January 3, 2022 - Last year was a great one for Croatian tourism: there were 13.8 million arrivals and 84.1 million overnight stays in Croatia, that is 77 percent more arrivals and 55 percent more overnight stays than in the same period in 2020.

At the same time, foreign tourists realized 71.9 million overnight stays, while domestic tourists realized 12.3 million overnight stays, reports HrTurizam.hr. These are the first data from the eVisitor system, which contains tourist traffic generated in commercial and non-commercial facilities and nautical charter.

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

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

In the end, the comparison with the 2019 results speaks best of how successful we have been. Thus, in 2021, 67 percent of arrivals and 77 percent of overnight stays from 2019 were realized. 

In terms of markets, in 2021 most arrivals were made by Germans (2.9 million, 84 percent growth compared to 2020), domestic tourists (2.3 million, growth of 41 percent compared to 2020), Slovenes (1.2 million, an increase of 18 percent compared to 2020), Austrians (1.1 million, an increase of 180 percent compared to 2020), Poles (1 million, an increase of 50 percent compared to 2020) and the Czech Republic (775,000, up 50 percent from 2020).

Also, compared to 2020, there were 78 percent more Italians, 100 percent more Hungarians, 168 percent more French, and as many as 324 percent more Dutch. Let us add that, compared to 2019, Poles achieved 8 percent more overnight stays, Germans equaled overnight stays from a record 2019, Czechs achieved 97 percent of overnight stays, while Slovenes and Austrians achieved about 82 percent of 2019 overnight stays. 

"Congratulations to all tourism stakeholders on a great tourist year. During 2021, Croatian tourism built the image of a safe and responsible destination, which was recognized by our tourists. In addition to the importance of safety, modern tourists, especially in this pandemic era, are increasingly recognizing the importance of the sustainability of the destination, which is becoming an additional motivation for them to travel. In order to further highlight the new strategic direction of Croatian tourism, the Ministry is launching a comprehensive web portal for sustainable tourism in Croatian and English, which will provide information on important documents, funding sources, projects, sustainable practices, and eco-certification, as well as training, seminars, conferences, and events and stakeholder actions in the field of sustainable tourism. We will also have a publicly available display of Sustainable Tourism Indicators on the platform", Said the Minister of Tourism and Sport Nikolina Brnjac and added that in the framework of this project created and mark the sustainability of Croatian tourism, Croatia your natural or Croatia Naturally Yours, which will be recognizable to tourists, as well as stakeholders in the sector. 

"Behind us is the second pandemic year in which Croatia, despite all the challenges, achieved the best tourist result in the Mediterranean. This is a consequence of the dedicated and quality work of all tourism workers who, through their togetherness, quick reactions, and coordinated action, have ensured the status of a quality, safe and well-prepared destination for our country. We are entering this year with great optimism, but also with plans that include the realization of 90 percent of traffic from the record 2019 and further positioning of our country as a sustainable and safe destination. We plan to realize this through the implementation of targeted and innovative marketing and information campaigns, which will be carried out throughout the year, taking into account the epidemiological situation in each market," said the Director of the Croatian Tourist Board Kristjan Staničić, emphasizing that good trends in tourist traffic are confirmed by financial indicators, such as revenues from tourism.

Let us remind you that in terms of tourist revenue, Croatia achieved the best summer so far.

According to the Croatian National Bank, in the first nine months of 2021, revenues from foreign tourists amounted to 8 billion and 268 million euros, which is a growth of 90% compared to the same period in 2020, with revenues of 3 billion and 929 million euros more. Compared to the first nine months of 2019, 88% of the revenues at that time were generated.

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March 2, 2021 – Half of last year's overnight stays in Croatia were recorded in the first two months of this year, and most of the guests were domestic tourists.

As Hina finds out from the Croatian National Tourist Board (CNTB), in the first two months of 2021, there were slightly more than 205,000 tourists and 678,000 overnight stays in Croatia, which is about 50 percent from the same period in 2020. Most overnight stays were realized by the domestic tourists, who make up about 85 percent of last year's result.

