August the 13th, 2026 – Croats appear to be travelling less and taking less annual leave this summer, with the latest research into these habits showing a marked change.
Almost every third person in Croatia is staying at their usual place of residence this summer, primarily due to a lack of financial resources, according to a survey conducted by Alma Career Croatia. Poslovni reports that the results of the latest survey on annual leave, carried out by Alma Career Croatia, an international company best known for the MojPosao/MyJob portal, show that Croatian employees are planning their holidays a little more cautiously this summer.
According to this latest survey, Croatian workers enjoy an average of 25 days of annual leave, and summer is the period when most employees use the largest part of their free days. However, this year’s results show that habits are slowly changing.
shorter summer breaks
Compared with 2025, the number of workers who plan to use fewer days of annual leave during the summer is rising, as is the number of those who aren’t planning on taking any trips at all this year.
The share of employees who plan to use a maximum of seven days of annual leave has increased from 15% in 2025 to 21% in 2026. On the other hand, the share of those planning to rest for 21 days or longer has almost halved (7% last year, 3% this year). The most common choice remains a holiday lasting 8 to 10 days, planned by 37% of respondents. This is followed by those who will rest between 11 and 15 days (29%), while 10% of employees plan annual leave lasting between 15 and 20 days.
The issue with summer that is becoming increasingly problematic is the fact that the weather is becoming so insufferably hot that sitting under the air conditioner is the only choice for a growing number of people. Most can do that at work or at home.
the croatian coast still dominates for most croats, as opposed to heading somewhere abroad
When it comes to destination, Croatia remains the first choice.
More than half of the survey participants (56%) plan to spend their summer holiday within the country, which is only slightly less than last year, when the figure was 58%. There are also somewhat fewer people planning a trip abroad this summer. Their share has fallen from 21% in 2025 to 17% this year.
However, the biggest change is visible among those who do not plan to travel at all. Their share has risen in one year from 27% to 32%, meaning that almost every third respondent will not go on a summer holiday this year. Finances are most often behind such a decision. Among respondents who will not travel, as many as 60% cite lack of financial resources as the main reason, compared with 56% last year.
One to two weeks on the Adriatic; shorter or longer holidays abroad
There are also differences in the length of holidays depending on whether respondents holiday in Croatia or travel abroad. Those who holiday somewhere else within Croatia most often choose a classic break of one to two weeks. As many as 78% of them plan to rest between 8 and 15 days.
People who travel abroad more often choose either very short or significantly longer trips. Thus, 21% of respondents travelling outside Croatia plan a holiday of seven days or less, while among those staying in Croatia the figure is 10%. At the other end of the spectrum, 7% of travellers abroad plan a holiday longer than three weeks, while among those holidaying in Croatia only 2% plan such a break.
