Croatia, a country that heavily relies on tourism, can let out a sigh of relief. Although figures were not so encouraging until May, June has put Croatian tourism back on trend. Namely, the statistics that reveal the number of overnights and arrivals for foreign guests are good – and growing, reports Vijesti.hr on June 16, 2019.
Specifically, Istria leads the pack, as it usually does every year. And so many travelers made their way to the sea by highways, traffic at the Lučko toll station has already seen a 4 percent increase compared to last year.
Holidays, summer heat, and humidity always seem to work in favor of Croatian tourism – and according to eVisitor data, this June is already stronger than last year.
Namely, there have been 1.3 million arrivals and 5.6 million overnights recorded, which is up 17 percent in arrivals and 11 percent in overnights compared to last year.
All coastal counties have recorded growth, too. Istria leads the way with a 33 percent increase in arrivals and a 21 percent increase in overnights. Šibenik-Knin County leads Dalmatia with 16.7 percent more arrivals and 7 percent more overnight stays.
“It is common for Czechs to come to Croatia for the sea. It’s close, the people are friendly and we enjoy it here,” said David from the Czech Republic.
But some have also noticed a rise in prices.
“Compared to Italy, the prices are the same. We expected them to be a little cheaper, but they are the same,” said Rossana from Italy.
The price increase was also noted by Alen from Slovenia:
“We noticed that the prices are higher each season. One example is that parking this year is twice as much as last year. That was the first thing we noticed today. We have only been here for two hours and we’ll see what’s going to be next.”
Many tourists travel to Croatia by car, which could be seen by the line of traffic inching its way to the sea. Namely, the first hit tourist weekend saw 82,000 vehicles pass through the Lučko toll station on their way to the sea.
The biggest traffic day was Friday, but on Sunday some 15,000 drivers set off to the Adriatic.
Thanks to these results, the forecast for this tourist season remains the same, and that is to surpass the year before one more.
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