April the 18th, 2022 - Zadar County is looking back at their tourism figures from record years and hoping that something similar can be repeated this year as coronavirus restrictions ease almost entirely across Europe.
As Morski writes, with the arrival of the Easter holidays, the tourist pre-season in the Republic of Croatia traditionally begins. Expectations from this season are high, despite the war that is still going on in Ukraine following Russian invasion, because after two dull, pandemic-dominated years, people desperately want to travel once again. In Zadar County, they're also hoping for figures similar to those enjoyed back during record years.
The whole of Dalmatia has always lived from the sea and tourism, and Zadar County was far from immune to the horrendous blow that the global coronavirus pandemic dealt the entire sector.
''I can only brag and boast! Our hotel has been full for Easter and will also be full for some time after Easter, so we're very satisfied,'' says the director of one Dalmatian hotel.
Across Zadar County, the final touches and beautification is coming to an end because the first guests from abroad have already arrived and the city's famous Kalelarga is also filling up rapidly.
''We heard that this is a beautiful country, so we wanted to explore and visit everything,''
''It's absolutely impressive, beautiful weather, kind people, clean and tidy...''
''The culture is what fascinates me, I also like the sea, the beaches and of course the local people...'' are just some of the comments left by foreign visitors about numerous gorgeous Dalmatian cities.
All this is accompanied by nice, warm weather, as enjoying the sun isn't just a privilege used by Dalmatians. Numerous guests are also enjoying themselves, most of whom are residents of Croatia from other parts of the country, writes HRT. However, they are quite closely followed by Austrians, Germans and Slovenes, and in the first two weeks of April alone, 50,000 overnight stays were realided.
''Foreign guests are mostly staying in hotels and in private accommodation, but this is also accompanied by nautical accommodation and camp sites,'' said Mihaela Kadija, the director of the Zadar County Tourist Board. Those guests who arrive by plane are very much counted on in Zadar,cand the city will be connected to more than 70 European and global destinations by air this summer.
''The figures we expect this year should be similar to those we saw back in 2019. That means about 800 thousand passengers,'' said Tomislav Zepina, the head of the commercial department of Zadar Airport. Coronavirus ruined people's plans in the past, and the prestigious title that Zadar's Gazenica won before a biological disaster struck the globe as the world's best cruise port wasn't capitalised, but that looks as if it will alter throughout 2022, according to Djoni Stambuk, the interim director of the Zadar Port Authority.
The record pre-pandemic numbers Zadar County enjoyed back in 2019, according to current announcements, could finally be reached.
For more, check out our travel section.
