Croatian tourism grows with 7.2 million arrivals so far in 2024

Split

In the first half of the year, Croatia recorded over 28 million tourist overnight stays. Currently, more than 700,000 guests are staying in Croatian destinations.

Croatian tourism is entering the peak summer season with positive trends and traffic results.

Data from the eVisitor system shows that from January to the end of June, Croatia saw over 7.2 million arrivals and 28.1 million overnight stays.

This represents a 6% increase in arrivals and a 2% increase in overnight stays compared to the same period last year. Of these, 25.8 million overnight stays were recorded along the Adriatic coast, a 2% increase from last year, while the continental regions saw over 1.1 million overnight stays, a 7% rise.

In Zagreb, 1.2 million overnight stays were recorded in the first six months, an 8% increase from the same period last year.

“The positive results achieved in the first part of the year further confirm that Croatia is establishing itself as a year-round tourist destination, offering guests more and more attractions beyond the summer months.

These excellent physical indicators are matched by financial ones; in the first quarter, we had a 24.61% increase in revenue from foreign tourists compared to last year’s record, and in the first six months, there was a 6.5% rise in the number of fiscal receipts issued.

Zagreb

With a new investment cycle, for which the Government has secured record funds from European funds and the state budget, we will further enhance the quality of our offerings. We believe that in the coming years, Croatia will achieve even better results in this period, both in the pre- and post-season, fully realising our strategic goal of developing year-round tourism throughout all parts of Croatia.

I thank the entire tourism sector for the achievements so far. The most intense months of the year are ahead of us, and I believe we will continue this positive trend,” said Tonči Glavina, Minister of Tourism and Sport.

When analysing Croatia’s tourist results by counties, the most overnight stays in the first half of the year were recorded in Istria (8.4 million overnight stays), Split-Dalmatia County (5 million overnight stays), and the Kvarner region (4.4 million overnight stays). In terms of destinations, Dubrovnik, Rovinj, Zagreb, Split, Poreč, Umag, and Zadar were the most popular.

Rovinj

“In sports terms, the Croatian tourism sector had an excellent first half and enters the continuation of the tourist year with great optimism.

The very intense summer months are ahead of us, and currently, more than 700,000 tourists are staying in our country daily. Soon, this number will exceed one million guests daily for the first time, indicating a very high occupancy rate of accommodation facilities. I urge all tourism workers to continue their dedicated and high-quality work because only in this way will we leave a positive impression on our guests.

This is especially important as only a satisfied guest returns to a destination,” stated Kristjan Staničić, Director of the Croatian National Tourist Board.

Looking at the markets, in the first six months, the most overnight stays were made by guests from Germany (5.7 million overnight stays), followed by domestic guests (3.7 million overnight stays), and then by guests from Slovenia (2.7 million overnight stays), Austria (2.6 million overnight stays), Poland (1.8 million overnight stays), and the UK (1.3 million overnight stays).

Dubrovnik

Regarding types of accommodation, the most overnight stays were recorded in hotels (9.2 million overnight stays), followed by private accommodations (over 8 million overnight stays), and campsites (5.5 million overnight stays).