Austrians mostly visit Rovinj, Poreč, Umag, Medulin and Mali Lošinj.
According to the Reisemonitoring survey, carried out by ÖAMTC, the Austrian National Motoring Club, Croatia is the leading foreign destination for Austrian tourists. According to a survey conducted in March and April on a sample of 800 respondents, Italy was second, Spain third, while about 18 percent of Austrians planned to spend their main vacation in their own country, reports Večernji List on June 21, 2018.
“This is great news for the Croatian tourism industry just ahead of the main season. We are delighted to be the number one destination for Austrian tourists. This market, which is very important to us, realises about eight million overnight stays a year. This is another confirmation for our targeted and highly-acclaimed tourist marketing and PR campaigns, especially for the pre- and post-season,” said Kristjan Staničić, director of the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ), adding that he expects the continuation of positive trends and results from the Austrian market, from which Croatia so far this year recorded 440,000 arrivals and 1.8 million overnight stays, which is about six percent more than in the same period last year.
The study also showed that two-thirds of Austrians plan a longer vacation (up to 14 days) at least once a year, while every fourth respondent plans an additional shorter vacation (up to four days). During the main vacation, they prefer to swim and sunbathe and travel roughly equally by cars (42 percent) and planes (41 percent). Croatia, i.e. Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, Rijeka and Zadar, are connected with Austria in the summer season with a total of 31 regular and charter flights, thanks to Austrian Airlines and Croatia Airlines.
The data also show that Austrians prefer to organize their own vacations, without using the services of travel agencies. This specifically refers to the segment of young travellers who intensively use the internet and direct booking. However, the trends are followed by the older population as well, since 56 percent of people above 60 organize their vacations themselves.
Austria makes up about eight percent of the annual turnover of the Croatian tourist industry, which ranks this market at the third position, right behind Germany and Slovenia. Over 60 percent of Austrians in Croatia are permanent guests and prefer accommodation in hotels, household facilities and camps. Last year, Austrian tourists realised most of their overnights in Rovinj, Poreč, Umag, Medulin and Mali Lošinj.
Translated from Večernji List.