About 30 percent of foreign tourists compared to 2020

January and February 2020 were the only months that year in which there was no (significant) impact of the pandemic on tourist traffic. Therefore, a better tourist result was achieved than in the same months of record 2019, so the results for the first two months of this year were good, especially since catering, sports, and recreational facilities were mostly closed, except for accommodation.

Travel restrictions and coronavirus measures in foreign countries have affected that the number of foreign tourists and overnight stays in Croatia in the first two months of this year, as well as at the end of last year, was less than that of domestic tourists. With a little more than 250,000 realized overnight stays, there were about 30 percent foreign tourists compared to last year.

Most overnight stays in the first two months of this year were realized in hotels (275,000), then in household facilities (234,000), and camps (24,000).

By counties, most overnight stays – about half of the total, were realized in three regions/counties – in Istria (135,000), in Kvarner (116,000), and the Split-Dalmatia County (75,000). Among foreigners, most overnight stays were realized by tourists from BiH, Slovenia, Germany, and Italy.

The destinations with the most overnight stays were Zagreb, Rovinj, Split, Zadar, and Opatija.

Domestic tourists travel around the country for weekends

Data from the eVisitor system show that in the first two months, domestic tourists realized more overnight stays during the weekend compared to the days of the week. Most of them (by days) were in Croatian destinations on Valentine's weekend, on 13 February. Out of the total of 20,000 tourists in the country on that day, there were 17,000 domestic tourists, which is the most in one day in the first two months.

During January and February this year, locals spent most nights in Zagreb, Rovinj, Opatija, Zadar, Tuhelj, Split, Poreč, and Plitvice Lakes.

More traffic possible only around Pentecost

"Although we are in a period of the year when realizing international tourist traffic is still difficult, the results achieved so far, and announcements from the market still give some optimism. We do not expect a large influx of guests during March and April. However, we expect some tourist traffic from domestic and nearest markets such as Slovenia, Italy or Austria, whose citizens, among other things, own real estate and vessels in Croatia," said CNTB director Kristjan Staničić. This year, Easter and the spring school holidays in Croatia are at the beginning of April.

From other markets, they expect a significant increase in tourist traffic in the main summer months. Also, they expect known and uniform protocols for international tourist travel by then.

Staničić also says that tourist facilities in Croatia will be ready to receive guests for the Easter holidays. However, tourist flows during these holidays and throughout April will still depend primarily on the epidemiological situation and current travel restrictions.

They expect a slightly higher intensity of tourist traffic for the holiday of Pentecost, which this year comes in the second half of May. Staničić also emphasizes that all relevant research shows that the whole of 2021 will be marked by last-minute bookings and that it is challenging to make long-term and accurate predictions.

"Safe stay in Croatia" campaigns for digital nomads as well

In these circumstances, it is important to remain visible in the market and communicate safety, adequate destination preparation, and epidemiological measures. That is why the "Stay safe in Croatia" campaign is underway in ten key markets – Germany, Austria, Italy, Poland, Great Britain, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, France, and the Netherlands.

To position Croatia as an attractive destination for digital nomads, the CNTB will soon launch a separate promotional campaign in the markets of the USA, Canada, Great Britain, and Ireland. After that, they will launch the main ones, the so-called call campaigns, depending on each market's epidemiological situation.

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January 7, 2021 – In a year when world tourism was dealing with the consequences of travel bans caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Croatia saw 50 percent fewer tourist overnight stays compared to the record 2019 tourist year.

According to the eVisitor system data, in 2020, there were 7.8 million arrivals in Croatia, which is 37 percent of the results from 2019, and 54.4 million overnight stays, namely 50 percent of the results from 2019.

Of that, foreign tourists realized 43.1 million overnight stays (45 percent of the results from 2019), while domestic guests realized 11.3 million overnight stays (82 percent of the results from 2019), reports Croatian National Tourist Board.

