Wow! Comparing Split, Dubrovnik Winter Flights to ExYu, Mediterranean Competition

Late morning on the beach in Omis, between Split and Dubrovnik, on October 30, 2021

I am just back from a couple of trips to the Adiatic coast in October and November.

So much beauty, such a great time to visit.

And yet…

Split and Dubrovnik winter flights are as scarce as summer flights are abundant, and the whole Dalmatian coast largely goes to sleep from the end of October until March.

It was not always that way, as we learned in a recent TCN interview with a UK tour rep in the 1980s, who explaine how year-round flights were bringing in Americans for stays of up to 6 weeks. Read more in Croatian Winter Tourism in 1990: Full of Life! Tour Rep Interview.

And yet, there are pockets of the coast which are very much alive in the winter months. Small initiatives that show there are people here – and the feeling that many more would come if the likes of Split and Dubrovnik were more accessible. Above is a photo from Nomad Table in Split on Friday night, a weekly event hosted by Saltwater Nomads and Zinfandel in Split. It was packed and sold out – again. I spoke to several remote workers who are enjoying Split as their temporary new home. More flights and easier access, combined with a proper strategy would increase their numbers considerably.

After writing a few articles on the potential of winter tourism recently, I asked if there was anyone with something to contribute on the subject who would be interested in getting in touch to kickstart an initiative to improve the Split and Dubrovnik winter flights situation.

Among the many who get in touch was tourism consultant Mario Seric, who was actively involved in a concerted effort with Split’s hotels to bring more flights to the city a decade ago. Although the main initiative was ultimately not a success, there were some wins, including the Split to Munich flight, which continues today.

I met Mario in Split over the weekend for a beer or three, and was not only deeply impressed by his intimate knowledge of the subject, but also just how badly served Split and Dubrovnik are when compared to the neighbours and competition.

Although comparing Split and Dubrovnik winter flights to other Ex-Yu destinations is not a like for like comparison, it serves as a useful indicator of their position in the region in this regard. And when one compares to similar destinations in the Mediterranean, that is where things get a little shocking – for me at least.

I asked Mario to send me some data on winter flights in terms of numbers of flights a week, number of airports served, and number of countries connected. This is what he sent me.

I am sending the basic airport info as well as main information for the winter 2021/2022 timetables for direct scheduled flights for 9 selected airports that I have chosen based on the following criteria:

I exclude big Mediterranean metropolises such as Madrid, Barcelona, Rome, Athens, and Istanbul;
I also exclude some other big Mediterranean cities such as Malaga, Valencia, Marseille, Naples, and Izmir;
I also exclude island cities such as Palma de Mallorca, Cagliari, Palermo, Catania, Heraklion, etc.
I include mid-size Mediterranean cities with established or emerging tourism industries such as Alicante, Nice, Venice, Bari, and Thessaloniki (for serious comparisons);
I also include some cities in the Western Balkans that are not comparable at all such as Banja Luka, Tuzla, Niš, and Ohrid (for fun).

I would also like to point out that the information below for the winter 2021/2022 timetable is the latest official info from the airports and the airlines, but this is constantly changing, especially nowadays during the pandemic (even on a daily basis).

ALICANTE-ELCHE AIRPORT

Basic Airport Info

Serving Alicante, Elche, and Costa Blanca
Passenger traffic in the year before pandemic (2019): 15.048.240
No. 5 airport in Spain by passenger traffic (after Madrid, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, and Malaga)