March the 23rd, 2025 – Vukovar tourism could be set to gain further momentum thanks to popular river cruises. Just recently, a cruiser carrying 140 people arrived in Croatia’s Hero City.
As Vecernji list/Branimir Bradaric writes, the first of an encouraging 389 announced river cruise ships carrying 140 tourists, mostly from the USA, sailing the Danube, has docked near Vukovar.
The tourists set off from the Hungarian capital of Budapest and are sailing towards the Romanian city of Giurgiu. During that journey, they’ll dock at several places, including Vukovar, and on that occasion they’ll tour the city and get better acquainted with this chronically overlooked part of Croatia.
“The tourists on this first vessel were welcomed with local products such as rakija, kulen, sausages and so on. This year, we can expect a record number of cruise ships docking near Vukovar. A total of 505 have been announced thus far, and this will be a huge boost to Vukovar tourism. The passengers on this cruise ship are mostly from the USA, and they make up almost 40 percent of guests on luxury river cruise ships. During their visit to Vukovar, they’ll visit the centre and our two museums,” said Marina Sekulić, director of the Tourist Board of the City of Vukovar.
increases for vukovar tourism
According to official data, last year Vukovar recorded a 5.5 percent increase in cruise ship arrivals compared to the previous year, which is gradually placing Vukovar more firmly on the tourism map.
“Throughout 2024, we have been recording excellent tourism indicators as well as an increase in the number of arrivals and overnight stays. Last year, Vukovar tourism recorded 52,996 arrivals and 86,794 overnight stays. Excluding school excursions, that’s 18,431 arrivals and 42,001 overnight stays, which is an increase of 0.91 percent in arrivals and 9.21 percent in overnight stays compared to 2023’s numbers. These figures prove that Vukovar is a tourist destination that is developing more and more year after year and is becoming a pearl of continental tourism,” said Sekulić.
vukovar as a river cruise destination
River cruises have been calling at Vukovar for about twenty years now. In the very early years, tourists took buses to other destinations on the mainland. In more recent years, they have also been visiting the tourist attractions of Vukovar itself.
Tourists from this year’s first cruise were welcomed by the Mayor of Vukovar, Ivan Penava, who said that river cruising is a great potential for Vukovar tourism and that the Danube is the trademark of Vukovar.
“We’re entering this tourist year optimistically. We expect the demolition of the existing Hotel Dunav to begin soon and the construction of a new hotel to follow, which will further strengthen and beautify this part of the city. Intensive work is also underway on the right bank of the Danube. We’re building a new coastal fortification spanning 10 hectares of new land, four piers for passenger ships, a new marina and a new 700 metre breakwater,” concluded Penava.
