July the 3rd, 2022 - The Zadar Port Authority has confirmed that there have been 20 percent more cruise ships sailing into Zadar's waters than back during the record, pre-pandemic year of 2019 to which the industry continues to compare this year's statistics to.

As Morski writes, the Zadar Port Authority has reported on the number of guest arrivals from cruise ships up until the end of June this year, and the results are more than encouraging despite cruise ships continuing to be an issue in regard to pollution.

In the period from January the 1st to June the 30th, 2022, there were 41,520 passenger arrivals from cruise ships in the areas managed by the Zadar Port Authority. Of the aforementioned number, 32,949 passengers or 79% were realised in the passenger port of Gazenica, while 8,571 guests (21%) visited the city port, the passenger Port of Zadar.

A total of 56 cruise ship arrivals were realised during the aforementioned period, while the arrival of a total of 147 ships is planned for the whole year. The largest number of arrivals was achieved during the month of June, when 18,448 passengers visited this Dalmatian city on 20 vessels.

Back in May of this year, the largest cruise ship in the history of what the Zadar Port Authority has had to deal with, MSC Fantasia, with a total length of 333 metres and a width of 38 metres sailed into Gazenica.

The Zadar Port Authority's analyses show that the cities and towns within that particular county are the most visited. Almost 40% of cruise ship guests visit the centre of Zadar, Nin is visited by 10%, then come Pag, Paklenica, Nadin, Zrmanja, Vrana Lake, Starigrad, Maslenica, etc. Krka National Park and the City of Sibenik are also very often chosen by guests.

The number of organised visits to destinations speaks volumes for the fact that in the first six months of 2022, a total of 622 vehicles were used to transport guests to their desired destinations, of which 490 were buses, while with the arrival of warmer weather, the transportation of guests to coastal destinations by tourist boats also began. In this case, the top choices are Kornati and Kukljica.

Looking at the total realised number of passengers from cruise ships during the first six months of this year, which numbers 41,520 arrivals, it was realised at the level of 56% compared to the same period of the record year of 2019, when 73,660 arrivals were realised. The years 2020 and 2021 are not at all comparable due to the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic.

What's worth highlighting is the fact that the number of cruise ship arrivals for the first six months of 2022, compared to the same period back in 2019, is almost 20% higher. However, due to limitations in the capacity of the ships due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of guests has still not reached the figures from that record year, but there's plenty of time yet.

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