Focus is on safety, preparation, and quality

Despite the pandemic and challenges, Minister of Tourism and Sports Nikolina Brnjac emphasizes her satisfaction with the results achieved in 2020. The figures of 54 million overnight stays, she says, prove that the tourism sector has quickly and efficiently adapted to the new circumstances.

"Due to good epidemiological conditions, Croatia was recognized as a safe destination. We must continue to work on that in 2021 to extend the peak part of the tourist year and ensure the tourism sector's resilience. We need a further increase in quality, the development of new value-added tourism products, and the responsible and sustainable management of tourist destinations and infrastructure," said Brnjac.

With 1.8 million tourist overnight stays, Rovinj takes second place on the tourist map of Croatia / Copyright Romulić and Stojčić

She adds that this year, with the vaccine and adherence to epidemiological measures, but also with the previous experience, we can expect the desired tourist achievements.

Croatian National Tourist Board Director Kristjan Staničić pointed out that Croatia has achieved one of the best tourist results in the Mediterranean despite all obstacles.

"An important period is ahead of us in which we will carry out activities to position Croatia as a safe, well-prepared, and quality tourist destination," said Staničić.

Istria and Vir – last year's tourist winners

During 2020, the highest number of overnight stays was realized in Istria – 13.5 million, and in Kvarner – 11 million overnight stays, while in Zadar County, 9.8 million overnight stays were realized. They are followed by Split-Dalmatia County, Šibenik-Knin County, Dubrovnik-Neretva County, and Lika-Senj County.

The City of Zagreb recorded 807 thousand overnight stays in 2020, while 1.1 million overnight stays were realized on the continent last year. The most overnight stays on the continent were realized in Karlovac, Krapina-Zagorje, and Osijek-Baranja Counties.

Last year, Croatia was mostly visited by tourists from Germany, Slovenia, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Austria. Most overnight stays were recorded in households – 22.3 million overnight stays, camps – 8.8 million overnight stays, and hotels – 7 million overnight stays.

Photo: Vir Municipality

From January to October alone, Vir was the only destination with more than 2 million overnight stays. Even then, it was clear that Vir would take the lead with the most tourist overnight stays in 2020. Rovinj followed it with 1.8 million overnight stays, then Medulin, Poreč, Mali Lošinj, and Crikvenica.

Zagreb – most visited during the holidays

During the Christmas and New Year holidays, there were 33,924 arrivals and more than 140,000 tourist overnight stays in Croatia. Compared to 2019, that is only 17 percent of arrivals and 26 percent of overnight stays.

Most overnight stays were realized in household facilities and hotels. Domestic tourists accounted for 64 percent of total overnight stays in that period, followed by tourists from Germany, the United States, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Slovenia. Most overnight stays were realized in Zagreb, followed by Rovinj, Split, Opatija, and Poreč.

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ZAGREB, Dec 13, 2020 - The number of tourists staying in commercial accommodation in October this year was at 17% of the figures for October 2019 while overnight stays were at 20% of last year's figures for that month, which makes October one of the months with the poorest results in 2020, marked by the coronavirus pandemic.

Figures from the national statistical office show that 184,500 tourists stayed in commercial accommodation facilities in October this year, generating 618,000 overnight stays, down 82.8% and 79.9% respectively from October 2019.

Greater decline rates were recorded in April and May (97% and 99% respectively) and a more marked drop was also reported in March (a 70% decrease in overnight stays).

The statistics also show that foreign visitors accounted for most or 406,800 overnight stays, a drop of 85% compared to October 2019. The number of foreign visitors dropped even more, by 90% from October 2019, to 88,800.

Figures for domestic tourists dropped less, by 47.3% to 95,800 visitors, and they generated 211,000 overnight stays in commercial accommodation units, a drop of 45.4%.

As for foreign guests, Germans were again the most loyal visitors, with 131,000 overnight stays or 32.2% of all foreign overnight stays.

