Croatia’s Tourism Industry: A 17% Increase in Tourist Arrivals in December 2023
Last year, Croatia recorded 20.6 million arrivals and 108 million overnight stays, as reported by the eVisitor system. The data also indicates a nine per cent increase in arrivals and a three per cent increase in overnight stays in Croatia compared to the previous year.
The overall performance in all accommodation capacities remained stable, with a notable increase of 1.2 per cent in nights within commercial establishments such as hotels, campsites, and domestic establishments compared to the year before the 2019 pandemic.
According to the Director of the Croatian National Tourist Board, Kristjan Staničić, the current situation in emitting markets, as well as the global geopolitical and macroeconomic situation, will make 2024 a challenging year.
In 2023, Croatia’s tourism highlights included increased stays in Istria, Split-Dalmatia County, Kvarner, Zadar, Dubrovnik-Neretva, Lika-Senj, Zagreb, and the rest of the continent, with top destinations including Rovinj, Dubrovnik, Poreč, Split, and Umag.
The top markets for overnight stays last year were Germany, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Poland, Czechia, Italy, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Netherlands.
In December 2023, Croatia saw a 17 per cent increase in arrivals and a ten per cent increase in overnight stays compared to 2022, reaching over 394,000 arrivals and 938,000 overnight stays. Notable destinations in December were Zagreb, Opatija, Split, Dubrovnik, Poreč, Rovinj, and Zadar.
These data also revealed that nearly 90,000 guests celebrated New Year’s Eve in Croatia, marking an increase of approximately 12 per cent compared to the number of guests welcoming the end of 2022.
In the third quarter of 2023, data published by the Croatian National Bank (HNB) show that income from international visitors reached €9.123 billion, marking an increase of 7.7 per cent compared to the corresponding period of 2022, with cumulative receipts from foreign tourists in the first nine months of 2023 reaching €12.972 billion, reflecting an increase of 11.4 per cent from the same time frame in 2022.
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