Travel Agencies Rub Their Hands Together Due to the Extended Weekend, NATO Summit, and Match Against Belgium

Travel agencies in Croatia are not recording increased sales of packages due to the upcoming national holiday, Independence Day on October 8, which many will likely use for an extended weekend, and they are satisfied with the autumn demand and sales in both domestic and foreign markets.

This demand is approximately at last year’s level, and in some segments, such as business travel and short vacations, it is even better, say several larger agencies.

From the Atlas agency, they emphasize that this autumn, after a good summer, they continue the positive trend of growth in the arrivals of foreign guests across all segments (accommodation, tours, groups, excursions), with the largest growth recorded from Russia and Scandinavia, followed by Italy and Spain, as well as Brazil.

Sales of excursions were better this September than last year, especially for Istria and Kvarner, but also for Venice, while the congress segment in September is significantly better than last year with good announcements until the end of this year.

Domestic travelers these days at Atlas are mostly, similar to last year, seeking and purchasing packages for the upcoming extended weekend, often related to various events on the coast and inland.

In European travel, Atlas records increased interest from domestic travelers, mostly for Europe by bus and flights to Germany, Paris, London, Portugal, Tuscany, and Barcelona/Catalonia, and they also highlight that they are currently recording similar demand for skiing and winter vacations as at the same time last year.

The Uniline agency is currently recording overall similar autumn sales results as last year, with slight increases in travel sales to domestic tourists, which they attribute to the upcoming extended weekend, but also to the fact that November 1 is expected to ‘extend’ into a three-day holiday.

The most foreign guests, of whom they currently have about 3 percent more, come from Slovenia, Austria, the United Kingdom, and Scandinavia, who are booking hotels for 4 to 5 days in Istria the most this month, while a decline is recorded from Italy and Hungary.

In Zagreb’s Kompas, they noted good sales for foreign destinations due to the extended weekend, mainly for 4-5 days in European metropolises. The same goes for foreign tourists in Croatia, who, like others, are plentiful on the Adriatic, and all better hotels are full, mostly with groups, which continues until the end of this October.

The main autumn hit among foreigners this year is Split and Dubrovnik, and alongside tourists from Europe, there is a noticeable increase in groups from Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand.

Excellent occupancy on the Adriatic, especially in Dubrovnik, is also expected at the end of next week due to the NATO summit in that city, which is why hotels in Dubrovnik have been ‘under siege’ for several days, and the same goes for hotels in Zagreb, which are recording reservations from several thousand Belgians due to the football match between Croatia and Belgium next week (October 11).

They could, considering that a strike of air traffic controllers is being prepared across Europe for October 10, stay in Zagreb for more than two days, note Kompas, which generally had good business indicators in September this year.