Commercial Accommodation in June with 0.9 Percent More Tourist Overnight Stays

In commercial accommodation in June, there were 13.2 million tourist overnight stays or 0.9 percent more than in the same month last year, while in the first half of the year, overnight stays in these facilities amounted to 24 million or 10.5 percent more, according to data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS).

In June, overnight stays in commercial accommodation facilities, where payment is made per overnight stay, were recorded by 2.7 million tourists, which is 3 percent more than in June last year.

Among them, foreign tourists usually prevailed, numbering 2.4 million, which is 3.2 percent more than last June, which they slightly exceeded – by 0.9 percent with 12.3 million overnight stays.

Domestic tourists in commercial accommodation in June this year were 0.6 percent fewer than last year, or 288 thousand, but with 905 thousand overnight stays, they were slightly up by 0.1 percent.

DZS data shows that among foreign tourists in commercial accommodation in June, the highest number came from Germany, 474 thousand, who also recorded the highest number of overnight stays – 3.7 million, thus maintaining the first place among all nations, but compared to June 2022, there were 20.2 percent fewer of them and they recorded 11 percent fewer overnight stays.

Following them, in terms of overnight stays in June, tourists from also traditional markets, Austria, Slovenia, Poland, and the Czech Republic, as well as from the United Kingdom (UK), ranked next, all of whom, except for the Czechs, recorded increases in overnight stays compared to June 2022.

Hotels in June Ranked Third by Number of Overnight Stays

According to types of commercial accommodation, the highest number of overnight stays in June was in the category of “resorts and similar short-stay facilities,” which includes private accommodation, accounting for 47 percent of total overnight stays or 6.2 million, which is also 1 percent more than in the same month last year.

Camps ranked second with 3.6 million overnight stays, but with a decrease of 2 percent compared to June 2022, while hotels and similar accommodation ranked third with 3.4 million or 4 percent more overnight stays.

DZS states that in June 2023, there were 367 thousand rooms, apartments, and camping spots available to tourists, with 957 thousand permanent beds, of which the majority – 55.1 percent or 202 thousand rooms, apartments, and camping spots with 535 thousand permanent beds, or 56 percent of the total number, were in resorts and similar short-stay facilities.

In hotels, there were 81 thousand rooms/apartments or 22 percent of the total number, with 169 thousand permanent beds, which accounted for 17.6 percent of the total number and whose average occupancy in June this year was 69 percent, for which DZS does not provide comparisons with last year.

They report that domestic tourists most preferred Crikvenica, Zagreb, Biograd na Moru, and Mali Lošinj for their stay in June, while foreign tourists preferred Rovinj, Dubrovnik, Poreč, Medulin, and Umag.

By counties, the highest number of overnight stays, or one-third of them in June, was recorded in Istria County, followed by Split-Dalmatia and other Adriatic counties, and a similar ranking of the most visited destinations and counties applies for the first half of this year.

First Half of the Year with 17.3 Percent More Tourist Arrivals and 10.5 Percent More Overnight Stays

Tourism in the first half of this year recorded slightly stronger growth than in June, thanks to an excellent May and the overall pre-season, thus commercial accommodation facilities recorded 6.4 million tourist arrivals and 24 million overnight stays, up by 17.3 and 10.5 percent compared to the same period last year.

Domestic tourists in these facilities in the first six months numbered 1.2 million, with 2.8 million overnight stays, which are increases of 8 and 6 percent compared to the first six months of 2022.

For foreign tourists, the increases are even higher, at 19.5 percent, with 5.2 million who visited Croatia in the first half of this year, while their 21.3 million overnight stays were 11.2 percent more than last year.

At the six-month level, as well as in June, Germans were the most numerous and the tourists with the most overnight stays, with a total of 4.3 percent more compared to the same period last year, followed by Austrians, Slovenians, Poles, and others.