August 4, 2020 – At the beginning of the crisis caused by a coronavirus, in Hvar, they hoped to achieve 30 percent of last year’s tourism traffic. So far, they have succeeded, and July is even at 45 percent of last year’s traffic. In August, they hope for an additional 15 percent of the increase.
In July, 16,602 arrivals were realized on Hvar, which is 31.73 percent compared to last year, and 91,073 overnight stays, which is as much as 45 percent compared to last year.
In the first seven months of this year, a total of 19,924 arrivals were realized, which is only 17.28 percent of last year’s arrivals. But, there’s been 114,661 overnight stays which are 30 percent compared to last year, as they hoped.
More tourists expected to come
“On August 3rd, 4,324 guests were staying in Hvar, which is 62 percent compared to the same day in 2019,“ says Petar Razović, the director of Hvar Tourist Board, adding that compared to the numbers from one month earlier, on July 3rd, when Hvar had only 1,629 guests and only 21 percent of guests compared to 2019, it’s an increase of 2,600 guests.
Source: Hvar Tourist Board
Although the majority of guests in Hvar are traditionally foreign guests, especially guests from the UK and the USA, this year most of them are from Germany, Slovenia, and Poland. Also, thanks to the excellent promotional campaign conducted on European markets this year, there’s a big increase in the number of guests from the Czech Republic.
“If the health situation remains unchanged, the prediction for August is an increase of an additional 15 percent,“ says Razović explaining that could be achieved because of the arrivals of airline guests from Hvar’s traditional tourist markets in the UK and Scandinavia.
Further plans
Out of 13 hotels in the area of Hvar town, only 7 have been opened and their occupancy is 70 percent. Only 40 percent of the capacity is open in private accommodation.
Hvar has always been known in the world as a luxury destination, as well as a party destination. What is surprising this year is nautical tourism, which has recorded an increase in traffic of as much as 40 percent compared to last year. Razović points out that they predicted, “nautical, camping and private accommodation will bring out this year’s tourist season“.
Source: Hvar Tourist Board
A plan for further development of tourism in Hvar is to build sustainable, organized, and quality tourism by developing the health, cultural, and sports segment of the tourist offer.
Cultural and sports activities
As for catering facilities, 60 percent of them are open in Hvar, and as Razović explains, their location, price, and type of cuisine have a great influence on their business.
Source: Hvar Tourist Board
All of the cultural and sports events have been canceled, like Hvar Half Marathon that was supposed to be held on June 27th. Only the 12th Lavender Festival took place in July in Velo Grablje, and the 59th Hvar Summer Festival is still going on.
Nonetheless, guests can still enjoy some other activities, such as cycling or sightseeing of Hvar’s rich cultural heritage.
Big improvements have been made in the development of cycling tourism, arranging and mapping more than 460 kilometers of bike paths throughout the island. Also, Hvar has been promoted as UNESCO island with 6 intangible assets under protection.
As the Hvar Tourist Board director Razović points out, “guests are most satisfied with the feeling of security related to Covid-19“.
“They have chosen Hvar because of the sun, the sea, wine and food offers, and cultural sights,“ says Razović.
Source: Hvar Tourist Board
