Almost 14 million tourists visit Croatia in 2021

Rovinj

A total of 13.8 million tourists visited Croatia in 2021, creating 84.1 million overnight stays, the Croatian National Tourist Board said in a statement on Monday. 

There were 77 percent more arrivals in 2021 than in 2020, whilst overnights were up 55 percent. 

The most popular destinations last year were Zagreb (638,000 arrivals), Rovinj (549,000), Dubrovnik (543,000), Split (529,000) and Poreč (431,000)

“Behind us is the second pandemic year in which Croatia, despite all the challenges, achieved the best tourist traffic in the Mediterranean. This is the result of the dedicated and quality work of all tourism workers who, through their unified effort, quick reactions and coordinated action, have ensured the status of a high-quality, safe and well-prepared destination for our country. We are entering this year with great optimism, but also with plans that include the realization of 90 percent of traffic from the record 2019 and further positioning of our country as a sustainable and safe destination. We plan to realize this through the implementation of targeted and innovative marketing and information campaigns, which will be conducted throughout the year taking into account the epidemiological situation in each market”, said the Director of the Croatian National Tourist Board Kristjan Staničić,

Most tourist overnights were realized in Istria County (23.5 million), Split-Dalmatia County (15.5 million) and Primorsko-goranska County (15.3 million). Followed by Zadar County (12.7 million overnight stays), Šibenik-Knin County (5.9 million) and Dubrovnik-Neretva County (5.4 million). 

In 2021 most arrivals came from Germany (2.9 million), followed by Slovenian (1.2 million), Austria (1.1 million), Poland (1 million) and the Czech Republic (775,000). 

“Congratulations to all tourism stakeholders on a great tourist year. During 2021, Croatia built the image of a safe and responsible destination, which was recognized by our tourists. In addition to the importance of safety, modern tourists, especially in this pandemic era, are increasingly recognizing the importance of the sustainability of the destination, which is becoming an additional motivation for them to travel. In order to further highlight the new strategic direction of Croatian tourism, the Ministry is launching a comprehensive web portal for sustainable tourism in Croatian and English, which will provide information on important documents, funding sources, projects, sustainable practices and eco-certification, as well as training, seminars, conferences and events, as well as stakeholder actions in the field of sustainable tourism. We will also have a publicly available display of Sustainable Tourism Indicators on the platform”, said Minister of Tourism and Sports Nikolina Brnjac,

Croatia also generated more revenue from foreign tourists during the summer months of 2021 than it ever has in the past. According to the Croatian National Bank (CNB), in the third quarter of 2021, during the summer months of July, August and September, revenues from foreign tourists amounted to 6 billion and 775 million euros, which represents growth of 100 percent of revenues generated during the same period in 2020, or 3 billion and 386 million euros more. 

Compared to the third quarter of 2019, which was a record year for Croatian tourism, revenue growth of 2 percent was achieved, or EUR 148 million more generated than in the third quarter of 2019 when EUR 6 billion and 627 million in revenue was generated.

In the first nine months of 2021, revenues from foreign tourists amounted to 8 billion and 268 million euros, which represents growth of 90 percent of revenues generated during the same period in 2020, or 3 billion and 929 million euros more.