June the 14th, 2025 – The Croatian tourism sector isn’t slowing down, regardless of the numbers for the main season currently not looking fantastic.
As Zadarski list writes, over the first five months of this year, Croatia registered approximately the same number of guests as in the same period last year; around 4.2 million. That said, there have been approximately 6% fewer overnight stays realised. The above has been shown by new data revealed by the Croatian National Tourist Board’s commended eVisitor system. According to it, roughly 13 million overnight stays were achieved, equal to about 800,000 fewer.
According to Tourism Minister Tonči Glavina, the first “transitional period” will be observed only after June has drawn to a close. The very height of the summer season will then be gearing up. It should also be noted that the Feast of the Assumption is set to fall rather late this year, on June the 19th.
croatian tourism and numbers during the peak season – a slow burn?
The pre-season has been very solid so far, especially considering that in recent years, the numbers have been constantly growing for this part of the year. However, the time Croatian tourism starts to rub its hands together at the thought of very big numbers is just beginning. Judging by last year’s experience and some announcements we’ve heard thus far, the peak season appears to be much more of a slow burn this year, and it is expected that some guests will wait until the last minute to book anything.
Prices are indeed a deciding factor for many people this year. That’s hardly surprising given the global economic and geopolitical situation that has further strained tourism across the board.
The eVisitor data for the pre-season also shows that this year’s season will likely be a bit hit and miss. In May, there were as many as 53% fewer overnight stays recorded by German tourists than there were last year. Speaking specifically, the sum amounted to around 1.1 million. Last year in May, there were over 2.3 million overnight stays realised nationwide by German guests.
As such, around 230,000 German visitors arrived last month, compared to 406,000 the year before. In total, in five months of 2025, the number of German arrivals is down by a worrying 30 percent. Their overnight stay amount is also lower by an even more concerning 40 percent.
In May this year, figures from the Austrian, Polish, French and Dutch markets also dropped, while gains were recorded from the markets of Slovenia, Great Britain, the USA and neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina.
domestic tourists come to the rescue and bump up croatian tourism numbers
Croatian tourism also experienced significant growth from its own market. Domestic guests heading off to various destinations across the country in May came to around 340,000. That means that there were significantly more domestic tourists taking breaks across Croatia than guests from Germany, which is the strongest foreign market by far.
Domestic guests therefore rescued May’s results for Croatian tourism. That’s also been the case for the entire pre-season so far. Despite that, even the promising increase from the domestic market failed to cancel out the decline in tourist traffic pouring into Croatia from foreign markets.
Last month, domestic overnight stays were up 18 percent, while foreign overnight stays fell by as much as 17 percent. From January to May, domestic overnight stays increased by 8 percent, while foreign overnight stays fell by some 9 percent.
what do croatian tourist agencies say about this trend?
Tomislav Fain, president of the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies (UHPA), stated that the pre-season depends a lot on the holiday schedule. He also noted that various Croatian destinations that had an increased number of flights also saw more guests.
“The pre-season has been a little worse than last year for Croatian tourism, but it’s nothing all that significant. As for the main summer season, I’d say that it has become normal for people to make last minute bookings. The capacity Croatian tourism has is simply so large that guests simply don’t need to book so far in advance. That’s especially true when we consider the possibilities of online bookings. People are booking literally at the very last minute, which is no longer a trend, but something common. That’s particularly the case for closer source markets. In general, I don’t really think there will be any problems for the months of July and August.
If there are any issues, prices will end up being lowered, and that’s something that can change practically every hour. If the tourist season is at the same level as it was last year, then we’ll still have a lot of dissatisfied people because capacities have grown in every segment, from accommodation to nautical activities,” said Fain.
July and August aren’t yet up to expectations, stated Katica Hauptfeld, the owner of Katarina Line from Opatija, one of the largest Croatian travel agencies of all.
She stated that in 2024, it was noticeable that the pre-season and post-season were filling up more easily and more quickly than the main summer season. For example, this weekend, Katarina Line has twice as many small cruise ships departing from Opatija than at the same time last year.
“The US market is much weaker than last year, and even Australia and Canada are doing a little worse. Some partners have already let us know for next year that prices are too high and that they might cancel some dates. Airline tickets have also become more expensive, and all this affects decisions about arrivals. As for the peak season, this year we’ve given discounts for some dates in the main season. On the other hand, the end of August is already very well booked up, and the announcements for September and October so far are also very good. With that being said, the height of the summer season is when you make the most money, and it fills up more slowly, both on ships and in hotels” stated Hauptfeld.
taxation of 25%
For years, travel agencies have been pointing to the fact that the reduced rate of VAT in tourism only applies to accommodation. Agency packages, such as all other services such as transfers, excursions, tickets and the like, are taxed at 25 percent.
Croatian tourist agencies have therefore long been indicating that a reduced rate of 13 percent should apply to Croatian tourism products as a whole. It would also work wonders for the overall competitiveness of Croatian tourism. Therefore, a general lowering of the VAT rate should be seriously considered.
While transfers in Croatia are taxed at 25 percent VAT, in Italy, tourist transfers are taxed at 10 percent. That’s also the case in both France and Spain. These countries also have reduced VAT rates on tourist accommodation.
The Spanish charge 10 percent on accommodation, Cyprus 9 percent, and the Greeks, just like in Croatia, 13 percent. However, it’s interesting to observe that in “special cases”, which is usually outside the main summer season, the Greeks have the option of applying an even lower rate to the accommodation part of only six percent, which certainly increases their competitiveness on the tourism market. Price competitiveness is something Croatian tourism needs to give very real thought to as we rapidly approach the main summer season.
