In January, according to data from the eVisitor and eCrew systems, Croatia recorded 217,000 tourist arrivals, which is 20 percent more than in the first month of 2017, and 612,000 overnight stays, or 17 percent more, the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) reported on Wednesday.
Foreign tourists accounted for 126,000 arrivals, an increase of 22 percent, and 377,000 overnight stays (an increase of 21 percent), while the number of domestic tourist arrivals also increased by 17 percent, with 12 percent more overnight stays.
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However, it should be emphasized that this is a relatively dead month for tourism, considering the still very pronounced seasonality of Croatian tourism, as well as the low base for comparison.
By counties, the most overnight stays in January – 143,000 – were recorded in Zagreb, followed by Istria (107,000) and Kvarner (80,000 overnight stays).
In the Split-Dalmatia County, there were 62,000 overnight stays, in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County 46,000, in Zadar County 25,000, in Šibenik-Knin County 14,000, and in Lika-Senj County 10,000 overnight stays.
In the continental counties, excluding the city of Zagreb, 124,000 overnight stays were registered, with the most in Krapina-Zagorje, Međimurje, and Varaždin counties.
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By destinations, in January, besides the city of Zagreb, the most overnight stays were recorded in Dubrovnik, Rovinj, Split, Opatija, and Poreč.
In the first month of this year, the most overnight stays were achieved by tourists from Bosnia and Herzegovina (60,000), Germany (36,000), Italy (34,000), Slovenia (34,000), and Austria (30,000), while according to accommodation structure, the most were achieved in hotels (359,000) and household facilities (124,000 overnight stays).
Diverse offerings and amenities
Commenting on the January results, Minister of Tourism Gari Cappelli emphasized that the continuation of double-digit growth in tourist traffic at the beginning of the year is the best indicator of how various events, from sports events to numerous new offerings, positively influence the development of tourism.
– Today’s guests in Croatia seek diverse offerings and amenities, and that is precisely what we will continue to focus our activities and programs on. I believe that the tourist year 2018 will be successful not only through the growth of tourist traffic but also through an even greater leap towards better positioning of Croatia as a year-round destination, Cappelli stated.
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The director of the HTZ Main Office, Kristjan Staničić, believes that the good January results are a result of strong promotion and a diverse tourist offer with an emphasis on events.
– HTZ continuously conducts marketing campaigns aimed at positioning Croatia as a year-round destination. A successful winter brand campaign has been implemented, and soon we will launch a promotional campaign for the pre-season that will be active until the end of March in markets around the world, Staničić said.
He assessed that events such as the Snow Queen ski race or the European Handball Championship held in four Croatian cities had a positive effect on tourist traffic in January. He announced the upcoming announcement of HTZ’s program for granting support for events.
