2019, there were about 100 thousand fewer arrivals and about a million fewer overnight stays. 

Of the ten markets with the highest number of overnight stays, only Austria and Slovakia had more than 100 percent more overnight stays than last year, i.e., Austrians at 4.8 million (+110 percent ) and Slovaks at 2.2 million overnight stays (+107.6 percent). They rank fourth and seventh in overnight stays among foreigners.

However, the largest increase (212.4 percent) was achieved by Dutch tourists with 1.8 million overnight stays in the first eight months of this year, which puts them in ninth place among foreign tourist overnight stays.

From other markets in the top ten, increases are slightly smaller. Poles are in third place among foreigners (or fourth overall, if domestic tourists are taken into account) with 5.7 million overnight stays or 43 percent more than in 2020.

Slovenians are in second place, just behind the Germans (or third if you count domestic overnight stays), with 7.9 million overnight stays or 3.4 percent more than in the first eight months of 2019. After Austria in fourth (among foreigners) is the Czech Republic with 4.5 million overnight stays or 44.5 percent more, and Hungary with 2.3 million overnight stays or 80.2 percent more.

Italy is in eighth place among foreign markets with 1.9 million overnight stays or 41 percent more (behind Slovakia in 7th). In tenth place, behind the Netherlands, is Bosnia and Herzegovina, with 1.6 million overnight stays or 80.5 percent more than in the first eight months of 2020.

Although neither Germans, domestic tourists, nor tourists from other markets have achieved the results of 2019 this year, many markets have seen a large increase in overnight stays, from some over 300 percent, and others 600 percent compared to 2020! In 24 markets, overnight stays have grown by more than one hundred percent.

The largest increase in overnight stays (679 percent) was realized by Kuwait with slightly more than 2780 overnight stays. Still, significantly more overnight stays, 663 thousand, and an increase of 301 percent were realized from the USA. Russia achieved an increase of 351 percent with 561.7 thousand overnight stays.

Oman recorded an increase of 275 percent compared to the first eight months of 2020, but with only 435 overnight stays, while the same increase was from Norway, but with a little more than 76 thousand overnight stays.

And from other Scandinavian countries - Sweden and Denmark - the growth of overnight stays was high, 128 and 129 percent compared to 2020, while Finland was the only one among all markets to have fewer tourist arrivals, by four percent but 42 percent more overnight stays.

Turkey is the only country where more tourists came (6 percent), who spent fewer nights than last year (15 percent).

An interesting fact among all markets is that, for example, from northern European countries this year there was also significantly more overnight stays in Croatia than last year - from Lithuania 101.5 thousand or 181.3 percent more, Latvia 48.7 thousand or 128 percent more, Estonia 45.1 thousand or 105 percent more, and Iceland 145.6 percent more with four thousand overnight stays.

The large increases in overnight stays from Mediterranean countries, i.e., Croatia's competitors, is also interesting. For example, tourists from France realized 1.1 million overnight stays in Croatia by the end of August this year (which puts them in 11th place among foreigners) or 126 percent more, and Spanish tourists 194.4 thousand or 166.3 percent more overnight stays than 2020.

Portuguese tourists achieved 111.2 percent more overnight stays or 51 thousand, and Maltese tourists 168 percent more with five thousand overnight stays.

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

September 1, 2021 - It was yet another impressive summer month in Croatia, as August overnight stays in Croatia reached 93% of the record 2019!

In August 2021, there were 4.3 million arrivals and 30.7 million overnight stays in Croatia, i.e., 59 percent more arrivals and 46 percent more overnight stays than in the same period last year. At the same time, foreign tourists realized 26.7 million overnight stays, while domestic tourists realized 4 million overnight stays, announced HTZ.

These are the first data from eVisitor, which tracks tourist traffic in commercial and non-commercial facilities and nautical charter (eCrew). Compared to the 2019 results, in August this year, 86 percent of arrivals and 93 percent of overnight stays were realized!

