ZAGREB, 7 April 2022 - Croatia's commercial accommodation facilities saw 398,000 tourist arrivals and 1.1 million overnight stays in the first two months, which is 206,000 more arrivals and 581,000 more overnights compared with the same period of 2021, the national statistical office (DZS) said on Thursday.

In the first two months of 2022, domestic tourists generated 209,000 arrivals, or 54,000 more than in 2021, as well as 481,000 overnight stays, or 141,000 more year-on-year.

Foreign tourists generated 189,000 arrivals and 595,000 overnights stays in the first two months of 2022, which is an increase of 152,000 and 440,000 respectively.

The highest number of overnights was generated by tourists from Slovenia (17.7%), Germany (11.6%), Austria (10.7%), Italy (6.6%), the US (6.4%) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (6.4%).

The number of foreign tourists in commercial accommodation facilities surges by 468% in February

Compared to February 2021, this February alone 116.7% more tourists opted for commercial accommodation facilities or 225,500 of them, and they generated nearly 570,000 overnights or 132.5% more. Compared with February 2019, tourist arrivals dropped by 14.7%, while overnight stays went up by 3.7%.

There were 115,700 foreign tourists, or as many as 468.4% more than in February last year. They also generated 323.7% more overnights stays, or 334,400. Compared with February 2019, there were 32.1% fewer foreign tourist arrivals and 6.1% fewer overnights.

The most numerous were foreign guests from Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Italy, the US and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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April 4, 2022 - In 2021, there were 466.2 thousand tourists in houses, apartments, and holiday homes or non-commercial accommodation in Croatia, 2.3 percent more than in 2020, while the number of overnight stays was 9.3 percent or 10.1 million less, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).

Owners of non-commercial accommodation in Croatia pay a tourist tax as a lump sum and are obliged to register themselves and all persons who spend the night in the house or apartment (family members, relatives, friends) in the eVisitor tourist check-in and check-out system of the Croatian National Tourist Board (CNTB), from which the CBS takes data on non-commercial tourist traffic and continues to process them statistically.

Locals came less and spent the night in houses and holiday apartments

According to these data, out of the total turnover in non-commercial accommodation in 2021, almost 76 percent of arrivals and 56.4 percent of overnight stays refer to foreigners, who came to this type of accommodation 5 percent more than in 2020 (353.1 thousand) but realized 3 percent fewer overnight stays (5.7 million), reports Index.hr.

Croatian citizens also realized fewer overnight stays in non-commercial accommodation than in 2020, by 16 percent (4.4 million), and according to reports in eVisitor, 5 percent fewer came to that accommodation (113.1 thousand).

Last year, 37,000 Slovenians came to this type of accommodation, totaling 2.6 million overnight stays. According to that, they were by far the most numerous and the most overnight stays in houses and holiday apartments in Croatia among all tourists from other nations who were in that type of accommodation.

They were followed by Germans and tourists from Bosnia and Herzegovina with 640 thousand and 634 thousand overnight stays, and among the first ten countries, whose tourists realized one hundred thousand and more overnight stays in that accommodation: the markets of Serbia, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Italy, and Slovakia.

Zadar County and Kvarner with the most non-commercial overnight stays

In the research on this traffic, CBS did not provide comparisons of traffic from these and other markets in non-commercial accommodation in Croatia from 2020, which is not stated for individual counties, but only data on arrivals and overnight stays for 2021. Zadar County, with 36 percent of all overnight stays in that type of accommodation, ranks in the first place.

The second is Primorje-Gorski Kotar with 26 percent of total overnight stays, while the third is Istria with 15 percent of total overnight stays in non-commercial accommodation.

They are followed by Šibenik-Knin County, where 8.2 percent of overnight stays in non-commercial accommodation were realized in holiday homes and apartments in 2021. Split-Dalmatia County follows with almost 7 percent of overnight stays, and Dubrovnik-Neretva County with 4.4 percent, while Lika-Senjska County with the lowest share of 4 percent in total overnight stays.

However, not all other counties in Croatia have that much, because the share of overnight stays in non-commercial accommodation was only 0.2 percent.

What the CBS does not yet state in this research is the number of houses, apartments, and holiday apartments (accommodation units, etc.) in which this non-commercial tourist traffic was recorded in 2021, and they note that the quality of research results is significantly affected by the discipline of check-in and check-out the stay of persons in non-commercial accommodation facilities and the work of inspection bodies that monitor this phenomenon.

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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, 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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ZAGREB, Aug 24, 2020 - A total of 2.3 million tourists vacationed in Croatia in the period from 1 to 23 August, generating 17.6 million overnight stays, which is at 67% of the results in the same period of 2019, officials of the Croatian Tourism Board (HTZ) said on Monday.

The latest statistics, which are based on information from the eVisitor system and which include tourist turnover in commercial and non-commercial accommodation as well as in boat rental, show that in the first 23 days of August there were 4.3 million overnight stays in Istria and 3.5 million in the region of Kvarner.

Split-Dalmatia County follows with 3.4 million overnight stays, followed by Zadar County with 3.2 million overnight stays, Sibenik-Knin County with 1.4 million, Dubrovnik-Neretva County with one million and Lika-Senj County with 636,000 overnight stays.

HTZ director Kristjan Stanicic said that the results for August were excellent and that the HTZ had very good announcements for September from the countries which had not put Croatia on a list of epidemiologically unsafe countries.

Between the start of this year and August 23, 6.5 million tourists vacationed in Croatia, generating more than 44 million overnight stays, which is 53% of tourism figures in the same period of 2019, the HTZ said.

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