August 19, 2023 – The course of the Croatian tourist season so far has been excellent. Since the beginning of the year there have been 14.1 million tourist arrivals and 74.5 million overnight stays, which is an increase of eight and three million compared to the same period last year, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković stated at the government session on Thursday.
Regarding the tourist pre-season this year, as writes Index, the Prime Minister said that it was one of the best and that it had a positive impact in the interior as well, where the counties achieved an increase of 16 and 15 percent compared to last year with 800 thousand arrivals and 1.7 million overnight stays.
He also emphasized domestic tourists, adding that so far this year in there were 15 percent more than last year, with the same number of overnight stays.
Peak of the Croatian Tourist Season 2023 Did Not Dissapoint
The Minister of Tourism and Sports, Nikolina Brnjac, said after the government session that she was satisfied with the results of the tourist season and that the number of tourist arrivals in August so far has been the same as in August 2019, while in July there were two percent more.
She does not consider this, as the journalists asked, “a failed peak season” because, she added, the number of tourists is the same as in 2019. She believes that the new law on tourism will contribute to a wider offer of hotels.
She also commented the claim that hotel prices rose twice as much as inflation in July of this year, saying that hotel prices are now close to those in competing countries.
“It is difficult to say how price increases are correlated with occupancy”
She repeated that investing in increasing the quality of four- and five-star accommodation facilities always pays off and that those who invested in this way have a justification for increasing prices, while those who did not invest but raised their prices had no justification.
“It is difficult to say how the price increase is correlated with occupancy in the peak season, because the hotels, for example, are well occupied and satisfied, and the campsites are working better than in 2019,” the minister answered.
“Croatia is one of the safest countries in the EU”
Journalists also asked about the British authorities warning their tourists that “they can expect sexual abuse in taxis in Croatia”, to which she said that Croatia is one of the safest countries in the EU, according to Eurostat data.
“The Croatian Ministry of Interior, together with the Ministry of Tourism, tourist patrols, other services and EU members, implements all the necessary measures. I don’t think this claim has any basis, but it should be taken care of and reported if something like that does happen,” said Brnjac.
She emphasized that safety is the most important thing in a tourist country and that all competent services are working diligently on this. when asked if she was in contact with her Greek colleague due to the recent riots in Athens, she said that they were in contact and that she expressed her condolences. “I also said that it is not a sport and that we should persevere and teach children that sport is about tolerance and fair play, not about violence,” Brnjac said.