Most tourist overnight stays were realized in Istria (8.6 million), Split-Dalmatia (5.8 million), and Primorje-Gorski Kotar County (5.7 million). This is followed by Zadar (4.8 million), Šibenik-Knin (2.3 million), and Dubrovnik-Neretva County (1.9 million). The destinations that attracted the most visitors are Dubrovnik (164,000 arrivals), Split (160,000), Rovinj (149,000), Medulin (125,000) and Poreč (125,000).

"We can be satisfied with the results in the first eight months, and I would like to thank everyone for their effort, work, flexibility, and responsibility. The tourist year continues, and this is best evidenced by the fact that at this time, there are about 680,000 tourists in Croatia, which is at the level of the number of tourists we had at this time in 2019. This is a great announcement for September. We want to continue at the same pace to boost economic development further and ensure tourism has an even better starting position over the next year. I am especially pleased with the fact that, above all, we are achieving excellent financial results. Namely, the value of fiscalized accounts in tourism activities during the previous month was 21 percent higher than in August 2019. Their value amounted to almost HRK 18 billion at the annual level, which is about 84 percent of the value from the first eight months of 2019. I believe that this will be an incentive for everyone to continue to emphasize the quality for which there is significant demand and sustainable business, which is the foundation of tourism development," said Minister of Tourism and Sports Nikolina Brnjac.

Looking at the markets in August, most tourists came from Germany (1.1 million), Poland (338,000), Austria (317,000), the Czech Republic (250,000), Slovenia (239,000), and Italy (205,000). Of these markets with the most August arrivals, 83 percent more guests came to Croatia from Germany, 7 percent more guests from Poland, 182 percent more guests from Austria, and 30 percent more guests from the Czech Republic compared to August last year. In addition, there are 100 percent more guests from Italy, while Slovenian tourists achieved similar results in tourist traffic as in August last year.

According to the type of accommodation, most overnight stays were realized in households, camps, and hotels, of which the highest growth compared to the previous year was achieved by camps (93 percent more) and hotels (86 percent more overnight stays), followed by private accommodation and charter with a growth of about 35 percent in overnight stays. Compared to August 2019, the best results were achieved in camps and charters that achieved 2 percent more overnight stays (camps), or 1 percent more overnight stays (nautical - charter).

In the first eight months of this year, there were 10.7 million arrivals and 67.9 million overnight stays in Croatia, i.e., 56 percent more arrivals and 43 percent more overnight stays than in the first eight months of 2020.

The highest number of overnight stays in Croatia was recorded by guests from Germany (15.9 million), domestic tourists (10.1 million), Slovenia (7.9 million), Poland (5.8 million), and Austria (4 .9 million). On the other hand, most tourist overnight stays were realized in Istria (18.9 million), Primorje-Gorski Kotar (12.6 million), and Split-Dalmatia County (12.4 million), while the most popular destinations were Rovinj with 2.7 million overnight stays and Vir and Poreč with 2 million overnight stays.

"Behind us is the main part of the summer season in which the entire Croatian tourism sector has done an excellent job. We have weeks ahead of us in which, according to the announcements of our most important partners and tour operators, we can expect excellent tourist traffic. For the post-season, we have prepared several promotional activities to ensure further visibility in the tourism market as a quality, diverse, and above all safe destination where the prescribed epidemiological measures are respected," said the director of the Croatian Tourist Board, Kristjan Stanicic.

There were 42 percent more vehicles on the highways last week than in the same weekend last year, but also only five percent less than in 2019

During the last weekend, the motorways under the Croatian Motorways (HAC) jurisdiction recorded a turnover of 734,637 vehicles and tolls of HRK 40.5 million without VAT, which is an increase of 42 percent compared to last year, and tolls by 52 percent.

Namely, compared to the same weekend last year, a turnover of 518,541 vehicles was recorded, and tolls were collected of HRK 26.69 million without VAT.

Compared to 2019, a turnover of 777,654 vehicles was recorded, and a total toll was collected of HRK 43 million without VAT. Thus, this year's vehicle traffic is lower by five percent, and tolls collected by six percent.

Follow the latest flights to Croatia HERE and the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

August 17, 2021 - French tourists in Croatia have recorded 230,000 arrivals this year, which is almost 150% more than last year!

