The Croatian Camping Sector Achieved a 7 Percent Growth Compared to Last Year, Number of Overnight Stays 22 Percent Higher Than in 2019.

The Croatian camping sector, with 833 camps accommodating more than 255 thousand guests, accounting for as much as 24 percent of all overnight stays by tourists in Croatia, has achieved excellent results in the current season. From the beginning of the year until the end of June, the number of overnight stays in camping has increased by 7 percent compared to the same period last year, and even by 22 percent compared to 2019.

As reported by the Camping Association of Croatia, the current state of reservations gives reasons for optimism for the remaining part of the year, and we expect that despite the significant increase in operating costs, revenue growth will surpass physical indicators – arrivals and overnight stays. In the period until the end of June, the highest number of guests came from Germany, with 2.25 million overnight stays and an increase of 6 percent compared to the previous year, followed by guests from Slovenia with a growth of +4 percent, Austria with +6 percent, Poland with a growth of 25 percent, and guests from the Netherlands with a growth of +13 percent compared to the same period last year.

Over the past decade, the Croatian camping sector has established itself as one of the highest quality in Europe, constantly innovating, investing in quality, and adapting to the needs of modern guests. This year, significant investments in facilities and improvements in accommodation quality, as well as in green and sustainable business practices, have continued. In this way, high quality is further reinforced, and already 44 percent of the total “number of beds” is located in 4-star camps, while the share of capacity in 5-star camps is also constantly increasing. According to the German ADAC, Croatian camps are ranked first in the Mediterranean, and we are second in Europe, just behind the Netherlands.

Numerous Investments

Croatian camping guests have also been welcomed this season with numerous novelties, including one of the largest greenfield investments in camps in the past decade, namely the Aminess Avalon Camping Resort, which will welcome its first guests after the peak of the August season. This camp on the island of Pag will be the first such 5-star facility on the island, and also the first in Croatia to offer camping plots with private pools.

Also in the Zadar region, one of the most awarded camps in Croatia, Zaton Holiday Resort, has prepared a two-story complex on 4,000 m² that will become a new entertainment center. It will also include an innovative science park, where the youngest can enjoy puzzling experiments.

The camps in Istria, which account for 50 percent of all camping overnight stays in the country, have also prepared interesting novelties. In the Pula camp Arena Stoja, a comprehensive investment in accommodation facilities has been completed, including new spacious mobile homes, a new restaurant and bar, reception, as well as landscaping of the camp and a dog park. The Arena Group has continued to invest in its glamping facility Arena One 99, which has new luxury glamping tents with hot tubs.

Another novelty from the glamping segment in Istria is the newly opened family facility Floria Glamping Garden, located near Labin.

The Rovinj Maistra has raised the quality of its camps Valkanela and Amarin through investments, while thanks to larger investments, two of their camps, Polari and Porto Sole, have raised their categorization from three to four stars.

Increased quality of offerings can also be boasted by Valamar’s Istra Premium Camping Resort, which this year offers the exclusive Sunset Garden Premium Village with 18 premium villas with private pools and included half-board, as well as the camps Bijela Uvala and Park Umag, and the Poreč Blue Lagoon, which have invested in accommodation capacities such as luxury camping plots with private showers, grills, and pergolas.

– In the past few years affected by the pandemic and the energy crisis, guests have largely turned to camping as their preferred vacation. Also, camping has remained tied to the context of road travel, so camps across Europe are experiencing a general wave of popularity. Croatia, due to its quality accommodation and attractive natural positions, has positioned itself at the very top of the European offer. The investments we continuously make to raise quality are a guarantee that we will remain at that top, as guests primarily reward quality, constant innovations, and service improvements – said the director of the Camping Association of Croatia, Adriano Palman.