April the 7th, 2026 – The Makarska Riviera has recorded some excellent tourist numbers not only during March but throughout the entire first three months of 2026.
As Slobodna Dalmacija/Dijana Turic writes, for the beautiful Makarska Riviera, there’s been a more than excellent introduction to the tourist season according to the statistical data for last month and the first three months of this year. Together, it all showcased significant improvements compared to previous years.
According to data from the Makarska Tourist Board, this March recorded a significant increase compared to 2025, as well as certain deviations compared to 2024. This was primarily as a result of a different holiday schedule because Easter fell on March the 31st in 2025.
Compared to March 2025, this year’s results were extremely positive, with the number of tourist overnight stays increasing by 132.27%, arrivals by 169.11%, and the number of tourists increasing by as much as 152.73%.
This strong growth was largely the result of the earlier opening of two higher-category hotels – ”Aminess Khalani” and ”Meteor”, as well as the fact that the Easter holidays fell earlier than they did last year. A total of 10 hotels are currently open across Makarska.
During the month of March, 5,795 guests were recorded as staying in the city at the foot of Biokovo, compared to 2,293 in the same period last year. There were 15,546 overnight stays realised, compared to 6,693 last year, mostly in hotels and private accommodation.
The top ten includes guests from elsewhere across Croatia, of whom 4,941 were registered as staying in Makarska, followed by 3,228 from neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina, and then 1,926 visitors from Germany.
In fourth place are tourists from France, of whom there were 964, with 758 having arrived from Austria. There were 598 Slovaks, 269 guests from Kosovo, 265 from the Czech Republic, and 227 from the United States of America, while there were 218 Hungarians.
On the other hand, compared to March 2024, the number of overnight stays decreased by 8.7%, while tourist arrivals increased by 5.5%, as well as the number of tourists, which increased by 6%.
Compared to the first quarter of 2025, the positive trend has thus far continued during this year, as well as throughout March specifically. The number of overnight stays has increased by 36%, arrivals by 52%, and the number of tourists by 45.1%. These results were yet again influenced by the early openings of 10 Makarska hotels and the slightly different timing of the Easter holidays.
