Croatia closes in on 20 million tourists in 2018 with 20% growth in November

Croatia approaches 20 million tourists for the first time ever (Photo: Ivo Biocina/CNTB)

Tourist arrivals in Croatia in November grew by 20% compared to the same period last year, the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) announced on Thursday. 

According to data from the eVisitor system, in November a total of 380,000 tourists arrived in Croatia, creating 955,000 overnight stays. This represents growth of 20 and 5 percent respectively compared to the same period last year. 

In November, Zagreb recorded the most overnight stays (166,000), followed by Istria (149,000). Kvarner was next (132,000), closely followed by Split-Dalmatia (120,000) and Dubrovnik-Neretva (97,000) and Zadar region (87,000). 

The most overnight stays were created by tourists from Slovenia, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Italy, Korea and the USA. 

The most popular places in November were Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Opatija, Split and Rovinj. 

From January until the end of November a total of 19.4 million tourists visited Croatia, up 6% from the same period last year. Overnight stays were up 4% to 105.2 million. 

Minister of Tourism Gari Cappelli commented: “We are approaching the end of the calendar year and we can be proud of our year-round tourist year marked by a positive trend in tourist traffic and spend. This is the result of our thoughtful tourist policy of responsible and sustainable tourism that will play an important role in our future plans and the Tourism Development Strategy till 2025 which we are creating. The popular and well-attended Advent, which not only attracts guests from all over the world but also encourage domestic trends, enriches the tourist offering during the holiday season.”

(Photo: Julien Duval/Zagreb Tourist Board)

HTZ director Kristjan Staničić: “We are happy with the growth of tourist traffic that we have maintained during these winter months. We are expecting a very positive influence of the Advent period throughout the entire tourist year, and for this reason, we are currently implementing special promotional Advent campaign on eight key European markets, including Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Slovenia, France, Hungary and Great Britain. In addition to Advent, which is one of the key motivators of arrivals in the winter period, we are also focusing on promoting other tourist products and a business tourism promotional campaign is also underway to extend the season.”