According to data from eVisitor, which contains data about the tourist traffic in commercial and non-commercial facilities and nautical charter (the eCrew system), there were 16.5 million arrivals (+5%) and 90.1 million overnight stays (+2%) in the period from January to late August.
Foreign tourists accounted for 14.7 million arrivals (+5%) and 79.1 million overnight stays (+1%), with the number of domestic tourists has also grown – 10% in arrivals and 7% in overnight stays.
“The first half of 2019, as well as the previous two peak months, July and August, have met our expectations and plans for this year. In total, since the beginning of the year, we have achieved five per cent more tourist arrivals and two per cent more overnight stays, but apart from tourist traffic, we are especially looking forward to positive trends related to financial results. Namely, according to the Tax Administration, since the beginning of the year, a total of HRK 20.6 billion worth of bills have been issued in the segment of accommodation and food and beverage preparation which is an 8% increase, or HRK 1.6 billion,” Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli said, adding that those results herald great overall results in tourism revenues in 2019.
Photo: Robert Anic/PIXSELL
“After having a successful peak of the tourist year, we are entering the post-season concerning which we launched campaigns in 14 European countries in mid-August. In September and October, we expect a repeat of last year’s figures or, depending on the market, a further increase in the number of arrivals and overnight stays, primarily from the long-haul markets such as the US, China and Korea, but also from Russia and France. Also, we are working hard on preparing the next tourist year,” said Managing Director of the Croatian Tourist Board, Kristjan Staničić, adding that the strength of Croatian tourism was validated by the latest report of the World Economic Forum according to which Croatia is ranked 27th in terms of tourism competitiveness, which is a jump of five places relative to 2017.
During the first eight months of 2019, the highest number of overnight stays was recorded in Istria (24.3 million), in Split-Dalmatia County 16.9 million overnight stays and Kvarner 16.2 million. Next come Zadar County with 12.9 million nights and Dubrovnik-Neretva County with 7.2 million nights. 6.2 million overnight stays were recorded in Šibenik-Knin County, while Lika-Senj County saw 3 million overnight stays. 1.7 million overnight stays were recorded in Zagreb. In terms of the continental part of the country, excluding Zagreb, a total of 840,000 arrivals (+8%) and 1.7 million overnight stays (+8%) were recorded, while the highest number of overnight stays were recorded in the following continental counties – Karlovac (511,000), Krapina-Zagorje (258,000), Zagreb (157,000), Osijek-Baranja County (145,000) and Medjimurje (144,000).
At the national level, during the first eight months, most overnight stays came from the tourists from Germany (17 million), Slovenia (9.5 million) Austria (6.3 million), Poland (5.4 million), Italy (4.9 million), the Czech Republic (4.7 million) and the United Kingdom (3.5 million). In terms of accommodation segments, the highest number of overnight stays was recorded in households (34.5 million), hotels (19.4 million) and camps (16.2 million). The top destinations in the first eight months of this year, in regard to the realized overnight stays, are Dubrovnik, Rovinj, Poreč, Split and Medulin.
There were 5 million arrivals and 33.1 million overnight stays in August, an increase of 8% in arrivals and 3% in overnight stays, compared to August 2018. In the same month, the highest number of overnight stays was recorded in Istria (8.7 million), while Kvarner and Split-Dalmatia County had 6.3 million overnight stays. Next is Zadar County with 5.2 million and Šibenik-Knin County with 2.5 million overnight stays. Dubrovnik-Neretva County recorded 2.3 million overnight stays, while in Lika-Senj County there were 1.2 million overnight stays. Zagreb had 289,000 overnight stays. Also in August, 191,000 arrivals (+8%) and 421,000 overnight stays (+6%) were made in the continental part of the country, of which the highest number of overnight stays was recorded in Karlovac (197,000), Krapina-Zagorje (48,000), Zagreb (36,000), Medjimurje (32,000). and Varaždin County (32,000). At the national level, most overnight stays were recorded in August came from Germany (6.5 million), Slovenia (3.3 million), Italy (2.9 million), Poland (2.1 million), Austria (2.1 million) and the Czech Republic (1.7 million).
Source: Croatian Tourist Board