Double-Digit Growth for Most Foreign Visitors in 2013
- by croatiaweek
- in Latest
From January till November this year, 12.3 million tourists visited Croatia, up 5.5% from the same period last year, whilst overnight stays totalled 72 million, up 4.1%...
Among foreign visitors, Croatia welcomed double-digit growth from most, with the leaders being Finland with 35.5% more tourists visiting this year compared to 2012. Behind Finland were Norway and Sweden (30%), USA (25.6%), UK (24%) and Poland (20.3%). At the other end of the scale, the number of Russian tourists, who in 2013 were forced to adhere to strict visa restrictions after Croatia joined the EU, were down 21.6%, whilst the Ukrainians, also forced to obtain visas to travel to Croatia in 2013, saw a 24.5% drop in numbers from the year previous.
Croatia’s Minister of Tourism Darko Lorencin has said that from 1 January 2014 the visa process for the Russians and Ukrainians will be made a lot simpler, with a visa centre and online measures set up to make the process both faster and easier for would be travellers.
