Traditionally loyal German tourists came back in large numbers this season. Since the beginning of the year, almost 1.6 million German tourists have recorded more than 11 million overnight stays in Croatia, a third more than last year. They have exceeded 80 percent of the results from the best tourist year ever in Croatia. In Istria, for example, they surpassed even that record 2019 in the number of overnight stays, and about 266,000 of them are still holidaying along the coast. And that’s not the end, reports Vecernji List.
The travel season has just begun in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, the two federal states from which most German tourists come. The school holidays, which trigger the most massive wave of travel, began in these parts of Germany only in August, and for the next two or three weeks, the Adriatic can still count on a large number of Croatia’s loyal and beloved guests.
There are still about a million tourists on the Adriatic, and the number has decreased by only a few tens of thousands after the Assumption weekend. There are 840,000 foreigners, and the largest number of Germans is in Istria, where 122,000 were hosted yesterday.
“The total number of our guests dropped by about 20,000 after last weekend, and currently there are about 275,000 in Istria. In 2019, there were about thirty thousand more of them, but that is why there are 30 percent more German tourists than that year. Thus, we also have a slight increase in tourists from Poland and the Czech Republic in August, and we have been recording similar results practically since the beginning of the year. Reservations are still coming; from today’s perspective, it looks like we will have a great August and an excellent September. Of course, provided that we remain responsible and that the COVID-19 situation does not worsen in our country and Germany. These are guests who are difficult to replace with any other market,” says the director of the Istrian Tourist Board, Denis Ivošević.
For now, there is no fear about German tourists. ID Riva Tours, a German tour operator specializing in travel to Croatia, says that interest in Croatia is not waning. On the contrary, places on ships cruising the Croatian Adriatic are in demand not only now for August but also for the whole of September, and the last guests could be seen off only in mid-October.
“This is a real surprise; no one dared or hoped that the season would be so successful, quite similar to 2019. With good preparation from the Croatian side, we got everything else, including the situation with competitors and major markets. Now the only thing that matters is that the hosts remain as responsible as possible. Clearly, they cannot be held accountable for guests’ behavior, but they must be an example of their behavior, and irresponsible guests must be warned. Only with such an attitude do we justify what we promised at the beginning of the season, i.e., that we are a responsible and safe country,” says the owner of ID Riva Tours Selimir Ognjenovic and adds that complaints and dissatisfied guests are less than expected due to the crowds that have flooded our coast in recent weeks.
Last weekend, for example, 86 percent of overnight stays were realized compared to 2019. There are now about two hundred thousand more guests than last season, which was rapidly coming to an end after the Assumption due to the spread of the infection.
Guests on the Adriatic stay longer than in previous years, and tourism is recovering faster measured by overnight stays than by the number of guests. But this is not the only positive trend that corona has spawned.
“Perhaps even more important is the change in the structure of guests. Namely, tourists come who have incomparably stronger purchasing power than those we hosted before the pandemic. For example, a holiday home for three people in the central part of Istria is now easily filled for 2,500 euros for seven days. Before the pandemic, it was certainly 300 euros cheaper. This is, along with the Germans and the growth of hotel occupancy, the biggest gain this season,” says Ivošević.
In addition to the most numerous Germans, local guests did not disappoint, of whom there are still about 160,000 at sea. They are followed by Slovenes, Poles, Italians, Austrians, and Czechs. Rovinj, Vir, Poreč, Umag, Medulin, and Mali Lošinj, and Crikvenica still dominate the list of top destinations.
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