In one of the most widely-read daily French newspapers, the prestigious Le Figaro, a report was published from a recent study trip organized by the Representation of the Croatian Tourist Board in France, in cooperation with Transavia airline and with the support of the Zadar County Tourist Board, revealed the director of the Croatian National Tourist Board in France, Daniela Mihalić Đurica, as reported by HRTurizam. 

In the article "Zadar et ses îles, bijoux méconnus de la Croatie" or "Zadar and its islands - unknown gems of Croatia," the famous French tourism specialists and journalist Ludovic Bischoff conveys his impressions of Zadar and the region and emphasizes the city's vibrant history, cultural diversity, and heritage that offers tourists many opportunities.

The text lists the best destinations to visit, suggests to readers where to stay, and in which restaurants to taste the recognizable gastronomic offer of Zadar County. Special emphasis was placed on the island of Pag and the tradition of salt production, Pag lace, but also the cultural and historical heritage of Nin and the richness of the Paklenica National Park.

"So far this year, Croatia has recorded more than 230,000 arrivals from the French market, which is almost 150% more than last year, i.e., we are talking about 52% of arrivals recorded compared to 2019. At the moment, there are about 27,000 French people in Croatia who especially prefer the Split-Dalmatia and Dubrovnik-Neretva counties and are increasingly discovering Istria. Their favorite destinations are Split and Dubrovnik, but also the island of Hvar, which currently exceeds the results from 2019 in terms of French tourist traffic by 30%. During this year's summer season, Croatia and France are connected by numerous airlines directed to the airports of Zagreb, Pula, Zadar, Split, and Dubrovnik. In addition, the French can fly to Croatia from Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice, Strasbourg, and Toulouse, offering more than 30 different scheduled, low-cost, and charter flights from Transavia, Volotea, Ryanair, Easyjet, Croatia Airlines, and Air France," said the director of the Croatian Tourist Board Kristjan Staničić.

In the previous part of August, we recorded about 100,000 arrivals and 380,000 overnight stays of French tourists, which is 103% more arrivals than during the comparable period of 2020, i.e., 74% of arrivals recorded in the same period in 2019.

"In the opinion of popular French Vogue, Croatia is one of the favorite summer destinations of many world stars, while one of the most popular French tourist guides Petit Fute puts special emphasis on Istria, which French guests are increasingly discovering," added Mihalić Đurica.

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ZAGREB, 19 July 2021 - Croatia's tourism trends are still positive on most foreign markets, with good forecasts for July, August, and September, but tourist turnover will depend on the epidemiological situation and adherence to the measures, the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) director said on Monday.

Answering Hina's questions whether bookings are being canceled or demand is falling on any market due to the fact that the entire Croatian coast was put in the orange zone on the COVID map released by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the HTZ director Kristjan Staničić said that trends were still positive and that Croatia was positioned on many markets as a safe, well-prepared, quality and organized tourist destination.

There are currently about 740,000 tourists vacationing in Croatia, or 90,000 more than on 19 July 2020, and most of them, 640,000, are foreign tourists, including visitors from Germany, Slovenia, Poland, Austria, and the Czech Republic, he said

Since the beginning of the year, Croatia has seen a 50% increase in tourist arrivals compared to the same period in 2020, while July has so far seen an increase of 43% this year.

British travelers generate more overnight stays, difficult to give forecasts

Asked whether it is expected there will be more visitors from Great Britain after all measures all lifted in that country on 19 July, Staničić said that the British had not been able to travel at all until 17 May and the situation had remained uncertain even after that, but when Croatia had become a green zone on the ECDC map (in late June), the number of bookings had started to grow.

"A total of 17,000 tourists arrived from the British market to Croatia from the beginning of this year to 18 July, which is 73% of last year's result for that period, while their 87,000 overnight stays indicate an increase of 8%," said Staničić, adding it is difficult to make forecasts on tourism figures for that market, which will depend on the epidemiological situation both in Croatia and the UK, as on all markets.

Given the better air connection between Croatia and the UK this summer and given the fact that they are lifting nearly all COVID-related restrictions, there is some hope this year for that market.

In order for guests to continue arriving, Staničić called on everyone to refrain from organizing large-scale events and to ensure safety for all, both the local population and tourists who are planning to visit Croatia in the weeks to come.

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