They were followed, but with much lower shares in the total number of overnight stays, of 8% and less, by visitors from the United States, Slovenia, Austria, Poland, France, the Czech Republic and Italy. They, too, came in smaller numbers and generated fewer overnight stays than in October 2019.

Istria County recorded the most overnight stays, 156,000, accounting for 25.3% of total overnight stays in October.

Physical indicators for October have also affected results in commercial accommodation in the first ten months of the year, which saw 6.9 million tourists and 40.3 million overnight stays, which are decreases of 63.6% and 55% respectively compared to the same period of 2019.

According to type of accommodation, rooms, apartments and holiday houses accounted for slightly less than a half of all overnight stays, or 277,000, a drop of 68.4% from last year's October.

Hotels saw a bigger drop, of 87.4%, reporting 220,000 overnight stays.

ZAGREB, November 15, 2020 - In the first nine months of this year, 6.6 million tourists stayed in commercial accommodation in Croatia, spending 39.7 million nights, which are decreases of 63.4% and 54% respectively compared with the same period of last year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (DZS) shows.

Foreign tourists accounted for 82% of all tourist arrivals in the first three quarters of the year. A total of 5.4 million of them stayed in commercial accommodation, down by 66.1% compared with the same period of 2019, and spent 34.7 million nights, a decline of nearly 57%.

During the same period, Croatian tourists generated 1.3 million arrivals and 5 million overnight stays, which are decreases of 28.7% and 19.4% respectively compared with the first three quarters of 2019.

German tourists accounted for 33.3% of total foreign overnight stays, ahead of Slovenes (13.5%), Poles (12.4%), Czechs (9.2%) and Austrians (6%).

Statistics for September alone show that 488,200 tourists stayed in commercial accommodation, down by 77.5% compared with the same month in 2019. They spent 3.1 million nights, a drop of nearly 70%.

Croatian tourists generated 133,300 arrivals, a decrease of 24.1% compared with September 2019,  and 409,300 overnight stays, down by 19%. On the other hand, the number of foreign tourist arrivals was 354,800, a decline of 82,2%, and the number of nights spent by foreign tourists fell by 72.5% to 2.7 million.

ZAGREB, October 11, 2020 - Tourists vacationing in Croatia in 2019 spent a daily average of €98 per person and per overnight stay, with the amount being slightly higher in the continental part of the country, €115, and a little lower on the coast, €97, shows a survey conducted by the Institute of Tourism.

The survey, which has been conducted for 30 years and is one of the oldest in Europe, covered close to 14,000 respondents, domestic as well as foreign, coming from 24 markets, who stayed at least one night in hotels, hostels, at camping sites or in private accommodation facilities in 143 places across Croatia.

This is the first time the survey, conducted with the support of Tourism and Sports Ministry, also covered visitors to the continental part of Croatia. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was completed sooner than planned, in March instead of May.

In 2019, the record year for the Croatian tourism industry in terms of the number of arrivals and overnight stays, the average consumption of tourists vacationing on the coast was around 18% higher than in the summer of 2017 and they were slightly more satisfied with tourist services. As continental tourism was included in the survey for the first time, it was not possible to make a comparison of most of those data or overall indicators.

Accommodation costs account for 54% of daily consumption

In the period from May 2019 to March 2020, 54% of the overall average daily consumption were costs of accommodation and food, and only 17% were costs of food and drinks served outside accommodation facilities. All the other services accounted for 30% of the average daily consumption.

Even though average daily consumption in coastal destinations was €97 and in the continental part of the country €115 per person, the Institute of Tourism says that there are no significant differences in the structure of average daily expenses in the two regions.

Hotel guests spend the most on average, €142, followed by guests in family-run accommodation facilities, €88, guests in hostels, €78, and tourists staying at camping sites, €68.

Tourists spent a minimum €67 per day, as spent by visitors from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a maximum €206, which is how much Japanese tourists spent per day on average.

Other tourists who spent above-average amounts were those from the United States (€174), the Republic of Korea (€157), China and other Asian countries (€150), and Great Britain (€143), followed by tourists from Switzerland (€118), Scandinavian countries (€115), Spain and France (€107), Austria and Belgium (€102) and Serbia (€100).

