In 2015, Croatia was visited by 14.1 million tourists, which is an increase of 8.3 percent compared to the previous year, and they achieved 78.5 million overnight stays, representing a growth of 6.8 percent. Therefore, total foreign tourism revenues will certainly exceed eight billion euros, said Tourism Minister Darko Lorencin at a press conference on Thursday.
All Adriatic regions had a good season and finished in the plus compared to last year. Istria remains the strongest tourist county, achieving 3.5 million arrivals and 23.6 million overnight stays, with an increase in arrivals of 8.7 percent and overnight stays of 5.9 percent. The largest individual growth was recorded in the Split-Dalmatia County with 2.6 million visitors and 14.6 million overnight stays, with an increase of 9.3 percent in arrivals and 8.4 percent in overnight stays. Kvarner saw an increase of 8.5 percent in arrivals and 7.8 percent in overnight stays, Zadar County grew by 5.4 percent in visitors and 6.2 percent in overnight stays, Šibenik-Knin County increased by 5.6 percent in both categories, while the far south recorded a growth of 6.7 percent in visitors and 4.4 percent in overnight stays. Partially Adriatic, Lika-Senj County has an even more significant increase of 9.5 percent in arrivals and 8.1 percent in overnight stays, while Zagreb is a special category as it hosted just over one million tourists in the twelve months of last year, nearly twelve percent more than the previous year. In the capital, 1.7 million overnight stays were achieved, with an annual growth of 12.6 percent.
Minister in the technical government Darko Lorencin particularly emphasizes domestic tourists, of whom 1.4 million were registered in 2015, an increase of 10.3 percent, and in terms of overnight stays, with a total of just over seven million, they achieved an increase of 8.5 percent. This, Lorencin said, was influenced by GDP growth, increased consumption, and economic recovery. Domestic tourists are second in arrivals and third in overnight stays, and when it comes to foreign markets, Germans remain the leaders. Last year, we hosted 2.1 million of them, or 6.3 percent more than the previous year, and they achieved 16.7 million overnight stays, with a growth of 6.6 percent. They are followed by Slovenians, Austrians, and Italians, all of whom are also more numerous than in 2014. Other foreign markets also grew, except for the Russian market, which recorded a decline of 24 percent in arrivals and nearly 28 percent in overnight stays, and the Danish market, where the decline in arrivals stopped at minus 5.8 percent while the number of overnight stays is down by 8.6 percent. As pleasant surprises, Lorencin highlighted Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the growth in arrivals was 22 percent, and Serbia with 8.1 percent.
