January 15, 2021 – Kvarner beauty Opatija was one of the top Croatian destinations in December 2020, taking second place in overnight hotel stays. The most beautiful Advent made Opatija a desirable winter destination.

Despite the dark cloud that reigned this winter, Opatija, with its attractive Advent program, still managed to shine as a beacon of hope. This December, the city was brighter than ever before, lit with more than 20 kilometers of lamps, over 10,000 decorations, and dozens of large decorations.

The story of the "Christmas miracle" in the cradle of Croatian tourism attracted many Opatija residents and visitors. As Opatija Tourist Board reports, in December 2020, Opatija was the best destination in Kvarner and the fourth in Croatia in terms of the overall number of overnight stays. Opatija is in second place in Croatia, right after the Croatian capital when it comes to overnight hotel stays.

Source: Visit Opatija

The magic of the most beautiful and breathtaking Advent by the sea was recorded in thousands of photos and videos, with shots of romantic evening walks, friendly gatherings, and family happiness, which passed all over Croatia and the world.

However, in addition to the city guests, Opatija Advent's magical beauty was experienced by many "virtual" visitors. Namely, many digital attractions such as virtual walks, music cards, videos, and photos, made Opatija's Advent even more attractive, measuring hundreds of thousands of reviews.

Such a campaign attracted the interest of both Croatian and foreign media. It resulted in numerous publications, especially on the Italian, Austrian, Hungarian and Slovenian markets, with a total reach of several million people. Croatian media also accompanied Opatija's "Christmas fairy tale" with hymns, declaring it the most beautiful Advent in Croatia.

Source: Visit Opatija

"This year, we confirmed that Advent in Opatija is one of the most important winter events in Croatia. The most beautiful Advent by the sea is the foundation on which we build the future of Opatija as a popular winter destination, which is in line with its tourist tradition. The city is becoming one of the most important Advent destinations in this part of Europe," said Suzi Petričić, director of the Opatija Tourist Board, the creator of Opatija's Advent attire.

Advent in Opatija is slowly coming to an end, and those who want to take the last opportunity to feel the magic of the most beautiful Advent by the sea can visit it until Sunday, January 17th. This year's edition of Advent in Opatija was recognized as a thread of optimism in these difficult circumstances and won countless hearts.

The most beautiful Advent by the sea / Source: Visit Opatija

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January 10, 2021 – Despite pandemic and earthquakes, the number of well-to-do guests in Croatia in 2020 grew. They spent 98 euros a day, 32 more euros than six years ago, and they were looking for the highest quality and the most expensive tourist offer.

As Radmila Kovačević / Večernji list writes, a thin but much better tourist season than it seemed in the spring brought Croatia 7.7 million guests and about 54 million overnight stays in eleven months. Every other overnight stay from the record 2019 was realized.

The earthquakes did not have a particular impact on the number of guests. The last month of the year, regardless of the disaster, could not bring any fundamental change. Excluding Zagreb Advent and New Year's guests on the Adriatic, the number of tourists in December varied between a modest seven and ten thousand a day, which was about a third of the tourist traffic last year in that month.

Croatia is a discovery in terms of offer and quality

About 3,000 foreign tourists are sharing the current earthquake drama with the local population. The atypical year has intensified some trends, and one of them is undoubtedly digital nomads. Among those 3,000 foreigners are hundreds of guests who do their regular jobs from Croatia.

An increase in demand for holidays in separate villas and holiday homes was expected, given the pandemic. Still, many hosts were surprised by the jump in demand for the highest quality and the most expensive of what Croatian tourism offers.

Hosts first noticed this in Istria, wherein some weeks this summer, it was practically impossible to find a free bed in luxury holiday homes or small family hotels.

Tourists in Rovinj / Copyright Romulić and Stojčić

It was similar in restaurants – well-to-do guests did not skimp on olive oil, wine, prosciutto, and similar treats as a "souvenir "from a Croatia vacation. Many of these guests said that they regularly go to some of the more famous Mediterranean resorts and that Croatia, in this case, Istria, is a discovery for them, both in terms of offer and quality.

Continental destinations can be profitable

The transformation of the domestic tourist offer from mass, ready-made to more refined, boutique offer is not since yesterday. This is evidenced by the growing revenues from tourism, i.e., the average consumption of our guests.

For comparison, in 2014, tourists spent an average of 66.3 euros a day on vacation in Croatia. Three years later, in the 2017 season, average tourist spending jumped to 79 euros per person per night. And according to the recently published comprehensive survey Attitudes and Consumption of Tourists, published on the new interactive website of the Institute of Tourism, guests in Croatia spent as much as 98 euros a day from May 2019 to March 2020.

Tourists in Rovinj / Copyright Romulić and Stojčić

For the first time, the research was conducted outside the summer months and in the whole of Croatia, not only on the coast. It also revealed how profitable tourism in the interior could be than at sea. Namely, it turned out that in 2019 guests spent an average of 97 euros a day on holiday in coastal destinations, and in continental destinations, such as Slavonia or Zagorje, 115 euros per person.

BiH Guests, who spent 67 euros per person per day, had the smallest budget for holidays in Croatia. The most generous guests were the Japanese, with daily consumption of as much as 206 euros. The generous guests include tourists from the USA with 174 euros per person, the Republic of Korea (157 euros), China (150 euros), and Asian countries in general, whose average consumption is 155 euros. Among Europeans, the British stand out with daily consumption of 143 euros.

First guests already for the Easter holidays?

Altogether, a good start for 2021, in which the tourist sector, which these days are busy helping the victims in Banovina, could expect the first wave of guests as early as in the Easter holidays.

"The number of 54 million overnight stays is proof that our tourism has quickly and efficiently adapted to the new circumstances. Croatia was recognized as a safe destination, and we must work on that in 2021, and then again, we can expect good results. Glad the fact that tourist spending is growing. Our goal is the same or higher revenues than in 2019. But not through an increase in the number of tourists in the summer, but by a more even distribution throughout the year and throughout Croatia," commented the Minister of Tourism and Sports Nikolina Brnjac.

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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.