Average visitor aged 43, half have monthly income of more than €3,000

The survey also shows that the average age of visitors is 43, that 55% of them are aged 30-49, and that 43% have a university degree while almost half have a monthly household income of more than €3,000.

The most frequently cited motives for visiting the Croatian Adriatic were sea and nature (81% and 56% respectively), city break (24%), touring (21%), sport and recreation (15%), culture and art (13%) and gastronomy, entertainment and festivals (7% and 6% respectively).

The most frequently cited reasons for visiting the continental part of Croatia were nature (32%), touring and city break (26%), sport and recreation (24%), business (22%), culture and art (16%), hiking and rural tourism (10%) and gastronomy and events (7% and 6% respectively).

More than 50% of foreign visitors had already visited Croatia three or more times, of whom 52% had already visited the Adriatic and 33% the continental part of the country; 33% of foreign visitors visited Croatia for the first time, of whom 32% visited the coast and as many as 53% visited the continental part of the country.

The Internet was the main source of information on destinations for 55% of the respondents, followed by recommendations by family members and friends. Most of the foreign visitors to the coast, 43%, arrived, as before, with their families, and 40% with their partners.

Interestingly, close to 40% of visitors to the continental part of the country arrived alone, 32% were with their partners, 16% with their friends, and only 14% with their families.

As for the means of transport they used to come to Croatia, 73% of those who stayed on the coast arrived by car, 19% arrived by plane and 6% by bus while around 50% of those who visited the continental part of the country arrived by car, close to 40% by plane and 9% by bus.

Visitors most satisfied with nature, atmosphere, hospitality

Visitors covered by the survey were satisfied the most with individual tourist services and natural and local attractions, as well as personal safety, atmosphere and the hospitality of local residents, and they were also very satisfied with the overall quality of their stay.

They also gave high marks for the cleanliness of the place they stayed in and of the beaches in the entire country, as well as for accommodation facilities, ecological preservation and transport accessibility as well as opportunities for destination exploration, walking, gastronomy, children-friendly conditions, and culture and art.

Nonetheless, they said they would prefer more entertainment, better conditions for persons with disabilities and more cycling routes in the continental part of the country. As regards the coast, they were least satisfied with local traffic, as well as with the lack of entertainment possibilities, the level of adaptation to persons with disabilities and insufficient shopping possibilities. Some also complained about crowding, garbage that has been inappropriately disposed of and the absence of waste sorting.

ZAGREB, September 21, 2020 - In August 2020, there were over 1.75 million beds in tourist accommodation, including 1.2 million in commercial and 555,000 in non-commercial accommodation, down 0.7% and up 10% on the year respectively, according to eVisitor.

Commercial accommodation accounted for 79.4% of all overnights (16.7 million), down 40% from August 2019.

Private accommodation, with 615,500 beds, accounted for 51.6% of all commercial beds, although it had 14,000 fewer beds than in August 2019. This type of accommodation accounted for 46% of all overnights (9.6 million), down 31.2% on the year.

Campsites accounted for 15.3% of all August overnights (3.2 million), down 47.6% on the year, although they offered 3,000 more beds, 255,200 in all, accounting for 21.4% of all beds.

Hotels had 176,500 beds, 1,100 more than in August 2019, accounting for 15% of all commercial beds and for 12% of all overnights, i.e. 2.5 million, down 51% on the year.

Accommodation on family farms had 2,600 beds, 182 more than in August 2019, and recorded 26,000 overnights, down 15% year on year.

Other commercial accommodation had 132,400 beds, 2,450 more than in August 2019, and recorded 1.3 million overnights, down 41.5% on the year.

Nautical tourism recorded 586,000 overnights in August 2020, down 25.1% on the year.

Non-commercial accommodation recorded 3.7 million overnights, down 16.5% on the year, accounting for 17.7% of all August 2020 overnights.

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