April the 6th, 2026 – Over 50,000 visitors have descended on Istria for the Easter holidays, marking an exceptionally encouraging start to the rest of the tourist season.
As Glas Istre/Voice of Istria writes, on the night from Friday to Saturday, 8,500 overnight stays were recorded in Poreč, as confirmed by the director of the Poreč Tourist Board Nenad Velenik. This further confirms a very good Easter tourist weekend across beautiful Istria.
Judging by the sheer number of guests already arriving in Istria for the Easter holidays, this tourist year could be very successful again. It’s currently estimated that over 50,000 visitors are currently staying across Istria for the Easter holidays. Around 100 hundred hotels and campsites are also open across the peninsula and will no longer close after the start of the season, as reported by HRT.
Due to the harsh bura wind that has been battering Istria for days now, tourists, just like the locals, are taking shelter. School holidays are currently in full swing in both Austria and Germany, with very many companies also on collective holidays, meaning that Poreč’s hotels are also full. There are currently around 8,000 guests staying in the city itself, and everything points to a continuation of the year that has started well.
In the first three months of 2026, we recorded 20% more arrivals and 10% more overnight stays, and March was particularly good, with as many as 45% more overnight stays realised than last year, said Nenad Velenik, director of the Poreč Tourist Board.
“The tourism sector is thankfully not currently seeing a negative impact of the current international circumstances and fuel crisis on tourism demand for now. There are no surprises appearing as yet, and these current global security events haven’t been reflected in a decrease in visits,” revealed Veljko Ostojić, director of the Croatian Tourism Association.
Not too far away in the equally gorgeous city of Rovinj, the most luxurious hotels are already fully booked. Prices are still at their pre-season level, but they still aren’t falling below 200 euros per person per night. The hotels have prepared special programmes solely for Easter, with an emphasis placed on activities for children and gourmet offerings.
“Istria’s hotels have mostly prepared a suitable Easter programme, with a strong emphasis on the children’s programme and gourmet offerings, and the best loved is always the Easter breakfast,” said Vanja Mohorović, Maistra’s spokesperson.
Hoteliers across Istria still very much expect the rest of the year to be successful, and some are announcing a higher number of overnight stays than last year, along with an increase in revenue.
“It should be said that the revenue side should grow more in relation to physical indicators. However, it should also not be forgotten that the cost side is growing faster than the revenue side and that this will be another negative blow to business, at least as far as the hotel industry is concerned,” warned Ostojić.
Catering and hospitality companies are also facing constantly rising costs, so those who didn’t raise prices last year are now doing so.
Despite geopolitical issues and constant inflationary pressures, everything so far indicates that this year will go on to be a successful one for not only Istria but Croatia as a whole. It is also expected that the Croatian tourist offer will be tried out by numerous tourists who, due to the unstable geopolitical situation and Croatia’s proximity to major export markets, may be choosing this country for the very first time.
