September 10, 2019 – The Croatian Tourist Board, also known as HTZ, announces the tourism numbers for the first eight months of 2019.
According to the eVisitor system, from January to August, Croatia recorded 16.5 million arrivals (+5 percent) and 90.1 million overnight stays (+2 percent). Foreign tourists achieved 14.7 million arrivals (+5 percent) and 79.1 million overnight stays (+1 percent), while domestic tourists recorded an increase of 10 percent in arrivals and 7 percent in overnight stays.
“The first half of 2019, as well as the previous two peak months, July and August, are in line with our expectations and plans this year. In total, since the beginning of the year, we have achieved five percent more tourist arrivals and two percent more overnight stays. But apart from tourist traffic, what particularly delights us is the positive financial results. Namely, according to the Tax Administration, since the beginning of the year, a total of HRK 20.6 billion was realized in providing accommodation and food and beverage services, which represents an increase of 8 percent or HRK 1.6 billion,” said Minister Gari Cappelli, adding that these results are an excellent announcement for the overall results of tourism revenues in 2019.
“After a successful peak season, we are entering the post-season, for which we launched campaigns in 14 European markets in mid-August. In September and October, we expect a repeat of last year’s figures or, depending on the market, a further increase in the number of arrivals and overnight stays, primarily from the far-away markets of the US, China, and Korea, but also from Russia and France. Also, very intensive preparations are underway for the next tourist year,” said HTZ director Kristjan Stanicic, adding that the strength of Croatian tourism is confirmed by the latest report of the World Economic Forum, according to which Croatia is ranked 27th in terms of tourism competitiveness, which is an improvement of five-places compared to 2017.
During the first eight months of 2019, the highest number of overnight stays were recorded in Istria (24.3 million), Split-Dalmatia County (16.9 million overnight stays), and Kvarner (16.2 million overnight stays). Zadar County follows with 12.9 million overnights and Dubrovnik-Neretva County with 7.2 million overnights. Sibenik-Knin County recorded 6.2 million overnights, while Lika-Senj County recorded 3 million overnights. Zagreb achieved 1.7 million.
In continental Croatia, not including Zagreb, 840,000 arrivals (+8 percent) and 1.7 million overnight stays (+8 percent) were recorded, while in the counties, the most overnight stays were recorded in Karlovac (511,000), Krapina-Zagorje (258,000), Zagreb (157,000), Osijek-Baranja (145,000) and Međimurje (144,000).
At the national level, during the first eight months, most overnight stays were recorded from the markets of Germany (17 million), Slovenia (9.5 million), Austria (6.3 million), Poland (5.4 million), Italy (4.9 million), the Czech Republic (4.7 million) and the United Kingdom (3.5 million). When looking at accommodation, most overnights were recorded in households (34.5 million), hotels (19.4 million), and camps (16.2 million). The top destinations in the first eight months, according to overnight strays, are Dubrovnik, Rovinj, Porec, Split, and Medulin.
In August, there were 5 million arrivals and 33.1 million overnight stays in Croatia, which represents an increase of 8 percent in visitors and 3 percent in overnights compared to August 2018. In August, the most overnight stays were recorded in Istria (8.7 million), while in Kvarner and Split-Dalmatia County, 6.3 million overnight stays were recorded. This is followed by Zadar County with 5.2 million overnights and Sibenik-Knin County with 2.5 million overnights. Dubrovnik-Neretva County recorded 2.3 million overnight stays, while Lika-Senj County achieved 1.2 million overnight stays. Zagreb reached 289,000.
In August, 191,000 arrivals (+8 percent) and 421,000 overnight stays (+6 percent) were made in continental Croatia, of which the most overnight stays were achieved in Karlovac (197,000), Krapina-Zagorje (48,000), Zagreb (36,000), Međimurje (32,000) and Varazdin County (32,000). At the national level, most overnight stays in August were recorded by the markets of Germany (6.5 million), Slovenia (3.3 million), Italy (2.9 million), Poland (2.1 million), Austria (2.1 million) and the Czech Republic (1.7 million).
You can see the HTZ results here.
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